Perception of Supernatural Powers and Deities in Different Societies

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Conceptions of the Supernatural
In this week's reading, the author explores different societies and their perception of supernatural powers and deities. In exploring the religious cultures of various societies, they argue that the deities were often named according to particular criteria. The Chinese, the Sumerians, Egyptians, among others, all had different ways of naming their gods. For instance, the sun god in Sumerian society was referred to as the "humming bird of the left side." The naming of the gods was significant according to the way society perceived them. In this case, the god of the sun was perceived to arise from the left side and set on the right side. Similarly, as alluded to by the author, most of the societies consulted the deities for guidance. For instance, the Chinese consulted the dead ancestors for guidance on issues that related to their communities. Consequently, the Mesopotamians and the Sumerians consulted the gods of rain when they wanted harvest to increase their agricultural farms.
In addition, the authors also explore the different manifestations of the deities in the various societies identified. Often, deities were considered to be like humans but were more powerful. Depending on the beliefs of a society, most of the deities manifested themselves in the form of animals, plants, rocks, or even possessing human beings. Ideally, the author posits that observing the behavior of different creatures could enable people within a society to identify whether a deity was manifesting itself. Also, they would ...