{"id":3349,"date":"2010-03-01T01:10:42","date_gmt":"2010-03-01T06:10:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=3408"},"modified":"2010-02-24T16:26:43","modified_gmt":"2010-02-24T21:26:43","slug":"pagan-theology-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2010\/03\/01\/pagan-theology-16\/","title":{"rendered":"Pagan Theology"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Major Distraction<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always known that the blog The Wild Hunt [1] was full of interesting and provocative stuff, but lately I\u2019ve been reading it a bit more and realize just how good it is.\u00a0 One of the entries caught my eye and I thought it would be worth discussing it [2]. <\/span><\/p>\n

The background is that Colorado State Senator Dave Schultheis apparently has a pretty fuzzy idea of what religious tolerance is [3].\u00a0 He came out on twitter deploring the religious intolerance of Egyptian Muslims toward Egyptian Christians.\u00a0 Then, not 20 minutes later he tweeted:\u00a0 \u201cWicca and Druidism to be given chapel space in Air Force Academy Chapel\u2026Where will this end?\u201d [4].\u00a0 In addition to making him look like he doesn\u2019t remember what he wrote 10 minutes ago, this also caused a bit of a kerfuffle as it sounded like he was disrespecting Pagans [5]. <\/span><\/p>\n

Now I\u2019d not normally be one to rise to bait that some random conservative whack job dips into the river, but in this case I think his comments raise a couple of interesting questions.\u00a0 First, to get kind of Buddhist on the issue, is the question of right thought.\u00a0 What should we think about people who don\u2019t think our religion is worth as much as the \u201creal\u201d religions? Next is the question of right speech, what should we say and when we\u2019re confronted with religious intolerance? Finally, there is the question of right action.\u00a0 What should we do in response to comments like these?<\/span><\/p>\n

When someone attacks you the first reaction is often defensive.\u00a0 They are invading your real or intellectual space, and you immediately react to protect it.\u00a0 You say they are a whack job (oops) and immediately serve the poop ball back into their court for the next round of escalation.\u00a0 Historically speaking you might get away with saying that this is the Pagan way, as Celtic and Northern tribes certainly did not have any trouble getting into fights, either with each other or with other tribes. <\/span><\/p>\n

However if we ignore the basic tribal instinct to defend our own and consider what is really going on you come to the question of charity and forgiveness.\u00a0 In the Christian tradition there is the whole concept of charity as an alternative to hatred and malice.\u00a0 It requires that you give others a more or less unconditional benefit of the doubt and you recognize that others are as worthy of love as you are. <\/span><\/p>\n

Interestingly enough we don\u2019t have much talk about a similar concept of \u201cagape\u201d or self-sacrificing love in the Pagan community.\u00a0 This is probably because it is an essential Christian concept, and forms pretty much the heart of Jesus teachings about how to live.\u00a0 And, acknowledging people who might disagree, Jesus\u2019 teachings are not our teachings.\u00a0 On the other hand I would argue that we do have a pretty effective substitute for charity in our concept of the divine:\u00a0 the combination of the reified divinity of the Gods and Goddesses (thou art God\/Goddess) and the understanding of imperfection in that divinity (the God\/Goddess can make mistakes). <\/span><\/p>\n

If we believe that Sen. Schultheis has the same essential nature as the Gods and the Goddesses do, then we also understand that he, just like the Gods and Goddesses, can have complex motivations and beliefs.\u00a0 He is not perfect, neither are we, and neither are the Gods and Goddesses.\u00a0\u00a0 This is not charity in the Christian meaning of the term, instead it is a radical call for acceptance of all types of actions and behaviors as part of the world.\u00a0 Just as we accept the darker aspects of the Morrigan, so too we accept the darker aspects of those who would do us harm.\u00a0 Of course this does not mean we don\u2019t resist such actions, even while knowing that the resistance itself may be seen as hostile.\u00a0 But what it does mean is that we see the divine in the actions, all actions, not just the ones we approve of.\u00a0 Ultimately this means accepting that some are on a dark path, whether it\u2019s a path of certainty, hostility, or ego. <\/span><\/p>\n

