{"id":5077,"date":"2011-04-01T01:10:16","date_gmt":"2011-04-01T06:10:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=5165"},"modified":"2011-03-26T13:53:11","modified_gmt":"2011-03-26T18:53:11","slug":"pagan-theology-25","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2011\/04\/01\/pagan-theology-25\/","title":{"rendered":"Pagan Theology"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pagan Theology:\u00a0 A Practical Path<\/strong><\/p>\n

In thinking about recent world events and the terrible suffering many are facing, I found myself asking, \u201cwhat would a \u2018Pagan\u2019 make of all this?\u201d\u00a0 What would, or should, our response be?\u00a0 I kept thinking that my answer would be: \u201cwe are a practical path.\u201d<\/p>\n

What do I mean by saying we are on a practical path?\u00a0 How might that relate to what is going on in the world, not just in Japan but also in North Africa and the Middle East, and, to a far lesser extent, within the US and our economic difficulties?\u00a0 How might a \u201cpractical path\u201d give us courage and strength amongst so much suffering?<\/p>\n

The term \u201cpractical\u201d lends itself to many different interpretations.\u00a0 We could mean simply that we are a path of practice.\u00a0 It is common to say that one is a \u201cpracticing\u201d such and such, meaning that you are actively engaged in worship.\u00a0 I am, for example, a \u201cpracticing Pagan\u201d because I go to circle (at least) once a month and keep an altar at home.\u00a0 But, theologically speaking, Paganism is also a practice, or a craft, that you do.\u00a0 Instead of just attending someone else\u2019s work, Paganism and Witchcraft allow you, yourself, to actively become engaged in the process of deific action in the world.\u00a0 In other words:\u00a0 we do stuff.\u00a0 We do magic.<\/p>\n

I think that doing stuff as part of our religious practice makes us different than many other religions.\u00a0 While many Pagan traditions have a Priest and Priestess responsible for running the circle, once an individual is accepted in the circle they are expected to carry their weight.\u00a0 Without all of us working magically and practically such a numerically small faith would not have progressed very far.\u00a0 At the same time the ability to practice magic and invoke the deities independently of a Priest or Priestess gives each and every Pagan the opportunity to practice first hand what happens within circle.<\/p>\n

We could also mean by \u201cpractical path\u201d that Paganism is a \u201ccommon sense\u201d religion.\u00a0 On the surface that really appears to be the opposite of what Pagans are.\u00a0 \u00a0We do tend to spend a lot of time with flowing robes, incense, magical devices, and mystical ideas.\u00a0 We seek the Shaman\u2019s experience of travelling with the Gods and Goddess.\u00a0 And because we can do magic and interact directly with the deity, we are closer to the other side of the veil than many other religions.\u00a0 But by \u201ccommon sense\u201d we can also mean \u201cclose to reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Our deities are in the natural world.\u00a0 They are our friends, our mentors, and our guides.\u00a0 They are in the land and the air, in the sky and in the fields.\u00a0 They are within us, and all around us.\u00a0 We are grounded in the world, not in some far off divine paradise that may or may not come to us through good behavior and considerable luck.\u00a0 We are here.\u00a0 Now\u2026\u00a0 We are close to the world and the world is close to us.\u00a0 We feel the cycles of nature and the comings and goings of all things.\u00a0 We are part of the world, the same world as the Gods and Goddesses.
\nThis practical aspect of faith grounds and ties us to the world.\u00a0 What happens in the world, for good or ill, is part of us.\u00a0 And so we know that when the earth shifts or an ill wind blows that it is not a judgment against us, it is not alien or different or \u201cunworldly\u201d but rather it is what the world does.\u00a0 This acceptance of the world and all that is in it gives us a practical base from which to defeat despair.\u00a0 The same world that changes and touches us can be changed by our touch.\u00a0 Our actions, magical or temporal, change the world just as it changes.<\/p>\n

The \u201cpractical path\u201d says that, while you cannot, and should not, fight the world, you can work it and change it to the better.\u00a0 Circumstances that are given can be changed, but those changes require our energy and attention and work [1].\u00a0 We are not the busy, industry-focused, Puritans by any stretch of the imagination, but when it comes to setting up camp, pulling up the Maypole, or cooking a collective dinner, we get it done.\u00a0 \u00a0Spiritually we have a faith that encourages change through positive action, its called magic.\u00a0\u00a0 I will claim that the belief we can change the world through magic will makes us a very optimistic, pragmatic, and centered religious practice.\u00a0 We believe we can shoulder the burden and change the world.<\/p>\n

