Exploring Polytheism – Part 1

In my book, The Philosophy of Dark Paganism, I write that a defining feature of contemporary Paganism is it’s polytheistic. This begs the question as to why not monotheism? Polytheism isn’t necessary for the practice of magick because the big three Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all have rich magical traditions. Nor does one have to be a polytheist to respect ancestors or nature; both practices can also be found within Abrahamic religions.

For any proposal, scientific or otherwise, a necessary requirement is that it must accurately predict the world as we know it. For example, suppose one proposes a scientific theory to explain a phenomenon. If the theory fails to accurately predict what occurs in reality, then it’s deemed false. We can and should also apply this standard to metaphysical proposals.

The claim by classical monotheists is that there exists a One True God that is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent and is the source of all of Creation. To determine the validity of this claim, we need to see if this Monotheistic Model of Divinity fits the reality around us.

Does this Monotheistic Model account for what we find in the world around us? More specifically, is it consistent with the existence of evil? The most famous thought experiment of this is the Epicurus Trilema:

1.    If God is unable to prevent evil, then he is not all-powerful.
2.    If God is not willing to prevent evil, then he is not all-good.
3.    If God is both willing and able to prevent evil, then why does evil exist?

When confronted with the Problem of Evil, a typical response by monotheists is that preventing evil would interfere with our free will. Therefore, God must allow evil to exist even though He’s omniscient, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent.

However, the problem with this argument is that it flies in the face of the claim that God is omnipotent. God could make the world in whatever manner He wishes. Even if it meant writing the laws of logic so that free will is consistent with the absence of evil. A square peg could be made to logically fit into a round hole by Divine command. If He's unable to do so then He isn't omnipotent. 

Another response given by monotheists is that evil, especially natural evil, while horrible, is necessary for goodness. For example, sickness from a virus helps build an immune response in the body to protect it. No pain, no gain. 

Once again, there are problems with this response. Not all natural evil is productive. Some simply cause unnecessary suffering. As Stephen Fry once said when asked what he would say to God, “I’d say, bone cancer in children? What’s that about?” Nothing good can possibly come from a child suffering with bone cancer. Yet, the God of monotheism allows it to occur despite being supposedly omnipotent and capable of preventing the suffering and death of innocent children. If you had the power to prevent a child from developing bone cancer, wouldn’t you? The omnipotent God of monotheism can but refuses. 

The Monotheistic Model of Divinity fails to correctly account for the world around us. It fails because an omniscient, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent God could not allow evil and, therefore, could not exist. Therefore, monotheism has no place in contemporary Paganism.

In part 2 of this series, I’ll make a case for a polytheistic view of divinity.

The State of Our Relationships

Most people in the US expect a blog post about the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. This post isn’t about the Thanksgiving holiday, per se. It’s about something more substantial.

When one peels away all of the inaccurate history and racist representations of Native Americans during this holiday, one finds that Thanksgiving and the upcoming Yule season are really about relationships. Unfortunately, the report on the state of our relationships is not good.

At this time in history, our relationship with Mother Earth is broken. We fail to see the divinity beneath our feet and all around us. Our species poison the air and the water. Because of us, the Earth has a fever, and it’s getting hotter.   

Our relationships with other species are equally bad. Every day, hundreds of others species go extinct because of us. Large-scale industrial farming traps animals in inhumane settings. Industrial livestock farming is a breeding ground for new viruses that can create new pathogens, allowing them to be passed from animals to humans.

Relations between humans are horrible. Violence is rampant. Humans prey on each other on the streets of large cities. Currently, Europe is experiencing the worse war since World War II as Russia’s imperialistic war on Ukraine grinds on without an end in sight. Starvation, food insecurity, and homelessness are global problems.

Even when we’re not killing each other, our relations with each other are poor. Personal relations are shallow at best and non-existent at worst.

Therefore, it’s not surprising that our relationships with ourselves are also bad. Healthy personal relationships are necessary for a healthy Self. This is because the Self is a product of the interaction between the individual and the world outside itself. 

So, as you sit down for Thanksgiving dinner, whether a banquet with friends and relatives or a microwave dinner by yourself, think about your relationship with others, yourself, and our world. Then start doing something about it.

A Mote of Dust

We’ve all heard the phrase. “The universe will provide.” Many of us have probably said this numerous times. There are so many problems with this declaration. 

First, all we’ve done here is replace the God of monotheism as a provider with a fuzzy, feel-good, pseudo-pantheist “universe.” Replacing “God” with the “Universe” doesn’t solve the multitude of problems of Abrahamic monotheism. This replacement simply adds new problems on top of the already existing ones.

A significant problem is scale. The observable universe is estimated to be 46.508 billion light-years across. To put this in context, the distance from Earth to the Moon is 1.3 light seconds away. 

Admittedly it can be hard to wrap one’s brain around these numbers. Take a look at the image below. This is a photograph taken on February 14, 1990, by the Voyager 1 space probe from a distance of about 3.7 billion miles from Earth. Speaking of Earth, if you look closely at the light beam on the right-hand side, you can see our tiny little planet. Carl Sagan eloquently captured this image when he described the Earth as appearing as “a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.” 

"Pale Blue Dot" image taken by Voyager 1

Even accepting that the universe is conscious, to declare that our problems are so significant that this massive universe cares about us is hubris to the point of delusion. Instead, we must accept responsibility for our actions and not place blind faith for our salvation in either gods or the universe. Success or failure is ours and ours alone.

A Lust For Life

“Well, I’m just a modern guy. Of course, I’ve had it in my ear before. ’Cause of a lust for life.” – lyrics Lust For Life, written by Iggy Pop and David Bowie

I’ve written that Dark Paganism is a positive, life-affirming philosophy. This means living life to the fullest. This isn’t a new idea.

In the book, The Gay Science, Friedrich Nietzsche, poses a question to the reader. 

“What, if some day or night a demon were to steal after you into your loneliest loneliness and say to you: ‘This life as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable times more... Would you not throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the demon who spoke thus? Or have you once experienced a tremendous moment when you would have answered him: ‘You are a god, and never have I heard anything more divine.”

What Nietzsche is saying is that life is good and worth living despite all its pain, boredom, and frustration.

Nietzsche wasn’t the first to teach this view. A declaration to love life can be found as far back as Ancient Mesopotamia. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Siduri (which was an epithet for the Goddess Inanna) said, 

“Fill your belly, day and night make merry, let days be full of joy, dance and make music day and night. And wear fresh clothes, and wash your head and bathe. Look at the child that is holding your hand, and let your wife delight in your embrace. These things alone are the concern of men.” 

Recover the passion for living. Enjoy pleasures of both the physical and the mental. Go out, grab life by the horns, and don’t let go.