A Question of Life and Death

Last night The Academy Awards celebrated the film “Million Dollar Baby” by awarding it several Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor. The film has been generating tons of debate and controversy for the ending which deals with issues of euthanasia.

Million Dollar Baby

Disabled groups hate it because that say it paints a picture of disability as no better than death and that the film is riddled with inaccuracies about disability. Pro-life groups hate it because it shows euthanasia as a moral choice (particularly troubling for them now considering other cases in the news). Clint Eastwood says that the film is not a pro-euthanasia film and that the results are the choices the characters made in the circumstance.

“It’s the same thing with the pro-choice or pro-lifers. People make a lot of comments who have never been in that position and don’t know what the circumstances are. You could do a million stories on that particular dilemma. But we are very judgmental right at the moment. And anybody who doesn’t agree with you is almost like the enemy.” – Clint Eastwood

This brings up an opportunity for modern Pagan leaders and commentators to define what they believe and why. Many of us wish that we were asked questions beyond the “101″ yet are afraid to come out and give an opinion informed by our faith. I’ll step my toe into the water and give some of my thoughts on this touchy subject.

One of the main tenents that could be held in common in all the various forms modern Paganism has taken is that we are given the opportunity to forge our own destiny. The gods and goddesses have placed in us the ability to make decisions of what we want to do with our life. Modern Pagan religions have ideals, goals, guidelines and even principles of unity, but few commandments and very little dogma.

This creates confusion for the outsider looking in for a monolithic definitive stance, since our ethics are often personal and arrived at through a mixture of religious/spiritual study and personal gnosis on how we feel those goals are best manifested in our world today. So you get Wiccan groups who advocate for and against abortion rights, some Pagans are pro-animal sacrifice while others are against eating meat and that is only the tip of the iceberg.

As for euthanasia I do believe there are instances that would make me instruct someone I loved to end my life. I (and other Pagans I would warrant) believe in the “good death”. That there are indeed better times than others to go and meet your makers and join your ancestors. For every inspiring story of someone who held onto life, there are others who lay in mental or physical agony often in states rendering them unable to communicate their wishes to extended family who may hold opposing views regarding life and death.

“Allied to seasonal festivals and the lifecycle of self-consciously mortal persons, Pagan rituals attempt to provide an encounter with death (perhaps as a personification) at least annually. Among the rhetorical carriers of Pagan intimations are both ancient texts (like the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Norse Sagas) and contemporary fantasy fiction (like Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series) in both of which death (or Death) is central.” – Prof. Liz Stuart

That quote above from a paper by Prof. Liz Stuart also touches on how most modern (and ancient) systems of Paganism have an attitude that death is natural and not something to be feared. Many Pagan views of life and death are misinterpreted due to the fact that the belief in transcendence, which is a part of most modern world religious is not something that dominates modern Paganism.

What does it mean to say that death is “natural”? It means that death is not the enemy of life but a necessary companion of it. We return to the earth and continue the cycle. We do not try to extend life when we feel it is our time to return to the elements; we do not lay in state awaiting a miracle of resurrection. We do not demonize the flesh, nor do we elevate it beyond its function. Even an individual’s personal gnosis concerning such matters could change within a lifetime, so it would be foolish to make a hard and fast pronouncement about the absolute morality (or immorality) of life-and-death issues, either for others or for oneself.

(Note: Discourse on this issue will remain civil or the comments will be deleted.)

The Important Questions

Here I thought I was done referencing the Episcopal Church, but this newspaper editorial has proved me wrong by asking the hard questions pressing this religious community.

“is Rowan Williams into New Age? Does he read pagan scripts instead of the Bible? What?s going on in the demented soul of Williams these days?” – J. Grant Swank, Magic City Morning Star

I wonder what Pagan scripts Williams would be into? Gardner? Starhawk? Let us address these important issues now!

There’s Something About Wicca!

“What is it about Wicca that makes it so attractive to pubescent girls these days? Where I remember being a fervent Christian between 11 and 13, my own daughter has nearly set fire to the house, lighting candles for Isis at the full moon. With the cult television series Charmed to back it up, novels about the occult are as essential for wannabe witches as black nail varnish.” – Amanda Craig, The Times Online

…or maybe not

“The survey, funded by the Lilly Endowment, found that teenagers are not flocking to “alternative” religions such as Wicca. Less than one-third of 1% acknowledged such affiliation. They are also not experimenting with a mixture of religions, the poll found.” – Veronica Torrej?n, Los Angeles Times

…but keep in mind

The Lilly Endowment for religion is “focused on major, interlocking efforts aimed at enhancing and sustaining the quality of ministry in American congregations and parishes.” So I would take the data with a grain of salt.

