religion and your views on your dolls.

I have deep set religious beliefs myself. I believe most people do in the world. It is lovely that the creator of this thread has come from a different worldview and can express personal beliefs. It is even lovelier when we see that others support one another in their beliefs. Whether or not you agree, you can always find common ground with someone. I don't always agree with everything I hear, but I like to learn where people come from because it expands my own worldview. The fact is, we aren't all alike, but we do have common denominators. I appreciate the discussion here.

I believe that people are entitled to personal beliefs. I also feel that the best way to share our faith is to show it in the representation of ourselves. Unfortunately, I -am- human, and sometimes my representation is not so good. It's part of life's little learning experiences.

As a child, I believed strongly in the power of the imagined creatures I could create. I spoke them into existence inside the private cavities of my mind. They sometimes were little more than imaginary companions. Other times, they were represented in the toys that I cared for growing up. As a child, I would have argued to death the fact that my belongings were real and had feelings. My favorite story was "The Velveteen Rabbit" and I read it and reread it until I could tell the entire thing to my crew without looking at the pages except for a few times here or there.

As an adult, I once went back to the attic to dig out some of my treasures to give away to those who needed them more. Did I feel the same? I felt sentimental some, but I didn't need to make the rationale between them being alive or imagined anymore. I knew clearly what they were was what I saw. That's because my raising, experiences, and education had helped me to define my thinking. I felt differently.

Yet, if you catch some of my more dream-like posts from when I was younger here on this board or if I was feeling kind of wordsmith-y creative, then you might take the notion that I believe dolls like the ones on this forum might have some capacity to them that we do not know. In actuality, I do believe that history/"spirits" will get attached to objects, but I am less inclined to believe an object comes bearing a soul. I will however pray over objects that I bring home because I am wary about what I bring into my house. I have known one person who had a demonic attack take place in her home shortly after bringing a statue into her house. I'd rather not have a similar experience.

My personal opinion is a lot of what we feel coming from objects is what we project onto them regardless of the object- dolls, in this case.

 

Hummm I had to think about this one a lot I guess I have some odd beliefs in terms of religion or beliefs I tend toward the wiccan world but not always. I have since a child always believed in the things that most kids come a time when they don't believe but I always have...fairies the companions that I had as a child and teenager I have now found the hobby that lets me express those that live in my mind and give them life.

I think that everyone has a different reason and thought behind what they do and believe and while different just as valid.

 

I am in a Christian denomination very close to the evangelicals. When I was young, my church in Singapore said to burn and destroy all dolls, especially old vintage and antique dolls. My mom who is not a Christian at that time owned some vintage and antique dolls or statues. I did not have the authority to burn and destroy what did not belong to me, I was only a teenager. Instead, I wrapped and hid my mom's old dolls in a closet and pretended they never exist. This was how some dolls in my family got preserved for a few decades, they were forgotten in the closet until we moved to Canada and I unpacked the boxes from Singapore.

Throughout my life, I have met people from church who do not allow their daughters to play with dolls, especially Barbies because Fashion dolls teach wrong values. Dolls are in human form and therefore the collector or child may adore the dolls so much to become fixated on it to a point of worship. Of course, some believe dolls can be demon possessed.

The churches in Canada is very tolerant and liberal, I make sure I bring each of my dolls to church at least once when they first arrive. I want to see the reactions of people and pastors. Thus far, never had problems at all. The ladies in church love my dolls, many of them are doll collectors themselves! Somehow, Asian charismatic/Pentecostal churches are more particular with dolls being associated with idolatry. The older generation believers are more conservative. I totally understand how people in my religion feel about dolls, I understand the ultra conservatives who won't allow their children to play with dolls to the liberals who themselves collect dolls.