A practical path can also be interpreted as one that does not brook much nonsense.\u00a0 And I would also argue that Paganism is a pragmatic religion.\u00a0 Guilt, sin, and all of the other features of self-blaming are not part of the Pagan tradition.\u00a0 Paganism tends to emphasize the positive virtues of loyalty, doing no harm, and respect for life.\u00a0 Instead of telling us what we should not do, Paganism points us toward what we should do.\u00a0 Instead of making us feel guilty, Pagan traditions empower us to create and change.<\/p>\n

This tendency to emphasize positive action may arise from the underlying acceptance of duality in nature.\u00a0 Instead of seeing disasters or misfortunes as punishment, imposition, or \u201csomething that god let happen,\u201d Pagan theology would interpret misfortune differently.\u00a0 Misfortune is not \u201cevil\u201d in the sense that it is created and deliberately directed by the will.\u00a0 Instead the world contains within it both dark and light, both suffering and happiness, and one always changes into the other through the cycles of the seasons.<\/p>\n

While this in no way endorses misfortune, it produces a mindset that says misfortune today will be followed by fortune tomorrow.\u00a0 Perspective gained through the knowledge of the circles and seasons of the Goddess stops us from despair or hopelessness.\u00a0 Instead we know that the Goddess reshapes the world constantly, and we suffer because we are in that world, not because She wishes us harm.\u00a0 We, and She, fall under the rule of the world, and the inevitable changes that are required means sometimes we suffer, sometimes bad things happen, but always we remember that everyone is in it together.<\/p>\n

Knowing that the Gods and Goddesses are in it with us and we all have the power to constantly remake our circumstances gives us the basis for a pragmatic response to tragedy.\u00a0 We help those who have been traumatized through our words and rituals.\u00a0 We give our time and resources to help those who are rebuilding to recover.\u00a0\u00a0 We can do our spiritual and practical work in order to keep things going and help everyone muddle through the event.\u00a0 But we don\u2019t see shifting plates or runaway reactors or despotic responses to attempts at freedom as something personal.\u00a0 Tragedy is never the fault of the victim, never something brought on willingly by those in control of their fate [2].\u00a0 Instead it is the nature of the world to shift and change and sometimes bring birth and sometimes bring death.\u00a0 But it is how we respond to those shifts of fate that really defines whether they are ultimately \u201cgood\u201d or \u201cevil.\u201d\u00a0 If we respond in faith and charity with loving hearts and strong arms, we know that the circle will turn and good will come again.\u00a0 We are a hopeful people that look forward to the next cycle, to the next turning, even as we mourn for what is lost.<\/p>\n

So what might a Pagan response to all this tragedy be?\u00a0 First to acknowledge suffering and send energy, prayers, and workings in support of those harmed, in harms way, or who have been indirectly harmed by the events; fate speaks, people suffer, and we console, support, and mourn.<\/p>\n

But it also means we should get involved.\u00a0 Do something.\u00a0 It could be as simple as speaking truth about what is going on in Bahrain or Saudi Arabia [3] or as complex as travelling to the disaster in order to lend a hand (as many have done in New Orleans).\u00a0 \u00a0It might be sending our prayers or positive energy in support of recovery efforts or protestors [4].\u00a0 This positive, optimistic, aspect of Pagan practice is something that the world could really use right now.\u00a0 And we could benefit from acknowledging that it lies deep within our faith.<\/p>\n

[1] An example of such a pragmatic approach is the Pagan Japan Relief effort, which can be found here: http:\/\/www.firstgiving.com\/fundraiser\/Pagan-Community\/doctors-without-borders<\/a><\/p>\n

[2] Obviously people with mental conditions that prevent a realistic assessment of their situation often bring harm to themselves.\u00a0 For them the tragedy begins earlier with the onset of disease.<\/p>\n

[3] They don\u2019t much like Witches in Saudi Arabia http:\/\/blog.amnestyusa.org\/deathpenalty\/saudi-arabia-set-to-execute-soothsayer-for-sorcery\/<\/a> and Bahrain, and the entire region, is struggling with freedom http:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/ap\/ml_bahrain_protests<\/p>\n

