Hi, I have a question about something that I don’t know would be considered just religious beliefs or “unusual beliefs” or delusions…
I’m Kemetic, meaning I worship the Ancient Egyptian pantheon. My patron deity is Bast (Bastet), the cat goddess of protection.
I worship her and devote my life to her in return for her protection over me. Bast takes the form of a house cat that stays with me and watches over me. I call her Biscuit so no one else will know she is actually Bast, the goddess, and try to kidnap her and abuse her powers for themselves. She chose me to watch over and called me to the shelter where I adopted her and took her home, where she now protects and guards me from the shadow creatures and people.
She works together with Ammit, the Devourer of Souls, in order to dispose of the shadow creatures and people and keep them from attacking me. She is a goddess and can shapeshift, but chooses to stay as a house cat in order to keep other people from taking advantage of her, or having to leave me without protection.
Your beliefs are probably a mixture of both but they kind of lean more towards being a delusion. That’s just my opinion. In the more liberal countries on Earth you can believe in whatever deities you want to if you’re not hurting anyone.
That question is going to be answered differently by different people depending on their own personal history and beliefs. I don’t believe in Supreme Beings or Deities at all so I would call it a fantastical delusion. I have a pretty fantastical delusion myself so I mean no disrespect.
in all honestly, how is it ok to call this a delusion but the christian belief that’s an insult? there is no more proof to this belief than there is to jesus christ
I think that whether this is a delusional belief or not is unimportant, as @eyeofRa said, how can we call this a delusion and not other religions? Particularly in this case, as you are a follower of a specific religion (being Kemetic).
Also, seen as your beliefs seem to be more of a benefit to you than a hindrance, I see no problem with you believing this.
the idea of god is very delusional to me … i don’t understand how it’s any different. personally it all is a large delusion. but hers is being looked down on because it’s not normal.
This is really tough. I don’t think any of us are qualified to say whether or not it’s a delusion.
I have a lot of “delusions” some upset me and affect my behaviour in a negative way, and some are relatively benign and some actually help me.
I’m starting to challenge the negative ones. I don’t see the harm in keeping the ones that don’t worry me or even help me. And yours I don’t think hurts you. What’s the harm if it is a delusion?
It actually sounds perfectly rational in the context of your religion so I’m not even sure it qualifies as a delusion.
Yeah its hard to say. It sounds like some of the stuff my little cousin believes from stuff she reads on the internet. It all seems more to border on a personal religion.
At the same time though @kitten it does sound delusional. I don’t like to throw that word out there either because I don’t know if you’d find it insulting.
The distinction between religion and delusion is very fuzzy, and tends to depend on who you ask. In a way, all religious beliefs can be classified as delusional. But as long as they’re not harmful, there is no danger in continuing to believe them. You believe your cat protects you, and that makes you feel more secure. It sounds like a good thing to me. Religious beliefs can be greatly helpful to people when they’re used properly. If you believed your cat was angry with you, and punishing you, that would be a harmful belief. But as it stands, your beliefs seem to be a source of great comfort.
My psychiatrist calls it a delusion but I don’t agree with it because it is my religion. It makes me upset and angry that she would continue to tell me how it was fake…
its a delusion, i’ve had delusions before, a delusion is a thought or belief that isnt real unless you all think her cat is God and then you are all feeding her delusion or belief that is not real.
We are all entitled to our own religion, I guess. I think it depends on who you ask.
If you ask a Christian then they would probably say that is a delusion. If you asked someone else who worships Egyptian Gods then they would probably say it isn’t. Personally, I identify most with Christianity, so it sounds kind of delusional to me.
Maybe your pdoc is a Christian? People have fought religious battles for millennia. Remember the crusades, right? Try not to let other people’s views get to you. You have a right to your own religion (as long as it doesn’t involve hurting yourself or other people).
This is a delusion. You’re worshipping your cat as a god, and it’s making you paranoid and unhappy. You’re frightened that people might steal your cat and you feel you need to hide her true identity to keep you both safe. If you’d simply stated that you believed in and worshipped the Egyptian pantheon, I wouldn’t be too concerned, but applying this to your cat seems unhealthy for you.