I noted that the Muslim version of Barbie named Fulla is dressed up conservatively, all covered up in traditional costume with minimum flash showing. Fulla is also affordably priced as girls need to learn the virtues of frugality, modesty and simplicity. I am not sure if my Christian friends who refuse to let their daughters play with Barbies will consider Fulla. My guess is that they won't allow Fulla as well because the real reason why they won't allow dolls is to save money on toys. We know Barbie needs to have her car, house, clothes, boat, etc etc etc. Find some excuse to disallow playing with dolls and you can save money. My mom laughed when told why people won't let their kids play with dolls. She says that it is a privilege if indeed a little girl can grow up to become like Barbie, not many girls can do that, only a few with the right looks and body. My mom thinks that deep down inside these parents, they are jealous that their daughters can never be like Barbie, so therefore why let them aspire. My mom does not think that Barbie teaches wrong values. As a person who grew up playing with Barbies, the doll had no impact on me or my believes.

I think it all depends on the individual. Paul says that all things are permissible but not everything is beneficial. If we believe that dolls are nothing more than objects, then, it is so. But if for those who believe that dolls have souls, can be a container for evil spirits, then, that is true for those who believe.

I have 3 Volks and 1 SOOM MD. I have always been uneasy and guilty about owning SOOM Sphaler. I know he is part human and part beast, definitely not tolerated by my religion. I am not the type of collector to split a full set doll and have been struggling with the decision as whether to sell off Spahler's non human parts and box while I keep the doll strictly in human form. I never let my Sphaler put on any of the non human parts. I will most likely sell the non human parts because it's been 2 years since I've got him and I am still uneasy with keeping the non human parts. I think it still boils down to how I personally feel, I feel uneasy with the non human parts.

 

Well I believe that if someone feels that their doll is an inanimate object then that's their choice.. maybe their loss in some cases ?
But I have part pagan beliefs and part Japanese haha! and I do believe that every single thing has a little soul of it's own. So I see my dolls as they have their own souls and personalities, and I agree that naming them is a part of them. Sometimes people will speak of their dolls "haven't told me her name yet"! ^_^ it's like that little instinct a name just pops into your head or suits her/him! So I wont throw my dolls away, and I treat them with respect. If I wanted to get rid of a doll, or a doll's body then I would either send it to a shrine to be disposed of that way, or I would give it/or sell it to another. I wouldn't leave an unwanted doll just laying around or throw them away/abandon them somewhere. I'd feel sorry for it, also I don't want to be cursed haha! x) I think it'd be a shame to simply throw away something I put so much of my self into, which is part of why I respect them as though they have their own souls and personalities.
I'm considering right now actually.. writing down a couple of personality traits for each of my dolls on a small piece of paper, and putting it inside their heads ^_^

 

I am currently religion-less but my beliefs stem from paganism, I think. I have a belief that all living things can have souls and what are our dolls if not living things, made from our own soul? Just as an artist conveys part of his/her soul to his painting or a writer to his/her story, we make our dolls what they are and thereby, they gain a part of us.

 

I care for and love my dolls very much. To me they have names, personalities, emotions, and relationships just like people. But I know that's all just my imagination, my fiction. I know that they are just inanimate objects until I move them, and I know they aren't capable of loving me the way I love them. And I know that if I lost them I would be sad but nowhere near as sad as if I had lost real people, despite having put so much time, money, effort, thought, creativity, and heart into making them who and what they are. I do not believe they have souls, but I don't believe human beings have souls either so that's just not an issue to me. I'm an atheist. Not all my fictional characters are and my dolls aren't necessary atheists, but religion would be an interesting element to add to them. It just won't have any effect on the reality that they are dolls.

 

Interesting topic!
I love my dolls very much and spend alot of time and $$ and TLC on them, i consider them part of my family, and so do my parents and brothers who helped me make my doll house/clothes.

