Pagan theology

Eco-spirituality and theology

January 26, 2013 By yvonne 3 Comments

Eco-spirituality is a new name for a set of ideas that goes back a long way. Baruch Spinoza and Giordano Bruno both viewed the universe as divine. Their ideas were broadly pantheistic. The implications of the idea that the universe itself is divine are explored by Sam Webster, who prefers immediacy to immanence. The universe is a theophany, the manifestation of the Divine. The implication here is that everything is sacred, and we should take care of the Earth and other beings; we … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: deep ecology, eco-spirituality, ecology, eros, Nature, Pagan theologies, Pagan theology, spirituality 3 Comments

Three Legs on the Pagan Cauldron, or Must Pagans Be Polytheists?

January 11, 2013 By Christine Kraemer 37 Comments

Three sources for contemporary Paganism. Practitioners in the dark green area usually struggle the least with Pagan identity, and those in the white areas struggle the most.

I was very pleased to read P.S.V. Lupus' article today emphasizing the importance of polytheism for Paganism ("Bringing Back the Gods"). I agree that polytheism as a theological viewpoint and as an underlying theory for Pagan religious practice is one of the unique contributions the Pagan movement has to make to contemporary religion. In the circuitous route I took to my current religious practice, I've assumed a more and more polytheistic worldview -- not for ideological reasons or out of an … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Pagan Studies, Theology Tagged With: defining Paganism, Pagan, Pagan community, Pagan theology, Paganism, polytheism 37 Comments

Pagan sacred texts

January 10, 2013 By yvonne 18 Comments

The status of sacred texts in Paganism is complicated and disputed. A friend on the UK Unitarians Facebook group asked me if there are any Wiccan texts that are universally accepted. My response was: No, absolutely not. Some people have started referring to "the" Book of Shadows as if it was a single text, but there should be an unique Book of Shadows for every Wiccan, as it is meant to be a record of rituals performed (this is possibly the reason for the name 'Book of Shadows', as the text … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: Pagan, Pagan theology, Paganism, sacred texts, scriptural literalism 18 Comments

Links: Pagan Systematic Theology, Sacred Lands Conference, Pagans vs. Gnostics

January 8, 2013 By Christine Kraemer 4 Comments

Over at PaganSquare, Sam Webster has the latest installment in his Pagan systematic theology. Sam's approach differs from mine in many ways -- his grounding in the writings of the ancient Greeks (especially Iamblichus) being just one -- and teasing out my own reactions to what he has to say is always instructive. This latest post is on the nature of the Gods, and I'm particularly pleased to see him differentiating monotheism (one deity) and monism (one spiritual essence) on the way to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Pagan Studies, Theology Tagged With: academia, Pagan, Pagan studies, Pagan theology, Paganism 4 Comments

Theology Is Not Religious Studies

January 3, 2013 By Christine Kraemer 5 Comments

In teaching theology and religion, I've learned that most people don't realize that the two are separate disciplines. Although theology and religion have overlap, treating them as if they were the same can lead to a great deal of confusion. Since the assumptions made in theology and the assumptions made in religious studies are quite different, conflating them makes it difficult to do either well. So, let's revisit: What is theology, particularly in a Pagan context? While I love definitions, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Pagan Studies, Theology Tagged With: academia, academic disciplines, Pagan, Pagan studies, Pagan theology, Paganism, religious studies 5 Comments

What is theology?

January 1, 2013 By yvonne 20 Comments

The Young Cicero Reading by Vincenzo Foppa (fresco, 1464), now at the Wallace Collection

The term theology was coined by Cicero in 45 BCE in his book, De Natura Deorum ("On the nature of the Gods"). The book presented three different perspectives on theology - the skeptical, the Epicurean, and the Stoic, and was presented in the form of a dialogue between the three viewpoints. What can we learn from this? Pagan theology can be discursive and involve dialogue between different schools of thought. It can include skepticism and non-theism. It does not lay down dogma or doctrine, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: Pagan, Pagan theologies, Pagan theology, Paganism, theology, Yvonne Aburrow 20 Comments

Change

December 23, 2012 By yvonne 4 Comments

Autumn foliage splendor in the Green Mountain National Forest

My favourite times of year are the transitional seasons of spring and autumn, when everything is changing rapidly. In spring there are new blossoms and new leaves emerging, and the days lengthen rapidly. In autumn, the leaves turn red and yellow and orange and are blown away in the wind. The smell of bonfires is in the air, symbolising the transformation of decay into the bright energy of fire. Everything is always changing, transforming into something else; nothing is ever lost. The … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: change, Pagan theology, seasons, transitions 4 Comments

A Community of Scholars

December 18, 2012 By Christine Kraemer 4 Comments

My theology class this fall at Cherry Hill Seminary is wrapping up this week, and my students are making their closing remarks and evaluating each others’ final projects. I love to see the gratitude and delight my students express at the end of the semester—sometimes to me, but more often, to each other. I design my classes to be discussion-oriented and as non-hierarchical as a graded class can be. As an instructor, what I provide is structure—readings, theoretical frameworks, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Announcements, Pagan Studies, Theology Tagged With: academia, conferences, Pagan, Pagan studies, Pagan theology, Paganism 4 Comments

A patchwork of ideas: introducing myself

December 17, 2012 By yvonne 5 Comments

I have been a Pagan since 1985, when I realised that the various philosophical perspectives I had cobbled together for myself could be described as Pagan. This was a bit scary at the time, because I thought I was the only Pagan in existence; this was pre-internet and before I met other Pagans. The philosophy I had patched together for myself was this. I had decided that there was no external deity outside the universe, controlling it - how could there be when there was so much wrong with … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Announcements, My Story Tagged With: introduction, Pagan, Pagan theology, Paganism, Yvonne Aburrow 5 Comments