The Avengers Won the War, But Lost the Argument: How Our Heroes Doom Our Future

This is not a review of Avengers: Endgame, but there are spoilers, so if you haven’t seen it and want to, don’t read ahead.

For those of you who haven’t seen it and don’t want to, the last two Avengers movies, Infinity War and Endgame are about a struggle between the “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes”, the superhero team called the “Avengers”, and a villain named “Thanos”. Thanos believes that life has exceeded the universe’s carrying capacity, and he wants to wipe out half of all life so as to bring things back into a state of balance. Thanos explains his motivation in two conversations with the heroes: Continue reading “The Avengers Won the War, But Lost the Argument: How Our Heroes Doom Our Future” →

May 28, 2019 0

Re-Thinking the Disenchantment of Hard Polytheism

Over at The Postmodern Polytheist, the Anarcho-Heathen published a critique of an older essay of mine, “The Disenchantment of Hard Polytheism”. At the time it was published, my essay provoked a quite a bit of controversy in the Pagan blogosphere. In it, I argued that certain forms of polytheism which view the gods as radically distinct individuals contribute to the ongoing disenchantment of the world, just as do certain reductive forms of scientism which view human and other beings as radically distinct individuals. In contrast to both these forms of alienation, I contrasted a form of Paganism which emphasizes the interconnectedness of everything, including humans and gods. Continue reading “Re-Thinking the Disenchantment of Hard Polytheism” →

September 2, 2018 0

21 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day: Beware of Lists

Reposted from PrayWithYourFeet.org

Each day of the month of April leading up to Earth Day (April 22), I will be offering a suggestion for how we can really honor the Earth this year. This list will go beyond the usual suggestions to change your light bulbs and take shorter showers. Instead, the focus is on collective action working toward radical social change.

My last bit of advice is to beware of lists, including this one, but especially those premised on an individualistic value system and those that sound suspiciously like advertising.

Continue reading “21 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day: Beware of Lists” →

April 21, 2018 0

Escaping the Otherworld: The Reenchantment of Paganism

“There is another world and it is this one.”

— attributed to the French surrealist and communist poet, Paul Éluard

Continue reading “Escaping the Otherworld: The Reenchantment of Paganism” →

October 2, 2017 0

Capitalist Extortion in the Pagan Community

Twice in the past month, capitalists have tried to extort my silence.

That sounds dramatic. But it’s what happened.

Continue reading “Capitalist Extortion in the Pagan Community” →

May 22, 2017 0

The Problem and the Promise of Paganism, and Why One Looks a Lot Like the Other

Note: I wrote this a couple of years ago in response to a Patheos writing prompt which asked writers to answer the question of why we have continued to embrace our particular path and where we think that path is headed in the future. It is a question which I continue to revisit periodically, and my answer then still rings true. It is republished here with some minor revisions.

The Problem of Paganism

The question why I am “still” a Pagan implies that there might be reasons why I would not want to identify as Pagan any longer. And there are. I believe that Paganism has the potential to transform our relationship with the earth, with each other, and with our deeper selves—but a lot of the time, I cannot relate to other Pagans.

Continue reading “The Problem and the Promise of Paganism, and Why One Looks a Lot Like the Other” →