{"id":82,"date":"2012-08-06T21:09:00","date_gmt":"2012-08-06T21:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2012\/08\/hard-work\/"},"modified":"2012-08-06T21:09:00","modified_gmt":"2012-08-06T21:09:00","slug":"hard-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2012\/08\/hard-work.html","title":{"rendered":"Hard Work"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Aidan Kelly at Patheos posted a challenging essay titled \u201cThe Craft Is Actually Hard Work, If You\u2019re Serious<\/a>.\u201d I say \u201cchallenging\u201d because it\u2019s challenging some of my approaches to religion and spiritual practice. And if Aidan Kelly is challenging me, then I need to take a closer look.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n

If you don\u2019t know who Aidan Kelly is<\/a>, you should. He was a co-founder of the New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn<\/a> in the 1960s, earned a Ph.D in Theology, and has done historical research into the origins of Wicca. Regular readers of this blog know I\u2019m not big on appeals to authority, but if Aidan Kelly says something I\u2019m not going to dismiss it without some careful review and consideration.<\/p>\n

Kelly says three things I think need a deeper look.<\/p>\n

The first is the title of his post, with which I am in strong agreement. Any religion done right is hard work. It takes work to examine your actions and make sure they\u2019re in alignment with your values. It takes work to examine your values and make sure they\u2019re your values and not the values of your parents or teachers or the mainstream society. It takes work to build and maintain good relations with your gods and goddesses, your ancestors, your community and the world at large. Daily spiritual practice, study, meditation, prayer, and worship takes time and effort. <\/p>\n

The idea that religion doesn\u2019t involve work comes from the conservative Protestant doctrine that religion is all about what you believe. For tribal and liberal religions \u2013 including Paganism \u2013 what\u2019s really important is what you do. Doing it right takes work.<\/p>\n

The second is his assertion that \u201cYes, there are Third Degree secrets.\u201d Here I had a strong negative reaction. On numerous occasions I\u2019ve said \u201cthere are no occult secrets.\u201d I\u2019ve said that partly to warn people away from charlatans trying to scam seekers out of money or sex or both. But beyond that, I\u2019ve seen too many people spend all kinds of time and effort looking for secrets that don\u2019t \u2013 and can\u2019t \u2013 exist. <\/p>\n

On further reflections, though, I don\u2019t think Kelly and I that are apart. While I like to say \u201cthere are no occult secrets\u201d the second half of that is \u201cthere are only ineffable mysteries.\u201d These are secrets no one can tell you because you have to experience them for yourself. You can\u2019t learn them by hearing or by reading but only by doing and experiencing. They aren\u2019t unspeakable because they are too sacred to utter, they are unspeakable because they transcend language and the intellect. Kelly says \u201cwithout that deeper level, the Craft is as silly and inadequate as the Sunday School version of Christianity: pablum for infants.\u201d<\/p>\n

He goes on to say \u201cthe secrets need not be learned only from people who already know them, although that\u2019s an efficient way. In the NROOGD we were able to reinvent them for ourselves, because we had an amazing pool of multitalented people.\u201d<\/p>\n

That leads me to the third thing I think is critically important, Kelly\u2019s assertion that \u201cone must have an absolute dedication to search for objective truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

I have a problem with objective truth. Not because I think it doesn\u2019t exist, but because I don\u2019t know how we can recognize it with the certainty required to call it \u201cobjective.\u201d <\/p>\n

I\u2019m not a relativist. Just because it\u2019s to your advantage or preference that something be good and right and true doesn\u2019t make it so. We may not be able to say conclusively and objectively what is best, but we can say \u2013 based on real results \u2013 that some things are better than others (this may end up being a post of its own in the near future). <\/p>\n

I\u2019m an engineer \u2013 I want repeatable experiments and verifiable data. You can get that in physics and chemistry and even biology, but religion and philosophy is a very different arena. Plus too many people preach too many versions of \u201cobjective truth\u201d and many of them are at odds with basic morality, much less common sense.<\/p>\n

