{"id":205,"date":"2009-03-28T14:32:31","date_gmt":"2009-03-28T14:32:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/apagansblog\/2009\/03\/will-the-real-pagan-theology-please-stand-up.html"},"modified":"2009-03-28T14:32:31","modified_gmt":"2009-03-28T14:32:31","slug":"will-the-real-pagan-theology-please-stand-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/apagansblog\/2009\/03\/will-the-real-pagan-theology-please-stand-up.html","title":{"rendered":"Will the Real Pagan Theology Please Stand Up?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Troy Camplin’s quip “I’ve always told people there are in fact 6 billion religions on earth” in a recent blog<\/a> comment inspires this post. <\/p>\n

When I first became a Witch I was bothered by the existence of ‘traditions’ considerably younger than I was.  To make matters worse, it was within a NROOGD public Sabbat that I had my first and by far most powerful encounter with the Goddess.  As I understand it, NROOGD emerged as fall-out from a Berkeley folklore course in the 60s.<\/p>\n

And then there were the Discordians.  It all seemed so . . . unserious.  Why couldn’t we have serious theology like our Christian neighbors? (I was coming at this as a political theorist who’d invested a lot of energy in just that approach to my field.)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n


\nAs I learned more about Paganism historically, I discovered almost a
\nuniversal lack of theology, from ancient Greece and Rome to modern
\nBrazilian African Diasporic traditions.  What books were more like
\nbooks of shadows, with lessons on how to do something or other, than
\nphilosophical treatises on the nature of Apollo or Iemanja.  Such
\nstudies existed, but never as a major part of Paganism.  Pagans’
\nreligious energies mostly went into ritual and practice.
\n
\nSallustius’s <\/a> effort to encapsulate Classical Paganism, On the Gods<\/a>,  (translations differ) was commissioned by Emperor Julian as a reply
\nto the Christians.  Had they not existed, such a book might never have
\nbeen written.  Covens to which I belonged until my perpetual academic
\nmoving would take me away always consisted of people who worked well together,
\nbut our personal views as to what we were really doing would vary
\nsubstantially.<\/p>\n

Then there is Troy’s comment.  More and more I suspect the same is true for many Christians, a variety covered up by their leaders’ focus on “getting it right”.<\/p>\n

I think Troy may be on to something important.  Once we get away from
\nsome arbitrary claim that THIS is the only way to please God or
\nwhatever, the universe of possibilities opens up immensely.  And we
\nexplore those possibilities and<\/p>\n

My skin, my bones, my Heretic heart
\nAre my authority
 
\n
\nWhich itself has at least two wonderful versions, by Catherine Madsen and Holy Tannen<\/a>.  <\/p>\n

Theology is an attempt to fit everyone else’s spiritual experiences and
\nrealities into one’s own.  Done in a spirit of good-hearted
\nplayfulness, not taking one’s views too seriously, it probably does
\nconsiderable good.  Enough people have similar experiences and thoughts
\nthat it can help them develop their own thinking.  But to accomplish
\nthis it must never take on an authoritative tone.  Better an attitude
\nof “this is the best I can do right now, take it for what worth you
\nfind in it.”<\/p>\n

I tell people when I think it is appropriate that my becoming a Pagan
\nand studying with shamans made me a better political scientist, because
\nnow I do not take my views quite as seriously, and am more likely to be
\ninterested in outlooks different from my own.  Because I know the whole
\npicture is far more complex than I will ever understand.<\/p>\n

Before, when I had a more secular outlook, I took my opinions far more
\nseriously, and I still have to watch it or I’ll fall back into bad
\nhabits.<\/p>\n

I think we should treat theology the same.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Troy Camplin’s quip “I’ve always told people there are in fact 6 billion religions on earth” in a recent blog comment inspires this post. 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