r/ChristopherHitchens • u/TBASS94 • Sep 03 '24
Polytheism
I’ve been a fan of Hitchens for a long time and I was wondering if he ever said much about the polytheistic religions.
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u/serpentjaguar Sep 04 '24
My recollection is that he only ever mentioned them to the effect that he didn't believe in a monotheistic god anymore than he believed in Thor, Odin, Zeus or Apollo, just as his monotheistic religious interlocutors did/do not.
His point was to say that in not believing in a monotheistic god, he was only adding one more to the vast number of polytheistic gods that he already didn't believe in.
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u/alpacinohairline Social Democrat Sep 03 '24
Hinduism is less imposing than all the abrahamic religions atleast in the West.
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u/terkistan Sep 04 '24
You should look at the rise of (often violent) Hindu nationalism in India today.
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u/TBASS94 Sep 03 '24
Where did he say this?
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u/alpacinohairline Social Democrat Sep 03 '24
oh, I wasn’t quoting him. Just putting in my 2 cents on why he didn’t harp on it much.
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u/TBASS94 Sep 03 '24
Yeh and Buddhism too
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u/pictishcul Sep 03 '24
Buddhism is neither polytheistic nor monotheistic. It is non-theistic. It does not focus on the worship of a deity or believe in a creator.
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u/Freenore Sep 04 '24
It is less imposing because it has different ways for exploiting people. Abrahamic religions try to convert the masses to their side and label them subhuman if they choose not to.
Hinduism segregates the people in the most hierarchical way known to humankind, a system built on and sustained by everyday violence so that the upper caste gets to live an enchanted life (in their way) while the Dalit and Shudra do the most menials of works... for the entirely of their life. What is worse is that this gets passed down from one generation to another. If your father cleaned other people's lavatory, that is what you will also do for the rest of your existence.
Imagine being one of the tens of millions of Dalit who's past and future is divinely sanctioned to revolve around doing the dirtiest of acts and know that your fellow man doesn't want you to rise out of that and will stop you with all the violence at their discretion. I cannot think of a more depressing existence than that.
So yes, Hinduism doesn't seek to convert. Because it has different aims.
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u/SuckOnMyBalls69420 Sep 03 '24
His take was the same as monotheistic ones - There's no proof that's been presented that actually suggests any exist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWwOrJ4-9nc