[4] Like Selena Fox from Circle Sanctuary did (see http:\/\/wildhunt.org\/blog\/2011\/02\/pagan-community-notes-protecting-a-sacred-altar-in-athens-selena-fox-in-madison-american-mystic-and-more.html<\/a> or http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/photo.php?fbid=10150097997169285&set=a.104902039284.95857.50006939284&comments&ref=mf<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pagan Theology:\u00a0 A Practical Path In thinking about recent world events and the terrible suffering many are facing, I found myself asking, \u201cwhat would a \u2018Pagan\u2019 make of all this?\u201d\u00a0 What would, or should, our response be?\u00a0 I kept thinking that my answer would be: \u201cwe are a practical path.\u201d What do I mean by saying we are on a practical path?\u00a0 How might that relate to what is going on in the world, not just in Japan but also in North Africa and the Middle East, and, to a far lesser extent, within the US and our economic difficulties?\u00a0 How might a \u201cpractical path\u201d give us courage and strength amongst so much suffering? The term \u201cpractical\u201d lends itself to many different interpretations.\u00a0 We could mean simply that we are a path of practice.\u00a0 It is common to say that one is a \u201cpracticing\u201d such and such, meaning that you are actively engaged in worship.\u00a0 I am, for example, a \u201cpracticing Pagan\u201d because I go to circle (at least) once a month and keep an altar at home.\u00a0 But, theologically speaking, Paganism is also a practice, or a craft, that you do.\u00a0 Instead of just attending someone else\u2019s work, Paganism and Witchcraft allow you, yourself, to actively become engaged in the process of deific action in the world.\u00a0 In other words:\u00a0 we do stuff.\u00a0 We do magic. I think that doing stuff as part of our religious practice makes us different than many other religions.\u00a0 While many Pagan traditions have a Priest and Priestess responsible for running the circle, once an individual is accepted in the circle they are expected to carry their weight.\u00a0 Without all of us working magically and practically such a numerically small faith would not have progressed very far.\u00a0 At the same time the ability to practice magic and invoke the deities independently of a Priest or Priestess gives each and every Pagan the opportunity to practice first hand what happens within circle. We could also mean by \u201cpractical path\u201d that Paganism is a \u201ccommon sense\u201d religion.\u00a0 On the surface that really appears to be the opposite of what Pagans are.\u00a0 \u00a0We do tend to spend a lot of time with flowing robes, incense, magical devices, and mystical ideas.\u00a0 We seek the Shaman\u2019s experience of travelling with the Gods and Goddess.\u00a0 And because we can do magic and interact directly with the deity, we are closer to the other side of the veil than many other religions.\u00a0 But by \u201ccommon sense\u201d we can also mean \u201cclose to reality.\u201d Our deities are in the natural world.\u00a0 They are our friends, our mentors, and our guides.\u00a0 They are in the land and the air, in the sky and in the fields.\u00a0 They are within us, and all around us.\u00a0 We are grounded in the world, not in some far off divine paradise that may or may not come to us through good behavior and considerable luck.\u00a0 We are here.\u00a0 Now\u2026\u00a0 We are close to the world and the world is close to us.\u00a0 We feel the cycles of nature and the comings and goings of all things.\u00a0 We are part of the world, the same world as the Gods and Goddesses. This practical aspect of faith grounds and ties us to the world.\u00a0 What happens in the world, for good or ill, is part of us.\u00a0 And so we know that when the earth shifts or an ill wind blows that it is not a judgment against us, it is not alien or different or \u201cunworldly\u201d but rather it is what the world does.\u00a0 This acceptance of the world and all that is in it gives us a practical base from which to defeat despair.\u00a0 The same world that changes and touches us can be changed by our touch.\u00a0 Our actions, magical or temporal, change the world just as it changes. The \u201cpractical path\u201d says that, while you cannot, and should not, fight the world, you can work it and change it to the better.\u00a0 Circumstances that are given can be changed, but those changes require our energy and attention and work [1].\u00a0 We are not the busy, industry-focused, Puritans by any stretch of the imagination, but when it comes to setting up camp, pulling up the Maypole, or cooking a collective dinner, we get it done.\u00a0 \u00a0Spiritually we have a faith that encourages change through positive action, its called magic.\u00a0\u00a0 I will claim that the belief we can change the world through magic will makes us a very optimistic, pragmatic, and centered religious practice.\u00a0 We believe we can shoulder the burden and change the world. A practical path can also be interpreted as one that does not brook much nonsense.