As the human body requires maintenance, so too does the body of the earth and even the universe itself. This is something that was recognized by our ancient ancestors universally, if you will, from the Egyptians to those who inhabited the Near East to Europe. This understanding is fundamental to all Sacred Mysteries.

Coupled with this understanding came the equally important understanding that it is the female who gives birth and that birth simply cannot take place without the feminine principle. The male simply cannot produce offspring by himself. Thus, the feminine principle is elevated to the status of most important in the greater scheme of things. This is why the earth herself was seen by the ancients as a goddess, especially by the ancient Minoans and Greeks. And, although the bull was seen as important to these ancient peoples in the West, so also was the cow (as in the Egyptian goddess Hathor) and there was no necessary connection to male dominance.

Thus, this Western (Euro-Mediterranean) understanding of the life cycle and the importance of the feminine stood in direct contrast to understandings developed in more Eastern areas of the world in which humanity would observe, for example, that an alpha-bull would procreate with multiple cows within the same herd, thus producing many offspring. This was seen as a sign of male strength and male dominance by these people. So, for them, the feminine was relegated to a subordinate status and the masculine was seen as dominant.

Along with these two foundational understandings came the third most important understanding that the entirety of the universe, as observed in nature itself, operates in a certain fundamental and inerrant way. The very cycle of life, as the ancients observed, repeats itself. Life flows from death. They observed this, as an example, in the life-cycle of the caterpillar which seemed to serve no particular purpose in and of itself, but which would later form a cocoon and appear to die, frozen in time and space, only to later emerge as a beautiful butterfly or moth. They also observed how the seed of grain and other plants appeared to be dead, but once it fell into or was planted into the ground (the womb of the earth herself) it would spring forth as a living plant that, in turn, also produced more seed and the cycle would be endlessly repeated.

Thus, the ancient Sacred Mysteries, with very few exceptions, were based upon goddesses rather than gods, female deities rather than male ones. For the initiate, this should have been an obvious point from the very beginning. But, if they happened to miss this point somehow, as they proceeded through the initiations they would be shown, in various ways, this exact concept until the end point at which, if they did not understand somehow when shown the “holy thing” by the hierophantes (hierophant), then they had not achieved enlightenment and were, therefore, not true Mystai. So it was indeed possible to go through all of these initiations and still miss the point entirely as, I submit, Clement of Alexandria must have done based upon his obvious misunderstanding of the Sacred Mysteries of Demeter.

Thus, people such as Clement failed to recognize the fundamental connection between the life cycle observed in nature as in the examples above to that of the human life-cycle. So obsessed was he and others of his ilk in the concept that time is linear and that there is some actual ending to it, culminating in eternal reward or punishment (as in Eastern thought) that he could not see the marvelous and very simple truth of it all. He could not see that the human soul recycled just as everything else in nature did and that it would endure repeated lifetimes upon this beautiful earth until, with increasing efforts toward a pure state in each lifetime, it would finally merge into the realm of the deities and be with them. He could not see that it was necessary for this natural cycle (for we and out souls are a part of nature) to continually repeat itself and, in turn, it was necessary for humanity to do its part to maintain it.

Our primordial and ancient ancestors did understand these basic concepts and incorporated that understanding into what we refer to today as “Mysteries” or “Mystery religions”. These Sacred Mysteries taught the initiate these fundamental principles, which are not only observed directly from nature but are also possible to deduce logically by way of rational analysis. For even Platon (Plato) produced a logical argument in favor of the belief in reincarnation in his Meno: 81-86 in which he shows that a certain boy could not possibly have answered questions put to him had he not experienced life in some pervious time. Thus, reincarnation.

Ronald Reagan stated that “[f]reedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. . . .”  He was right.  That is a sad truth of history.

It’s amazingly simple.  They have always sought to take your freedoms and religious liberties away from you in the very name of religious freedom, all the while crying “persecution” and the end of the world as their reasoning for it.  Thus, they will accept with open arms even some of the most vile people as their own as long as these persons accept and promote their conservative, religious, political agenda.  I dare say that they would even accept Pagans if they were in lock-step with this agenda.  And THAT is the actual danger for us who are Pagans.  We must NEVER allow ourselves to get caught up in the political nightmare that these people have created, for if we do, then we have truly lost.

It actually used to be asked within my own lifetime why the Roman Empire fell; what caused its fall.  I suspect that this question is still asked in some quarters even though the evidence that Christianity killed it is actually overwhelming and incontrovertible.  In any court of law the verdict would be “guilty”.  This may be difficult for some to accept, but it is nevertheless true.  A handful of main points can be made to support this conclusion:

(1) From the very beginning Christians worked to disrupt society, starting with Judaism as a religion (which the Christians were still a part of).  They did this mainly by allowing uncircumcised foreigners in and by stating that Jesus was a risen messiah.  They quickly began to claim the Old Testament writings as their own while rejecting the special status of the Jewish people as God’s chosen.  Ultimately they helped to cause the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple there in 70 CE.

Once they broke free from Judaism completely after the Parousia did not occur they moved on to disrupt the wider Roman world by emphasizing their rejection of divorce, showing little, if any, respect for Roman law or society, opposing sacrifices and refusing to take part in community activities or holidays, and being generally obnoxious and abhorrent in any number of ways.  That they had set fire to Roma in 64 CE and almost destroyed her was practically a given in the minds of the folk.  Yet they still expected to enjoy the same exemptions afforded to Judaism even after 70 CE and made a great issue of the fact that they were not.

In effect, they had worked to turn the Jews to Pagans and the Pagans to Jews by disrupting and altering their societal norms and standards.  Courts were often pestered with Christians wanting to be martyred and the economy suffered because the Christians did not purchase victims for sacrifices.  Still, these things by themselves really had little impact on the empire as a whole.  If this had been the extent of things then both Christianity and the empire might have evolved into something different together.

