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Author Topic: Giants?  (Read 1328 times)

Hariti

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Giants?
« on: October 13, 2018, 05:44:06 pm »
So. We all know what giants are. Almost every culture has them in their myths, legends, or folklore.

That's what this thread is about:

1)
a)Does your religion talk about the existence of giants?
b)Does your local culture talks about the existence of giants?

2)
If so, do you believe in them? If you do, did they exist in the past, were they nonphysical or physical, and do they still exist?

3)
If you answered "yes" to question #1 or #2, what are they like? What are their personalities? Are they divine or mortal? Are they good or evil, or free willed? How large were they? Etc.



"The worshippers of the gods go to them; to the manes go the ancestor-worshippers; to the Deities who preside over the elements go their worshippers; My devotees come to Me." ... "Whichever devotee desires to adore whatever such Deity with faith, in all such votaries I make that particular faith unshakable. Endowed with that faith, a votary performs the worship of that particular deity and obtains the fruits thereof, these being granted by Me alone." - Sri Krishna

Hariti

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Re: Giants?
« Reply #1 on: October 13, 2018, 05:52:49 pm »

I'll go first answering my own quesitons:

1)
a)Does your religion talk about the existence of giants?

Yes! The  Daityas were a race of powerful, long lived, mortal but semi-divine beings, who were very large in size.


2)
If so, do you believe in them? If you do, did they exist in the past, were they nonphysical or physical, and do they still exist?

Yes. I believe that they literally existed, on this planet, in previous Yugas (aeons or ages of time), and that they still exist on other planes of reality within our multiverse.

3)
If you answered "yes" to question #1 or #2, what are they like? What are their personalities? Are they divine or mortal? Are they good or evil, or free willed? How large were they? Etc.

They were usually, but not always, evil and cruel; they had free will, and some of them were goodly and kind natured despite the general trend otherwise. One such example is Kumbhakarna, the brother of Ravana. Both of them were Diatyas, but while Ravana was evil, Kumbhakarna was not. They also had another brother, Vibhishana, who may or may not have been a giant, and who was goodly.

(In Hindy mythology, Devas, Adityas, Diatyas, Asuras, Rakshasas, Humans, Nagas, and other sapient beings can generally interbreed, and as such not everyone has a clear race/species in the mythology).
"The worshippers of the gods go to them; to the manes go the ancestor-worshippers; to the Deities who preside over the elements go their worshippers; My devotees come to Me." ... "Whichever devotee desires to adore whatever such Deity with faith, in all such votaries I make that particular faith unshakable. Endowed with that faith, a votary performs the worship of that particular deity and obtains the fruits thereof, these being granted by Me alone." - Sri Krishna

ehbowen

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Re: Giants?
« Reply #2 on: October 14, 2018, 06:02:30 am »
So. We all know what giants are. Almost every culture has them in their myths, legends, or folklore.

That's what this thread is about:

1)
a)Does your religion talk about the existence of giants?
b)Does your local culture talks about the existence of giants?

a) Goliath and his brothers. Also generic others; when speaking of the pre-Flood world the Bible says, "There were giants in the earth in those days."
b) Outside of a religious context, no, other than fables such as "Paul Bunyan."

2)
If so, do you believe in them? If you do, did they exist in the past, were they nonphysical or physical, and do they still exist?

3)
If you answered "yes" to question #1 or #2, what are they like? What are their personalities? Are they divine or mortal? Are they good or evil, or free willed? How large were they? Etc.

I believe that Goliath and the others were real beings, yes. I believe that they were mortal enough for David to slay them (obviously). I believe that they were able to bear offspring with normal human women, although quite possibly the pregnancy could have been *difficult*.

I believe that, as Genesis states, they originated from the union of masculine divine spirits with human women. Now, while I do believe (I do hope!) that such unions are possible and fertile, I suspect that the "downstream" effect varies with the abilities and to some degree the intentions of the divine parent. I do expect to someday raise children with my Girlfriend, but while I expect that they will take after their mother's nature I do believe that she's skilled enough to make the divine aspects of their nature unobtrusive. For the pre-Flood giants, as well as the post-Flood remnant (which could have been pre-Flood genes passed down through Noah's daughters-in-law, or else could represent a new infestation [for lack of a better and more neutral term]), I suspect that the divine fathers wanted to pass on advantages to their offspring but that this manifested as physical size with, perhaps, additional superhuman abilities.

As to whether or not they are free-willed and good or evil, well, are humans good or evil? (Hint: "There is none righteous, no, not one.") But, at the same time, I believe that it's not possible to bear moral responsibility without the freedom to make moral choices. I've used the illustration of "layers" in the past; in this context I apply it with the idea that it's possible for someone "near the surface" such as Abraham or Moses or David to so stand out that it's possible for my God to reach in and rescue them. I think that giants and similar beings, including fallen angels in general, start from a much "deeper" layer. I'm not saying that it's not possible for them to be found and to be rescued, but I do believe that it's a whole lot more difficult...and that it's not going to happen unless they first really, really want it. So far, I am not aware of any Scripture or even extra-Scriptural myth which supports the idea that this has happened.
« Last Edit: October 14, 2018, 06:04:29 am by ehbowen »
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Re: Giants?
« Reply #3 on: October 15, 2018, 04:03:06 pm »


So. We all know what giants are. Almost every culture has them in their myths, legends, or folklore.

That's what this thread is about:

1)
a)Does your religion talk about the existence of giants?
b)Does your local culture talks about the existence of giants?

2)
If so, do you believe in them? If you do, did they exist in the past, were they nonphysical or physical, and do they still exist?

3)
If you answered "yes" to question #1 or #2, what are they like? What are their personalities? Are they divine or mortal? Are they good or evil, or free willed? How large were they? Etc.

1. I'm Norseish enough that this is a yes, with a side of vague theories about Formorians and Titans.
Also Portland is home to one of the many statues of Paul Bunyan, so we talk about at least one. XD

2. I tend to think of two different, maybe overlapping categories of giants. One are larger and older, essentially wild elementals like Surtr or Ran or Hraelsvargr, while the others are more common and more like wights or fae, more likely to interact with humans, but very "wild" and so maybe less common than the more civilized types of spirits these days.

3. They basically are on a continuum of "divine" to mortal, though the definition of "mortal" can be different from ours - is a mountain mortal? Yes, it has a beginning and an end, but compared to a human lifespan... XD Like anything else they have a variety of personalities, but tend to be less interested in civilization a la the Fair Folk and their fancy courts and whatnot. XD Predators and prey, mountains and rivers, rednecks and monsters, anarchists and homesteaders.

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Re: Giants?
« Reply #4 on: October 15, 2018, 06:56:04 pm »
b) Outside of a religious context, no, other than fables such as "Paul Bunyan."

I'd argue that the Transformers count. Yes, they're also robots and aliens, but they are definitely giant. Though nobody thinks they exist in real life, just about everybody has heard of them.
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arete

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Re: Giants?
« Reply #5 on: October 18, 2018, 01:15:49 pm »
So. We all know what giants are. Almost every culture has them in their myths, legends, or folklore.

That's what this thread is about:

1)
a)Does your religion talk about the existence of giants?
b)Does your local culture talks about the existence of giants?

2)
If so, do you believe in them? If you do, did they exist in the past, were they nonphysical or physical, and do they still exist?

3)
If you answered "yes" to question #1 or #2, what are they like? What are their personalities? Are they divine or mortal? Are they good or evil, or free willed? How large were they? Etc.
I believe in the giants. In the past there were enormous lizards known as dinosaurs. It's possible there existed giants in the past. I mean if dinosaurs existed why not giants?

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