\u00a0 And I would also argue that Paganism is a pragmatic religion.\u00a0 Guilt, sin, and all of the other features of self-blaming are not part of the Pagan tradition.\u00a0 Paganism tends to emphasize the positive virtues of loyalty, doing no harm, and respect for life.\u00a0 Instead of telling us what we should not do, Paganism points us toward what we should do.\u00a0 Instead of making us feel guilty, Pagan traditions empower us to create and change. This tendency to emphasize positive action may arise from the underlying acceptance of duality in nature.\u00a0 Instead of seeing disasters or misfortunes as punishment, imposition, or \u201csomething that god let happen,\u201d Pagan theology would interpret misfortune differently.\u00a0 Misfortune is not \u201cevil\u201d in the sense that it is created and deliberately directed by the will.\u00a0 Instead the world contains within it both dark and light, both suffering and happiness, and one always changes into the other through the cycles of the seasons. While this in no way endorses misfortune, it produces a mindset that says misfortune today will be followed by fortune tomorrow.\u00a0 Perspective gained through the knowledge of the circles and seasons of the Goddess stops us from despair or hopelessness.\u00a0 Instead we know that the Goddess reshapes the world constantly, and we suffer because we are in that world, not because She wishes us harm.\u00a0 We, and She, fall under the rule of the world, and the inevitable changes that are required means sometimes we suffer, sometimes bad things happen, but always we remember that everyone is in it together. Knowing that the Gods and Goddesses are in it with us and we all have the power to constantly remake our circumstances gives us the basis for a pragmatic response to tragedy.\u00a0 We help those who have been traumatized through our words and rituals.\u00a0 We give our time and resources to help those who are rebuilding to recover.\u00a0\u00a0 We can do our spiritual and practical work in order to keep things going and help everyone muddle through the event.\u00a0 But we don\u2019t see shifting plates or runaway reactors or despotic responses to attempts at freedom as something personal.\u00a0 Tragedy is never the fault of the victim, never something brought on willingly by those in control of their fate [2].\u00a0 Instead it is the nature of the world to shift and change and sometimes bring birth and sometimes bring death.\u00a0 But it is how we respond to those shifts of fate that really defines whether they are ultimately \u201cgood\u201d or \u201cevil.\u201d\u00a0 If we respond in faith and charity with loving hearts and strong arms, we know that the circle will turn and good will come again.\u00a0 We are a hopeful people that look forward to the next cycle, to the next turning, even as we mourn for what is lost. So what might a Pagan response to all this tragedy be?\u00a0 First to acknowledge suffering and send energy, prayers, and workings in support of those harmed, in harms way, or who have been indirectly harmed by the events; fate speaks, people suffer, and we console, support, and mourn. But it also means we should get involved.\u00a0 Do something.\u00a0 It could be as simple as speaking truth about what is going on in Bahrain or Saudi Arabia [3] or as complex as travelling to the disaster in order to lend a hand (as many have done in New Orleans).\u00a0 \u00a0It might be sending our prayers or positive energy in support of recovery efforts or protestors [4].\u00a0 This positive, optimistic, aspect of Pagan practice is something that the world could really use right now.\u00a0 And we could benefit from acknowledging that it lies deep within our faith. [1] An example of such a pragmatic approach is the Pagan Japan Relief effort, which can be found here: http:\/\/www.firstgiving.com\/fundraiser\/Pagan-Community\/doctors-without-borders [2] Obviously people with mental conditions that prevent a realistic assessment of their situation often bring harm to themselves.\u00a0 For them the tragedy begins earlier with the onset of disease. [3] They don\u2019t much like Witches in Saudi Arabia http:\/\/blog.amnestyusa.org\/deathpenalty\/saudi-arabia-set-to-execute-soothsayer-for-sorcery\/ and Bahrain, and the entire region, is struggling with freedom http:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/ap\/ml_bahrain_protests [4] Like Selena Fox from Circle Sanctuary did (see http:\/\/wildhunt.org\/blog\/2011\/02\/pagan-community-notes-protecting-a-sacred-altar-in-athens-selena-fox-in-madison-american-mystic-and-more.html or http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/photo.php?fbid=10150097997169285&set=a.104902039284.95857.50006939284&comments&ref=mf)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5077","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=5077"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5077\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}