We have been with you from the beginning

I have just finished an article on the historical Pagan tendencies in Unitarianism (and UUism). Many people think that the Pagan or Earth Spirit element in Unitarianism started around 1980 with the foundation of CUUPs (Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans) in America. In fact, it has its roots in some much earlier developments.

Both Paganism and Unitarianism are world-affirming, and share some important values - not least being the belief that the Divine is / deities are immanent in the world (held by most Pagans and many Unitarians). From this stems a belief in the importance of human reason (because we are inherently good), the tolerance of alternative visions of the world, and the importance of freedom to explore one's beliefs and values without constraint of creeds.

Loving your LGBT neighbour

Jarred at Musings of a Confused Man has drawn attention to a forthcoming synchroblog about bridging the (perceived) gap between faith and sexuality.

I have my doubts about the intentions and outcomes, but I'll certainly be participating on 24 June and sharing the Wiccan and Unitarian perspectives on this.

particularity and essence

If one were to try to pare religion down to its common essentials, there wouldn't be much left. The only thing that I can see that all religions have in common is the symbolism of the union of masculine and feminine: in Christianity, Christ and His Bride the Church, who are waiting till the end of time for the wedding; in Hinduism, the union of Shiva and Shakti; in Judaism, Yahweh and the Shekhinah; in Sufism, the union of Lover and Beloved, or Allah and the soul; in Wicca, the union of the God and the Goddess; and so on. There are many values that different religions have in common, though.

If you do the Belief-o-matic questionnaire, you can see exactly how much your religion's beliefs and values overlap with others.

The different philosophy, theology, atmosphere, traditions, practices, meanings and mythology of different religions is what makes them unique. Some people call this particularity. It can be distinguished from exclusivity (the view that each religion is self-contained and does not need input from outside) and sectarianism (the idea that only your religion is true) by the fact that, while its practitioners love its unique features, they are prepared to acknowledge the worth of other people's traditions for them. Each religion has its own stories, its own colours, its own frequency for tuning in to the numinous; and each has blind spots towards certain aspects of the Divine (e.g. mainstream Christianity's is the inability to see sexuality as Divine and spiritual) but that doesn't mean we can't appreciate each other's stories and learn from them.

Pagan values

It is difficult to say with certainty that all members of the Pagan community subscribe to the same or similar values (it's always possible to find an exception who still counts as Pagan), but certainly many, if not most, Pagans aspire to certain core values, even if we don't always achieve them.

Most of our values stem from the belief that the Divine is immanent in the world, not separate and distant from it; because All That Is is a manifestation of the Divine, a theophany, it is sacred, not profane.  Therefore sexuality is sacred, food is sacred, the Earth is sacred, animals are sacred, plants are sacred, pleasure is sacred.  I am holy, you are holy.

Tolerance / acceptance: most Pagans aspire to tolerance of what they disagree with, and sometimes even acceptance of it, as something they cannot change.  Many argue for genuine acceptance of other paths and lifestyles.  

Personal responsibility ("An it harm none, do what thou wilt"): we are each responsible for our own actions.  That includes an ethic of environmental responsibility.

Inclusivity:  Most Pagans believe that sexuality in all its forms is sacred; that includes all forms of consensual sex between adult humans, including same-sex relationships, SM and polyamory.  Pagans are also strongly feminist, affirming the equal worth of women and men.

Most Pagans do not exclude others on the grounds of different belief; rather we look for companions on the spiritual path who share our values and interests.

Tread gently on the Earth: Most Pagans are concerned about climate change, animal experimentation, and pollution, and try to tread gently on the Earth.

Interest in science and rational/empirical enquiry:  Most Pagans affirm the worth of science as a way of understanding the world and appreciating the wonders of the universe.  Pagan understandings of the world do not conflict with science.

An ode to fair trade

XIV.
With her two brothers this fair lady dwelt,
Enriched from ancestral merchandize,
And for them many a weary hand did swelt
In torched mines and noisy factories,
And many once proud-quiver'd loins did melt
In blood from stinging whip;--with hollow eyes
Many all day in dazzling river stood,
To take the rich-ored driftings of the flood.