(2) But, more came once Constantine I came to power.  Although he was clearly not, at least completely, a Christian by the time he became emperor, he almost immediately began to take steps that would favor Christianity.  He began a systematic process of destroying Pagan sanctuaries and holy places while at the same time often having the clergy in these temples killed!  In addition, he robbed several temples of their treasures and in some cases caused parts of ancient temples to be reused to build Christian basilicas.   The same took place in some cases with reference to Jewish Synagogues, which were also robbed of treasures and demolished to be replaced by basilicas.  His successors, with the sole exception of Iulianus (Julian the Apostate) only intensified these efforts while also targeting Pagan books (in communal book burnings!) and libraries (several of which were ordered burnt to the ground!).  And they also moved to enact increasingly severe laws against any and all Pagan practices.  The wholesale destruction of the Pagan way came into full-force!  It was gradually replaced by the decrepit and dysfunctional Christian system.  The government seemed intent upon one thing only – the total destruction of anything Pagan, to the exclusion of practically anything else other than renewed efforts to attack and subjugate the Sassanid Empire to the East.

Moving the capital from Roma to Konstantinopolis (Constantinople) was truly the death-knell for the empire in the West although it lingered on for some time afterward.  And the wholesale destruction was less pronounced in the West than in the East mainly because it was more difficult to convert the populace in the West than in the East.  There were no roving mobs of Christian monks and other fanatics in the West such as were seen in the East, going around destroying everything they possibly could!

(3) So while the East was embroiled in rather constant religious and political turmoil punctuated by episodes of engagements with the Sassanids, the West crept along in general decrepitude.  But even they still might have survived much longer than they did if not for the near constant barbarian invasions which, in fairness, also assaulted the East, but to a generally lesser degree.  The one main exception being the uprising of the Visigoths which resulted in the near annihilation of Roman armies in the East!

And it MUST be understood here that EVERY SINGLE BARBARIAN TRIBE that invaded the empire had previously been converted to Christianity with only two exceptions; (a) the Franks who, once they were allowed to settle in Roman Gaul made little trouble and even made efforts to assimilate politically and religiously, adopting many Roman ways, and (b) the Huns who, although incredibly hostile and destructive, rather quickly fizzled out as a force to be reckoned with after the death of Attila, mainly thereafter becoming mercenaries within the Roman armies.

These Christian barbarians did something that barbarians of previous generations had never before done.  They invaded, destroyed, looted, and STAYED.  They didn’t leave because they had been already convinced that they as Christians were the inheritors of the Roman Empire since God was taking it away from the Pagans!  So they simply didn’t leave!  That, coupled with the sacking of Roma which was more of a shock than an actual event of destruction, was almost too much for the West.

(4) Add to all of this the rule of almost completely inept emperors coupled with a share of political and religious intrigue here also and you almost have it.  Still, one must add to this scenario that even in their own writings (those mainly of Augustine and Ambrose) the Christians stated emphatically that it was simply time for the empire to die because it had served its purpose according to the will of God in that it provided a world conducive for the advent of Christ.  In their minds there was nothing more for the empire to accomplish.  So even in the West the stage was deliberately set for the demise of the empire by Christian theologians.

(5) After the fall of the empire in the West Konstantinopolis tottered on in almost total decrepitude even as its monks preserved some semblance of the ancient world’s knowledge and literature.  The sole true exception to this decrepitude was the reign of Justinian I during which something like the old empire was recreated by dint of great effort and the cost of much blood!  But once he died most of his gains were quickly abandoned forever.

The city of Konstantinopolis had the fortune of being virtually impregnable, so when the Islamic forces invaded Byzantine territories, united by religion essentially the same way that the earlier Christian Germanic barbarians had been, the Byzantines could afford to lose territory (which they did) and still survive.  This Eastern empire had been weakened severely already in her final assault upon the Sassanid Empire in which both armies fought to almost complete destruction!  This is one thing that truly paved the way for the Islamic invasions that came soon thereafter.  Neither entity was really strong enough to fight them off anymore.  Thus, the downfall of the Sassanids was rather quick.  But Konstantinopolis still lingered on as a sick old man until the Islamic Ottoman Turks finally managed to breach its walls with the help of a new weapon – gunpowder.

 

The fact of the matter is that I remain quite astonished that the question was even still being asked within my own lifetime as to why the Roman Empire fell.  And when the question was asked, they meant the empire in the West, for there was no real question as to what happened in the East.  Even so, even to this day, those who may ask such a question hesitate to describe it as having anything whatsoever to do with religion directly.  But this is just the truth!

During the early Dark Ages one could be excused for not having a real answer to this question because one would naturally have to accept whatever church authorities stated on the subject.  And they certainly were not about to blame themselves!  No, the Pagan world was corrupt and debauched!  God decided that they must be destroyed for their wickedness and for their refusal to accept Christ!  This is what the folk would have been told had they asked such a question and since they were mostly illiterate they could not have read anything to the contrary even if it had been available to them.  Such knowledge only existed within the monasteries in the West or in the Vatican.  And it was rarely consulted even there.

But then a “miracle” took place in that the West became reintroduced to its literary heritage, or what was left of it, via an amazing and hard to believe set of circumstances, by which this literary knowledge was brought back by way of the Islamic world!  Almost instantly an insatiable appetite for more and more came into vogue and monasteries were searched for whatever they had, resulting in the Renaissance.  This went toward increasing literacy among the masses, generally culminating in the Enlightenment.  Thus, the Western world crawled back out of the Dark Ages, slowly, because of the reintroduction of ancient Greek and Roman literature!

