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December 2023

December 11, 2023

An Epistemology of the Many Gods

Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that deals with the question of how we know...

November 2022

November 27, 2022

Do the Gods Care About Everyone?

Does Apollo care about me? I’ve never poured the first offering for Him, never called...

September 2022

September 15, 2022

Polytheist Theology: the Names, Functions, and Relationships of the Gods

Robust and meaningful theology is never the product of any one person. It’s always the...

May 2021

May 16, 2021

Philosophy in Modern Paganism, and Why I Am a Druid

What is the place of philosophy in the Pagan movement? And what is it about...

March 2021

March 25, 2021

The Theology of Tower Time

What we know about the Gods comes from our experiences of Them. And if we’re...

September 2020

September 10, 2020

To The Pagans Who Think I’m Wasting My Time

I understand that some Pagans are ambivalent – at most – about the Gods. That’s...

April 2020

April 19, 2020

6 Pagan Roles To Fill During The Quarantine… And Afterward

If the only role you can fill right now being a good ordinary Pagan, then...

February 2020

February 27, 2020

Our Gods Are Not Jealous Gods: The Importance of Building a Pagan Worldview

Why do some people insist that their call to devoted service is a call to...

January 2020

January 19, 2020

Stories are Myths – Gods are Persons

A Catholic philosopher says that Paganism is about myths but Christianity is a true story....

August 2019

August 01, 2019

A Question of Pagan Theology

“Do Gods call people to Their service or not?” is a theological question. My theology...

March 2019

March 05, 2019

The Theology of Personal Experience

Intellectual knowledge about the Gods is no substitute for first-hand experience of the Gods. But...

May 2018

May 31, 2018

Toward a Common Polytheist Theology

In the last post I said that over time, modern Paganism will settle into three...

April 2016

April 17, 2016

The Bakery of the Gods

I’ll be happy to talk about apple pie all day long, but if you prefer...

March 2016

March 17, 2016

The Gods Are Like Apples

Metaphors can be tricky in religious matters: some take them literally, while others see only...

March 13, 2016

This Is My Polytheism

Your polytheism may be very similar to mine. Great. Your polytheism may be very different...

July 2015

July 28, 2015

The Universe Has No Plan And That’s OK

I don’t think the Universe has a plan, and in any case I can’t relate...

July 19, 2015

What Are The Gods Up To?

Get a handful of polytheists together and sooner or later the conversation turns to “so,...

June 2015

June 11, 2015

Why Pagan Theology Is Important

Western culture is filled with Christian assumptions, many of them unstated. If we are to...

March 2015

March 22, 2015

Can We Trust the Gods?

Some Pagans act as if the Gods are our kindly grandparents. Others act as if...

February 2015

February 01, 2015

What a Polytheist learned from Unitarian Universalists

Although it is safer to be a heretic today than in the past, claiming that...

October 2014

October 29, 2014

How Do We Know What the Gods Want?

Unquestioning belief is not a Pagan virtue. How do we know what we know about...

October 19, 2014

Thinking About the Gods

If you believe the Gods are many and have agency then you cannot also believe...

June 2014

June 01, 2014

Cernunnos

We know little about Cernunnos from ancient times, but it is fitting that a God...

February 2014

February 06, 2014

The Earth, The Gods and The Soul

The Earth, The Gods and The Soul by Brendan Myers is the philosophy book I...

January 2014

January 03, 2014

Polytheism Redux

Both Poseidon and The Sea are beautiful and powerful and I worship both. But a...

August 2013

August 13, 2013

Passing on the Faith – The Hidden Questions

I rejected my father’s theology but I couldn’t unlearn his dedication to faith and his...

July 2013

July 25, 2013

UPG and Religious Uncertainty

The value of our religious beliefs and experiences does not come from their certainty. There...

June 2013

June 28, 2013

Seeking the Mystery

Christine Kraemer's Seeking the Mystery is now available in print as well as the previously...

June 02, 2013

And I’m Back

My recent travels have given me time to read and reflect on the gods-and-superheroes debate...

March 2013

March 06, 2013

Iamblichus on Prayer

1700 years ago, Iamblichus wrote “extended practice of prayer nurtures our intellect, enlarges very greatly...