Our faith gives us the ability to see this path they are on, and avoid it.\u00a0 It does not require \u201cturning the other cheek\u201d [6].\u00a0\u00a0 But it does give us the option of not walking the same dark path that our opponents are on.\u00a0 Instead we can hold up to them their reflection in the Gods and Goddesses.\u00a0 If they see themselves there, they may also see that of the many paths that are open to them the hostile ones are perhaps not the best way to travel.<\/span><\/p>\n

Charity, forgiveness, love of others.\u00a0 Our equivalent of this idea is knowing that the Gods and Goddesses exist and set us on a path of acceptance and respect.\u00a0 For Pagans acceptance is our equivalent of charity.\u00a0 It is what calls us to not return hate with hate.\u00a0 We cannot hate what we accept, even as we disagree with it.\u00a0 Respect for the divinity within requires us to treat others with love and a magical, light, heart [7].\u00a0 We accept the behavior is part of the world.\u00a0 We respect the divinity within.\u00a0 Even still we defend our faith and must hold up the honor of the Gods and Goddesses.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ok, so we should not shit all over this guy and piss him off.\u00a0 Got it.\u00a0 Don\u2019t like it, but I got it.\u00a0 So what should we say in response when people challenge Paganism [8] as not being a \u201creal\u201d religion.\u00a0 How do we \u201chold up the honor of the Gods and Goddesses\u201d? <\/span><\/p>\n

First the basics.\u00a0 Theologically neo-Paganism is both a religion and a faith system, in fact Paganism encompasses many different religions and faith systems.\u00a0\u00a0 We can pretty much prove we are a religion, and that we have faith [9]. <\/span><\/p>\n

But of course that is not what the people who are criticizing us are interested in.\u00a0 Rather they are interested in making it more difficult for us to add new members to our religion, by marginalizing it and making it more difficult for us to be public in the celebration of our faith.\u00a0 They see us as a competitor.\u00a0 And we are. <\/span><\/p>\n

I believe this notion of competition is more important than the idea that their inherent discomfort with us is a reflection of their own insecurities.\u00a0 They are fearful because they know something that we tend to ignore: we are a powerful and dramatic faith.\u00a0 If more people understood what it meant to be Pagan, then many more would realize that they are actually Pagan and not of another faith or no faith at all.\u00a0 This is decidedly not the direction that the book religions would like to see things go in. <\/span><\/p>\n

While I won\u2019t go into why our appeal is broader than we think it is, I will suggest that if we are being challenged because the others recognize our appeal and we don\u2019t, maybe we should start realizing it too!\u00a0 We can answer our critics by making our faith more available for entry.\u00a0 There are many ways to do this.\u00a0 Bookstores are one venue where people are welcome to participate, as are CUUPs [10] groups.\u00a0 Being welcoming, being inclusive, and being willing to speak up about our faith is a positive answer to our critics. <\/span><\/p>\n

Being welcoming is not necessarily the same thing as proselytization.\u00a0 There has been a general taboo against proselytization amongst Pagans. I will point out that if the other guys proselytize aggressively and we don\u2019t we will loose by the pressure from simple diffusion [11].\u00a0 However we don\u2019t really need to proselytize, because we have the default option: many Gods and Goddesses instead of one.\u00a0 All we have to do is be more welcoming, to honor those who come and seek to join, and to stand up and be examples of our faith for those who do not know us.\u00a0 We continue to grow at great rates, being more open and welcoming will only accelerate that growth. <\/span><\/p>\n

But there is the question of what action we should take.\u00a0 What should we do?\u00a0\u00a0 I don\u2019t think we actually need to \u201cdo\u201d anything.\u00a0 If we speak up, if we use the attention given by those who attack us to give more people a view of our religion, we will continue to grow.\u00a0 That is the action I believe the ones who attack us really don\u2019t want.\u00a0 While they often heartily endorse economic competition, they don\u2019t really want competition in religious ideas.\u00a0 That seems to always end badly for them. <\/span><\/p>\n

