Pagan Existentialism: An Interview with Brendan Myers

I think that any worldview that might deny, or ignore, the suffering and oppression in the world is profoundly immature and unrealistic. Thus if the pagan movement is a mature one, its question is not whether the acknowledgement of human suffering has value, but rather the question concerns what that value is. In the Christian worldview, the notion of Original Sin, and the crucifixion of Christ, put suffering at the very center of the Christian story. Christians, I am sure, would add that the resurrection is equally important. To this I would only comment that Pagans have a fine collection of dying and resurrecting gods who can act as our role models in our own struggles with the "negative." Mithras, Osiris, Adonis, come to mind as examples, as well as any number of heroes who made an underworld journey, such as Inanna, Persephone, and Orpheus.

You mention that the Gods must be even lonelier than we are. I'm wondering if the growth of Paganism over the past few decades could be related to Pagans and the Gods increasingly positively affirming each other. Do you think the "I am here" of revelation is something we lost over the centuries?

I think the revelation of presence, the "I am here" that we offer each other with our presence alone, is something all of us naturally do, all the time. But the significance of that presence is rarely understood, and this is a large reason why so many of us feel trapped in loneliness, unable to escape. But suppose we learned to trust each other better. Suppose we courageously revealed ourselves to each other in the hope of better understanding each other. The "I am here" that you mention, the first of four movements of Revelation described in the book, is the way to do this. People have certainly learned to do this at various times in history. The question is whether we, too, will learn to do this; and whether we will learn this well enough to prevent hate and fear.

You write about the structures different cultures build to feel less isolated. Do you think it's important for modern Pagans to create physical testaments of their existence?

In fact I do. Physical testaments like monuments, statuary, and architecture make a definite "I am here!" kind of statement, and they tend to have a unifying influence on a community. Meeting places and their signs are very important for the creation of sound relationships in a growing community. One of my private life-long goals is to design and build a temple. At the moment that dream looks to be a long way off. But one can always hope!