Naturalistic Paganism
Encounters in Nature: A book review by Drew Jacob
In the interest of full disclosure, I should open this review by admitting some bias. I’m one of the three people featured in Encounters in Nature, and as such I have warm feelings about it. However, I do not receive any payment or profit from Encounters, and I was skeptical when the idea was first suggested – so I want to provide a review of what turned out to be an amazing product.
The reason I was skeptical is because of the format. Encounters in Nature is what I can only describe as an audio ebook. That is, it contains over an hour of audio broken up into segments with pictures and text in between. The text provides a great introduction, a variety of anecdotes and insights, and some of the original work of the featured personalities. When author B. T. Newberg first told me he planned to record a conversation in the woods, I couldn’t really picture how it would become a book. But when I saw the finished product, I was blown away.
The story of that night
The backstory is simple. B. T. (founder of Humanistic Paganism), Urban Haas (an oungan or Vodou priest) and myself (a rogue priest developing the Heroic Life) had planned a camping trip. Realizing that not everyone is balls-out about roughing it like I am, we stationed ourselves at a two-room cabin owned by B. T.’s family. What ensued was three days of the finest conversation I’ve ever been privy to.
There were gods and spirits. There were heroes and villains. There were some of our most vulnerable personal moments, shared with the breathy trust that we were among brothers. It’s not that deep conversation or man-time is anything new – but it happened in seclusion, with the greatest philosophers I know. And somehow, it took a shape of its own.
So on the second night, B. T. set up his carefully-tested and fully-charged recording equipment. It was almost comical, seeing him connect cords to his Macbook on a log beside the fire. We didn’t judge; we’d done crazier things on sheer determination many times. Soon it was dark and the mic was ready.
What the ebook offers
The audio starts with B. T. inviting each of us to share a little about our respective spiritual paths. What do a rogue priest, an oungan, and a Humanistic Pagan have in common, he asks? “Nature, of course.”
The dialogue proceeds from the sharing of paths to a discussion of how nature intersects spirituality. From there it becomes story time, each of us recounting our own experiences of being dramatically changed by nature. There’s much questioning and gentle ribbing as we discuss the idea of going back to the wild, and what it truly means.
All of this is embedded in a 70-page digital book with good layout and an evocative set of pictures, mostly real photos from our trip. When I saw the finished product I couldn’t believe B. T. had put it together in scarcely a week, a testament to his work ethic.
Encounters in Nature is made for anyone who enjoys spiritual discussion without pulpit-pounding rhetoric. It’s a candid dialogue between three devotees of three very different paths, exploring one of the greatest forces to shape the history of religion: nature itself.
Encounters will anger readers with a strict sense of faith, and provoke those with an interest in exploring outside their own own beliefs.
If that’s you, I’d recommend it even if I weren’t one of the voices on the audio.
Encounters in Nature is available as an epub at GoodReads ($8) or as a pdf at Oronjo ($0+ – pay what you think it’s worth!).
The reviewer
Drew Jacob is a priest of many gods, a seasoned nonprofit professional, a writer, an observer and all too frequently a student of his own misadventures. He follows the Heroic Path: the idea that the highest goal in life is to live gloriously, to distinguish oneself through one’s deeds, to be clever and brave and become known for it – to use the moments of life to leave a lasting and worthy impression on the world. He is the author of Rogue Priest and the ebook Walk Like a God: How to Have Spiritual Moments With No Church and No Dogma. Currently he is in preparation for the Great Adventure, a walk across two continents from Minnesota to Brazil.
See Drew’s other contributions:
Upcoming work
This Sunday: Ebook Double Feature
Introducing a new ebook from B. T. Newberg! This collection of creative nonfiction stories set in Malaysia has already received a glowing review from Southeast Asia Travel Advice. We’ll bring you the inside scoop on this exciting new ebook on sale now at GoodReads!
Love and the Ghosts of Mount Kinabalu, by B. T. Newberg
Appearing Sunday, December 18th.
Drew takes a break from his travels in Thailand to review our first ebook, Encounters in Nature. An e-reader friendly version is now on sale at GoodReads, but you can get your copy FREE! To find out how, click here.
Encounters in Nature: An ebook review, by Drew Jacob
Appearing Sunday, December 18th.
This Wednesday – Winterviews begins!
Finally! This Wednesday is the Solstice, and that means it’s time for Winterviews (winter interviews).
We’re kicking off the event with a leader in naturalistic Paganism, Glenys Livingstone, author of Pagaian Cosmology.
A poetry of Place: An interview with Glenys Livingstone, by B. T. Newberg
Appearing on the Solstice, December 21st.
Year One: A Year of Humanistic Paganism
Our latest ebook goes on sale on Wednesday! Year One organizes into one coherent presentation all we’ve published in the last year, and expands on it with exclusive new material.
Next Sunday
Is Christmas Day anything special to you? Well, whether it is or isn’t, we’ve got a special present for you. Religious Naturalist Chet Raymo, author of When God Is Gone, Everything is Holy, delivers a gift from his Science Musings collection.
Mystery, not miracle, by Chet Raymo
Appearing Sunday, December 25, 2012
Recent Work
Saving the marriage of science and religion, by B. T. Newberg
What’s been most valuable on HP?
Thing on Thursday #12
Well, this is the final Thing on Thursday, which means that just around the corner is the Solstice (Dec. 21st), and with it the beginning of our Winterviews event!
With this last poll, I’d like to get feedback on the services provided by our website. What has been most valuable for you?
