Talk:Supreme deity

"SUPREME BEING" listed at Redirects for discussion

The redirect SUPREME BEING has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2023 May 6 § SUPREME BEING until a consensus is reached. Veverve (talk) 01:21, 6 May 2023 (UTC)

Requested move 21 May 2023

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: not moved. (closed by non-admin page mover) CLYDE ^{TALK TO ME}/_{STUFF DONE} (please mention me on reply) 18:33, 4 June 2023 (UTC)

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Supreme deity → Supreme being – As per suggestion at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2023 May 11#Supreme Being by @Hyperbolick:. The term "being" is broader than "deity", and not every supreme being is considered a deity (but all supreme deities are considered as beings). Veverve (talk) 16:02, 21 May 2023 (UTC) — Relisting. – MaterialWorks 15:03, 28 May 2023 (UTC)

• Support, just so. And noting, some deemed "supreme beings" engender argument about whether they are deities. Hyperbolick (talk) 22:59, 21 May 2023 (UTC)
• Oppose. The term "Supreme being" seems to carry the presumption of monotheism, or that you've identified supremacy correctly. That doesn't capture polytheistic religions well. e.g. Zeus (listed on this page) is definitely not a "Supreme being", just a chief god of a particular limited Olympian pantheon. He is himself the progeny of earlier (superior?) gods, and he has rival pantheons (e.g. Titans, captive, but not inferior). And all of the named gods (whether Primoridal, Titan, or Olympian) are subject to an even higher meta-realm (from which the Fates emanate and to which all the gods are subordinate). Zeus is himself subject to the Fates, which makes him definitely not a "supreme being" (neither are the Fates, although superior to Zeus, they are merely messengers of an unidentified superior power in the "higher realm"). So while it would be correct to call Zeus a "Supreme deity" (that is, supreme in the particular pantheon of Olympian deities), it would definitely be incorrect to call him a "Supreme being" (in a general sense). I am not sure how other polytheistic religions fare on this, but it seems that generally speaking, polytheistic religions would have a lot of objections to the characterization of a named "Supreme deity" as a "Supreme being". In other words, not every "Supreme deity" is a "Supreme being". Polytheistic religions suggest there are beings higher than gods, but those listed on this page are "merely" gods. Walrasiad (talk) 06:31, 22 May 2023 (UTC)
  • @Walrasiad: Sounds, then, like a 'Supreme being' and 'Supreme deity' are two quite different things, and one ought not point to the other. Hyperbolick (talk) 09:42, 22 May 2023 (UTC)

In monotheism, they are usually the same. In polytheism, usually not. Walrasiad (talk) 16:09, 22 May 2023 (UTC)

Reason enough for two articles, I think. Hyperbolick (talk) 03:21, 25 May 2023 (UTC)

• Oppose In polytheism, various kings of the gods are envisioned as monarchs who rule over other deities, but are not necessarily seen as omnipotent beings. Dimadick (talk) 11:29, 27 May 2023 (UTC)

Relisting comment: Relisting to get a clearer consensus. – MaterialWorks 15:03, 28 May 2023 (UTC)

Note: WikiProject Religion has been notified of this discussion. – MaterialWorks 15:04, 28 May 2023 (UTC)

Note: WikiProject Mythology has been notified of this discussion. – MaterialWorks 15:04, 28 May 2023 (UTC)

• Oppose. Two different concepts. A supreme being is a monotheistic concept. A supreme deity may also be the chief deity of a polytheistic pantheon. -- Necrothesp (talk) 12:27, 31 May 2023 (UTC)

  @Necrothesp: yet the lede of the article uses those terms interchangeably. Veverve (talk) 19:05, 31 May 2023 (UTC)

  That doesn't mean there's any good reason to change the title of the article. -- Necrothesp (talk) 09:19, 1 June 2023 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.