On the Nature of the Gods

If you are a Pagan and have not read 'Polytheology: Syncretism, Process Theology, and "Polyamorotheism"' by P. Sufenas Virius Lupus, you absolutely must.  This well-written and very thoughtful article about cultural appropriation, syncretism, Pagan theology, and religion in general is amazing.  It certainly gave me a lot to think about in regards to the nature of the Gods.  I love the beautiful image he weaves of Gods evolving and/or creating other Gods through romantic or sexual meetings that we have not considered, discovered, or sung about yet.  It almost makes me envision deities as spider plants.  Have you ever had one?  They grow smaller versions of themselves that can be removed and planted as normal.  Are the Gods like that, each a spider plant that creates similar plants (Gods) for different places or even purposes?  It can make sense when considering it in light of the various Celtic triple deities.  Hello American Gods!  Oh the possibilities...

It causes me to look at syncretism a little differently.  Truthfully, I have softened to it already as of late, though I think it must be done with care and for well-considered purpose.  The author himself cautions against doing so without respect, understanding, or proper involvement with the culture.  That is very reasonable, I think.


( For My LJ Friends: http://adfcatprints.blogspot.com/ )

This book sounds really interesting!

It's called God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World--and Why Their Differences Matter by Stephen Prothero.  I love "The Wild Hunt" for introducing me to it and I can't wait to read it!   The author apparently argues that lumping all religions together as paths to the same God is "naive" and potentially dangerous.

The book has left out many 'Pagan' religions but, according to Jason Pitzl-Waters:

So if god is not one, how many gods are there? Prothero’s polytheism doesn’t go that route. He instead explores eight different “great” world religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Taoism, Yoruba, Confucianism, and Hindusim), their conceptions of god, what they see as the primary problem with the world, and how they approach solving that problem (for example, in Buddhism the problem is suffering and the solution is awakening). It’s an interesting way of approaching the subject, and I look forward to seeing how Prothero presents it.

Here's a video of the author discussing the book.

Another book to read (plus some personal thoughts on polytheism)

The third book I ordered for Magic 1 arrived yesterday!  It's called Practical Magic in the Northern Tradition by Nigel Pennick whom you may remember is the co-author of A History of Pagan Europe along with Prudence Jones.  Having thoroughly enjoyed A History, I couldn't wait to start it.  Yay for reading three books simultaneously!  I feel like I'm back in college.  I haven't progressed very far in Practical Magic, and a lot of it has been review, but I'm enjoying it all the same.  I've even learned a few new things.

Pennick is what many would call a "soft polytheist."*  He makes a lot of generalizations about the similarities between cultures, which sometimes annoys me, but he also points out their unique differences as well.  In the introduction he says "...what is important is the essence, not the form, and that while the corresponding deity of another culture may have a considerably different form, its essence is the same"(12).  I must be honest, I have a love/hate relationship with soft polytheism.  Some days it makes a bit of sense, while others it seems too simplistic given the remarkable diversity of the universe.**  All the same, I have a lot of respect for Pennick as a writer and researcher and look forward to learning more from him!





*"All gods are one God, and all goddesses are one Goddess, and there is one Initiator." - Dion Fortune.


** When it comes down to it, I'm more of an agnostic hard polytheist pantheist.  My experiences, as well as the lore I am most drawn to, lead me to believe in many, individual beings.  I have to be a bit agnostic because who really, really knows how the universe works?  The pantheist bit comes from my belief that, even if there are multiple deities, there exists a ubiquitous, unifying energy.  Based on my own experiences, observations, and studies, this energy is very powerful as far as creation and destruction go, but has no consciousness as we experience it.  It's just energy/chi/magic/the Force, and it moves through us and the Kindreds.  My belief is that some beings have more access to and/or understanding of this force, hence the power of deities compared to us.