a little light reading

Four interesting projects....

• Badger's Bible Project, in which an atheist reads and comments on the Bible
• Peter on Genesis, in which a Quaker Pagan reads Genesis (not sure if he's going to do the rest).
• Blogging the Bible, in which David Plotz, who is Jewish, finds out what's really in there
• Bill Darlison, a Unitarian minister, also reads the Bible (for the 14th time)
  

Badger says:

So the Lord said, “I will destroy Man whom I have created from the face of the Earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry I have made them.” - Genesis 6:7

So, God gets pissed at Man and decides not only to kill every single person on the planet (even the newborn babies who are, one would think, blameless), but he also decides to off all the animals. Well, except fish, I would guess. They were probably quite pleased!

Anyhow, flood happens. God has a grand ole time going along undoing everything he did. Is it just me, or does he strike you as a frustrated gamer, always reloading Sims from a save point, after having done horrible things to his Sims?

Actually the Flood was caused by Ishtar when she was suffering from PMT. See Tablet 11 of The Epic of Gilgamesh. I am also mystified as to why anyone would worship a being who is described as sending plagues and floods on innocent people. Anyway, it’s all a metaphor…

Peter says:

The Bible was written by writers, and I’ve long felt that much of what those writers wanted to say has been lost, crushed, twisted, and sometimes outright perverted by later so-called “Bible based” traditions. All religious sentiments aside, as a fellow writer I feel it is my calling and my sacred duty to read through the text, not for comfort or for inspiration or for edification, but simply to hear what it is they were trying to say.

David says:

This is not a story they taught me at Temple Sinai's Hebrew School in 1980: The founding fathers of the 12 tribes of Israel lie, breach a contract, encourage pagans to convert to Judaism only in order to incapacitate them for slaughter, murder some innocents and enslave others, pillage and profiteer, and then justify it all with an appeal to their sister's defiled honor.

Bill says:

I am not against the Bible. I am just against the idea that this book – or any other book, including the Koran or the Book of Mormon or whatever – is a special revelation from God. It is probably the most irrational, dangerous and divisive idea that currently infects the human psyche. And, as Art Lester said to me last month, ‘The book-believers are the ones who will destroy the world.’ Sadly, Art might just be right. And it is our duty to challenge the book-believers, by fostering a new kind of religious consciousness with the contrary message that knowledge and wisdom are the result of human thought, human experience, reflection, reason, scientific endeavour. They do not drop down from heaven fully formed, nor are they are not the preserve of one nation or one religion or one period in history. And they are certainly not to be found in one book. To suggest that they are is to turn works of literature into loaded guns.

Bill is the author of The Gospel and the Zodiac, which puts forward the idea that the Jesus mythos was originally an initiatory mystery based on the symbolism of the Zodiac. Neat idea.

If I was going to do a Bible-blogging project, I'd start with something as near to the original as I could get: the Hebrew Tanakh in English. Alternatively, I would blog about a book that I might enjoy reading, like the Tao Te Ching or the T’ai Hsüan Ching.

Bristol Interfaith Midwinter Circle

We went to the Bristol Interfaith Midwinter Circle last night, and it was fabulous. Each community representative lit a candle on the main table before offering their contribution.

Muslim contribution – Samina Aslam & children – relating to the Prophet Ibrahim & the Hajj, also a Sufi poem by Rumi. This was great, because Samina told the story of Hagar / Hajar from the perspective of Islam, and it is slightly expanded from the Biblical version. I always thought it was sad that Hagar was sent away, so was glad to know that she was looked after (it mentions the spring and the idea that she was the ancestor of a nation in the Bible).

Progressive Jewish Congregation contribution – Rabbi Ron Berry – celebration of Chanukah, and about the Hanukiah. The Chanukah story is always rather moving, and also he lit a candle next to the Muslim candle, which was deeply symbolic in many ways.

Christian contribution – June Ridd – telling us about the significance of Advent. I never knew that each of the four Advent candles stood for something different: the first week is the Prophets, the second week is the Patriarchs, the third week is John the Baptist, and the fourth week is the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Spiritual Assembly of the Bahais contribution – Angela Parr – a reading & a poem. She read from Baha'ullah and then a poem by John Masefield, Laugh and be merry.

So we must laugh and drink from the deep blue cup of the sky,
Join the jubilant song of the great stars sweeping by,
Laugh, and battle, and work, and drink of the wine outpoured
In the dear green earth, the sign of the joy of the Lord.

Buddhist community of Lam Rim contribution – Mike Austin – he read from the Capala Sutra, which reminds Buddhists how to stay awake.

Hindu contribution - an explanation of the daily Aarti ceremony and how it employs the symbolism of the five elements (sky, air, fire, earth, water); a mantra that goes with it; and a reading about the spiritual journey in Hinduism, which culminates in moksha, union with the Divine.

Pagan contribution – Yvonne Aburrow and Nick Hanks – a brief overview of the Pagan customs of Yuletide, past and present. I talked about Saturnalia as the inversion of the usual social order; Yule as the turning point in the wheel of the year, and the oldest known symbols of Yule, which are the antlered man and the old woman; and the Pagan origins of decking the house with greenery and exchanging gifts. Nick talked about how Pagans celebrate Yule now, and about the symbolism of the Christmas tree.

Unitarian contribution – Bernard Omar read a piece about the interfaith significance of the scouting movement, and the interfaith commitments of Unitarianism. He also had the lights turned out during his reading, and read by candlelight, and invited us to imagine we were sitting around a large bonfire, like the Scouts!

Sokka Gakai contribution – Will Grealish led the chanting of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, a mantra from the Lotus Sutra.

