Re: Pantheism nurturing global following

Peter wrote:

> Adherents find God in the environment
>
> Saturday November 15, 2003
>
> By Mary Jacobs
> Religion News Service
>
> "God is not the voice in the whirlwind," novelist Margaret Atwood
> wrote. "God is the whirlwind." If you believe that, you may be a
> pantheist: a person who views the universe and nature as divine.
>
> Once an obscure philosophy touted only by the rare intellectual,
> pantheism is weighing in again on the spiritual scene, thanks to the
> Internet. The World Pantheist Movement, founded in 1998, now claims
> 2,000 members in 56 countries, with active local groups in San Diego,
> Calif., London, Cleveland and other cities.
>
> But founder Paul Harrison of Calabasas, Calif., believes there are
> many more out there who are pantheists and just don't know it.
>
> "I've talked to many, many people who said, 'I've felt this way all
> along but didn't know there was a name for it,' " he said.
>
> "Do you feel a deep sense of peace and belonging in the midst of
> nature?" asks the group's Web site, www.pantheism.net. If so, "then
> you will feel thoroughly at home in the World Pantheist Movement." The
> site quotes the pantheistic philosophies of Albert Einstein, Stephen
> Hawking, Carl Sagan, Henry David Thoreau and Mikhail Gorbachev, who
> said: "To me, nature is sacred. Trees are my temples and forests are
> my cathedrals."
>
> Seeing the universe as a profound unity, pantheists turn to nature for
> spiritual inspiration. Harrison spends time every day in nature,
> meditating on a star-filled night or watching the waves at the
> seashore. In practical terms, a pantheist expresses devotion by caring
> for the environment.
>
> Katherine Peil, a Seattle psychologist and member of the World
> Pantheist Movement, believes pantheism offers hope for avoiding
> clashes among people of different religions. "If any religion can be
> global, it's pantheism, because it's based on nature, something we all
> have in common," she said.
>
> "Almost everyone has a profound love of nature," Harrison said. "Even
> people who call themselves Christians, for example, might have
> stronger feelings about nature than about traditional religious
> teachings."
>
> Harrison, an ecologist, found a kind of salvation in pantheism. A
> professed atheist, he fell into a depression until a job on a farm led
> him to spend time in nature every day. "I shifted from seeing life in
> negative to extremely positive terms," he said. "For me, the whole
> pantheism thing is emotional."
>
> Ignorance of the word pantheism poses the group's biggest obstacle,
> but Harrison is hopeful because he sees acceptance of pantheistic
> ideas in the popularity of films such as the "Star Wars" series and in
> animated films such as "Pocahontas" and "The Lion King." "When someone
> calls on the Force, they are not calling on God, they are calling on
> the universe," he said. He also sees pantheism in the writings of many
> environmentalists, including Al Gore's book, "Earth in the Balance."
>
> To their dismay, evangelical Christians are seeing pantheism in pop
> culture, too. Google the word "pantheism" and the search engine turns
> up many sites such as Plugged In, a Web site and magazine analyzing
> films and music from a Christian perspective. Editor Bob Smithouser
> points out pantheistic elements in animated films such as "Spirited
> Away" and "The Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within," calling the latter
> "the slickest presentation of ecopantheism since Pocahontas."
>
> Pantheism's emphasis on caring for nature promotes benign values,
> Smithouser says, but it rejects the notion of God as a separate,
> personal being, as understood by Christianity, Judaism and Islam.
> Christian doctrine labels pantheism heretical; according to the
> Catholic Encyclopedia, "The church has repeatedly condemned the errors
> of pantheism."
>
> However, without a personal notion of God, people can experience the
> divine more freely, pantheist Katherine Peil said. "We see God in all
> of nature, which liberates religion and eliminates the need for
> intermediaries," said Peil, a Seattle psychologist. "You don't need
> Scripture, or popes, or channelers, and you don't need devils."
>
> http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1068879441106810.xml
>
>
>  peace, love & harmony with nature,
> *Hempress Ahava Ha'meer*
>
> "There is no other door to knowledge than the door Nature opens. And
> there is no truth but the truth we discover in Nature".
> Luther Burbank (1849-1926) American horticulturist
>
> "I prayed for twenty years but received no answer until i prayed with
> my legs"
> Frederick Douglas (1818-1895) American Abolitionist
>
> "as people become intelligent they care less for preachers and more
> for teachers"
> Robert Ingersoll (1839-1899)
>
> *A Very Heal'thy Website*
> www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/
>
> *FreeThinkers Links*
> www.mikemalloy.com
> www.nobeliefs.com
> www.freethoughtradio.com
> www.flash.twiga.biz/hemp.html

A lot to think about here!

It seems to me that anthropocentric man god religions are hell bent on
destroying all life on earth due to our selfishness as a species and our
excessively massive numbers.

Leave it to humans to create their gods in their own image and deny the
sacredness of all else within the web of life.

                    Jim

>
>