A world full of gods: an inquiry into polytheism

by John Michael Greer

Paper Book, 2005

Status

Available

Call number

211.32

Genres

Academic: Philosophy

Religion & Spirituality

Collection

Gifts

Publication

Tuscon, Ariz. : ADF Pub., c2005.

Description

An investigation into the underpinnings and superstructures of the Pagan world view Pagan religions have tended to be more concerned with practice that with theory and in a system that has no dogma - no legislated doctrine - that is as it should be. Yet as the movement grows and matures, it is inevitable that we will begin to think in a more abstract way about our models and systems. John Michael Greer has provided a primer on the kinds of ideas and themes that must be included in any discussion of the theology and philosophy of Neo-pagan religions. Much of the book takes shape in a dialogue with existing ideas in theology, philosophy, and comparative religion. It looks to find a middle ground between too much and too little reference to the work of other scholars to find a comprehensible yet intellectually rigorous middle ground. It aims to be part of a conversation, that stretches out over the centuries. Voices of polytheist spirituality have had little place in that conversation for many years, but much of value has been said in their absence. The rebirth of polytheism as a living religious tradition in the Western world will inevitably force a reassessment of much of that heritage, and pose challenges to some of its most cherished assumptions. Yet reassessment is not necessarily rejection, and the traditions of modern polytheism are deeply enough indebted to legacies from the past that an attentive ear to earlier phases of the conversation is not out of place.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member skiegazer3

A typical example of a book written for people who already agree with him, Greer warns monotheists in the opening chapter that they might not like some of what he has to say (the implication being that no one likes to face the "hard truth" about beliefs that are dear to them). As a monotheist

myself, I have to admit, he's right, but not for the reasons he suggests; rather, his understanding of monotheism is simplistic, even shallow. He often treats monotheism as bizarrely monolithic and homogeneous, which any honest study of its history, development and current diversity will prove a highly inaccurate view. Occasionally he goes so far as to suggest that "liberal" monotheists (with their "creative" attempts to explain away what is, according to him, a very simple but stupid idea of God) aren't really monotheists at all, but mushy-thinking softies with polytheistic leanings towards diversity. After decrying underhanded theorists claiming that polytheists are really just confused monotheists, it seems hard to swallow when Greer reverses this logic in an effort to portray literal-minded fundamentalists as the only "real" kind of monotheist, while liberals are just "confused" proto-polytheists.

"A World Full of Gods" begins by suggesting that the conception of a "god" is fundamentally different in polytheism than it is in monotheism, but this premise is abandoned as Greer time after time imagines the monotheistic God as just a trumped-up and xenophobic version of the polytheist understanding of deity. Rather than a thoughtful and careful comparative study (or a work that explores the inner workings of polytheism without having to resort again and again to a defensive anti-monotheism position), this book is likely to frustrate sincere monotheists seeking to understand their polytheist counterparts, while perpetuating a misunderstanding of monotheism among polytheists themselves. Considering the insight of Greer's other books, this text is vastly disappointing. Perhaps its biggest flaw is over-extension, with great ambitions not only to describe and elaborate upon polytheism within the modern Pagan movement, but to sum up millennia of religious and theological debate in a scant two-hundred pages. Such an endeavor is doomed to failure. When Greer isn't defining polytheism in not-monotheistic terms, he inevitably wastes time reducing complex philosophical concepts to claims which, naturally, border on nonsense. He then proceeds to use this reductionist view as supposedly compelling evidence that monotheism cannot hold up under scrutiny. It is understandable, then, that only readers who have already decided on the nonsensical uselessness of monotheism will find this book enjoyable in its affirmation of what they see as a foregone conclusion.

All of that said, "A World Full of Gods" can offer some insight into polytheism for the "creative" monotheist interested in learning about alternative theologies, if she is patient enough and willing to slog through a constant misrepresentation of her own religious views. Greer's brief list of key polytheistic concepts on p. 11 (it would have been nice to see a book structured around exploring these key concepts), as well as his discussion of sacred gift-giving in pagan worship on pp. 114-120, are examples of some diamonds in the rough to be found throughout the text.

Show Less

3 more

LibraryThing member gwernin

A good book and a strong argument for inclusive polytheism as opposed to the exclusive monotheisms which have caused so much strife. The cat analogy is worth the price of admission.

LibraryThing member Sile

I found the first chapter of this book extremely difficult to understand and I could not comprehend its inclusion in the book. I gained nothing from the first chapter and, honestly, little more from the rest.

From the second chapter onwards, I was able to follow the arguments being put forward for

polytheism (as opposed to monotheism or atheism), but I am not sure I agreed with them. Some of the logic appeared circular to me: Greer seemed to disprove reasoning used my monotheists and atheists, but, in the next breath would use that very same reasoning to build a case for polytheism. But, then, what do I know.

I feel this book could have been so much more; I just don't know how it could have been improved. This book just didn't flow for me; I felt like I gained nothing from reading it; and it left me feeling rather frustrated.

The quality of this edition was poor, with the words crammed into the margins, causing me to often read the title of the book rather than the follow-on from the previous sentence, spelling and grammatical errors. I would have preferred either footnotes or endnotes position at the back of the book; I gave up reading the notes as it was too fussy to find them before reading each new chapter.

Show Less

LibraryThing member jsabrina

This book is a mature, scholarly exploration of the spiritual, philosophical and moral legitimacy of polytheism as a spiritual path.

Modern Western culture tends to view monotheism as the only truly mature and legitimate form of religiosity, based on the idea that cultures "grow out of" polytheism

to embrace monotheism. Greer, a critic of the "myth of progress" which claims that every new stage of human cultural development is necessarily better than the previous one, systematically builds his case for not only the legitimacy of polytheism, but the ways in which it answers and solves several of the nagging problems of monotheism such as "why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?" and the fact that human beings have always been religious but the diversity of religious experiences does not suggest a single divine being at the root of all.

I would recommend this book to any student of comparative religion, or anyone with an open mind who wants to gain an understanding of the rapdily growing communities of polytheist spirituality.

Show Less

Fewer