Sikh contribution – Mr Singh Bisla & priests - singing accompanied by harmonium & tabla. This was very beautiful and full of yearning for the Divine.

still 100% Pagan

I hereby certify myself still 100% Pagan, or should that be NeoPagan?

Either way, I enjoy Taoism, love of nature, animism, non-theism, pantheism, compassion for all life, communing with the Universe, and seeking to balance myself with the Way of Nature (variously known as the Tao, Yin and Yang, Fire and Frost, Wyrd, etc). I affirm that we are all related (mitakuye oyasin). There was no fall, only an arising. The Universe is the Beloved.

Having re-lived the entire religious history of Europe in the past two months, I don't recommend it! From Pagan Polytheist to Orthodox Christian (missed out Catholicism, but waved to St Francis as I rushed past him) to a vague protestant feeling, to Unitarian, to non-theist, humanist, romantic animist NeoPagan. But I'm very glad to have found the Unitarians, where being a non-theist Pagan makes perfect sense, given their humanist and universalist tendencies and interest in wisdom from other traditions. Anyway, being a non-theist is excellent, I heartily recommend it. As Terry Pratchett so wisely said, witches don't believe in the gods, it would be like believing in the postman.

label, schmabel

Why I couldn't call myself a Christian under any circumstances

• Christians have persecuted too many heretics, witches, people of other faiths, and sexual minorities - and they're still doing it
  
• The Christian tradition is far too focussed on celibacy and asceticism
• I don't want to "die to the world" - I love the Earth and nature
• I don't believe nature is fallen; nor do I believe in original sin
  
• Christians must submit to the authority of their creeds and churches; to me, authority comes only from the Divine, heard as the still small voice within, though possibly mediated through the interpretations of others which may give insight
• They are too keen to convert others to the faith, and too many of them think it is the only truth
  
• The Alpha course (it annoys me so much!)
  
• I don't believe in the second coming as a literal event (and don't even get me started on those nutters who go on about the Rapture)
  
• I don't have a problem with the Trinity, exactly, but nor do I have a problem with the Unity, Duality, Quaternity, or any other numeric representation of the Divine.
• I can't believe Christ is the only way to the Divine source - and if you look at Yeshua's words in context (John ch 14), he doesn't seem to have been saying that

Why I am having trouble with being labelled Pagan

• I'm fed up with the reburial issue - why are people worrying about the ancient dead when the Earth is taking a hammering from consumerism and industrialisation? and I'm interested in the individual stories of our ancestors discovered through archaeology, not the relationship of their bones with the landscape
  
• I'm fed up with the constant bickering about what colour your candles should be, and lack of interest in theology and community values
• Neither duotheism nor hard polytheism really work for me as models of the Divine - if you divide the Divine into genders, it implies that there is a "normal" way to be male or female; and the problem with hard polytheism is that it insists that you must view the Divine in a particular way - to me, it's a unity and a multiplicity
  
• It is difficult to account for the problem of evil within Pagan theology
• I'm fed up with the selfish attitude of people who think it's OK to turn up to a festival and drum, sing and play the didgeridoo all night without regard for the needs of others
• I'm not sure any more if ancient deities can respond to contemporary needs - or rather, I am not so sure if religion should be about the interaction of people and gods, but rather between people and the universe and all its inhabitants
  

Why I am still a Wiccan

• I love Wicca - it is my spiritual home: its rituals, festivals and people stir the depths of my soul
• It is liberating and empowering for both men and women
  
• I am an initiate of Wicca, and proud of it
  
• Wicca has got me this far on my spiritual path, why should I abandon it now?
• I feel responsibility to my trainees
• It is an amalgam of Christian and Pagan themes
• It acknowledges the validity of all paths to the Divine
• You don't have to leave your sense of humour or your brain at the door
  

Why I am exploring and enjoying Unitarianism

• It acknowledges the validity of all paths to the Divine
• It feels like another spiritual home
  
• It's the ultimate heresy, and I've always loved the heretics and mystics (must be some kind of British-sympathy-for-the-underdog thing)
• In one of their leaflets they quote from Life of Brian - "you must all think for yourselves"
  
• Some of the people I most deeply admire were Unitarians - Ralph Waldo Emerson, Erasmus Darwin, S T Coleridge
• Even non-theists can join
• They have cool hymns (and a saying that they sing badly because they're always looking to the next line to see if they agree with it - hey, I do that!)
• They espouse the values of Yeshua but not necessarily subsequent accretions of doctrine (particularly the Trinity)
• They regard Yeshua as a great soul, like other great souls such as Buddha
• I want to explore my relationship with Kwan Yin as well as Yeshua
  
• They have a "build-your-own-theology" kit (what a refreshing change from things like the Alpha course)
• People are welcome, but they don't proselytise
• They are not anti-LGBT (indeed, they co-founded the Lesbian and Gay Switchboard)
• They love nature
  
• They build links with other faiths and seek to make peace
• They draw on science, the arts and other spiritual traditions for inspiration
  
• I find the Tao Te Ching to be the most meaningful holy book - this wouldn't be a problem for Unitarians
• They don't tell you what to think, they just put forward ideas for reflection
• You don't have to leave your sense of humour or your brain at the door
• They like discussing theology (but they don't have dogma)
  

Unitarians

I went to the Unitarian church on Sunday and it was so beautiful that it made me cry.

All their hymns were about affirming that the truth can be found in all religions and in films and books and poetry too, and there was a strong sense of the mystical oneness of the Divine. One of their booklets mentions the dictum of The Life of Brian - "you must all think for yourselves". (Which is also the message of Project Ijtihad).

When I came out I was walking on air - it was fantastic!