Naturalistic Paganism
How do you enact a communal meal in ritual?
2012 Thing on Thursday #6
We continue our series of questions on liturgy. Our poll asked about the most important elements of ritual liturgy, the third most popular element was the communal meal.
The breaking of bread together could be regarded, in a broad sense, as the oldest known ritual, older even than humanity. Its power to establish bonds of good will between participants are manifestly obvious.
What is not completely obvious is how precisely to ritualize this, with whom, and why. That’s the point of the poll today.
There are actually three polls today, inquiring into three relevant questions. In these polls, two terms need to be established:
- participants refers to people present and actively taking part in the ritual
- honored beings refers to any explicit recipient of honors in the ritual, symbolic or otherwise, be it a deity, spirit, ancestor, aspect of nature, ideal, or living person
Some may balk at first glance at a shared meal with an ideal, but think of the practice of a toast: “to health and happiness” or “to success” are perfectly common toasts. The drink is raised in honor of this recipient (symbolically shared with it?), then imbibed by the participants.
Please vote for as many as strongly appeal to you.
Please share your thoughts in the comments.
About Thing on Thursday
This post is part of a series of councils on matters vital to the future. The name represents both the generic term for, you know, a thingie, as well as the Old Norse term for a council of elders: a Thing.Each week from the Autumn Equinox until the Winter Solstice, Thing on Thursday explores a new controversy. Participation is open to all – the more minds that come together, the better. Those who have been vocal in the comments are as welcome as those quiet-but-devoted readers who have yet to venture a word. We value all constructive opinions.
There are only a few rules:
- be constructive – this is a council, so treat it as such
- be respectful – no rants or flames
Comments will be taken into consideration as we determine the new direction of Humanistic Paganism.
So please make your voice heard in the comments!
Last hum of the cicada: Death in naturalism
Naturalistic views of death cease obsession on continuity in linear time, and focus on transcendence of the individual
– by B. T. Newberg
Deep in the mountains of South Korea, a cicada hummed its last. Walking along the roadside, I saw a spider fall upon it with its venomous mandibles. Caught in the web, it had no escape, and cried:
hum…
hum…
silence
I stood equally silenced as the spider carried off the corpse into the splintered bark of a dead maple. It occurred to me that one day I too would sing the silence of my last song.
Death happens. It’s a truth so true it’s cliche. Yet, certain experiences have the power to make the truth visceral again. They blow away the dust that obscures it, and make it real again. They force us to confront mortality.
How do naturalists make sense of death?
Since naturalists avoid supernatural concepts, there is little room for an immortal “soul” that somehow survives death. In the wake of this, there seem to be three principle ways of coming to terms with death.
- death makes life meaningful
- we live on through our effects on the world: memories, descendents, and influences we leave behind
- we live on through that part of us which is immortal: the physical constituents of our bodies that disassemble and reassemble into myriad new forms tumbling throughout the Cosmos
Death makes life meaningful
Brendan Myers writes:
Not death, but immortality, confers absurdity and meaningless. There is nothing an immortal could do, or build, or achieve, that would outlast him.
In a somewhat similar vein, a New Scientist article published just last week maintains that much of civilization’s accomplishments have been motivated by an awareness of our mortality.
The first principle may also underlie the Epicurean view of death, which sees the death event as a non-experience (something we anticipate but never actually experience, since we no longer have living bodies with which to experience it), and focuses instead on leading a worthwhile existence while yet alive.
We live on through effects on the world
Myers places still more emphasis on the second principle, advocating living a life whose story is worthy of being told (whether or not it is actually told). He calls this goal apotheosis:
…you can be responsible for living in such a way that others ought to uphold your life as a model of excellence which future generations can learn from, and perhaps emulate.
By leaving behind a legacy, be it children, a novel, or the enhanced lives of those known in life, we live on through our effects on the world.
Immortality as part of the Cosmos
The third principle identifies with the matter of the body, which decomposes and recomposes into myriad new forms.
This was involved in the teachings of some Stoics that upon death our bodies dissolve into the elements and thus rejoin the cosmic logos.
A similar, if updated, view is exalted in Oscar Wilde’s poem Panthea:
So when men bury us beneath the yew
Thy crimson-stained mouth a rose will be,
And thy soft eyes lush bluebells dimmed with dew,
And when the white narcissus wantonly
Kisses the wind its playmate some faint joy
Will thrill our dust, and we will be again fond maid and boy.
The same principle would also seem to underlie the meaning of death as part of the circle of life, as expressed in Disney’s The Lion King:
- Mufasa: “Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance. As king, you need to understand that balance and respect all the creatures, from the crawling ant to the leaping antelope.”
Young Simba: “But, Dad, don’t we eat the antelope?”
Mufasa: “Yes, Simba, but let me explain. When we die, our bodies become the grass, and the antelope eat the grass. And so we are all connected in the great Circle of Life.”
Beyond the individual
What people fear most about death is probably the cessation of the sense of “me.” Notably, all three principles cease to dwell exclusively upon the continuation of this “me” in linear time, and reach toward something that transcends the individual personality.
Upcoming work
News
HP is starting to get traction beyond the English language!
Recently I discovered an HP essay translated into Italian. What’s more, we’ve just accepted our first bilingual submission in English/Italian. Thanks to Hilaria for both.
