How do you use God? Do you use Jesus? How about Allah, ever use him?
The idea of “using” Jesus or Buddha sounds strange, doesn’t it? And yet, I’ve heard many pagans talking about the deities they “use” for various purposes. I’ve done it myself, in deciding which gods I wanted to “use” in JMG’s Sphere of Protection ritual.
But Teo Bishop brought me up short on it with this entry at Bishop in the Grove.
After describing attending a ritual at which a leader briefly suggested the best gods to “use,” Teo writes:
Huh. What an interesting use of the word “use”, I thought. Using Gods to cure what ails you. Using Gods to get what you want out of life. Huh. How consumerist. Pill popping deities; making use of them in order to – what – be pain-free, blissful, satisfied?
It got me wondering – Is that what the Gods are? New Age Prescription Drugs?
Me, I’m still wrestling with my concept of deity, and I’ll say more about it as I continue the “My Pagan Soul” series I’ve been slowly working on. I’m not sure if I’m a “gods are real” polytheist or not, as Teo describes himself. I’d like to be, but coming from a long time of alternating between monotheism, agnosticism and panentheism, it’s an alien concept that I’m still working to get comfortable with.
But I do think that whatever the gods are — real individual beings, manifestations of a single larger divinity or psychological archetypes — the very concept means they deserve to not be seen as commodities that we can “use.” They deserve respect and some degree of reverence. (I recently read a discussion where one poster mentioned he’d named his dog Cernunnos, after the horned god of the Celts, and another said it was a “great name for a dog!” Is it? Know any devout Hindus with a dog named Krishna?)
Thanks for mentioning the post, Michael. I appreciate you additional insights. Perhaps “working with” gods is a little easier for me to stomach than “using” them. Even “calling on them” seems more appropriate. For the record, I think seeking out the aid of a god for your ritual is a perfectly fine thing. I do it, too. Its just a matter of *how* its done.
I must make an admission: I was the guy who said, “great name for a dog”. Strange, considering that I just wrote a very long post about the need to show respect for the gods, right? And I see what you’re getting at – would a devout religious person consider using a sacred name of a deity (be it one they worship, or one from a pantheon they do not engage with) for a pet? Isn’t that reductive? Disrespectful? Inappropriate?
Maybe. Maybe not, though.
The question is, what does it mean to be devout? How do we approach that which we deem sacred? And what place, if any, does irreverence and humor have in our religious life?
I’d be interested to know your thoughts on these questions. This topic may inspire another blog post on my site!
Thanks for the thoughtful writing.
Interesting… I’ll have to pay attention to my vocabulary there. I’m not sure if I use the term ‘use’ or not… I do tend to say ‘work with’, though.
The dog comment made me grin… I know a LOT of dogs named Lucifer which always leads me to wonder what’s up with that.
Ha! You know, I read back over the AODA message board trying to find that dog name comment because I was pretty sure that was where I’d seen it … didn’t find it and gave up looking. I’d forgotten it was you!
Ahh and now I’ve read Teo Bishop’s entry (excellent) – and while I wouldn’t blink at sparklers – they’re effective symbols of fire, so why not?… he found my personal peeve…. commanding presence in a ritual?
Goodness… that wouldn’t work on ME (in fact I’d flounce off rather spectacularly muttering ‘kids these days’) so why on earth would I expect it to work on any deity or spirit I’d want anywhere near my rite? Ask. Say please and thank you like your mama taught you – the golden rule applies here too.
Lol, I agree with the idea of “commanding” anything…I have two children, ages 2 and 4, if commanding rarely works there, why would I think it would work with something *greater* than I?