Deities and Faith
Can a temple without spirit mediums or divine descents still protect believers?
English translation draft · Based on the Chinese article. This is not a word-for-word translation approved by Master Shengyuan.
Having no mediumship team does not mean a temple’s deities cannot protect people. Divine protection and using human beings to convey messages and carry out certain tasks are separate questions.
On pilgrimage to Penghu, we discussed Sheng Zhen Men’s different mediums working together. Some divine intentions can be communicated through people, who share tasks and cooperate. In my faith understanding, deities do not have human physical bodies. Willing people receiving and assisting them make some work in the human world easier to carry out.
But I also specifically said that many major temples without such teams still protect their area and care for those seeking help. “A team can do some additional things” cannot be reversed into “Without mediums there is no divine power.”
Therefore, understanding a temple does not require merely counting divine descents or mediums. Different places offer different services and ways of operating. First clarify what you need and what the other party actually does, rather than judging everything by one form.