The Greeks certainly thought so, they were great believers in fatalism and thought everything that happened was predetermined. They predicted their future in various ways whether it was through coffee grounds, palm readings, or through the stars. Most commonly, they found the “truth” through the oracle. According to the Greeks, Apollo the god of the oracle spoke through the priestess Pythia who informed and gave advice to the many citizens who seeked it. They also believed that “fortunes of war could be swayed by the intervention of the gods”(Gaarder 55). Personally, I do believe in fate rather similarly. I believe that if we do bad things we are more susceptible to illness and harmful occurrences but I don't believe God purposely hurts us in any way. Comparably to Deism, I think of him as a clockmaker. Accordingly so, God gives us the opportunities to do either good or bad which will determine our fate, like whether we go to heaven or hell. But in some cases it isn't as harsh. For example, he gives us the opportunity to wash our hands but if we choose not to, then we may get sick. It doesn't mean he has put it upon us because we did wrong by not washing our hands. All he does is wound us up like a clock and allow us to play out our own lives . In that way, he determines if we’ve chosen well and truly done good in our life. If we have, he rewards us. Which makes me go deeper in that …show more content…
Those commonly known to be apart of the culture are the Greeks and Romans whose beliefs focus on Polytheism. Polytheism is the belief in multiple gods. The Semites on the other hand, which included Jewish people, focused on monotheism, the belief in a single God. Today monotheism is the most common form of religion in Catholic, Christian, and Catholic churches. When I came across the word Polytheism however, I had a hard time thinking of religions today who follow the belief. Once I looked up how prevalent the belief is, I found Asian religions seemed to be the only ones who, similarly, practiced the religion, as well as various neopagan faiths. The fact that Polytheism is rarely relevant today was crazy to think since the followers were just like me, in that they truly believed in their religion. I wonder now if in a hundred years on, my religion, Catholicism, will be as forgotten as Polytheism is today. I also question if it is ok to ever call a belief a “superstition” as was discussed earlier in the book. If a religion has a bigger follower base than an other or if one religion is newer than the other, how do we have proof that either are false beliefs? Therefore, all religions should coexist harmoniously and with the uttermost respect since no religion ever, has found physical proof of