In a few hundred years the new science of archaeology would be added to the mix, the result being that much of what was left of the ancient world would be dug up again and, in some instances, partially rebuilt.  This also resulted in the fortune of finding the Rosetta stone, thus eventually reviving knowledge of the ancient Egyptian language which had been extinct for about a thousand years!  The knowledge of the ancient world dramatically increased with this chance discovery.  Later the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and also the Nag Hammaddi Manuscripts brought long-buried knowledge back to light.  And since archaeological discoveries are still a fairly regular occurrence it seems that there must be more yet to find.

But such is the nature of humankind that we will often prefer to dwell in ignorance rather than upset our safe belief system.  We will ignore new evidence and even sometimes say it is “of the devil” just to have someway to rationalize things.  Sometimes a person’s determination to do so not only borders on, but often seems to actually embrace the medieval!

The truth is that much of what we have been taught through the centuries should and must be rejected or at least greatly modified in light of new factual evidence.  To do otherwise would be a travesty!  For if we don’t the ancient knowledge may yet still be destroyed because our precious beliefs may not allow it to exist for long.  And the medieval world had one thing that we seem to lack.  Because it had been held down for so long it had an insatiable desire for knowledge!  We today have the disadvantage of being literally inundated with “knowledge” so that we often think that we don’t need to know any more than we already do and, after all, we can look it up on the internet.  We don’t have to actually know anything!  So as the internet continues to evolve and we consult it more and more often to the exclusion of any other means of obtaining knowledge or information we will trust it more and more and not even notice any subtle changes that may be made in information provided.  Nor will we check or re-check anything.  Thus it will eventually become just OK for original texts or archaeological finds to be discarded, destroyed, or no longer consulted in any way.  Thus the docile know-nothing society that some have always wanted to create will be produced.

We must not ever forget the last Hierophant at Eleusis who, when he was confronted by Byzantine forces bent upon forcing him to forever close the sanctuary that had functioned there for thousands of years, exclaimed that the world had GONE MAD!  Don’t let the ancient knowledge be forgotten again!

In 66 CE Christ was expected to return as the Judeans revolted against the Romans.  He didn’t. . . .

 

Thus far I have striven to avoid being too political in my blog posts here.  That will not change with the exception that I have today felt the need to write the following:

The time period between 70 CE, especially following the beginning of the reign of Constantine I, was a dark, sinister time in history; a time that some obviously feel is best forgotten.  So the world has limped along in its collective amnesia on the subject of this history, having really learned no lessons from it.  The result, as I see it, being the very real potential for a repeat of much of what took place at that time.

Skythoupolis is one of the places where events moved into complete, hideous, chaos!  Regardless of how some squeal that it never happened or it wasn’t that bad or whatever, the facts, as I demonstrate in my new book “Killing Roma: The Destruction of the Works of Femaleness and the Second Coming that Never Was; The Next Four to Five Hundred Years of Christian History; A Sequel to Apocalypse and Armageddon“, would tend to show otherwise.  In fact, contrary to those who protest, it should be classed as the very first known “death camp” in all of human history, run by Byzantine Christians primarily to rid the world of Pagans!

Skythoupolis should NEVER be forgotten again!  After all, if we had remembered and learned from this period in history, perhaps the Holocaust would never have taken place.

And Skythoupolis is just a taste of that which took place during this hideous period in Western history.  The Byzantine tyrants tried to create a patriarchal theocracy.  Sadly, there are some in our own nation today who desire to do exactly that here.  This effort truly originated with our fear in the 1950s of the “Red Menace” – the fear that the “Atheist” Communists would infiltrate and somehow take over our nation.  In a partial response to this fear, we placed the words “In God We Trust” on our currency.

Later, during the 1980s the so-called “Moral Majority” spearheaded a movement to inject “God” into all possible aspects of government and society, including, and especially, our schools.  Ronald Reagan, with his ultra-conservative trickle-down economic plan combined with his pro-Christian agenda, acquiesced to by every TV evangelist on the air in a disgusting play for power, nearly collapsed our economy before they figured out it wasn’t working!  But that seems to have taught most people nothing, so devoid are the folk of even recent historical knowledge and understanding.  In combination with this, Ed Meese and his laughable “war on pornography” only caused that to spread even more than ever before!

Today we have the misfortune of witnessing the specter of religious tyranny arising within our nation once again, beginning with the recent presidential election in which several candidates espoused the conservative Christian agenda of the 1980s once again.  One of these candidates somehow managed to become elected to the highest office in the land even amid evidence presented of his dearth of religious understanding and conviction combined with a dose of rather bizarre misogyny.  But, of course, he had promised the “evangelicals” the moon itself, so they ignored these shortcomings and were instrumental in electing him.

Further, it comes to light while listening to recent religious broadcasts that the evangelical leadership, the common folk (in general), and the extreme political right care nothing about his lack of credentials or knowledge nor of his questionable morals.  They are simply elated to have another Constantine (who, as history demonstrates, was also anything other than a man of moral integrity but who, at least, was highly intelligent), preferring to refer to him as another “Cyrus” so as to be a little less than obvious on this point.  This, combined with at least a minor resurgence of the “flat earth theory” (and I really did think we couldn’t get kookier than the “ancient alien theory”!) is actually fairly typical of the former Byzantine tyrants who were also supported by the Christian populace regardless of dubious morals.

