Will Plato Go To Heaven?

The Guardian reports that 30 leading Catholic thealogians are discussing a Vatican document that would remove Limbo from church teachings.

“It is an odd place. The inhabitants include Plato, Moses, Abraham and lots of babies. Now after more than 700 years of shadowy existence, limbo faces closure. The world’s 30 leading Roman Catholic theologians were meeting behind closed doors in the Vatican yesterday to discuss a document which would sweep the concept out of the church’s teaching. Limbo was concocted in the 13th century as a solution to the theological conundrum of what happened to babies who died before they were christened.”

So is it heaven or hell for these souls? These decisions haven’t been made. In the meantime those pre-Christian pagan thinkers so admired by later Christians remain in a place of “theological uncertainty”.

The Hidden Play Revealed

The New York Sun profiles Edmund Lingan, theatre scholar specializing in alternative spiritualities in plays, and founder of the International Institute for the Study of Performance and Spiritual Movements.

“To study theatrical manifestations of religious experience, he attended a gnostic Mass in Queens held by an occult society called Ordo Templi Orientis; witnessed a solstice celebration conducted in the middle of the night by an urban shaman at the end of a pier near the South Street Seaport; and ventured to Switzerland to see four seven-hour mystery dramas by anthroposophy founder Rudolf Steiner, whose method, “Eurythmy,” aims to express aspects of the soul through movement. How did he become interested in this unusual kind of theater? Mr. Lingan began to see references to members of esoteric traditions while studying Symbolist avant-garde theater, where plays often involve invisible forces that affect everyday life, a central idea of the occult. “I began to wonder if there was a tradition of theater and performance associated with occult societies,” he said.”

In addition to his research (he recently defended his dissertation on new religious movements in theatre) he also writes and directs plays. He will be directing an adaptation of “Dr. Faustus” by legendary playright Christopher Marlowe in March.

Quick Link

Profile of a recently retired Wiccan police officer who will be staying on as a consultant on occult crimes.

“Departments misunderstand things all the time. Everything gets blamed on Satanism, and very little of it is Satanism. There’s so many hidden facts that would be overlooked or dismissed as trivial by an untrained officer that can be brought to the surface when going over a crime scene.”

Wonder if he is a member of Officers of Avalon?

Quick Blogging Note

I’ll be up in Milwaukee this week on business/pleasure so blogging will be a bit sporadic until Friday. But since I’m currently idle and using the hotel’s wireless connection I thought I would point you to some wrap-ups and ramp-ups from Pagan scholars on the annual American Academy of Religion meeting.

Chas Clifton give some perspective leading up, and posts about books he discovered at the meeting.

Lee Gilmore discusses her own presentation and gives her impressions of the panels and talks at the AAR.

Christine Hoff Kraemer also gives a round-up of the conference.

All are well worth the time to read! I hope to check in with another post tomorrow.

Pagan Peace Hera

The City of Leeds in England is throwing a gala event celebrating religious “Peace Heroes” nominated by the citizens of Leeds. The event is part of a larger city-wide “Together For Peace” festival.

“Drama, music and film will be used at a Leeds event to celebrate religious leaders who have made a contribution to peace. Martin Luther King and the Dalai Lama will be featured alongside leaders from Pagan, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and other faiths at the Royal Armouries in Leeds on Sunday. The prestigious event will be attended by the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, the Lord Mayor of Leeds, Deputy Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding and city MPs. “Peace Heroes” have been nominated by religions represented in Leeds. A member of each religion will introduce the leader chosen. The aim of the event is to show how different faiths and religions can work together in common cause.” – Peter Lazenby, Leeds Evening Post

The Pagan contingent involved in the event has nominated author and activist Starhawk as their “Peace Hero” (though I would suspect she would prefer the term “hera”). No word on in what manner Starhawk will be feted that evening.

From a larger perspective, it seems that parts of the UK have truly been affected by the significant growth of the modern Pagan population and is looking towards inclusion and participation as a way forward. No matter how one feels about Starhawk personally, the fact that there is a Pagan contingent involved in this event, and that their chosen “hero” will be celebrated alongside Martin Luther King and the Dalai Lama represents a big step forward for modern Paganism collectively.

Embracing The Darkness

I wish I had the time to browse the “recently published” lists more often. Often I don’t hear about interesting new books until several months after they have been published. Such is the case with the new book by Corvis Nocturnum entitled “Embracing the Darkness; Understanding Dark Subcultures”. The book seems to take a broad look at the “dark” subcultures including dark paganism, vampirism, Satanism, and the goth scene.

“Embracing the Darkness is an in-depth look into the aspects of various dark subcultures of the Goths, Witchcraft, Satanists, BDSM/Fetishists, and Vampyres, incorporating interviews and conversations with well-known and everyday individuals, as well as taking a psychological and historical look at the similarities between these groups. From the Knights Templar and Vlad Tepes, during the Gothic and Renaissance periods, to the modern day renewed interest in Vampires, from a variety of movies and television shows to the commercialization of Witchcraft; from the various stereotypes surrounding devil worship to the truth about true Satanism; this work delves into the darkness with a stark and unyielding offering of cold hard realities. Time has still not granted a favorable view on dark aspects of art, music, or religious paths. Many of these groups have been secretly whispered about and confused with one another. This book attempts to enlighten readers about some of the more positive aspects within the dark culture, and to dispel the notion that the dark is “evil”.”

