Halloran's Faith in God
Here I thought I was done talking about New York City Council candidate, and “outed” Theodsman, Dan Halloran until after the elections. However, a loyal Wild Hunt reader alerted me to this recent op-ed in the Queens Chronicle where Halloran decides to talk about his faith journey. It starts, as all good stories do, at the beginning.
“I was raised a Roman Catholic right here in Auburndale. I was baptized into the Catholic Church and took my confirmation at 13.I attended Jesuit schools.Then and now, faith is a cornerstone of my life.”
OK, good so far, many Pagans/Heathens started out as Catholics. Next we come to a moment of personal tragedy and the resulting changes that it brought to Halloran’s religious perspective.
“The death of my father and its aftermath was very difficult for our family. I took comfort in my family’s history and our heritage, yet through all of this pain and hardship, I never lost faith in God.”
That’s certainly terrible about his father, but he never lost faith in “God”? Doesn’t he mean that he gained faith in many gods? Halloran is a polytheist, isn’t he? Lets go to an article Halloran wrote for The Witches’ Voice to make sure.
“The Theodish religious philosophy can be described as three interlocking sets of thews: A) The Votive Thews – i. Sacral Kingship, ii. Theodish Affinity – the Web of Troth and Oaths, and iii. worship of the Germanic Gods and Ancestors; B) The Criterial Thews – i. Life as a process of Ordeal, ii. Worthing and Becoming, and iii. its context of the Three Wynns – Wisdom, Generosity and Honor; and C) the Existential Thews – i. Freedom of Conscience, ii. Right Good Will, and iii. Sovereign Tribal Weal. These Three Rings of Thew [the “TRT”] are what binds together each tribe’s Theodsmen and makes possible the Theodish theological construct. Each of the thews interlock and are co-dependant, they are likewise situational and dependant on context for expression.”
That sounds pretty polytheist to me, maybe he’s just warming up people unfamiliar with Theodism. Let’s read on.
“Last week, I was attacked for my faith in the Queens Tribune.These attacks happened on the eve of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the holiest time of the year for the Jewish people. Having been raised in a Catholic household that shares its religious roots with the Jewish faith, I was deeply offended that religion would be used for political gain … I am a man of faith – and now my faith is under attack by a newspaper working for my opponent.”
Huh? He’s trying to imply that the timing of the outing was offensive because it was near Jewish high holidays and he was raised Catholic? That makes almost no sense. Further, he keeps referencing “my faith” and that he’s a “man of faith” but does not once mention what, exactly, his faith is. I get that he doesn’t want his faith to be used against him in this race, but the nature of that faith is out of the bag, repeatedly invoking a singular “God” while talking about Catholicism and Judaism to the exclusion of his actual chosen faith simply reinforces the notion that he’s hiding something. Anyone reading this remains entirely unclear as to what Halloran’s current faith is, unless he’s saying that Theodism is more a cultural practice for him, and that he remains a Judeo-Christian-style monotheist. Is that what he is saying?
Whatever Halloran’s actual beliefs are at this point, he needs to be clear about them. Misdirection or invocations of family history, however noble, won’t erase the questions people have. Will perceived political necessities make someone who once openly advocated for Pagan rights keep quiet?
ADDENDUM: Dan Halloran, in a letter to me, offered the following clarifying statement.
“I honor my Ancestors and cling to my Hiberno-Norse Culture’s Worldview. I revere my God (Tiw)- and henotheistically I may add- a fact NEVER HIDDEN from ANYONE who has had a theological discussion with me ANYTIME in the last 10 years- and I respect the Gods of the North and Wights of Middenyard. I have been part of the Heathen community in New York for 20 years and particularly Theodish for over 12 years. I have served the Troth for over 18 years in a variety of religious and secular ways. Whatever necessary political discussions take place – I have never hidden my religion- it’s on my facebook, in courts – judges and counsels in the Courts I practice are aware, I’ve been the corporate counsel for a variety of pagan groups- and have lectured and discussed theology all over the US. I disclosed my religious affiliations to the Queens County GOP prior to running. My license plate on both my car and truck are Tiw Tru and Tyr Tru respectively.”
So that should clear up at least some of the questions folks have.
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