For speakers of other languages, I’d like to take this moment to extend an open invitation. Send us your pieces in French, Czech, Russian, Swahili, Chinese, or whatever you like! So long as they are relevant to our community, they will be considered.
This Sunday
Our month of somber pieces leading up to Samhain continues:
How do naturalists relate to death?
Last hum of the cicada: Death in naturalism, by B. T. Newberg
Appearing Sunday, October 28th, 2012
Thing on Thursday
This week, Thing on Thursday asks:
How do you enact a communal meal in ritual?
Next Sunday
Are you aware of green burial options? Antal introduces us to a few: promession and resomation.
The progression of cremation and burial alternatives, by Antal Polony
Appearing Sunday, November 4, 2012
Recent Work
Honouring our ancestors, by NaturalPantheist
Three Transcendents, by B. T. Newberg
Part 1: Naturalistic Transcendence
My journey in a nutshell, by Velody Dark
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How do you enter trance or meditation in ritual?
2012 Thing on Thursday #5
Two weeks ago, our poll asked about the most important elements of ritual liturgy, and last week’s dug into methods of “giving thanks.” The second most popular method, after spoken words of gratitude, was making offerings or libations. This suggests that naturalists continue to align fairly closely with other Pagans in terms of preferred ritual activities, which may or may not be surprising.
This week, let’s continue this line of inquiry by looking at trance and meditation in ritual.
Both “trance” and “meditation” admit of many definitions and variations, so please interpret these as you will. The point here is not to analyze a concept but to poll opinion on a broad category of ritual practices.
Again, diversity will no doubt be especially great for this question, and the poll can’t hope to cover all possible answers, so please share your ideas and methods in the comments.
By the way, if interested, you can find a number of meditation practices on our “Resources” page, or by clicking the “meditation” tag in the sidebar.
Please choose as many as strongly appeal to you.
Please share your thoughts in the comments.
About Thing on Thursday
This post is part of a series of councils on matters vital to the future. The name represents both the generic term for, you know, a thingie, as well as the Old Norse term for a council of elders: a Thing.Each week from the Autumn Equinox until the Winter Solstice, Thing on Thursday explores a new controversy. Participation is open to all – the more minds that come together, the better. Those who have been vocal in the comments are as welcome as those quiet-but-devoted readers who have yet to venture a word. We value all constructive opinions.
There are only a few rules:
- be constructive – this is a council, so treat it as such
- be respectful – no rants or flames
Comments will be taken into consideration as we determine the new direction of Humanistic Paganism.
So please make your voice heard in the comments!
Paul Kurtz has died
Paul Kurtz (1925-2012), the great Humanist and founder of many organizations including the Center for Inquiry, the Council for Secular Humanism, and the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, has passed away. He was the author of the Humanist Manifesto 2000, and long-time editor of The Humanist and Free Inquiry.
While the kind of Humanism Kurtz represents is primarily Secular Humanism, rather than Religious or Spiritual Humanism, the man made great strides for Humanists of all stripes.
Dr. Kurtz gave an interview shortly before he passed away, and had this to say:
EV: Why do atheists need to focus on positive moral values, and not simply “atheism” and separation of church and state?
PK: This agenda is too limited. It marginalizes other issues of great importance. Atheists need to be committed to a moral compass, given the fact that totalitarian atheists (and secularists) have sometimes used terror to achieve their ends; it’s important that the means be ethical. In short, it is vital that we move beyond atheism. We need to develop, articulate, and defend ethical and moral alternatives, drawing upon science and humanistic wisdom, that speak specifically to human questions and concerns. We need to appeal to both the head and the heart. My basic point has remained the same: We need to defend and explicate a positive agenda of humanism — relevant to all. It needs to be constructive, prescriptive, and ethical. I have enunciated this view in virtually all of my writings. We cannot merely offer to the world negative critiques of religion. We have to be FOR something as well. We have to speak directly to the human condition.
As that quote demonstrates, Kurtz was a great proponent of moving beyond criticism of religion and embracing issues of social justice and humanitarian concern. While that is to be expected from Humanism, it has not always been put into practice as much as it should be, perhaps. Kurtz’ statement of Neo-Humanist principles and values lists sixteen recommendations:
Neo-Humanists:
- aspire to be more inclusive by appealing to both non-religious and religious humanists and to religious believers who share common goals;
- are skeptical of traditional theism;
- are best defined by what they are for, not what they are against;
- wish to use critical thinking, evidence, and reason to evaluate claims to knowledge;
- apply similar considerations to ethics and values;
- are committed to a key set of values: happiness, creative actualization, reason in harmony with emotion, quality, and excellence;
- emphasize moral growth (particularly for children), empathy, and responsibility;
- advocate the right to privacy;
- support the democratic way of life, tolerance, and fairness;
- recognize the importance of personal morality, good will, and a positive attitude toward life;
- accept responsibility for the well-being of society, guaranteeing various rights, including those of women, racial, ethnic, and sexual minorities; and supporting education, health care, gainful employment, and other social benefits;
- support a green economy;
- advocate population restraint, environmental protection, and the protection of other species;
- recognize the need for Neo-Humanists to engage actively in politics;
- take progressive positions on the economy; and
- hold that humanity needs to move beyond ego-centric individualism and chauvinistic nationalism to develop transnational planetary institutions to cope with global problems—such efforts include a strengthened World Court, an eventual World Parliament, and a Planetary Environmental Monitoring Agency that would set standards for controlling global warming and ecology.
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