So someone criticizes us.\u00a0 We can use the opportunity to get better known.\u00a0 We can welcome those who end up being curious about us.\u00a0 And we can do so without any confrontation or hostility.\u00a0 Perhaps we should thank the Senator.\u00a0 And all those who want to make us more visible, more accepted, and more mainstream.\u00a0 Of course that is pretty scary all by itself!<\/span><\/p>\n

[1] The Wild Hunt is an example of a thoughtful, academically focused, and mature contribution to neo-Pagan literature.\u00a0 It gives me hope for our religion.\u00a0 http:\/\/wildhunt.org\/blog\/<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

[2] http:\/\/wildhunt.org\/blog\/2010\/02\/a-senators-vision-of-tolerance.html<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

[3] http:\/\/coloradoindependent.com\/47231\/whos-afraid-of-druids-sen-schultheis-foggy-on-religious-tolerance<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

[4] <\/span>http:\/\/twitter.com\/Sen_Schultheis<\/span><\/span><\/a> but its strange that his tweets are now protected.\u00a0 On his page he also has the interesting statement \u201cTolerance is the virtue of man without convictions\u201d \u2013 Gilbert K. Chesterton.\u00a0 However you can find them at the Colorado Independent article. <\/span><\/p>\n

[5]\u00a0 He was.\u00a0 He\u2019s also a bit of a nut.\u00a0 More evidence here: http:\/\/coloradoindependent.com\/42099\/schultheis-explains-its-just-that-obama-is-making-the-u-s-fascist<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

[6] About the last recourse for an old school Witch.<\/span><\/p>\n

[7]\u00a0 More on this concept of wonder, magic, and lightness of heart in a future column.\u00a0 But I will say the way we see magic in the world really affects the way Pagans relate to everything, including other people. <\/span><\/p>\n

[8] Of course I\u2019m really talking about Western neo-Paganism here, these guys usually don\u2019t take on Hindus or Buddhists.\u00a0 (Because they know they\u2019ll be taking a bath in a can of whoopass). <\/span><\/p>\n

[9] As much as anyone else can. <\/span><\/p>\n

[10]\u00a0 Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (<\/span>http:\/\/www.cuups.org\/content2\/<\/span><\/span><\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

