Curious Christian

Reflections on culture, nature, and spirituality from a Christian perspective

Meditation and Many Gods

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Matt Stone

2005-07-04

Christopher Penczak, an eclectic witch, writer, and healing practitioner, has recently posted a meditation article on Llewellyn Journal called The Gods of Witchcraft.

His practice draws upon the foundation of modern Witchcraft blended with the teachings of mystical traditions from across the globe. The particular meditation outlined in this article takes the form of a guided journey in creative visualisation:

“Get comfortable and set the mood for this meditation. Light some candles and incense. Sit in a comfortable position. Think of your intention to connect with the energy of the God, in whatever form he takes. Take a moment and ask for guidance and aid from your spirit guides and higher self. If feel connected to a particular form of the God, ask that aspect of the God to be present with you.”

I have been reflecting a lot on the differences between mono-theistic meditation (eg. Christian, Islamic and Jewish) and poly-theistic meditation (eg. Wiccan, Hindu) recently. I think its important to recognise that Christian visionary experiences can involve spirit guides (ie. angels) – monothism is not so restrictive that encounters with other entities should surprise us. However we are directed never to defer to them in the same way as we would for God (eg. Revelation 22:9). Just because people report similar phenomenological experiences across religious traditions, we should not kid ourselves by thinking that it’s just all paths up the same mountain.

Tags Meditation, Pagan

2 responses to “Meditation and Many Gods”

Ben Askins

2005-07-04

I’m interested in hearing more about the thoughts you expressed in the last paragraph. You said, “we should not kid ourselves by thinking that it’s just all paths up the same mountain”. Do you believe that there is a single mountain that needs to be climbed and only one path up it? And if so do you believe that there is one world religion that presents this path?

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Matt Stone

2005-07-08

Ben
A couple of points in response.
Firstly, it needs to be recognized that my comments were made in the context of considering polytheistic pathways vs. monotheistic pathways in particular and not all religions in general. So I’d like to stick to the particulars to begin with.
With that in mind, I’d say that whilst there are certainly phenomenological correspondances between monotheistic paths like Christianity and polytheistic paths like Wicca (and I have personally attended Wiccan gatherings so don’t confuse me with the ivory tower set) I do believe there are distinct incompatibilities as well. And one of the fundamental incompatibilities is the number of deities you worship. This is not a peripheral issue for Christianity or for Wicca. Both paths consider it a core issue, so I do not believe it is something we can sweep under the mat in striving for some sort of perennial philosophy.
To widen the scope then, I don’t find the popular mountain analogy helpful at all when delving into the subject of comparative religion. I far prefer a mosaic / tapestry analogy, which acknowledges the overlaps without minimizing the distinctives.
The question then arises, are some threads in this tapestry more helpful than others on the spiritual journey. I would say yes. For example: Female circumcision, a religious practice of some Islamic sects, is something I would freely critique. Sati, the traditional practice of some Hindu sects for widows to immolate themselves on their husbands funeral pyre, is another one. I critique the religious justification of oppression wherever I find it. And some traditions like, Om Shinrinko, are best avoided in my mind.
One the other hand, yes, there are threads I find in other religious traditions that I freely advocate, like meditation and prayer. For what its worth I do see a lot of value in the Buddha’s teachings. But, at the end of the day, I unashamedly admit that I see that the most useful threads coming together in Jesus. One of those is grace, ie unmerited forgiveness, a thread which is found in very few traditions outside Christianity.
But that does not mean I don’t see value in other traditions. I find the mountain analogy unhelpful as it puts you in the position of having to either (a) affirm all religions equally or (b) renounce all others than your own as completely valueless. I just don’t buy into that style of black-white polarization and would prefer to avoid either extreme.

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