Atheology
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There is No Resurrection
This week, Christians are celebrating their belief that someone rose from the dead, and—for unclear and not entirely logical reasons—that they are therefore absolved of a moral stain they believe they were born with. I do not subscribe to any of that. I don’t believe in original sin. I don’t believe in life after death, much less heaven and hell. And I certainly don’t believe that a human sacrifice has any pertinence to the moral character of anyone other than the people doing the sacrificing…and in that case, it’s a negative. I don’t find the Christian moral argument to be persuasive, and I find many of the values that are…
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Towards a Culture of Happiness
Yes, the world presents us with tremendous challenges. Yes, there are many reasons for sadness and anger and grief. Yes, there is urgency in addressing crises that threaten our very existence. So why, then, does Atheopaganism put a premium not only on being activists, but on being happy people? On having lives that are fulfilling adventures of growth and discovery? Well, I’ll tell you why. First of all, there is inherent justification in it. As Atheopagans, we know that an afterlife is highly unlikely. This is a one-time, one-way trip for each of us. Surely we should enjoy that journey as much as is reasonably possible. Pleasure is our birthright, as…
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Abuse, the Pagan Community, and Our Commitments
Sarah Anne Lawless, who published these two revelatory articles on her experiences of being sexually harassed and abused within the Pagan community (mostly in Canada and the Pacific Northwest), has now published a third piece. In it, she reports the truly horrifying blowback she received for daring to name this problem. Lawless has suffered financially, psychologically, and even legally simply because she had the unmitigated gall not to remain silent about abuses up to and including rape.* I wrote on this subject awhile back. It’s one of my most-read articles from this site, and engendered passionate arguments both pro and con my thesis: that Paganism must root out the baked-in…
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Atheopaganism: An Introduction
In recent months, hundreds of new Atheopagans have joined the Facebook group and followed the blog. Lots of folks viewing our path with new eyes, and many wondering how to get started. Accordingly, I thought I’d provide an overview of this Pagan path. Today I posted a video, “An Introduction to Atheopaganism”, to the Atheopagan YouTube Channel. This is a talk I will present at Pantheacon next month. View it below!
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A Community Project: Choosing a Charitable Cause for Atheopagan Support
Atheopaganism isn’t just for its practitioners. As noted in Atheopagan Principle 8, we understand our responsibility to our societies and to future generations. Accordingly, I thought it would be a good thing for all of us, as a community, to identify a charitable cause to support in 2019. I would advertise for contributions to the selected agency on the website, and we could take a collection for the agency at Atheopagan events. The process I have in mind for this selection is as follows: Identify criteria for the agency we will choose Nominate agencies that meet the criteria Vote to select the agency we want to support So let’s talk about the…
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Let Us Give Thanks
In the United States, this is the week of the annual secular holiday Thanksgiving, coming up on Thursday the 22nd. Originating with the Michaelmas harvest celebrations of England, the American Thanksgiving is rooted in the mythologizing of a harvest feast shared by colonizing “Pilgrims” in the New England region and Native people following a successful harvest in 1621. Of course, within a short time, said colonists were massacring their Native neighbors, and the North American genocide was underway. Given that capitalism turns everything it touches into something grotesque, the American holiday has become more of a celebration of gluttony and an often-problematic convening of family members who may not actually…