[11] An we did once before. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Major Distraction I\u2019ve always known that the blog The Wild Hunt [1] was full of interesting and provocative stuff, but lately I\u2019ve been reading it a bit more and realize just how good it is.\u00a0 One of the entries caught my eye and I thought it would be worth discussing it [2]. The background is that Colorado State Senator Dave Schultheis apparently has a pretty fuzzy idea of what religious tolerance is [3].\u00a0 He came out on twitter deploring the religious intolerance of Egyptian Muslims toward Egyptian Christians.\u00a0 Then, not 20 minutes later he tweeted:\u00a0 \u201cWicca and Druidism to be given chapel space in Air Force Academy Chapel\u2026Where will this end?\u201d [4].\u00a0 In addition to making him look like he doesn\u2019t remember what he wrote 10 minutes ago, this also caused a bit of a kerfuffle as it sounded like he was disrespecting Pagans [5]. Now I\u2019d not normally be one to rise to bait that some random conservative whack job dips into the river, but in this case I think his comments raise a couple of interesting questions.\u00a0 First, to get kind of Buddhist on the issue, is the question of right thought.\u00a0 What should we think about people who don\u2019t think our religion is worth as much as the \u201creal\u201d religions? Next is the question of right speech, what should we say and when we\u2019re confronted with religious intolerance? Finally, there is the question of right action.\u00a0 What should we do in response to comments like these? When someone attacks you the first reaction is often defensive.\u00a0 They are invading your real or intellectual space, and you immediately react to protect it.\u00a0 You say they are a whack job (oops) and immediately serve the poop ball back into their court for the next round of escalation.\u00a0 Historically speaking you might get away with saying that this is the Pagan way, as Celtic and Northern tribes certainly did not have any trouble getting into fights, either with each other or with other tribes. However if we ignore the basic tribal instinct to defend our own and consider what is really going on you come to the question of charity and forgiveness.\u00a0 In the Christian tradition there is the whole concept of charity as an alternative to hatred and malice.\u00a0 It requires that you give others a more or less unconditional benefit of the doubt and you recognize that others are as worthy of love as you are. Interestingly enough we don\u2019t have much talk about a similar concept of \u201cagape\u201d or self-sacrificing love in the Pagan community.\u00a0 This is probably because it is an essential Christian concept, and forms pretty much the heart of Jesus teachings about how to live.\u00a0 And, acknowledging people who might disagree, Jesus\u2019 teachings are not our teachings.\u00a0 On the other hand I would argue that we do have a pretty effective substitute for charity in our concept of the divine:\u00a0 the combination of the reified divinity of the Gods and Goddesses (thou art God\/Goddess) and the understanding of imperfection in that divinity (the God\/Goddess can make mistakes). If we believe that Sen. Schultheis has the same essential nature as the Gods and the Goddesses do, then we also understand that he, just like the Gods and Goddesses, can have complex motivations and beliefs.\u00a0 He is not perfect, neither are we, and neither are the Gods and Goddesses.\u00a0\u00a0 This is not charity in the Christian meaning of the term, instead it is a radical call for acceptance of all types of actions and behaviors as part of the world.\u00a0 Just as we accept the darker aspects of the Morrigan, so too we accept the darker aspects of those who would do us harm.\u00a0 Of course this does not mean we don\u2019t resist such actions, even while knowing that the resistance itself may be seen as hostile.\u00a0 But what it does mean is that we see the divine in the actions, all actions, not just the ones we approve of.\u00a0 Ultimately this means accepting that some are on a dark path, whether it\u2019s a path of certainty, hostility, or ego. Our faith gives us the ability to see this path they are on, and avoid it.\u00a0 It does not require \u201cturning the other cheek\u201d [6].\u00a0\u00a0 But it does give us the option of not walking the same dark path that our opponents are on.\u00a0 Instead we can hold up to them their reflection in the Gods and Goddesses.\u00a0 If they see themselves there, they may also see that of the many paths that are open to them the hostile ones are perhaps not the best way to travel. Charity, forgiveness, love of others.\u00a0 Our equivalent of this idea is knowing that the Gods and Goddesses exist and set us on a path of acceptance and respect.\u00a0 For Pagans acceptance is our equivalent of charity.\u00a0 It is what calls us to not return hate with hate.\u00a0 We cannot hate what we accept, even as we disagree with it.\u00a0 Respect for the divinity within requires us to treat others with love and a magical, light, heart [7].\u00a0 We accept the behavior is part of the world.\u00a0 We respect the divinity within.\u00a0 Even still we defend our faith and must hold up the honor of the Gods and Goddesses. Ok, so we should not shit all over this guy and piss him off.