If there’s something missing from the choices, or if there’s some other service you’d like to see, please add it in the “other” box and explain in the comments. Thanks!
Please choose your top three.
Please share your thoughts in the comments below!
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 until the Winter Solstice, Thing on Thursday will explore 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. This will also greatly shape the vision that unfolds in our upcoming ebook Our Ancient Future: Visions of Humanistic Paganism.
So please make your voice heard in the comments!
Saving the marriage of science and myth
The marriage of science and myth, like that of Zeus and Hera, is a struggle.
– by B. T. Newberg
Marriage is hard. Zeus and Hera were constantly bickering. Inanna banished her husband Dumuzi to the underworld. Skadi and Njord couldn’t live together no matter how they tried. Are all marriages doomed to failure?
Humanistic Paganism bills itself as a naturalistic “marriage” of science and myth. It would be nice if it were a neat, sweet, picket-fence relationship. But that’s not how most marriages go, is it? Marriage is hard work, but it’s worth it.
This metaphor is particularly poignant to me since I’m two and a half months into a marriage of my own. The honeymoon phase is over. No one said marriage would be easy, whether it’s between two people or two cultural phenomena like science and myth.
By science I mean that modern method of empirical investigation which has given us everything from toasters to quantum physics, and which takes naturalism as a working principle. By myth I mean the ancient stories that have given us the likes of Zeus, Thor, and the Morrígan, as well as the rituals, meditations, and other practices that go along with a living tradition of mythology.
Now that we know what we mean by science and myth, what does it take to make their marriage work?
Couples counseling
No marriage has much hope if the couple can’t learn to listen to each other.
It takes courage to hear hard criticism. Science and myth have plenty of grievances, so they’d better find a way to air them in a safe space. HP aspires to be just such a safe space.
It also takes patience. We aren’t necessarily able to express our feelings coherently or all at once. Each person must discover themselves in the process, while the other waits patiently for them to work out their issues. On HP, we have folks more science-oriented and folks more myth-oriented, and both need the patience to let the other speak their truth.
Finally, it takes responsiveness. It’s not enough just to listen, you also have to be willing to be persuaded. On HP, we’ve been challenged by critical voices, and we have to recognize the value of that process. Likewise, critics need to be open to having their challenges met.
As with couples counseling, we must find the courage and patience to talk through the tough issues, and the willingness to let the process change us.
The parent trap
It also takes creativity to make a marriage work.
Remember that old movie The Parent Trap? Two teenage twins conspire to get their divorced parents back together. Their cutesy antics may make you laugh or vomit, depending on your taste, but the point is they use creativity to re-ignite love.
Theology is a lot like that. A recent term in religious studies is creative misunderstanding, whereby a tradition changes by re-interpreting the old in a new way. This enables a community to meet the needs of the present while maintaining continuity with the past.
It may take some creative misunderstanding to keep science and myth together. Like the twins in The Parent Trap, we may need ingenuity to rekindle their flame.
The languages of love
Gary Chapman has a book for couples called The Five Love Languages, which proposes you have to learn how the other expresses love, and learn to speak that language yourself. Science and myth speak different languages, and they may need to learn the other’s in order to communicate.
HP is about learning to speak the languages of both science and myth. Michael Dowd frames these in terms of day language and night language, respectively. Science speaks of reality in the clear light of day. Myth also speaks of reality, but in the strange imagery of dreams in the night. Both have important things to say, and it takes learning the other’s language to achieve understanding.
Awesome make-up sex
Often the best love-making is after a fight. When couples kiss and make up, they re-affirm they’d rather be together than apart, despite their differences.
Science and myth have had a rocky relationship, and currently stand facing away from each other with crossed arms. Can HP turn them toward each other again?
If so, we’re looking forward to an awesome make-up.
It’ll be like Psyche and Eros, or Isis after finally recovering her lost husband Osiris.
Upcoming work
This Sunday
Myth and science married – is this union doomed to go the way of the Kardashians? B. T. Newberg reflects on what it takes to make this marriage work.
Saving the marriage of science and myth, by B. T. Newberg
Appearing Sunday, December 11th, on Humanistic Paganism.
Thing on Thursday
This will be our final Thing on Thursday. We’ll conclude by asking: What have you valued most from Humanistic Paganism?
Join us for the next council on matters vital to the future of Humanistic Paganism.
The conversation continues this Thursday, December 15th, on Humanistic Paganism.
Next Sunday: Ebook Double Feature
Introducing a new ebook from B. T. Newberg! This collection of creative nonfiction stories set in Malaysia has already received a glowing review from Southeast Asia Travel Advice. We’ll bring you the inside scoop on this exciting new ebook on sale now at GoodReads!
Love and the Ghosts of Mount Kinabalu, by B. T. Newberg
Appearing Sunday, December 18th, on Humanistic Paganism.
Drew takes a break from his travels in Thailand to review our first ebook, Encounters in Nature. An e-reader friendly version is now on sale at GoodReads, but you can get your copy FREE! To find out how, click here.
Encounters in Nature: An ebook review, by Drew Jacob
Appearing Sunday, December 18th, on Humanistic Paganism.
Winterviews
The big event is just around the corner! You’re gonna love these winter interviews of big-name authors!
Starts on the Solstice, December 21st.
Recent Work
Existential Paganism, by Ian Edwards
Buy Godless Paganism (paperback)
Buy Godless Paganism (ebook)
Pagan Coming Out Day – May 2nd
Naturalistic Paganism 