But again, after further reflection I don\u2019t think Kelly and I are that far apart. As I said in my recent post on fat and health<\/a>, I have a have a strong opinion that those who point out problems have an obligation to offer solutions. And by \u201cproblems\u201d I don\u2019t just mean things that are wrong. I also mean \u201cproblems\u201d in the academic sense. It\u2019s not enough to say \u201cit\u2019s a mystery \u2013 we don\u2019t know.\u201d One of the main purposes of religion is to deal with the Big Questions of Life. If you aren\u2019t coming up with provisional answers then you aren\u2019t fully engaging the questions.<\/p>\n

In speaking of the search for objective truth, Kelly says we must \u201cresearch every important question for oneself, to never settle for anyone\u2019s opinion, no matter how well-informed it seems, to always resist the pressure that everyone around you will exert to persuade you to buy into their beliefs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Externally, I try to have some humility about my experiences and beliefs. I know I may be wrong about many things and I\u2019m bound to be wrong about some things. If your experience and beliefs are different, I\u2019ll gladly discuss them and if your way seems to make more sense than mine, I\u2019ll consider it. <\/p>\n

But internally I treat my beliefs and experiences as though they absolutely True. In my daily life I have one foot in the world of science and the other foot in the world of magic<\/a>. When it comes time for practice, I do my best to set my doubts aside, to have both feet in the same world and to have the confidence that everything I see and hear and do and say is absolutely real.<\/p>\n

For me, this isn\u2019t just an academic question \u2013 it has great bearing on my spiritual future. I\u2019ve been studying and practicing Paganism for 19 years, the last 11 of them seriously. I\u2019m a full member of the Druid grade in the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids. I\u2019m the Coordinating Officer of Denton CUUPS and a member of the Board of Trustees of CUUPS Continental. I\u2019ve composed and led dozens of rituals. I\u2019ve had ecstatic and transcendent religious experiences. I\u2019ve taught classes and led workshops.<\/p>\n

I am not an adept. I am not a master, or anything of the sort.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t say that out of disappointment. I don\u2019t say that out of false humility or secretive misdirection. But I learned a long time ago I do myself no favors when I overestimate my skills and abilities. <\/p>\n

I\u2019m not a Wiccan or a Thelemite or a ceremonial magician. I\u2019m a Druid. I\u2019m not sure what a Druid adept looks like, but I know I\u2019m not it.<\/p>\n

But something deep inside is whispering that I need to become one. <\/p>\n

And that, as Aidan Kelly says, is actually hard work.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aidan Kelly at Patheos posted a challenging essay titled \u201cThe Craft Is Actually Hard Work, If You\u2019re Serious.\u201d I say \u201cchallenging\u201d because it\u2019s challenging some of my approaches to religion and spiritual practice. And if Aidan Kelly is challenging me, then I need to take a closer look. If you don\u2019t know who Aidan Kelly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1129,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-82","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nHard Work<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Aidan Kelly at Patheos posted a challenging essay titled \u201cThe Craft Is Actually Hard Work, If You\u2019re Serious.\u201d I say \u201cchallenging\u201d because it\u2019s\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2012\/08\/hard-work.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hard Work\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Aidan Kelly at Patheos posted a challenging essay titled \u201cThe Craft Is Actually Hard Work, If You\u2019re Serious.\u201d I say \u201cchallenging\u201d because it\u2019s\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2012\/08\/hard-work.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"John Beckett\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-08-06T21:09:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-4gY7UYW5dKw\/UCB1xYQskMI\/AAAAAAAABYk\/awL8GaBChpw\/s320\/36+one-eyed+tree.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John Beckett\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"John Beckett\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2012\/08\/hard-work.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2012\/08\/hard-work.html\",\"name\":\"Hard Work\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-08-06T21:09:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-08-06T21:09:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad\"},\"description\":\"Aidan Kelly at Patheos posted a challenging essay titled \u201cThe Craft Is Actually Hard Work, If You\u2019re Serious.\u201d I say \u201cchallenging\u201d because it\u2019s\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2012\/08\/hard-work.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2012\/08\/hard-work.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2012\/08\/hard-work.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Hard Work\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/\",\"name\":\"John Beckett\",\"description\":\"Musings of a Druid, Pagan, and Unitarian Universalist.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad\",\"name\":\"John Beckett\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"John Beckett\"},\"description\":\"I grew up in Tennessee with the woods right outside my back door. 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