Great Post by Thorn

 

Read this!  NOW.

http://yezida.livejournal.com/206207.html

 

Pagan and Christian Apologetics

Apologetics fascinates me.  The rhetorical and written art of defending one’s religious or spiritual path with the focus of an archer.  Now, I am not in the habit of attacking anyone’s religious path in life.  I consider it to be arrogant and a huge waste of my time.  I have, however, been the subject of attempts at conversion as well as occasional brushes with the press regarding the nature and character of paganism.

Paganism is spreading and growing all over the globe.  And we are not the only ones aware of this fact.  Christians are seeing the same phenomenon, paganism capturing the spiritual hearts and minds of many people all over the globe.  This was made keenly apparent to me when I ran across this online course titled “Neo-Paganism: Is Dialogue Possible?”, written from a Christian (I believe a Catholic) perspective.  I highly encourage a full reading of this text, as it really gives a number of good insights for the patient and debate loving pagan.  The course is tolerant and not invective and because of this it stands out:

It is easy to parody another religion, and neopaganism is a parodist’s delight. One can easily brand its ritual as primitive or just plain weird.  Yet serious apologetics requires that one exercise a hermeneutic of respect in the attempt to understand another faith.  St. Paul obviously spent time with the Athenians, reading their poets and watching people at worship before daring to address them. Only in this way can Christians begin to dialogue with pagans.  We need to put aside fifteen hundred years of offhanded dismissal and listen to pagans as having something intellectually serious and spiritually viable to say. This does not mean agreeing with them but having enough respect to listen and learn.

Some of you may already be aware of this course, some of you may not.  What I find fascinating, and well worth consideration are the following critiques:

1. “The apologist must ensure that if pagans reject Christianity it is because of the gospel and no human stumbling block.”
2. “We need to present God’s ‘maternal’ qualities,[24] likewise the immanence of God.  God shares our flesh, becomes God with us’ and suffers.  This God comes to us corporeally in worship!  There is nothing more immanent than the consumption of Christ’s body and blood.”

The first point.  Pagans when explaining and/or dialoguing with Christians need to keep in mind a few things.  The indictment against the existence of God by many Atheists is the history of the Church.  Now as much as many pagans would like to pretend that paganism has no blood on it’s hands from the past, this is a provable historic falsehood.  I have done an earlier post about this. However, I do think it is fair to point out to Christians that the Bible was written down by humans and could contain many “human stumbling blocks” of it’s own.  Regardless it fosters greater dialogue between Christians and pagans by discussing our present beliefs more than our past actions.  Pointing out the past evils of the church (in this context anyway) will not work for long as Christians will eventually start pointing out the dark history that paganism has as well.

The second point.  The immanence of God in Christianity is indeed shown in the Eucharist and the incarnation of the Nazarene.  But, from my perspective, that immanence is limited to those particular incarnations.  With the planet in as much peril as it is, this kind of artificial separation is a falsehood that could cause suffering on a scale that humanity has experienced before.  Why is the body seen as corrupt?  Why is sex seen as a barrier to knowing God rather than a key?

There are of course many juicy topics for debate when speaking with Christians or any other flavor of monotheism.  I think it is going to become increasing important for pagans to genuinely prepare to defend and present their spirituality in an intelligent, kind, and direct way.  Emotional reactions end up reflecting bad on all of us, and *will* be covered by the press when we do.  One thing the press loves most?  A fight.

I would recommend reading the following articles as food for thought if you are interested in pagan apologetics and or pagan public relations.  The first is a treatise written by the the last pagan Roman Emperor, Julian.  Called, “Against the Galilaeans“, it provides an excellent (if slightly more invective) overview of the differences between Christianity and paganism from an ancient pagans perspective.  The other is a short but succinct essay called “Paganism as a Metagrid of the Future” by the impeccable scholar and pagan, Professor Lokesh Chandra.  This poetic and thoughtful essay takes the very complicated belief structure of paganism and distills it in a way that is beautiful, easy to understand, and defend.

New Atheism?

On my way to drop my two boys off at school this morning I was listening to Morning Edition on NPR.  The story entitled, “A Bitter Rift Divides Atheists“, gave me a profound sense of frustration, pity, and dark amusement.  I want to be clear from the outset that Atheism does not bother me.  I will fight just as hard for someone’s right *not* to believe as much as I would fight for someones right to worship a plate of spaghetti.  What I disagree with is intolerance and bigotry, the source or target of that bigotry and intolerance really is not relevant to me.  Hence, my great frustration with what has come to be known as “New Atheism“.  Give the show a listen if you have a few minutes, here.

