Ascendant Modern Essays On Polytheism And Theology

Theology, the discipline that analyzes, examines, and seeks to explain religious ideas, is a vibrant area of inquiry. Scholars and philosophers have produced countless works of theology over the past several thousand years.In the West, however, virtually all theology concerns monotheistic faith systems. Polytheism escapes the notice of most scholars, and those who do address it rarely write books intended for a general, non-academic audience. Polytheology must become its own active discipline if modern Pagan practice is to deepen and grow. Monotheistic assumptions so pervade our culture that even those few people born into polytheist religions (or those who grew up with no religion at all) cannot help but be influenced by them. Polytheology raises questions that cannot be adequately addressed by answers originally developed in a monotheistic context. Because polytheism is inherently open to variation, the goal of polytheology is not to arrive at a single truth so much as to elucidate the possibilities, to honor and embrace differences, to explore the nature of the Gods and their relationship to humanity. These philosophical ideas provide a greater understanding of the Cosmos, Gods and humanity, and topics such as morality, mortality, and myth. This volume -- with contributions from Edward P. Butler, Patrick Dunn, John Michael Greer, Brandon Hensley, Wayne Keysor, and Gwendolyn Reece -- is, we hope, a useful addition to this young but growing field.

Are the Gods good? Are the Gods real? Is polytheism at odds with science? What is the place of personal experience in modern paganism? How do we deal with and define cultural appropriation? What roles do cross-cultural interpretation play in polytheist theology?Theology provides a language and a tool set for studying theos, that is, the divine. Whether conducted by seasoned academics, armchair philosophers, or ordinary folks figuring out just what they believe, theology is the source of all interpretation of religious source texts, myth, and practice.However, formal and scholarly theology has almost always focused on the monotheistic religions or very occasionally on Eastern polytheistic religions, such as Hinduism and Shinto. Western polytheism is seen in academia as a subject more suited for anthropology or history than theology. That has now begun to change. Various forms of contemporary paganism are gradually gaining an updated theological foundation for their practices and beliefs as modern polytheists themselves engage in theology. The first volume of Ascendant was Bibliotheca Alexandrina's entry into this exciting (new) field. It is our hope that the second volume of Ascendant, which you hold in your hands, will add to the foundation of modern pagan, polytheist theology - and that each successive volume in the series will further strengthen that foundation.So what do you believe? What do you practice? And why?

These essays lay the groundwork for a practice of philosophical inquiry adequate to polytheistic or "Pagan" religious traditions, including in particular the non-reductive hermeneutics of myth and the theory of the polycentric divine manifold. Includes the previously published articles "The Theological Interpretation of Myth", "Offering to the Gods: A Neoplatonic Perspective", "Polycentric Polytheism and the Philosophy of Religion", as well as the previously unpublished "Neoplatonism and Polytheism" and "A Theological Exegesis of the Iliad, Book One".

The essays in this book provide the principal theoretical foundation for the 'henadological' approach to theology in the polytheistic philosophy of religion. Previously published articles by author, gathered into one volume "without comment or elaboration". Also includes two previously unpublished works from 2010 and 2012.

Polytheism: from the Greek poly for "many" and theos for "god." While the term itself may be simple enough to define, the traditions, beliefs, and practices that fall under it are complex and diverse. Contemporary Reclaiming Witchcraft, early Medieval Heathenry, the native practices of the Aztecs, Shintoism and Taoism, and present-day Hellenismos - to name just a few - all fall under the wide umbrella of polytheism. Yet they are often radically different in their cosmologies, mythologies, ethics, eschatology, sacred rites, and other practices. These four essays exemplify that diversity of beliefs and practices. In "The Dawning of the Equinox," Katie Collins delves into the history and theology behind one of the most important rites in Thelema; Reverend Amber Doty examines "The Nature of Evil" in a number of ancient mythologies, and how that influences modern practitioners of those traditions; in "Soul, Felt Experience, and Divinity," Tom Cabot discusses the visible and invisible realms of Nature and the striving of the human soul towards the divine; and Nicholas Mennona Marino delves into the orations of Isocrates in "'Venerate What Relates to the Gods.'" These essays are only a beginning, though. The complexity of polytheism cannot be contained in a single text. We hope that you will find these essays illuminating and thought-provoking - and that they will inspire you to make inquiries of your own into the nature of the Gods, humanity, and our collective relationships with one another.

This collection of essays is the fruit of about fifteen years of discussion and research by James Force and me. As I look back on it, our interest and concern with Newton's theological ideas began in 1975 at Washington University in St. Louis. James Force was a graduate student in philosophy and I was a professor there. For a few years before, I had been doing research and writing on Millenarianism and Messianism in the 17th and 18th centuries, touching occasionally on Newton. I had bought a copy of Newton's Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John for a few pounds and, occasionally, read in it. In the Spring of 1975 I was giving a graduate seminar on Millenarian and Messianic ideas in the development of modem philosophy. Force was in the seminar. One day he came very excitedly up to me and said he wanted to write his dissertation on William Whiston. At that point in history, the only thing that came to my mind about Whiston was that he had published a, or the, standard translation of Josephus (which I also happened to have in my library. ) Force told me about the amazing views he had found in Whiston's notes on Josephus and in some of the few writings he could find in St. Louis by, or about, Whiston, who was Newton's successor as Lucasian Professor of mathematics at Cambridge and who wrote inordinately on Millenarian theology.

This popular text has been updated to ensure that it continues to provide a current and comprehensive overview of the main Christian theologies of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Each chapter is written by a leading theologian and gives a clear picture of a particular movement, topic or individual. New and updated treatments of topics covered in earlier editions, with over half the chapters new to this edition or revised by new authors. New section singling out six classic theologians of the twentieth century. Expanded treatment of the natural sciences, gender, Roman Catholic theology since Vatican II, and African, Asian and Evangelical theologies. Completely new chapters on spirituality, pastoral theology, philosophical theology, postcolonial biblical interpretation, Pentecostal theology, Islam and Christian theology, Buddhism and Christian theology, and theology and film. As in previous editions, the text opens with a full introduction to modern theology. Epilogue discussing the present situation and prospects of Christian theology in the twenty-first century.

In this collection of research articles and reflective essays, Brendan Larvor argues that the principal task of teachers in higher education is to find ways to pursue the creative, romantic and liberal goals of the ideal university, when real universities are rationalised bureaucracies, according to the thoughts of Max Weber. Larvor reflects on the differences between teaching philosophy undergraduates, expert practitioners and prisoners. He insists on the importance of the affective dimension of learning and the unpredictability of the encounter between students and curricula. This book will interest anyone concerned about the current condition of higher education, and anyone interested in the relationship between the intimate, human activity of teaching and the bureaucracies in which it takes place.