The book interviews notable figures from these subcultures including author Michelle Belanger, gothic fashion designer Kambriel, and current High Priest of the Church of Satan Peter H. Gilmore. While not academic in tone, the book looks like it could be a good introduction to some misunderstood subcultures and belief systems.

Thanks to Th’Elf for the tip-off.

A Look At Where Wicca (And Many Other Things) Started

Cambridge historians have been awarded a £1m grant to find out how much Victorian-era historians and scholars influenced, reinterpreted, and reinvented pre-Victorian history to fit their sensibilities. Some of the areas the project will be looking into will be writings on ancient Egypt, “the Merrie England of Good Queen Bess” (something that Ronald Hutton has studied quite extensively), and the influence of Greece and Rome.

The Victorian obsession with classical Greek culture is one of the many threads that eventually lead to the birth (or rebirth if you will) of modern Paganism and Wicca (again, Hutton’s writings on this subject are essential). Here is what the article has to say on the subject.

“Then there were debates about Greece and Rome. As early as the 1860s, some Victorian liberals were arguing that too much respect for Greece and Rome was positively anti-democratic, and that the compulsory teaching of Greek and Latin ought to be eliminated at grammar schools or even at Oxbridge. Modern languages such as French should be viewed as the proper foundation for a liberal education, some advocated. But others thought the Greeks were the fathers of democracy. Some thought the Greeks had prefigured Christianity, others that they were pagan and godless, others still (covertly) liked the paganism and godlessness and even (still more covertly!) celebrated the homoeroticism and naked emotionalism of certain aspects of classical Greek culture.”

The English fascination with the pre-Christian traditions and myths of ancient Greece would persist into our modern era. Influencing poetry, the arts, philosophy, religion and writing. These threads not only fed the first generation of modern Witches, but the writings of CS Lewis (where classical mythology loomed large in his Narnia books) and Tolkien (in Tolkien’s case he was inspired to write an “English” mythology that he felt was displaced by the English love of Greece). I look forward to the published results of this major grant, and hope it will shed more light on this dynamic and influential period of history.

Happy Thanksgiving

There Are How Many?

KPRC Television in Houston has done a small profile of Santeria (Lukum?). The thing that caught my eye is this bit towards the end of the piece.

“Despite it’s growing popularity it’s difficult to pinpoint how many people practice Santeria. Some estimates put it as low as 22,000 in the United States. Other estimates have it as high as 5 million. Since many people are still afraid to admit they practice this religion, it would be difficult to come up with an exact number.”

Five million? That seemed a bit high, but I double-checked with Adherents.com to see what they had to say.

“Regarding Santeria alone: It is difficult to determine worldwide numbers of Santerians, as the religion is syncretistic, goes by different names (including Lukumi, and Camdomble in Brazil) and has been actively suppressed by the Communist government in the country where it is perhaps the largest: Cuba. Estimates of Santerians include 800,000 in the U.S. and one million in Brazil, plus 3 million in Cuba (although many Cuban practitioners identify themselves officially as Catholics or Communists/atheists). A worldwide number of people who at least sometimes self-identify as adherents of this loosely-organized religious category might be 3 million, but this is just an estimate.”

Which means five million isn’t so off the mark. With close to a million Santerians in America alone (making it around the same size as the modern Paganism movement in America). It will be interesting if the media takes more notice of this faith in the future, and if tensions between Catholics and practitioners of Santeria will generate any sparks.

Magic Mushrooms In Ireland

Did you know that psilocybin mushrooms have been decriminalized in Ireland? I did not know this. Luckily one of my Irish friends clued me in.

“As of June 1st, 2005, psilocybin mushrooms are now no longer classified as a controlled substance, as long as they are not ‘prepared’ What that means is as long as they are not dry and shoved in prepackaged bags like yer going to sell em on the street, they are 100% legal.”

I also found an article that talks about the history of mushroom use in Ireland, and that perhaps they had a ritualized purpose in pre-Christian Ireland.

“The historian Peter Lamborn Wilson argues that some form of psychedelic plant or ‘Soma’ was ingested in Ireland in pre-Christian times by pagan groups such as the Fianna. This goes some way towards explaining our surreal mythology, and our folk tales of ‘the little people’. If this theory is true it only brings Ireland into line with mushroom eating societies all over the world. The Aztecs of Central Mexico consumed sacred mushrooms, and the mushroom-induced visions and voices were their way of communing with the spirit world.”

One wonders if these events and insights will have any effect on modern Pagan groups active in Ireland? Not to mention Celtic Reconstructionists in other parts of the world. Could the use of psilocybin mushrooms become a part of ritual activity?