I find this neo-atheist approach to be historically ignorant and capable of inciting just as much hatred and intolerance as the fundamentalist religions they so vehemently oppose.  It is a sad but oft repeated human characteristic that those who crusade against a belief system end up becoming exactly what they hate.  And, unfortunately, New Atheism is well on it’s way to becoming exactly what they claim to fight against.  How ironic.  And how sad.  A quote that really struck me from the story was from Christopher Hitchens who said:

I think it should be religion, treated with ridicule and hatred, and contempt, and I claim that right!

What is so sadly ironic about this is how easily this kind of language lends itself to violence against religious people, and hatred.  How is this different from the same sentence written thus:

I think it should be Muslims, treated with ridicule and hatred, and contempt, and I claim that right!

Quite simply it is not in any way different.  What is being defended in these statements is not reason and science in the former, and not holiness and charity in the latter.   But instead both positions advocate for greater fear and hatred of those who dare to disagree with you.  What a person of fundamentalist mentality (believer and non-believer alike) fails to realize is that the methods they use for change are directly represented in the changes they end up manifesting.  Want to use hate to get rid of hate?  You will create more hate.  It is a very clear and predictable outcome to anyone who is able to put their heated emotions aside and use reason, tolerance, and love.

To be fair many Atheists find this new approach reprehensible.  Paul Kurtz, the founder of the Center for Inquiry made a sensible and clear case against the approach of New Atheism by saying:

They are anti-religious, they are mean spirited unfortunately, and I think that does more damage than good.  I consider them ‘Atheist Fundamentalists’.  Merely to critically attack religious beliefs is not sufficient.  What are you for?  We know what you are against, but what are you going to defend?

As a polytheist I know that many people in this country ridicule and make fun of my belief system.  I simply believe what I believe and relish the challenge of being in a minority faith as it forces me to give real thought and feeling to my beliefs and values.  I will never preach for others to believe what I do.  Why stand up for the intolerance that drove me away from established religion in the first place?  Would that not be the height of hypocrisy?  For all of my atheist brothers and sisters out there I declare my public support for your right *not* to believe.  In fact, I think many aspects of Atheism can be helpful to questions of morality and social justice.  But when individual atheists call for religious people to be treated with ridicule and hatred, you can expect my vociferous opposition.  What if Hitchens has said this?

I think it should be blacks, treated with ridicule and hatred, and contempt, and I claim that right!

Rightfully, his career would be over.  Intolerance, bigotry, and hatred, these are the real problems we have as a society.  Democrats, Republicans, Atheists, Christians, Buddhists, Muslims, Agnostics, and Pagans, are all capable of violence and hatred.  Can’t we all be honest and acknowledge that?  Only when we stop advocating simply for our pet cause, in a juvenile need to “win”, will we really stand up for tolerance and respect for *all*.  But until that time, crusaders of all types walk the same road to Hell hand in hand.

Obama’s Diwali Message

I woke up today to news (from the 14th) that made me smile from ear to ear.  President Obama took some time out of his schedule on Wednesday to mark the holiday of Diwali, making him the first president to ever observe it.  My friend Vinai Thummalapally, was in attendance!  He is the new ambassador to Belize and I had the pleasure of making his acquaintance and working with him during the ‘08 campaign here in Colorado Springs.  Both him and his wife Barbara (a kind and amazing woman) went to college with Obama, and I was privy to many personal stories about Obama that convinced me that he was the right man for the Presidency.  I highly recommend reading the White House blog entry on this, and watching the Presidents video relaying his thoughts on this auspicious day:

It is a great symbol of hope for me to see the President of the United States take time to pay homage to this holiday celebrated by many Sikh, Hindu, and Jainist Americans.  As a member of a minority faith myself, it reaffirms my feeling of having a place in Americans spiritual and religious heritage, and gives me hope that my children will grow up in a more tolerant and religiously diverse America.

Podcasts, Here I Come

I wanted to let you all know that I am in the preliminaries of launching a podcast, called “Pages of Air”.  I have been spending the last few weeks assembling equipment, software, and setting up the server environment.  Setting up the server environment has proven to be a real challenge, but I am nearly there.  Pages of Air will be co-produced with my wife Hilary and will be broadcast monthly.  Eventually we would like to go to twice a month.  I will keep you all up to date on when we upload the first episode.

Liber Novus: The Red Book

Exciting times!  Via various sources, including the intrepid Wild Hunt, I have been made aware of a new book being published by one of my most influential mentors and heroes.  “The Red Book” by Carl Gustav Jung, is the magnum opus of one of the greatest minds of the 20th century.  The Red Book is a richly illustrated and deeply personal text that chronicles the individual journey of Jung into the depths of his own psyche and the Underworld itself.  I have been a fan of Jung ever since I was introduced to him during my college years by Colin Smith, a counselor of some local renown in Durango.  Jung’s emphasis on dreams, mythology, vision, and spirituality resonated with me on a deep personal level that has helped to shape my own worldview down to the present day.