Quote of the Day

“It was a loss for a lot of people who did not come to hear this panel speak. I think if more people were here, they probably would have noticed that the differences (between religions) is not that wide. Discrimination of other religions is misinformation about those groups. What we have found through this panel is that most religions are connected to other groups in the religious spectrum … there’s not much difference.” – Dr. Harriet Cohan, NT assistant professor and director of social work who was the moderator of a panel discussion on world religions, communities and campus environments which included a Pagan representative.

Around The Pagan Blogosphere

MacRaven talks about the Folkish/Universalist split in Asatru.

“The position Heathenry has gradually evolved into is one of truce and acceptance. Those who were there in the first battles have burnt out on the whole concept, recognizing it for the straw man that it truly is. Like the Aesir and the Vanir in the lore, we have exchanged “hostages” – folks with either theological bent hanging out with the opposite camp, and managing to put our commonalities above our petty and personal differences. So far, it’s working pretty well. And if Heathenry is to survive, much less thrive, it’s got to keep working.”

Sia wonders where all the Pagan leaders have gone (and if they are coming back).

“It seems that a great many Pagans (at least the healthy ones) who were active in the community have gone back underground. In effect, we are once again a Mystery Religion. By this I mean that you know have to really look or know someone in order to find good teachers. As for Circles, well, nowadays most of us make our own Circles out of people we’ve known for years. Many open Circles have now closed or are closing.”

Chas Clifton uncovers some interesting attitudes about Wiccan women.

“Robin Runesinger explains Wiccan women: They worship goddesses, and they want to dominate men sexually, you see. (And all the lonely ?satr? boys take another swig from their drinking horns, each wrapped in a mist of sexual fantasy.)”

Noddy from Numenous Thoughts tackles animal sacrifice.

“If we are going to eat meat, then the animals we consume should be killed in a fashion which respects their nature and does them honor. To simply slaughter an animal for food is, in our opinion, wrong. The animal we eat must be killed humanely, with honor, and with an acknowledgement that we have removed this animal from the circle of life to offer us sustenance.”

The Hermit talks about the upcoming Beowulf films.

“Not one, but two versions of Beowulf are on the way. The first is described as, “a $12m co-production from Britain, Canada and Iceland, starring the Scots actor Gerard Butler. Filmed in Iceland, it is described by its producers as a ’spiritual film’.” Are we talking spiritual, like The Snuffing of the Christ, with all the blood & gore & stuff? More likely it’s spiritual as in it takes itself too damned seriously.”

Quote of the Day

“Without understanding what creates floods and droughts, hurricanes and earthquakes and other natural disasters, we resorted to holding a slew of gods responsible for these unpredictable events, which mercilessly governed life and death. But believing in these gods and worshipping them was not enough – they needed to be propitiated. What more valuable sacrifice could we offer them than life itself – human life? It needs to be mentioned too that empathy and compassion for our fellow human beings and a social conscience as we know it today, was not all that well developed. This probably made it easier for us to sacrifice someone else so that we would live – after all, it was the powerful who decided who was going to be sacrificed. (We don’t know much about possible voluntarism of those to be sacrificed.) Fortunately, Abraham heard a voice telling him not to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac, and the first doubt was raised about the necessity of the barbaric and pagan practice of human sacrifice.” – Ursula Duba

Let me get this straight, Pagans were sub-human beings who didn’t possess the same powers of empathy due to the fact that some of them made human sacrifices. Human sacrifice is proof of a lack of humanity, but apparantly stoning a woman for adultery gets a pass.

Pagan Pop-Culture

Two interesting stories in the realm of popular culture and modern Paganism today. First off is a film currently being shot in India which could well become the Wiccan version of The Exorcist.

“‘Sacred Evil’, being shot at various locations in the city with an international cast, is a rather serious film that seeks to delve into the inexplicable and the esoteric with a generous blend of science and the supernatural. The film is based on a case study from the book ‘Sacred Evil: Encounters With the Unknown’, a much-talked about work from Ipsita Roy Chakraverti, the self-proclaimed wiccan for whom the world of spirits and the supernatural is not in conflict with the domain of psychotherapy.” – Khalsa News

It makes me wonder which story from the book will be used, this summary from the Tribune India brings up all sorts of unique ideas for a occult-themed movie.