Of late we have also added several efforts at state and local levels (sadly, in Tennessee) to, in my mind, soothe the consciences of both politician and populace.  One lawmaker, after endorsing an effort to manufacture beer with higher alcohol content, proposed that everyone in the state be required to purchase new automobile tags with the phrase “In God We Trust” on them.  Never mind religious liberties, everyone should have to place this phrase on their automobiles!  Thankfully, this effort has failed, at least for the time being.  Another lawmaker proposed, and got passed, an anti-pornography bill (shades of Ed Meese).  Still another has proposed that the Tennessee State Constitution be amended to include the phrase “We recognize that our liberties do not come from governments, but from Almighty God”.  Such an addition is not only wholly absurd and unnecessary, but offensive to those state residents and citizens who do not hold this belief!  Thankfully, the House Civil Justice Subcommittee essentially killed this bill!  And, of course, the mantra of “putting God back into our schools” can be heard still from time to time.  It truly seems as if politicians are scrambling to invent ever new ways to please their god even as they support measures to bar religious and political refugees from our soil and taking away food assistance from the needy and the elderly.  How sad!

My new book, “Killing Roma” is timely.  This is the very best time for its dissemination.  This book deals with current issues by way of historical lessons from the time period above mentioned.

Paganism is a real religion!  It is not monolithic, but neither is any other religion or religious movement.  In fact, it recognizes that there is no need to attempt to be monolithic (certain fringe elements excepted) while the monotheist continually tries to hearken back to some monolithic point in their history which never actually existed.

We Pagans can’t actually “unite”, but we can “coalesce” to an acceptable degree and become stronger together in order to better fend off the monotheistic threat.  They still see us as not a “real” religion; as not legitimate.  We must work together to change that.  One means by which we can proceed is with dialogue.  If they finally engage us in this way they have tacitly recognized us.  But they don’t want to do that because they prefer to ignore the fact that we exist because we, in their minds, are such a threat to them.

People need proper education.  The Christian tries to ignore that this period in history even took place.  They will hardly acknowledge it regardless of whatever facts are presented to them.  They want to act as if it never happened.  THAT is why we must not only acknowledge it, but must also embrace it!  Otherwise, history is still their history, leaving us almost completely out of it.

So the dialogue simply must commence!  It should first move toward eliciting an acknowledgement from the Christians that this history did take place and an understanding by them of their role in it.  Once such acknowledgement has taken place, healing can begin for all parties involved.

They have had a virtual monopoly on history in the West for almost two-thousand years.  That time has come to an end!  It is time for us to reinsert ourselves into our proper place in history.  They can no longer have a monopoly on this.

Two evenings ago I listened to Hal Lindsey talk about why he had written his book, “The Late Great Planet Earth” (a book which I purchased in the 1970s and still actually possess), and listening to him, it was almost as if he had read the preface to my first book “Apocalypse and Armageddon: The Secret History of Christianity; The First Shall be Last and the Last Shall be First“, as he spoke about few being interested in the subject matter of his book prior to the time he wrote it other than scholars and theologians.  But, as he stated, he wanted to bring this knowledge (in his case, that of Bible prophecy) to the common people.  That was and is also my aim, as stated in the preface to the previously mentioned book.

So why should the folk deny themselves knowledge of this history, leaving it to the scholar and the theologian, who will rarely, if ever, disseminate it to them?  I think it is imperative that they have this knowledge!  For without it the populace is simply less informed than it really should be.  These are critical issues that should be viewed in the light of historical knowledge – those concerning religion, education, politics, etc.

We have a real need for people with theological training within our ranks. Anyone who believes otherwise clearly has a “pie in the sky” attitude about Paganism and its place in the modern world.

It seems to me that modern-day Paganism, as well as Hellenism, is almost hopelessly divided and essentially dysfunctional because of this division. We are not likely to ever be able to truly achieve any sort of unity of organization and belief under such conditions. That leaves us in a weakened position as compared to other religions. That is partly why most people do not consider us to be a “real religion”. Still, we ought to be able to achieve some level of unity of purpose and there are certainly those who are trying to achieve this within our overall community.

As a formally educated member of said community with extensive theological training, it cannot be expected of me that I would respect and accept others as “theologians” unless they have acquired sufficient theological training (a bachelor’s degree plus seminary training and/or an M.Div.) as well. One, in response, may say that some education is better than none, for many claim “some” education, mostly via reading things they find on-line. But this type of response actually emanates from false reasoning in that it is often actually dangerous. The fact of the matter is that those with a smattering of education, and little or no formal training, have a great tendency to proceed as if they already know enough; indeed, all they need to know. This is exactly why we, as a society, have schools to train people to become theologians. If you don’t complete a given degree program in a specified, satisfactory, manner, you don’t graduate – you don’t get the degree. It’s really that straightforward. It’s really that simple. As well it should be.

Even history teaches us that the lack of formal education can be dangerous. During medieval times Protestantism began to emerge from the decrepit Roman Catholic Church. This occurred because literacy along with new translations of the Bible came into being at about the same time, resulting in many reading the Bible for the very first time. Naturally, they proceeded to read the Bible quite literally. Over time, all sorts of Protestant groups emerged because of this, some with more firm basis in teaching than others. Few were established and/or led by formally trained theologians. These people decided that they could read and interpret the Bible to their own liking and gather followings as such. Thus, although this is not an endorsement of the Roman Catholic Church, as such, it is an illustration of the fact that, because of these factors, Christianity became hopelessly divided and dysfunctional.

I am a formally-trained theologian; educated in the Christian way but having “converted” to Paganism, with additional military experience. I have directly seen the need for Pagan clergy within the military. Those who question this need have not seen it directly as I have.

This really isn’t, and should not be, a negotiation. To that effort, either we meet the standard or we don’t. No one is going to make exceptions for us, most especially the military. We are generally, as I see it, going about this thing with the completely wrong attitude. We want to say that our clergy (priests/priestesses, etc.) don’t need higher, formal education to function because this was not the case in ancient times, an idea that is actually incorrect. In fact, in ancient Greece and Roma a priest or priestess served in a position of social status, naturally held by someone with whatever formal education available at the time. These positions were not held by persons with low social status with no education.