XV.
For them the Ceylon diver held his breath,
And went all naked to the hungry shark;
For them his ears gush'd blood; for them in death
The seal on the cold ice with piteous bark
Lay full of darts; for them alone did seethe
A thousand men in troubles wide and dark:
Half-ignorant, they turn'd an easy wheel,
That set sharp racks at work, to pinch and peel.

XVI.
Why were they proud? Because their marble founts
Gush'd with more pride than do a wretch's tears?--
Why were they proud? Because fair orange-mounts
Were of more soft ascent than lazar stairs?--
Why were they proud? Because red-lin'd accounts
Were richer than the songs of Grecian years?--
Why were they proud? again we ask aloud,
Why in the name of Glory were they proud?

from Isabella or the Pot of Basil, by John Keats

The latest post at CAUTE, about money and relationships, reminded me in part of these stanzas by Keats, which make the connections between trade and exploitation explicit. As Andrew Brown suggests,

The challenge we have in this modern society is how we (you and me) might reconnect our moral and ethical selves with our money [and] see anew that our money's value is always tied up in how it is used.

If we buy clothes that have been made in a third world sweatshop, or invest in funds that support the purchase of tanks and guns, or experimentation on animals, isn't our money turning an easy wheel, that sets sharp racks at work, to pinch and peel?

The republic of heaven on earth

Those Christian synchrobloggers are at it again, this time with a series of posts about the Kingdom of God.

Well now, I'm a member of the republic of heaven on earth - the Divine is, after all, immanent in Nature, and the universe is a theophany (a divine manifestation) but I would say the "kingdom of God" (or whichever label you prefer) is already here.  All those who are seeking enlightenment by whatever religious or spiritual path are fully signed-up members of the Republic.  As Yeshua himself said, "The Kingdom of God is all around you and you do not see it." and "The Kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21).  He also taught his disciples (who weren't listening, as usual) how to access the awareness of the divine presence (aka "Kingdom of God" in his parlance): 'Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin.' (Matthew 6:28.)  All you have to do is relax and sense the divine presence in all things.  "Do without doing and everything gets done" as Lao Tsu said.

There was no Fall, only an Arising.  The Earth herself is divine; and the Tao is within all things, ebbing and flowing.  The Divine has not withdrawn from Nature - Nature is Divine.

      Before ever land was,
    Before ever the sea,
    Or soft hair of the grass,
    Or fair limbs of the tree,
Or the flesh-colour'd fruit of my branches, I was, and thy soul was in me.

    First life on my sources
    First drifted and swam;
    Out of me are the forces
    That save it or damn;
Out of me man and woman, and wild-beast and bird: before God was, I am. 

from Hertha by Algernon Swinburne

Oh yes, and I must draw attention to the lovely poem by  Beth Patterson of Virtual Tea House on What it’s like rather than what it is, which is very nature-inspired, and also involves cake, and isn't missional like some of the other posts.  Also Steve Hayes' post is very interesting, reflecting on the different meanings of the words "kingdom, power and glory" in Eastern and Western Christianity.  My comment on this was that Kingdom (Malkuth), Power (Hod) and Glory (Netzach) are also the lowest three of the Sephiroth (spheres) on the Kabbalistic tree of life, where they symbolise Divine power descending into the realm of the manifest.  And finally, Phil Wyman talks about Jesus as an archetypal shaman - well yes he was, but he's not the only one.  There's also Odin, and Buddha, and many others.

Happy Beltane

Beltane is the festival of rampant Eros, when the Earth is fully woken from sleep and all Nature is desirous of mating.  Maypoles and Beltane fires remind us of the leaping life-force.

Jason at The Wild Hunt has a round-up of Beltane blogging.

Here's some Beltane poetry to get you in the mood...

And Pan by noon and Bacchus by night,

Fleeter of foot than the fleet-foot kid,

Follows with dancing and fills with delight

    The Mænad and the Bassarid;

And soft as lips that laugh and hide

The laughing leaves of the trees divide,

And screen from seeing and leave in sight

    The god pursuing, the maiden hid.

The ivy falls with the Bacchanal's hair

Over her eyebrows hiding her eyes;

The wild vine slipping down leaves bare

Her bright breast shortening into sighs;

The wild vine slips with the weight of its leaves,

But the berried ivy catches and cleaves

To the limbs that glitter, the feet that scare

The wolf that follows, the fawn that flies.

from Atalanta in Calydon by Algernon Charles Swinburne