\u00a0 Got it.\u00a0 Don\u2019t like it, but I got it.\u00a0 So what should we say in response when people challenge Paganism [8] as not being a \u201creal\u201d religion.\u00a0 How do we \u201chold up the honor of the Gods and Goddesses\u201d? First the basics.\u00a0 Theologically neo-Paganism is both a religion and a faith system, in fact Paganism encompasses many different religions and faith systems.\u00a0\u00a0 We can pretty much prove we are a religion, and that we have faith [9]. But of course that is not what the people who are criticizing us are interested in.\u00a0 Rather they are interested in making it more difficult for us to add new members to our religion, by marginalizing it and making it more difficult for us to be public in the celebration of our faith.\u00a0 They see us as a competitor.\u00a0 And we are. I believe this notion of competition is more important than the idea that their inherent discomfort with us is a reflection of their own insecurities.\u00a0 They are fearful because they know something that we tend to ignore: we are a powerful and dramatic faith.\u00a0 If more people understood what it meant to be Pagan, then many more would realize that they are actually Pagan and not of another faith or no faith at all.\u00a0 This is decidedly not the direction that the book religions would like to see things go in. While I won\u2019t go into why our appeal is broader than we think it is, I will suggest that if we are being challenged because the others recognize our appeal and we don\u2019t, maybe we should start realizing it too!\u00a0 We can answer our critics by making our faith more available for entry.\u00a0 There are many ways to do this.\u00a0 Bookstores are one venue where people are welcome to participate, as are CUUPs [10] groups.\u00a0 Being welcoming, being inclusive, and being willing to speak up about our faith is a positive answer to our critics. Being welcoming is not necessarily the same thing as proselytization.\u00a0 There has been a general taboo against proselytization amongst Pagans. I will point out that if the other guys proselytize aggressively and we don\u2019t we will loose by the pressure from simple diffusion [11].\u00a0 However we don\u2019t really need to proselytize, because we have the default option: many Gods and Goddesses instead of one.\u00a0 All we have to do is be more welcoming, to honor those who come and seek to join, and to stand up and be examples of our faith for those who do not know us.\u00a0 We continue to grow at great rates, being more open and welcoming will only accelerate that growth. But there is the question of what action we should take.\u00a0 What should we do?\u00a0\u00a0 I don\u2019t think we actually need to \u201cdo\u201d anything.\u00a0 If we speak up, if we use the attention given by those who attack us to give more people a view of our religion, we will continue to grow.\u00a0 That is the action I believe the ones who attack us really don\u2019t want.\u00a0 While they often heartily endorse economic competition, they don\u2019t really want competition in religious ideas.\u00a0 That seems to always end badly for them. So someone criticizes us.\u00a0 We can use the opportunity to get better known.\u00a0 We can welcome those who end up being curious about us.\u00a0 And we can do so without any confrontation or hostility.\u00a0 Perhaps we should thank the Senator.\u00a0 And all those who want to make us more visible, more accepted, and more mainstream.\u00a0 Of course that is pretty scary all by itself! [1] The Wild Hunt is an example of a thoughtful, academically focused, and mature contribution to neo-Pagan literature.\u00a0 It gives me hope for our religion.\u00a0 http:\/\/wildhunt.org\/blog\/ [2] http:\/\/wildhunt.org\/blog\/2010\/02\/a-senators-vision-of-tolerance.html [3] http:\/\/coloradoindependent.com\/47231\/whos-afraid-of-druids-sen-schultheis-foggy-on-religious-tolerance [4] http:\/\/twitter.com\/Sen_Schultheis but its strange that his tweets are now protected.\u00a0 On his page he also has the interesting statement \u201cTolerance is the virtue of man without convictions\u201d \u2013 Gilbert K. Chesterton.\u00a0 However you can find them at the Colorado Independent article. [5]\u00a0 He was.\u00a0 He\u2019s also a bit of a nut.\u00a0 More evidence here: http:\/\/coloradoindependent.com\/42099\/schultheis-explains-its-just-that-obama-is-making-the-u-s-fascist [6] About the last recourse for an old school Witch. [7]\u00a0 More on this concept of wonder, magic, and lightness of heart in a future column.\u00a0 But I will say the way we see magic in the world really affects the way Pagans relate to everything, including other people. [8] Of course I\u2019m really talking about Western neo-Paganism here, these guys usually don\u2019t take on Hindus or Buddhists.\u00a0 (Because they know they\u2019ll be taking a bath in a can of whoopass). [9] As much as anyone else can. [10]\u00a0 Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (http:\/\/www.cuups.org\/content2\/) [11] An we did once before.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":2,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3349"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3349\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}