Comments on: Heathens and the Environment http://aheathensday.com/2009/11/heathens-and-the-environment.html The Life and Thoughts of a Modern Day American Heathen Mon, 07 May 2012 01:49:50 -0400 hourly 1 By: cinnabari http://aheathensday.com/2009/11/heathens-and-the-environment.html#comment-1794 cinnabari Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:14:12 +0000 http://uncajoe.org/domains/aheathensday.com/?p=1097#comment-1794 <i>This whole "earth as a goddess" thing is really just another form of monotheism because it excludes other gods.</i><br /><br />...<br /><br />Yeah (she says, scraping the bottom of her word-hoard). I think you just nailed my problem with it. That, and the subsequent insistence that because it's divine, nature must also be "good" on some Platonic, perfect, decontextualized level. This whole "earth as a goddess" thing is really just another form of monotheism because it excludes other gods.

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Yeah (she says, scraping the bottom of her word-hoard). I think you just nailed my problem with it. That, and the subsequent insistence that because it's divine, nature must also be "good" on some Platonic, perfect, decontextualized level.

]]> By: Hrafnkell Haraldsson http://aheathensday.com/2009/11/heathens-and-the-environment.html#comment-1793 Hrafnkell Haraldsson Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:09:57 +0000 http://uncajoe.org/domains/aheathensday.com/?p=1097#comment-1793 cinnabari, thanks. I agree, our ancestors were not environmentalists in the modern sense of the word. The Icelanders also cut down all the trees right away. People did not have our modern understanding of every ramification of their deeds (not that we always do!). I think a respect for the land goes a long way, and venerating (not necessarily worshiping it) it goes a long way.<br /><br />This whole "earth as a goddess" thing is really just another form of monotheism because it excludes other gods. cinnabari, thanks. I agree, our ancestors were not environmentalists in the modern sense of the word. The Icelanders also cut down all the trees right away. People did not have our modern understanding of every ramification of their deeds (not that we always do!). I think a respect for the land goes a long way, and venerating (not necessarily worshiping it) it goes a long way.

This whole "earth as a goddess" thing is really just another form of monotheism because it excludes other gods.

]]> By: cinnabari http://aheathensday.com/2009/11/heathens-and-the-environment.html#comment-1792 cinnabari Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:18:53 +0000 http://uncajoe.org/domains/aheathensday.com/?p=1097#comment-1792 Nicely put. I get annoyed with (non-polytheist) pagans who insist that I, as a heathen, must be "earth centered," because that usually means "nature worshiper." I think you've drawn a nice distinction here between being aware and respectful (and even fearful) of nature, and worshiping it as if it's a benevolent goddess who loves us. If nature is a mother, she's a little abusive... <br /><br />I also have a hard time imagining much conservation in our ancestral past. I don't think that matters, though, to our contemporary situation. The ancestors knew better than to poison the land (although the Icelanders did hunt the auk to extinction) because they understood they had to live with and on it. It'd be nice if moderns could grasp that fact as well, whatever their religious persuasion. Nicely put. I get annoyed with (non-polytheist) pagans who insist that I, as a heathen, must be "earth centered," because that usually means "nature worshiper." I think you've drawn a nice distinction here between being aware and respectful (and even fearful) of nature, and worshiping it as if it's a benevolent goddess who loves us. If nature is a mother, she's a little abusive…

I also have a hard time imagining much conservation in our ancestral past. I don't think that matters, though, to our contemporary situation. The ancestors knew better than to poison the land (although the Icelanders did hunt the auk to extinction) because they understood they had to live with and on it. It'd be nice if moderns could grasp that fact as well, whatever their religious persuasion.

]]> By: Hrafnkell Haraldsson http://aheathensday.com/2009/11/heathens-and-the-environment.html#comment-1791 Hrafnkell Haraldsson Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:24:27 +0000 http://uncajoe.org/domains/aheathensday.com/?p=1097#comment-1791 Interesting! Good to know, for whatever reason, that laws like that exists. But then California has always led the charge, progressively speaking. I remember laws in Minnesota about planting certain types of tree because of the spread of various diseases, like "Dutch Elm" but don't remember anything about cutting trees down. Interesting! Good to know, for whatever reason, that laws like that exists. But then California has always led the charge, progressively speaking. I remember laws in Minnesota about planting certain types of tree because of the spread of various diseases, like "Dutch Elm" but don't remember anything about cutting trees down.

]]> By: Elizabeth http://aheathensday.com/2009/11/heathens-and-the-environment.html#comment-1790 Elizabeth Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:47:14 +0000 http://uncajoe.org/domains/aheathensday.com/?p=1097#comment-1790 In California it is also illegal to trim an Oak, of any type, the wrong way. I'm not sure anyone outside of the certified contractors who trim trees for a living know what the "wrong way" is, so the task is left to them. This is probably due to the National and State Parks influence, as well as the fact that California has several distinct native species of Oak. In California it is also illegal to trim an Oak, of any type, the wrong way. I'm not sure anyone outside of the certified contractors who trim trees for a living know what the "wrong way" is, so the task is left to them. This is probably due to the National and State Parks influence, as well as the fact that California has several distinct native species of Oak.

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