I come from a very conservertive church though, and i will be told off if i brought my doll to church.Having said that, i wont bring my doll along as i think it will distract others from worship and probably make the kids (and some adults?) cry. So far, i've been reminded over and over that these are just dolls with no souls (in other words, i should not waste time on them and concentrate on reaching out to real people). BUT..i dont see whats wrong with having dolls and being a christian as long as there's a balance. Its not like im worshiping these dolls and spending my whole life devoted to them and nothing else. I believe spending time and money on my dolls is very much like owning a branded bag or car which many christians in my church own. they are material possesions and it so happens that dolls are my interest and not bags or cars.

 

Sorry but thats only one interpretation and clearly the one you choose to believe. Please don't tell us all that IS the reason there are many, many other theories.

 

I am replying to my own post......latest update......I sold Sphaler's non human parts today. It's out of my hands and home. i have been very uneasy with the parts although it's alright to keep them. I feel much better now. Looking at Sphaler, standing in front of me on my desk, he is now strictly a human form doll. He feels and looks different now. I'm happy to have sold the parts. Very happy it's done. It's been my practice never to split a full set limited edition doll that came with original parts and clothes. I am happy the parts have been sent to someone who wants them.

 

First may I say I don't think anyone has raised the same points you have, and it's extremely interesting and the story about good/bad souls taking up residence in dolls in something I hadn't heard of yet and it seems like a 'cool' story (sorry I don't know how else to put it ^^ but to answer your questions, I don't particularly have a religion although I've taken in quite a few Taoist beliefs. So my religion doesn't really interfer with how I treat my doll, but that doesn't mean I don't take care of her ^^ I take extremely good care of her, and I like having her out whenever I can. Even if she doesn't have an exact soul I'm sure she wouldn't like being in a box for days on end. I have a hard time believing her to have a soul because I'm a realist (but who believes in a 'spirit world in a sense xD) and she is just resin but she is very expressive and will look different depending on how you look at her.

If there's anything else I should have addressed or you'd like to know, I don't mind answering ^^ there's a lot of different points that could be made on this thread.

 

No, I do not think dolls have souls. Do people have souls? I think so. I feel that test-tube babies will have souls because they are created from the core principles of matter that created you and me. A human being made the genetic material used for test tube babies, so unless those test-tube babies came out in vegetative states, I would think they would have souls like the rest of us humans.

I am spiritual, but I believe in critical thinking. I do not think girls growing up playing with barbies (or any other dolls) will tug at their moral fibers. You can't shield your children from everything--I would think it'd be better to use dolls as teaching tools, like everything in life your growing children will come across.

 

stargirl putting a slip of paper in a doll's head is the way to create a golum, at least according to Terry Pratchett LOL That is such a cool idea, tho

 

I like to think of myself as a Very open minded religious person. I belive in God and all but I also follow the teaching and belief of different types of religion.
My parents are pentacostal and I was rasied as such. There a llittle more free spirited I like to think. There never been any issues with the church and pastor at all with my dolls. My mother on the other hand for years thought hands down that they were evil and made me sick alot. She said I spent too much time with them and it bored on Idol worship. I had to sit down with her ond day and go over in detail why it was not.

Not my parent tend to stay out of my business when it comes to dolls. I belive everything that is named has a soul or at least a presents in it. I tend to name a lot of stuff from dolls to my truck. It makes them personal and helps me visualize as if they were liveing breathing things.

I think doll are protective most above all I can't remeber a time when I did not have a doll or stuffed animal with me at night and to this day I am not ashamed to say I sleep with a doll.

 

Well, im not too sure about spirits, but i think its possible for an object or place to hold memory. like if Energy is never created or lost, who's to say it didn't leave a fingerprint on an object? And who is to say that that energy fingerprint does or doesnt effect things around it?

Hard to say. one of those mysteries i spose. Im Christian, btw.

 

I think that because is manmade, can have soul. For example, when you have a baby you cannot determine how will he/she look like nor their character. when you make a doll you give character and personality and the owner gives them a story.

 

I don't think dolls have souls, but surely they absorb energy to some extent as all matter does.

