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<\/a>I used to have a boss who\u2019d get upset when I\u2019d qualify my answers.\u00a0 \u201cYes, we can have that job finished a week early, if a key supplier gets their parts here early, if the engineer\u2019s design doesn\u2019t require any modifications, and if the assemblers work more overtime than we have a right to require.\u201d\u00a0 He wanted an enthusiastic \u201cyes!\u201d\u00a0 I felt I owed him an honest assessment of the situation.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve tried to carry that honesty into my religious writing and speaking, partially because it\u2019s the right thing to do and partially because I\u2019ve been harmed by false certainty.\u00a0 The fundamentalist preachers who insisted \u201cGod wants this\u201d and \u201cGod hates that\u201d and \u201cI know I\u2019m going to heaven and those folks over there are going to hell\u201d had me living in confusion and fear until I was old enough and until I learned enough to realize they didn\u2019t know<\/em> much of anything.\u00a0 I try to make it clear what I know<\/em> and what I believe<\/em> \u2013 and when I\u2019m guessing.<\/p>\n As a UU and a polytheist, I\u2019m part of two traditions that don\u2019t tell people what to believe or what to do.\u00a0 UUs recognize that each of us has the right to a free and responsible search for truth and meaning, while polytheists understand that different people are called by different Gods in different ways to do different things.\u00a0 While I try not to water down my message with endless disclaimers, I try to be clear about my limitations and about your freedom.\u00a0 Here are some recent examples.<\/p>\n I am the only person bound by these ideas \u2013 if your Gods tell you to do something different, by all means do so.<\/p>\n I have no need to convert anyone.<\/p>\n Paganism has many varieties and variations and I couldn\u2019t speak for them all even if I tried.<\/p>\n And if none of it seems to fit you, that\u2019s fine too.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Apparently, though, this isn\u2019t good enough for some people.\u00a0 Some knowledgeable, experienced Pagans have decided I\u2019ve crossed a line and that here on this blog I\u2019m dictating what people should do and what they should believe.<\/p>\n I think they\u2019re wrong.<\/p>\n There is a strong anti-authoritarian streak in modern Paganism.\u00a0 Many of us left religions where people were<\/em> telling us what to do, on pain of banishment and hellfire.\u00a0 Others are social and political radicals who are wrongfully and tangibly oppressed by various authorities.\u00a0 To the extent this causes the Pagan community to handle authority with great care, it\u2019s a good thing.\u00a0 But to the extent it causes some of us to reject not just arbitrary and misused authority but also the authority of competence, experience, and reason, it\u2019s a very bad, very limiting thing.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also the idea that all teaching should be indirect, that we can teach methods but not content, that every person has to discover every bit of truth on their own.\u00a0 Now, there\u2019s certainly a place for this kind of teaching.\u00a0 If you come to me in a one-on-one setting and ask for spiritual guidance, I\u2019m going to start by asking about your spiritual background and what you\u2019re looking for.\u00a0 Based on your answers, I\u2019m likely to recommend a book or two to read and reflect on, and perhaps some spiritual practices to try.\u00a0 I can\u2019t tell you what to believe and what to do because I don\u2019t know, and I wouldn\u2019t take responsibility for your spiritual life if I could.<\/p>\n But that doesn\u2019t mean I have nothing to say to the Pagan community and to the wider world.<\/p>\n Although Paganism has roots in the occult movement of the 19th<\/sup> and early 20th<\/sup> centuries, modern Pagan religion is no longer hidden.\u00a0 It is an active, growing, and public participant in the marketplace of religions.\u00a0 I think this is a good thing.\u00a0 My Pagan journey has been helpful and rewarding \u2013 why wouldn\u2019t I share that with others?<\/p>\n The loudest voices in the religious marketplace scream there is only one God and they know exactly what he wants.\u00a0 Others scream there are no Gods and religion is a waste of time.\u00a0 There are more voices, some advocating religions of compassion and service, others advocating religions of me me me.\u00a0 In this competitive din, we need people who will say \u201chow about a religion that honors the Gods of our ancestors?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cHow about a religion that honors Nature?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cHow about a religion that helps you become the best you can be, so you can be of greater service?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cHow about a religion that considers the community and not just the individual?\u201d<\/p>\n This religion isn\u2019t for everyone.\u00a0 Some are satisfied with the religion of their childhood.\u00a0 Some are called to follow the larger religions.\u00a0 Some aren\u2019t interested in any religion.\u00a0 And that\u2019s fine \u2013 we don\u2019t need everyone to become Pagans and we have no mandate to evangelize the world for Dagda and Morrigan.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t participate in this competitive marketplace because I need to \u201cwin\u201d \u2013 in whatever meaning of that word you like.\u00a0 I participate in it because there are people who are searching in the religious marketplace for something some of us already have.<\/p>\n I want everyone to know Paganism exists, and I want them to know what it is and what it isn\u2019t.\u00a0 I want those who feel the call to this path to be able to find it in minutes, not years.\u00a0 I want those who have started on this path to learn the difference between crap and not-crap.<\/p>\n I want those who are well down this path to know that deeper experiences are possible.\u00a0 I want those who have had those deeper experiences to know they\u2019re not alone and they\u2019re not delusional.<\/p>\n Beyond that, we\u2019re debating the future of Pagan religion here and now.\u00a0 Our version of the Council of Nicaea is taking place every day on blogs, websites, and social media.\u00a0 I want to be a part of those discussions.\u00a0 I want my ideas heard, critiqued, and refined.\u00a0 That won\u2019t happen if I don\u2019t present them.<\/p>\n I think these are legitimate desires.\u00a0 And I think I have an obligation to make them a reality.<\/p>\n Ultimately, all I have to offer is my own experience.\u00a0 This is what I\u2019ve done, this how I see things, this is what\u2019s been helpful to me \u2013 maybe it will be helpful to you too.\u00a0 If so, great.\u00a0 If not, that\u2019s great too \u2013 now you have one less thing to consider on your religious quest.\u00a0 In the end, I\u2019ll judge your religious choices based on how they help you live a good life, not on how closely your choices match mine.<\/p>\n If you find my thoughts unhelpful, ignore them.\u00a0 If you\u2019re called to a different flavor of Paganism, great.\u00a0 Share your thoughts and we can all learn something from you.<\/p>\n If you think I\u2019m wrong, then say so \u2013 I have a very liberal comment policy and I\u2019m pretty easy to find for private conversations.\u00a0 Make your case and if you\u2019re convincing, I\u2019ll change what I think and do.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve got a lot of time on your hands, you can go back through six years of this blog and see how my beliefs and practices have changed in response to new information and new experiences.\u00a0 I expect that evolutionary process will continue for the rest of my life.<\/p>\n This is why I blog, and speak, and teach.\u00a0 If after all this you still think I\u2019m telling people what to believe and what to do, you have a very different concept of \u201ctelling people what to do\u201d than I do.\u00a0 And you\u2019re giving me credit for far more power and influence than I actually have.<\/p>\n<\/a>