Frankly, if we can accomplish the establishment of a system of formal training equivalent to that which other religious bodies have and can also place a Chaplain into today’s US military it will be a clear indication that we have “made it”. We will have succeeded in becoming the equivalent to the clergy of any other religious body in this nation. It will mean that we HAVE to be accepted and recognized by others as a “real religion” (for, believe me, they don’t see us as such at this time).

This is really my main mission. I want very much to see some sort of Pagan Chaplain (at least one) – Wiccan. Hellene, Asatru –anything, before I die, preferably during the reign of Donald Trump. The Christians very much want to keep a virtual monopoly on military chaplaincy! Oh, we have a few Jewish and Muslim Chaplains. We have even had a Buddhist Chaplain in the past. But, for the most part, the military Chaplaincy is very much dominated by Christians, most notably the Southern Baptists. And even Chaplain Assistants of faiths other than Christianity, especially Pagans of any type, are few and far between.

The real truth is that those who do not want educated, professional Pagan clergy are cheating our people out of having someone to represent them in the wider world, and especially in the military, among other clergy. Frankly, the whole purpose in producing an educational program for Pagan clergy is to actually produce qualified, professional, clergy. That point seems to have been lost in the debate that some are having. If we are not going to produce a qualified, professional clergy who are capable of representing us in the wider world and in the military then there really is no point in developing such a program in the first place. To produce such a program just so that those who go through it can claim that they know something is ultimately of no value.

Obviously, our definition of “qualified” varies, with many seeking only very minimal qualifications. That sort of process will ultimately leave us pretty much where we already are in the near future, not to mention the distant future. Our situation already is that we are having to try to establish local groups with no one truly qualified to lead them. But logic dictates that we must do one or the other first. Certainly there are those who seem to think that recognition should come automatically just because they claim they are this or that. I cannot agree with this.

Shall we continue, then, to debate the issue and to deny OUR service members the right to be represented by one of their own? Shall we continue to deny them the dignity of being able to go to some like-minded Chaplain with their issues and concerns? I know for a fact that many Pagan service members will NOT go to the Christian Chaplain unless it is for an issue said Chaplain must, by virtue of his position, address.

As for the additional concept, as I have seen it expressed, of ancient Hellenism, etc., being a private matter practiced privately by the individual or the family, there is some merit to this. Indeed, the life-cycle events were more often than not presided over by family or government officials (because all Pagan religions were really state religions, after all). But some seem to miss the wider picture in that Pagan rites and holidays were more often than not practiced by the community at large in the form of great festivals accompanied by the requisite sacrifices and prayers performed by priests and priestesses. Paganism was a community religion, not really a private one. It was a community effort that all could, and usually did, take part in. But it became more private and went essentially underground due to severe Christian persecution during late Roman/early Byzantine times. This is simply a historical fact. But it was NOT meant to be that way even though this has become its survival mode. The question must be asked, then – do we want to remain in survival mode? If so, why are we trying to revive it at all?

If we are going to continue to disagree on the point of formal education, then the best we can hope for is to draw people over from other faiths who have the requisite formal education and provide them with some additional basics and ordain them. In that event, we need to develop a viable ordination process. But I would like to see this unproductive debate come to an end so that we can focus on an educational program that will satisfy the requisite need.

Scholars have labeled the Paganism of late antiquity as having been characterized by “gross” or “base” superstition.  These scholars are generally correct as Paganism had certainly degenerated into something hardly recognizable by our great ancestors of the even more remote past.  This situation was hastened by the advent of Christianity and its imposition upon the folk.  They were left with having to practice their religion as best they could privately and secretly.  This resulted in superstitious thought processes and an emphasis upon magic as opposed to reason and logic.  In so many words, Christianity forced Paganism into a superstitious mindset among those who did not convert or only nominally converted.  This is historical fact.

Sadly, today, there are those who have latched onto this form of Paganism and who seek to hold to it as some kind of standard that should be promoted.  Because of the fact that they are not reaching back to the true beauty of ancient Paganism and Hellenism, they set, in my view, a bad example for others within our movement as well as for those who are looking at us from the outside.

Stagnating at this level is not what we as reconstructionists should be about.  Instead, we should be about reaching for and embracing that more ancient Hellenic ideal – that which our more remote ancestors strove for in their lives.  They used reason and logic to get there.  Their religious authorities and institutions did not sanction a “do what you will” attitude.  They did not promote magick as a first resort to anything; for magick is the first resort only to the superstitious and the uneducated.  To dwell at that level is to miss the point and the beauty of Hellenism.  It’s like going all the way to high school and then dropping out, believing that you already know all that you need to know.  So, yes, one can “do what you will”; but one cannot do that and still claim to be a Hellenic at the same time.  And I don’t care what deity or deities you worship.

This is the abyss that monotheism put us into; an abyss that we have to, with great effort, work to extricate ourselves from.  Those who are determined to dwell in the abyss of superstition do a disservice to the Hellenics who seek to reach the standard of our ancestors as well as doing a disservice to those very ancestors.  They set an example to those on the outside, which those on the outside naturally reject, as well they should.

In addition, there are those who seem to believe that their own personal “faith”, if you will, should count as just as valid as anything else that may be out there.  After all, it works for them, doesn’t it?  The logical fallacy in this is that if it is accepted as true and, therefore, as a premise, then we have no real standard other than, perhaps, the worship of the ancient deities.  The true danger in this is that it is exactly one of the thought processes which can lead to monotheism.  Suddenly one believes that one has received some revelation from one’s chosen deity that one thinks should be valid for the whole world.  The logical extension of this is that one goes out and promotes it to the whole world as some sort of divinely inspired prophet.  This is how monotheism has always started historically.

