Naturalistic Paganism
Upcoming work
This Sunday
We have something new coming up: a “challenge” piece. Jake airs many concerns common among those who question naturalistic ritual.
Ritual – why bother? by Jake Diebolt
Appearing Sunday, November 6th, on Humanistic Paganism.
Thing on Thursday
Now that we’ve explored many of the basic ideas in HP, it’s time to take a new look at the big picture. What are we trying to accomplish here? What should the “mission” of this web site be?
Join us for the next council on matters vital to the future of Humanistic Paganism.
The conversation continues this Thursday, November 10th, on Humanistic Paganism.
Next Sunday
How do you know what you’re doing is not some shallow parody of religion? B. T. Newberg responds to the moments of self-doubt we all experience.
Real religion? by B. T. Newberg
Appearing Sunday, November 13th, on Humanistic Paganism.
Recent Work
Do we owe gratitude to the universe? by Jonathan Blake
Encounters with the Goddess? by Thomas Schenk
Of consequence and wonder: Exploring the “why’s” of Humanistic Paganism, by C Luke Mula
What is spiritual experience like for you?
Thing on Thursday #6
This week we come to the spiritual experience itself.
“Spiritual” may not even be the best word for it necessarily, but it is that unique experience or range of experiences encountered in moments of transcendence or depth. For some, it might be encountered in religious ritual, for others in camping overnight in the wilderness, contemplating the infinity of space, or exploring the dream world.
Attempts to describe the feeling of spiritual experience have been made by Schleiermacher and Otto, among others. But truth be told, it is a subjective and misty topic. It can be different for different people, and different for the same person at different times. Yet how we choose to describe it can say a lot about our values.
This week’s question, then, is: What feelings do you associate with “spiritual” experience?
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!
Do we owe gratitude to the universe? by Jonathan Blake
Should we be grateful, even though our existence is but the gift of Fortuna, goddess of chance?
image: Allegory of Fortune, by Anonymous
The universe can be a scary place, as terrible as it is beautiful. So is it right to express gratitude toward it? Jonathan Blake challenges us to rethink how we relate to the cosmos.
Gratitude begins with the recognition that something we value or enjoy could have been different. For a practically infinite number of reasons, I might never have been born, ranging from cosmic circumstances like if the Earth had formed a little farther away from or closer to the Sun, to details like if my parents had decided “not tonight.”
Gratitude begins with the ability to imagine the world counterfactually.
Just lucky?
I can easily feel this kind of gratitude when regarding the cosmos. I feel “lucky” that I’m alive, but is that gratitude?
When I think of gratitude, I usually think of it as something more than just feeling lucky. I think of it as warm feelings for someone else for doing something that I value that they didn’t have to do. They could have done something else, but they didn’t, so I feel grateful to them.
I feel like I owe them something because it is human nature to try to reciprocate good or ill that comes our way. If nothing else, I give them my feelings of gratitude.
Gratitude toward the universe?
My life exists on a razor’s edge. As I mentioned, there are so many reasons why I might never have been born. There are almost as many reasons why I might have died since then. So I feel grateful that I exist at all, but my gratitude is not directed to the universe.
As far as I can tell, the universe is impersonal and therefore indifferent to my existence. The universe hasn’t conspired to give me life and sustain it. Life for me and my ancestors has always been a hard fight against an indifferent universe to eek out a living. If anything, I feel like I have everything I value in spite of the universe.
Yet I wouldn’t have the things I value without the universe.
However unwitting, the universe is the ground in which the beauty of my life has grown. So I feel grateful for the universe, but I don’t give any gratitude to the universe.
This is one reason that even though I can see myself as a pantheist, I don’t see in myself a perfect reflection of the devotion that theists express to their gods.
I feel more awe and fear toward my god than devotion, and yet I still feel gratitude for the cosmos.
The author
Jonathan Blake
Jonathan Blake: Born into a Mormon family who had followed railroad work to the Mojave Desert, Jonathan Blake struggled with religious doubts from early childhood but went on to serve as a Mormon missionary in upstate New York and to marry his first love during a secret ceremony in a Mormon temple. With the birth of his two daughters and a growing sense of responsibility for their welfare, he sought greater certainty about his religious beliefs and more knowledge about Mormon history. What he learned caused his faith in Mormonism to fall away and his eyes to be opened to a world with more freedom and beauty than he had imagined. He now seeks to live according to the dictates of his own conscience and to learn as much as humanly possible about the cosmos. Still living in the Mojave, he recently completed a Master of Science degree in computer engineering and earns his living as a data warehousing professional.
This work published under a Creative Commons license
Do we owe gratitude to the universe? by Jonathan Blake is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Upcoming work
This Sunday
The universe can be a scary place, as terrible as it is beautiful. So is it right to express gratitude toward it? Jonathan Blake challenges us to rethink how we relate to the cosmos.
Do we owe gratitude to the universe? by Jonathan Blake
Appearing Sunday, October 30th, on Humanistic Paganism.
Thing on Thursday
This week we’ll dive into spiritual experience itself: what is involved in the experience of wonder?
Join us for the next council on matters vital to the future of Humanistic Paganism.
The conversation continues this Thursday, November 3rd, on Humanistic Paganism.
Next Sunday
We have something new coming up: a “challenge” piece. Jake airs many concerns common among those who question naturalistic ritual.
Ritual – why bother? by Jake Diebolt
Appearing Sunday, November 6th, on Humanistic Paganism.
Recent Work
Encounters with the Goddess? by Thomas Schenk
Of consequence and wonder: Exploring the “why’s” of Humanistic Paganism, by C Luke Mula
What does responsible action mean to you?
Thing on Thursday #5
Recently, a commenter posted:
“I would like to see responsible action more defined, but could see that as something that would be refined over time by further posts from the community.”
So let’s take that issue up today. It’s such a huge topic that we can only hope to scratch the surface, but we can begin the dialogue nevertheless.
As always, this is not meant to decree how others should believe or act; it’s about discovering values. Answer only for what’s true for you.
Responsible Action was one of the original elements of the Fourfold Path. It affirmed that humanity has both the capability and the responsibility to meet our challenges without recourse to supernatural aid. Essentially, we’re talking about ethics within a naturalistic worldview. The lack of some supernatural father figure telling us what to do is not license to go nuts; rather, we reap what we sow. Our behavior causes many if not most of our challenges and it can meet those challenges as well. If we hope to prosper, it’s up to us.
There are two parts to responsible action: responsibility and action. Action suggests it is not enough to theorize or speculate or hope; we must actually get off our behinds and do something. This is not an armchair path. Responsibility suggests we choose acts that are somehow beneficial or harmonious within a larger context.
The question for today is: within what larger contexts ought we be responsible? To whom or what are you responsible?
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!
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