Really interesting presentation this evening at the Lawrence County Museum about the history of newspaper printing—including physical copies of papers from the past few hundred years.
Content warning: paganism
I’ll be linking to this post (partly jokingly, partly seriously) when I write something about paganism.
It’s always tricky writing about religion online. Thankfully I’ve had no particularly bad encounters here–and I’m posting this only because I want to ensure that continues.
Why do I write about paganism?
- To develop my own thoughts. This is my blog, after all, and it’s a tool I use to clarify my thinking.
- To be helpful to those few of my readers who are pagan or pagan-adjacent.
- To build a constructive picture of what a normal pagan looks like for that majority of my readers who are Christian.
A promise: I will never attempt to convert you.
An intention: I will remain curious about your beliefs and experiences. I’m a religion nerd and this interest is sincere and in no way patronizing.
Some background: I grew up in a sect of extremely fundamentalist Pentecostal Christianity. (Don’t worry: you’ve never heard of them.) From there I moved into the Lutheran church and then to the Episcopal church. After that I spent some time in what was basically a house church. Around 2014 I stopped calling myself a Christian. I was a Sam Harris-style atheist for a couple of years until I found it insufficient as a worldview. Since then, I’ve been a pagan.
Nevertheless, I’m not mad about Christianity. I’m also not hurt or attached to some secret sin or uninformed. Actually, I was pretty theologically sophisticated for a Christian layman. I probably know something about your particular Christian tradition. I say that because I want you to understand: it’s unlikely I’ll be converting back to Christianity.
At Thanksgiving one year, my wife’s uncle asked me which was my favorite football team. I said I wasn’t a sports fan. He then offered to explain the rules of football to help me out. I replied, “Oh, I know the rules pretty well. It’s just not for me.” Same for Christianity.
To sum up: I want to talk to you about religion in an attitude of friendly curiosity. If you post something about your religion that interests me, I may reply with a comment or a question meant to engage in that shared interest. I will not, however, make comments that are dismissive or sarcastic, even if I strongly disagree with something you’ve said. All I ask is the same in return.
If I ever make comments critical of monotheism or Christianity, it will be because I find it necessary to some point I’m making. I will always attempt, however, to make such criticisms in a fair way. Such criticisms will never be made from a place of mockery or superiority. I may not worship your god but–as much as it may annoy you to hear it put this way–I recognize your god as one god among the many and, therefore, worthy of respect. I know you can’t reciprocate that for theological reasons. We can, however, be friendly while remaining in disagreement.
The Old Farmers Almanac says that late summer drought conditions can lead to an early shutdown of the trees and a less colorful fall. It’s been dry here for weeks.
I’d like to find out more about this Divine Glory brand sandpaper I pulled off this old belt sander but all the search results are Christian allegories.
Dahlia with bees plus Pete, one of the neighborhood cats who sometimes stops by to look over our doings.
Showy sunflowers
For a few years now, our two cats have had nice high spots to get away from it all. From the chair they go up the stairs to the top of the bookcase. A piece of plywood holds up those white drapes (leftover from the previous owner) and forms a bridge to the other bookcase. Rory sleeps on the bridge.
“We have the wrong type of undead culture.” No ghosts; only zombies. Good post from Paul Watson.
John Michael Greer, A World Full of Gods: An Inquiry into Polytheism:
Much of polytheist theology can be seen as the application of ecological thinking to religion.
This snaps together several pieces in my mind. There has been a revival (relatively speaking) of polytheism in the years since the rise of ecological thinking. The dominant model of monotheism is of a king and the ruled, which has sometimes had what we might call poor historical consequences. A polytheism rooted in ecological thinking could be a shift from a hierarchical “great chain of being” to a relationship of reciprocity.
My friend and neighbor has a new book out today from Ancient Faith: Holy Fools: The Lives of Twenty Fools for Christ.