Let me state that no one, including myself, cares what a particular person believes or practices privately so long as it is not geared toward harming others.  But just because it may work for one person does not, by extension, mean that it will or even should work for all others.  That doesn’t make it suitable for the whole world!  This is one main reason why Paganism and Hellenism were never meant to be practiced only privately.  They were designed to be practiced publicly, communally.  And even the worship of the household Lares was a public practice in that every good Roman household did so as a family unit.  All participated in old, well-established, practices, and THIS worked!

The other side of the coin is that some seek to dictate what should be standard practice in a rigid manner.  These polytheist fundamentalists are simply wrong on all counts, including logically.  For they, just like the Christians, assume that there is some monolithic, pristine form of a given religion, especially Hellenism, that one can go back to and recreate.  The fact of the matter is that there is still (and always will be) too much that is no longer known about  the ancient religions for this to even be possible.  So there are too many unknowns and other variables to consider.  So the effort is, forgive the pun, fundamentally flawed.

Yes, we are all about the effort to try to reconstruct the ancient religions, including Hellenism.  But there simply cannot be any sort of orthodoxy imposed upon the ancient religions even if they could be accurately recreated and reestablished, because no orthodoxy existed for them in ancient times.  And imposing and orthodox system upon them would ruin the beauty that draws people to them in the first place.  Part of that beauty is in the very variety within polytheism.

In short, both efforts are destined to failure, so it is important for us to search for a logical and reasonable balance which all can be drawn to.  Otherwise, all of our efforts are ultimately futile.

People often have difficulty putting into words what their religious beliefs mean to them.  Of course, this is doubly difficult for the Pagan/polytheist as contrasted with the monotheist because, for the Pagan, it is really not about belief.  Pagans don’t hold to beliefs or a book from which they can draw or anything like that.  They hold beliefs, but these are secondary to living and understanding.  Thus, for the Pagan, it is how one lives and how one worships, as in interaction with nature and the blessed deities.

Therefore, for me, to answer the question I have to state the following:  It is more than just religion to me.  If Paganism/polytheism were nothing more than beliefs or a belief system, perhaps derived from some holy book; or if it were nothing more than belief in and reverence for the ancient blessed deities, then it would seriously lack something for me and it would not fulfill what I need in a religious system.  It would instead literally be just another religion to have chosen from.  “Take your pick; they are all just as good”.  That is the way that many approach their religious choice – as if one should simply pick and choose whatever suits them personally.  That is not enough for me.

No, for me it begins with reverence for nature itself.  Reverence for nature, the world, and the whole universe, not exploitation of it.  It means the constant maintenance of this very universal life-cycle.  It is the Knowledge that my body is a living part of nature and that it must be returned to nature at my death, not locked away in some vault or sepulcher  to slowly decay, never being a part of nature anymore awaiting some resurrection that will never take place (for resurrection of the physical body is against nature).  It is the understanding that in life I possess a soul (I actually am the soul, not the physical body), as all living animate creatures also do, and at death my soul will continue to exist and live as an integral part of the natural and universal life-cycle (reincarnation) and that it will NOT be consigned to a stagnant perpetual state in some heaven or hell!  It is the truth that the troubles of life are shared among ALL of humanity and one’s religion does not shield one from them anymore than one’s religion necessarily gets one a better set of circumstances in life or the afterlife.  We all share both the good and the bad in life and our religious perspective or beliefs make little, if any, difference.  It is the fact that human beings possess intellect by which they can and should grasp and utilize Knowledge, logic, and reason to arrive at an understanding of things, without which we have little to separate us from the animals.  And, finally, it is the honesty and integrity to stand on principle based on these as well as evidence rather than belief and/or supposition.

I don’t believe it; I Know it!  I don’t doubt because my position is not based on faith or belief but is instead based on Knowledge and understanding.  I don’t shrink from my beliefs because of assaults from others and I don’t need to be saved.  I don’t need the monotheist’s prayers for my soul although I will accept them if offered honestly for something I really do need.  And I will NOT stand before the god of the monotheist at my death (which will only be a new beginning for my soul in any case)!  I Know this.  I have NO doubts.  Peace be with you.

I was watching a program by and including Jimmy Swaggart (you know, the televangelist who tearfully admitted to patronizing a prostitute back in the 1980s, stating “I have sinned”) toda…

Source: The Reality of Sin

I was watching a program by and including Jimmy Swaggart (you know, the televangelist who tearfully admitted to patronizing a prostitute back in the 1980s, stating “I have sinned”) today in which he and his panel were continuing to go through the epistle of Paul to the Romans, and the conversation naturally went into the concept of original sin (something that Paul apparently created as a concept regardless of how one reads the book of Genesis).  His and the panel’s conversation devolved into the idea that the whole world, even the weather of the planet earth, has been affected by this one sin (we wouldn’t even have tornados if not for original sin, according to these imbeciles!).  Yes, in their minds the sin of Adam and Eve not only affected all of humanity forevermore (until Jesus returns, of course) but also affected all of creation in a negative way.

In fact, according to them, the Christian says that all of humanity (and presumably all of living creation along with us) has an appointment with death solely because of this sin because the creation of god was never supposed to be this way.  It logically follows, then, that since sin was never supposed to take place and, therefore, death was also never supposed to take place, all creatures, including humankind, were meant to live on forever.  Therefore, since the very first commandment of god to humanity was to procreate and populate the earth, the earth would certainly have become overpopulated with both humans and animals in short order long, long ago.  But, somehow, that must have been what god intended.  So,we humans, partly through the agency of fallen angels, including that villain, Satan, disrupted this plan and, therefore, the god of the universe had to institute the penalty of death onto the entire creation!  Well, such is Christian “logic”.

If one follows their logic further then one has to admit that god simply can’t fix his own creation that somehow went awry from his omnipotent plan.  Of course, how could he fix his own creation without a goddess along with him to fix it?