Being dubbed, “the Holy Grail of the Unconscious”, “The Red Book” has been in the stewardship of Jung’s family for close to a hundred years.  Since the text is such a personal account of Jung’s inner life, the Jung family has resisted all attempts at publishing the book for years.  After, however, some bits and pieces of the book were found in other locals, the risk that the book would be quoted out of context has made the Jung family rethink it’s secrecy.  I think to the benefit of all.  I can, however, understand the Jung families reluctance  to publish such a personal journey of one of their kin.  It cannot have been an easy decision.

The saga of the books origin and it’s history to publication reads almost like a Dan Brown novel.  An excellent account of it has been written up in the New York Times, a very worthwhile read.  I think this book has real potential for changing human consciousness, and can’t wait to immerse myself in it.  One of the quotes by Jung himself that may shed some light on how he viewed this book really struck home:

“I should advise you to put it all down as beautifully as you can — in some beautifully bound book,” Jung instructed. “It will seem as if you were making the visions banal — but then you need to do that — then you are freed from the power of them. . . . Then when these things are in some precious book you can go to the book & turn over the pages & for you it will be your church — your cathedral — the silent places of your spirit where you will find renewal. If anyone tells you that it is morbid or neurotic and you listen to them — then you will lose your soul — for in that book is your soul.”

The Red Book sounds like it literally is one mans account of his own soul.  I am immensely grateful to Jung for leaving this account behind.  As a recent student of Faery Seership, I was struck by the fact that this chronicles a seven year descent into the Underworld/Innerworld.  The seven year initiation period is a frequent motif in stories about seers and I was amazed to see it pop up with Jung as well.

Great video of an interview of him here about death, as well as a bit of a documentary on Jung here.  Well worth the watch.

I have a feeling that this book was meant to come out now, and I am interested to see how or if the psychological community embraces it.  I am also interested to see what effect it has on paganism, and the occult in the years to come.

Pure Unabashed Idolatry: Part the Second

Wanted to make a quick entry about my progress on my Cernunnos shrine.  I have found the perfect place for the shrine and have proceeded to carve, chisel, saw, and file the alabaster block.   It is amazing at how intimidating the stone becomes the closer and closer you get to the finished idol.  You may be able to discern the shape of Cernunnos seated with hands held to the sides and upraised at this point (with a little imagination).  Hopefully.    I have also laid out my tools for your perusal.  Although I had to replace the hammer with a larger, and harder, steel mallet.  The chisels are tempered to such a hardness that the hammer tip literally started breaking apart!  Working with stone takes a lot of patience, but is so rewarding.

Pure Unabashed Idolatry: Part the First

Very excited to be started on a new project, while getting into some long neglected skills.  One of the things I have found that Faery Seership has been doing for me is giving me greater focus and inspiration for living.  I have an amazing creek right behind my house and have picked out a place for a small shrine to Cernunnos.  I have had a nice sized piece of alabaster sitting around in the garage for sometime now, and have decided to use it for the statue (yes *idol*) of Cernunnos.  I have had a few experiences of building shrines in out of the way places, and been amazed at the effect that it has on people who “stumble upon” them.  Even the most simple shrine can make big impressions on those who see them.

I have had some people ask me to chronicle my steps of carving the alabaster and the steps in making the shrine itself.  So here goes.  Like so many projects, it starts in my garage.  I have assembled the following tools:

• 2 Hand Saws (they cut alabaster even more effectively than they cut wood)
• Set of chisels (toothed, straight, and beveled)
• Set of files (ranging from course and broad to small and delicate)
• Towel (for resting the stone on)
• Broom and dust pan (hand sized)

With all of these things assembled I took the stone (which screamed Horned God from the beginning) and looked over what was the best way to use what I have.  Here is the stone in it’s original form:

After mulling it over a good long while (your decisions are pretty slow when sculpting stone), I decided on the first few cuts and then inverted the stone once done:

The center stone in the photo above is the piece I will use for the idol itself.  I plan on basing it loosely on the image of Cernunnos from the Gundestrup Cauldron but including some upright man parts in the process, *wink*, and with more lifelike anatomy all around.   Instead of carving the antlers with the rest of the idol I plan on making two small holes in the top of his head where I can put either alabaster or wood inserts of the antlers that I will carve at the end.  Next post will be some photos of where I am putting the shrine and how I am thinking of constructing it.

Idol worshipers unite!  As an interesting synchronicity The Wild Hunt has a post today about idol making in India.  Check it out.