“The book is divided into nine chapters, or encounters, as she calls them. It presents real-life incidents where her powers as a mediating agent with the ‘unknown’ are sought by people ‘troubled by forces and events they cannot comprehend’. The descriptions themselves could well be from the script of a horror movie. They range from a young woman possessed by the evil power of a voodoo doll, a coconut out to kill, a haunted house with the power to communicate, zombies carrying out such mundane activities as plying rickshaws, to Goddess Kali who mesmerises her devotees to a frenzy that can last over a hundred years. There is even a chapter dealing with necromancy, or the power to bring the dead to life.”

I hope it gets American distribution, how could anyone resist seeing this?

The other item comes from American pop-star Tori Amos who is releasing a new CD (and accompanying book called Tori Amos: Piece by Piece) called “The Beekeeper”. A couple sources have brought up Tori’s penchant for Paganism, heretical themes and her Native American heritage.

“But Piece by Piece is neither linear nor literal enough to be accounted a memoir. Amos, who seems to live with one foot in the misty realm of myth, fills page after page celebrating her psychic links to goddesses Egyptian (Sekhmet), Roman (Venus), and pagan (Corn Mother). ‘Because I use archetypes a lot in my work,’ Amos says, ‘and Ann [co-writer and veteran music journalist Ann Powers] has researched this, it became a meeting point, sort of like a centerpiece. She could go off into her corridors and I would go into mine. But we could come back to the centerpiece to talk symbolically and archetypally.’” – Philadelphia Inquirer

“Born in North Carolina and raised in Maryland, Amos is the daughter of a Methodist minister raised in the strict Christian sense that entails. Along with a voracious literary appetite, from her mother she inherited a Cherokee bloodline that connects her to spirituality deeper than any church can provide.” – Billboard

“Can the daughter of a Methodist minister reconcile the rifts in American society by examining male-female relationships through a study of the Gnostic gospels? No, but they can be fertile inspiration for an album, and “The Beekeeper” is as dense and rich as they come.” – Seattle P-I

But then Amos has questioned traditional religion since the beginning, but it was her third CD “Boys For Pele” that really seemed to cement her affection for Paganism.

“Well, Pele is the volcano goddess and I thought of like, um, sacrificing some of the boys in my life to her but then I decided that that wasn’t really a very good idea. And, the album is sort of about the way I’ve stolen fire from the men in my life. And I got tired of doing that ’cause I have my own. But I couldn’t see that for a very long time. And now I can respect them without needing to suck their blood.” – Tori Amos; BBC Interview

As to the question of if it is any good, I’ll have to wait until I have heard it to tell you.

Odin and Satan

The Guardian has a unique interview with notorius Black Metal act Mayhem from Norway who were tied into string of arson attacks on Christian Churches. The weird hybrid of Paganism and Satanism is something I have only heard of in places like Norway.

Hunter S. Thompson 1937 – 2005

“Call on God, but row away from the rocks.”

New York Times, Salon, The Guardian, Aspen Times, Spiegel

Covering the Con

This weekend is Pantheacon, a long-running convention for modern Pagans. Like most conventions it is filled with talks and activities and the opportunity to network and party with like-minded people. Having a convention that covers Paganism instead of Fantasy/Sci-Fi seems to be novel to the Mercury News who give the usual stranger in a strange land perspective.

“The pagans have invaded San Jose! The city’s going to hell! Well, maybe not. Pagans don’t actually believe in such things. Many of them, however, do believe in ghosts, sprites, fairies and witches. And some of them actually are witches. As of Saturday — the second of the four-day pagan convention — it’s been so far, so good. No one’s been turned into a newt. Yet.” – Dan Reed

Then again, maybe Dan has a reason for the witchy snark according to Cadmus over at the blog Watching Rats Abandon Ship.

“For those that don’t know, Pantheacon is a pagan covention in its second decade of life (though it shows). This is the third time that I’ve been and I always have a good time. That being said, I do find my pagan coreligionists (when I’m not a Buddhist) a bit odd or scary in a geeky sort of way. When a professional geek finds you odd or scary, it is not a good sign…Lots of aging boomers in tiedye and bad hair.”

Are the “aging boomers” pointing to a generation gap in modern Paganism? How do the twenty and thirty-something modern Pagans see the ‘Boomers’ and how do the teens see the other two groups? How much common ground do we have?

Finally, a shout-out to Melissa Gira on my blogroll who is giving a talk at Pantheacon entitled Sacred Whores: A Pagan Sex Workers? Temple.

If I find any other interesting wrap-ups of the convention I’ll post them.