What do I mean by this?  I mean that the war on the feminine is not new.  It started way back with the writer (or at least one of them) of Genesis and continued full-force with the apostle Paul!  And Christians have continued it almost unabated ever since that time!  After all, one of the main Gnostic injunctions was the “destruction of the works of femaleness” found in some of the Gnostic writings unearthed at Nag Hammadi.

But what exactly does that injunction actually mean?  Well, if you were a Pagan living during that period in time you would rather automatically understand that the works of femaleness were those of a nurturing, caring, and creative nature.  In so many words, creation and, more specifically, procreation, could not take place at all without the feminine aspect.  So, if you were a Pagan confronted by a Christian who tried to insist that a lone god had created the universe without the assistance of some feminine aspect, you would have laughed them out of your sight!  For Pagans naturally understood that no part of creation happened without the involvement of a goddess.

But the Christian would (and sometimes still will) try to tell you that creation was never meant to be as it is today and its present state is the result of that original sin and the continued sin of humankind (which is naturally also the result of that original sin).  It even extends into the idea that carnivorous animals were not originally naturally so, but had actually been created to eat plants instead of flesh (no matter what their teeth are suited for).  It will often even extend so far as to state that when the carnivorous animals were placed on Noah’s Ark they reverted to their primordial aspect and went to consuming plants rather than other animals!  No accounting for why they reverted back to eating flesh after they were let loose upon the earth once again after the flood subsided, of course.  And I’m sure that Noah and his family had to watch out for a while after all those animals were let loose, lest they be eaten too!  Also, no accounting for the idea, expressed in ancient Rabbinical writings, that before the flood humans also did not consume meat, but only did so after the flood (why on earth, then, did god require animal sacrifice and reject plant sacrifice according to Genesis?).

Pagans, on the other hand, always understood that the feminine was important to all things and even worshipped this very earth as a feminine aspect.  After all, it was really she who had given birth to all.  They understood that the cycle of death, birth, and life had to be maintained or chaos might ensue.  Then the Christian religion came along, with its purpose of the destruction of this very aspect, and chaos did indeed ensue.  This religion disrupted the very foundational structure of all of society, the family and procreation itself (because it was believed that it was better to abstain from sexual relations with a woman so that one might enter heaven in a pure, virginal, state).  But, of course, Christians today ignore this aspect of their early history while still proposing ludicrous concepts such as the rapture, which is supposed to save them from their somehow sinful fleshly bodies in favor of some kind of pseudo-spiritualized perfect un-sinful body!

The real truth is that these people long for some kind of end of the world, some kind of apocalypse, that will free them from their fleshly bodies along with all of its supposed sinfulness so that they can claim ultimate victory over the works of femaleness.  The Pagan would never desire such a thing at all because the Pagan naturally understands that death is not a result of sin, even original sin (for they had no concept of sin, as such), but is instead a part of life and the life-cycle itself.  It is necessary to all of creation itself.  To eliminate death is to eliminate life.  And to eliminate procreation and the “works of femaleness” is to eliminate the very life-cycle itself.

They want the end of the world.  We Pagans don’t even believe in any end of the world.  Life, time, and the life-cycle continues.

I have not lived an upright and respectable life AS a Pagan (although I was solitary and few knew) for most of the years of my life, accepting various accusations from others who were ill informed and misguided, at best, to wind up associated with a bunch of Pagans who appear to have no moral or ethical compass! I will, therefore, not allow my hard-won reputation or my example to others on the outside to be sullied or even destroyed by association with those who seem to believe that they can do anything they wish to do just because they call themselves Pagan.

I have held my life to a certain rational and ethical standard and I will not lower that standard just to associate with certain groups or so-called “friends”. If I were to do so then those on the outside (the non-Pagans) would have perfect justification for insinuating that I and all other Pagans lack moral and ethical foundation.

There are many in the Pagan universe who are obviously still seeking, and that is a good thing. In fact, I submit that a person should always continue to seek no matter how much they have already learned. However, there are many seekers who also claim to have already come to certain Knowledge and set themselves up as authorities who can teach others. I have found that some of these people simply have not fully developed their moral and/or ethical standards, not to mention the fact that they have really not yet arrived at the level of Knowledge that would allow them to be an effective teacher or leader.

This is exactly the same dilemma, by the way, that the Christian apostle, Paul, faced when he went about interacting with those of the new faith as an evangelist. This was especially acute with reference to the Korinthian church, whom he termed as still “babes” needing milk rather than meat. They thought of themselves as having already arrived at Knowledge, but he saw that they were in error. Because of the dichotomy between what they thought they were and what they truly were, their example to others both within and without the faith was poor. Frankly, I actually used to feel somewhat sorry for the Korinthian church, believing that Paul had been a bit too hard on them. But now, having experienced a similar situation among some groups of Pagans as well as some individual Pagans, I see more clearly what Paul had to face and I have actually developed a newly found respect for for what Paul was trying to do among them. No, Paul was not always right, but he was right in this.

In life, it really doesn’t get any easier to take a moral and ethical stand no matter how many times one has had to do so in the past, in the face of temptations presented by others. It is especially difficult to take such a stance in opposition to some whom one calls “friends” and whom one actually cares about. But one has to also remember that, for the sake of one’s own soul, one MUST take such a stand. The few who do not do so in any given group can cause the whole to degenerate. The longer those who infect the whole remain within any group, the more they tend to become representative of said group, especially to those on the outside looking in. So, if they leave said group, it is more likely than not a good thing rather than a bad thing. In the same way, those who uphold high standards must leave any group that does not adhere to those standards. Otherwise, one loses credibility.