I've been a secular humanist (a.k.a. friendly atheist) for awhile. My views are starting to shift towards Christianity. I have no firm answers at this time, as it's something I'm still exploring. As such, I wonder if it's ok to be materialistic? Is doll collecting a form of idolatry? I can't answer this.

 

Well, since I have no religion, it doesn't get in the way of my dolls or how I enjoy them.

Though I do believe my doll's... identity is a part of me. And by identity I essentially mean character, since his character came from my imagination. But I don't think my doll has a soul.

A doll is a creative endeavor and, to me, becomes a part of it's owner as that owner invest more time in making that doll their own... but the physical doll came from the imagination of the original sculptor, and therefore a part of the sculptor is present in the doll as well.

...I hope that sounds rational...

 

I am (or like to think) that I am a very strong Christian. I do not believe human made objects have souls. Test tube babies are different, they were given life by God though man had done the original implantation. It it God that gives humans souls. Whilst I don't believe that dolls have souls or feelings of their own, I do believe that the so called soul that they have is a manifestation of feelings and affection a person has endowed them with over time. They do not have a soul of their own, but the part of your own soul that you had given them.

 

I'm an absolutely hardcore atheist, which means that I deny even the possibility of the existence of God, gods, or anything even vaguely religious/spiritual/etc. Don't get me wrong, if other people want to believe that's fine by me, but I will never ever believe and fiercely rebuff any attempt to have faith forced on me. Luckily for me I live in Britain, which is far more relaxed when it comes to atheism than many other places. In fact being an atheist is the norm. The reason I'm outspoken about being atheist is out of moral support to atheists in more religiously intolerant parts of the globe. It takes a lot of strength to stand up among people who all believe the same thing and say that you absolutely don't conform with their beliefs.

I see my atheism as a blessing, if you will, when it comes to my dolls, because I can do exactly what I want with them (and my life in general) without caring about the desires of God, the Bible, church, my neighbours, etc. For a while I was contemplating the idea of making a doll of Milton's Lucifer, which I imagine wouldn't go down too well at the local Sunday school if a Christian wanted to do the same. But thankfully, I have no such problems to consider! Also I don't have to worry that my doll might become possessed by an evil spirit or get haunted by a ghost, because I just don't believe in them.

This complete lack of belief in any kind of spirituality does hinder some of the nicer aspects of dolly culture, though. As I don't believe in souls, I don't believe my doll can have one, despite thinking it's a pretty cute idea. I also don't believe my doll could protect me, or have sentience, or come alive, or any of these quite fun things. They are just hunks of plastic, which is kind of sad. But it's OK for me to pretend anyway, even if I don't really believe it!

 

I have no problems with this because like the poster above me I am a hardcore atheist.
I used to be pretty out there and believed in a lot of spiritual things. Parts of me still wish some of those beliefs to be true but the intelligent and reasonable part of me tells me otherwise. I need science and proof to back them up now. Faith and belief just doesn't cut it any more.
That being said I am a child at heart and like to play pretend, imagine things and fantasize and I do that a lot.

I love being an atheist because I feel completely free. I can do with my dolls and characters what ever the hell I want. There is no God or church to worry about calling me a sinner or judge me. (Individual people might but that doesn't bother me very much to be honest.)

With this freedom I can explore one of my favourite things in this world which is taboos. Whenever I get the chance to incorporate something considered taboo I take it and I try to make it beautiful if I can.
If I belonged to a religion that has problems with this idol worshipping thingy I would have been in deep shit. In a very narcissistic way I worship my own characters and the world I have built for them. I place my dolls and my computer as two of the most meaningful things in my life. I am materialistic and have been since my childhood. I see things as friends in a sense and that includes my dolls. In many ways I prefer dolls over humans. Dolls are quiet and clean.

tl;dr
I am an atheist so I can do what ever the hell I want and I like that.