Neolithic “Cathedral” Found in Orkney Islands

Neolithic Cathedral in Orkney

Some of you may not know that I have a degree in Archaeology even though I now work in the computer world.  I came across this story on the Pagans for Archaeology blog and was hooked.  The archaeology of Neolithic Britain, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Brittany has always fascinated me.  Particularly when looked at through the lens of “civilization” spreading from the Middle East cradle of Sumeria out and up to the “barbarians” of Northern Europe.  Neolithic Archaeology fly’s directly in the face of this theory and appeals to the Celtic Pagan in me.  You see, the earliest and most impressive examples of large tomb, village, and stone circle construction are found in the northernmost areas of Scotland (appealing to the Scot in me as well) not in southern Britain as one might expect.  It also meshes nicely with the ancient tales of the Tuatha Dé Dannan who are said to have come from a group of four islands “in the north”.

This new find adds to the already impressive array of famous Neolithic sites in the Orkney’s, like Skara Brae, the Standing Stones of Stenness, and the Ring of Brodgar.  The sites being so impressive as to have made it a World Heritage Site through UNESCO.  Evidently, this new find, dubbed the “Ness of Brodgar” dwarfs them all:

Measuring 25 metres (82 feet) long by 20 metres (65 feet) wide, the five-metre-thick outer walls remain to a height of approximately one metre (three feet). It is an oft-used phrase, but Structure Ten is truly like nothing found in Orkney, and perhaps Britain, before.

The site looks to have religious and ritual usage written all over it.  Of course, when archaeologists can’t ind an explanation for a site they often scratch their heads and say, “Hmm, must be for ritual use.”  But I think the case of religious use here, is beyond doubt.  The sites stonework is said to be immaculate and visually stunning on the outside, but rather shoddy on the inside.  This leads some to speculate that the interior was kept dark or barely lit, or was for a select number of religious initiates.  The Underworld associations of this site fascinate the Faery Seer in me to no end.  I look forward to seeing some artist mock-ups of what the structure would have looked like in it’s heyday.

Click here for more details on the site.

Dirty Secrets of Paganism: A Rant

The Dreaded Monotheist

Why is it that so many pagans feel the need to dump on Christianity?  When did pagans get it in their head that paganism has a less bloody and less violent history than Christianity?  I recently had a rather heated discussion over on the Wild Hunt with some fellow pagans about the various evils of the dreaded Monotheists.  Dum dum DUM! *Scary music and evil laughter echoes in the distance*

I find it very disturbing when individual pagans spew their shadows onto Christians and act as if our movement is without it’s own problems and controversial past.  Many pagans point to historical legacies like the Crusades as proof of how awful Monotheism *evil grin* is.  Yet they conveniently forget famous polytheists like Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan in their list of bad men.  Why is that?  The consensus, if you read some of the replies, is that the act of mass murder is not as bad if you are *not* trying to convert them to your religion.  Seriously?

We pagans have just as much blood on our hands as Christians do.  Period.  One argument was:

I guess what I’m saying boils down to this: yes, we shouldn’t ignore that bad things happened in the pre-Christian West, but you’re simply stating the obvious and trying to equate it to something it is not equal to. Modern Pagans are nowhere near as stained by those past actions perpetrated by unrelated Pagans as modern Christians are by a thousand CONTINUOUS years of dominance and intolerance that has instituted the privilege that they now enjoy. That’s like comparing a valley to Mt. Everest.

First off, I am not sure what exactly connects the modern Christian to the Crusades anymore than the modern pagan to Alexander the Great.  The post seems to be arguing that since a person is Catholic under the modern day Vatican they are complicit by default of the Crusades simply because the Vatican is still around.  I am not defending the Crusades here.  Nor am I defending the Vatican, which I see as a passe, archaic institution that turns a blind eye to very serious problems.  Nor, however, will I defend Genghis Khan and Alexander the Great as somehow better than Richard the Lionheart or other Monotheistic *mwahahahahahaaa* military leaders.  Lets also remember that the Crusades were against other monotheists *cackle*, not pagans.

This discussion began about some of Robert Wright’s opinions on the evolution of religious thought.  Unfortunately it quickly turned into neo-pagans insisting that they were better than Christians and that the atrocities of the pagan past are totally disconnected to modern pagans.  I have to wonder why they don’t give Christians the same pass?  For instance when I pointed out that even the Celts were guilty of large scale military campaigns in the early Iron Age a response was:

“You project too much modern (or Classical) thought of ‘militaries’ on what were tribal societies. Wars were fought for *dominance,* not destruction or conversion.”

And this somehow makes it better?  How?

I try not to put myself on a moral high horse about how one religion is “better” than another. I think that leads down a dangerous path that ends in self delusion and arrogance.  I do not think that attitudes of intolerance and apathy are unique to Christians.  I would think that would be common sense.  I am not sure why it is important to argue that modern pagans are better than modern Christians.  I think it is clear that every religious group has their crazies and we are no exception to that.  It is when we don’t recognize that, or happily cast our shadows onto others that the trouble starts.  I for one do not think that paganism is immune to bigotry, intolerance, and violence.  When we ignore the past and blithely cast evil onto Christians and Monotheists *cackling laughter* we run the risk of becoming exactly what we hate.