Paul was trying to create some level of consistency within Christianity and that is something that, I submit, we Pagans also need – something that actually existed in ancient times, but something that we lack today. This idea that anyone’s experience is just as valid as that of anyone else is simply not rational. The idea that one thinks one can teach others based solely on one’s own personal experience does not really fly. Too many seem to want to assert themselves over good and consistent teaching. This is not a plea, as it might seem, for orthodoxy. It is rather a plea for consistency.

One of the first faults of Christianity was that they set certain people up as authorities so that it became understood that whatever they said, no matter how bizarre it might have been and no matter how it may have conflicted with the teaching of another, it was accepted as authoritative. And we are often presently engaging in the very same sin.

Many years ago when I was still a Christian, mentored by my local preacher, I would fill in at various churches in the region when asked by them to do so. I felt as if I was doing a service to my church and these local congregations. But, to my sadness, the church hierarchy at a certain point forbade me to continue doing any preaching in their churches until I received further college education. In the end I had little choice since they threatened to take my mentor’s credentials away from him if he continued to support my work. I really had little choice in the matter and any choice I might have made contrary to their decision would have been wrong.

Yes, I said it would have been wrong. I later came to understand, with proper education, that these authorities were RIGHT and I had been wrong. It was really that simple. It would have been unacceptable for them to have proceeded otherwise, accepting just any rogue preacher without proper training and education and the credentials to prove it spouting any sort of teaching to their congregations. They required consistency and they were right to require it.

Contrary to what some apparently believe, our deities also do not espouse inconsistency and/or chaos. Their precepts are well-known among us – things such as moderation, reason, logic, etc. We do well if we follow these precepts at all times and also teach others to do the same. To do otherwise is to oppose the deities and to invite chaos as our standard. There are standards that MUST be adhered to in any group or organization. Effective leadership requires adherence to said standards.

As an example, I have friends who created their own Asatru group, in part, because they were sickened by other said groups that seemed to espouse some level of racism. My friends could not accept this.

If any given group or organization relaxes or negates its standards for anyone then they have done a disservice to the whole. If I negate my personal standards for any reason in favor of anyone else then I have done a disservice to myself, not to mention that other person, for no favor was really done toward that person.

At this point I have made the decision to leave certain groups that I have found questionable at best. But I will still remain a part of United Hellenismos Association because it is striving toward some level of consistency with reasonable standards. But I will NOT be seen as espousing the types of things that some of these other groups apparently espouse. Nor will I contribute to it. I will not sacrifice my hard-won integrity for these groups.

See, my integrity has been hard-won, sometimes at the price of standing firmly against those who have accused me of deeds that they could not, and often did not even try to, prove in any way. I have already sacrificed much in so doing. Why would I do otherwise now? That would negate the value or all that I have already done and all that I have sacrificed in so doing all along the way. One can readily see that many politicians at this time are sacrificing their own very integrity to support one candidate or another. It is very sad to watch. This in and of itself demonstrates how much their own integrity means to them – not very much.

I cannot and will not condone, directly or tacitly, the calling up of “evil” forces for any purpose whatsoever. Not by way of Ouija boards or by any other means, as some apparently have recently done. Those who participate in such think that they should be allowed to do just anything they want and it should be OK with the gods and with nature. That is highly hubristic and the deities will take them down for this sin!

Ancient Greece and Roma were not quagmires of superstition so it is wrong for us to create organizations based on superstition and conjecture and claim that we are following a Greco-Roman path. Such is bringing into being something that would have been unacceptable to the ancients. So, I say, some of us need to do a bit of soul-searching asking ourselves if we are really about Greco-Roman ideals or not. If not, then why are we in such an organization in the first place? There is a standard that we should all adhere to. That is the ancient standard. One finds it in writings such as that of the philosophers as well as the oracular statements that are still extant. One can also find it in the myths and other writings as well as the histories. All of these must be properly read and interpreted so that they will be properly understood. Scholarly writings of modern times are helpful toward this goal.

So, one simply cannot claim to have been “god-taught” and expect to properly teach and lead others to proper understanding of things. How many discussions have I had with others about any given subject and their response was “well, that’s your interpretation” (or worse)? Yes, indeed, it IS my interpretation based on my education AND my many years of experience. But I dare not respond this way anymore for fear of giving someone a coronary! Some simply cannot let a given issue go, wishing to argue and debate almost into infinity! This ought not to be because I can promise that such was not very much tolerated in the schools of philosophy, etc., in the ancient world. But many people today wish to argue for argument’s sake.

So what says that my interpretation of things may be correct while someone else’s may be wrong? My education – much of which I have literally forgotten over the years but leaving me still with more Knowledge than most who propose to argue with me! If that sounds arrogant at least it does not descend to the level of interpretation based on few or no actual facts or evidence and/or argument based on emotion rather than reason and logic.

So, to the detractor or the argumentative person I say that I did not become a Pagan because of you and I will remain a Pagan despite you. And, yes, it IS my place to help guide those who are open to it because I am uniquely qualified to do so. But I will not argue or debate with anyone who will not utilize sound reason and logic on any subject. In fact, I prefer not to argue or debate at all based on my own personal experience, which shows me that it is unproductive and harmful to both parties. Instead, it is much better to reason together without engaging in argument or debate. In this way we CAN achieve some level of unity and espouse a reasonable, effective standard suitable to all.

Let me leave you with the fact that, when I was working to go back into the military late in life I had more than one reason for having considered it, but only one reason that ultimately mattered. That final reason was that I did not want to sit at home and comment about the war when I actually knew nothing about it. I wanted to take part in it so that I would really know what it had been all about. I didn’t want it to be said that I ran my mouth but was not willing to take part in it myself. THAT is integrity. We all need to strive for integrity in all that we say and do. To do otherwisde is an affront to the gods.