The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum

I was raised to be a skeptic, and yet I feel powerfully drawn to pagan spirituality.  Is there a satisfactory way to reconcile empirical science with the actual existence of living, breathing pagan goddesses and gods?  Some science-fiction writer could probably pull it off, but would such deities be suitable for sincere belief?  Regardless, are these even meaningful questions to pose?

 
Reconciling science and pagan spirituality is something I have grappled with a great deal. After torturing my brain trying to make it work, I'm no longer sure it can be done.

I also don't believe that 'pagan spirituality' requires deities, so there's that. Not sure if that muddies the matter.

I was raised to be a skeptic, and yet I feel powerfully drawn to pagan spirituality.  Is there a satisfactory way to reconcile empirical science with the actual existence of living, breathing pagan goddesses and gods?  Some science-fiction writer could probably pull it off, but would such deities be suitable for sincere belief?  Regardless, are these even meaningful questions to pose?

Great questions, IMHO.

I'm probably in a similar place as you, in that I'm a hard science guy. For me, it's about holding two conceptions of reality in one's head simultaneously; the empirical reality and the metaphorical reality. One is a matter of fact, and the other is about connection, appreciation, how we relate to the world around us on a deep emotional level.

Ideally, the two conceptions inform each other. For example, in the moon myth I subscribe to, to dispel humanity's fear of the dark and death, the moon goddess turns her face forever towards us to keep watch on us (the moon's period of rotation and revolution are the same, so that the same side always faces the Earth); she commands the waters to rise up to send her boat into the sky where her lamp can light the dark (the moon's gravitation is responsible for Earth's oceans' tides); and she gives up her immortality to monthly age and die, only to be reborn, to show us that new life comes from death (the phases of the moon).

Obviously, none of that is literally true. But the tale says something to me, reflects truths about me, the universe around me, and the forces that run through us that I can hardly grasp except to conceive of them in metaphors like these. So when I look at the moon, yes, I know it's a natural satellite approx. 3,475 km in diameter. But that doesn't alter the thrill I feel, the visceral wonder. The myth reflects that and gives it some context.

But I'm not a hard polytheist. My approach to deity is perhaps more metaphorical than most.

Reconciling science and pagan spirituality is something I have grappled with a great deal. After torturing my brain trying to make it work, I'm no longer sure it can be done.

I’ve thought a lot about this question too, and I believe the best chance for reconciliation may be to place the birth of the goddesses and gods in the technologically advanced distant future, billions of years from now, rather than the distant past.  From there, they could then range freely through time.

I also don't believe that 'pagan spirituality' requires deities, so there's that. Not sure if that muddies the matter.

This hadn’t occurred to me, and it seems like it could make reconciliation MUCH easier.  How might this work?  I’d love to hear your thoughts about this possibility.

For example, in the moon myth I subscribe to, to dispel humanity's fear of the dark and death, the moon goddess turns her face forever towards us to keep watch on us (the moon's period of rotation and revolution are the same, so that the same side always faces the Earth); she commands the waters to rise up to send her boat into the sky where her lamp can light the dark (the moon's gravitation is responsible for Earth's oceans' tides); and she gives up her immortality to monthly age and die, only to be reborn, to show us that new life comes from death (the phases of the moon).

 
If I may say, this is a beautiful myth!  It’s tempting to describe this story as literally true, without any qualification.  I’ve read a LOT of mythology, and I can’t recall encountering a lovelier myth involving the moon, and I don’t know if I’ll ever look at the moon the same way again.  Thank you for sharing!

I was raised to be a skeptic, and yet I feel powerfully drawn to pagan spirituality.  Is there a satisfactory way to reconcile empirical science with the actual existence of living, breathing pagan goddesses and gods?  Some science-fiction writer could probably pull it off, but would such deities be suitable for sincere belief?  Regardless, are these even meaningful questions to pose?

I am a hard polytheist and believe the gods exist on a different plane. On ours science works the way it does. On there's it works differently. When the Edda's talk about the creation of the nine worlds I don't believe Midgard is Earth. I believe Earth and Midgard share some land features and are somehow cosmically linked. That's why trees, mountains and rivers come up over and over again in myths. I don't mix my science and faith so I have no issue with some of what you asking.

I was raised to be a skeptic, and yet I feel powerfully drawn to pagan spirituality.  Is there a satisfactory way to reconcile empirical science with the actual existence of living, breathing pagan goddesses and gods?  Some science-fiction writer could probably pull it off, but would such deities be suitable for sincere belief?  Regardless, are these even meaningful questions to pose?

My thoughts are very much in line with what others have said in this thread so far -- especially Altair and Holdasown; and especially regarding myth, different "plains of existence" (for want of a better term), and sufficiently advanced technology (although I do believe cell phones are magic ;-)  ).  

I tend to view things through a lens attuned to symbolism and metaphor, but I'm also a slightly squishy polytheist.  I believe the gods do actually exist.  I think most of the concepts found in religion are true, for some value of "true".  

But really, what it comes down to for me is: Absence of proof is not proof of absence.

 Now, if one experiences no conflict between pagan spirituality and science, then indeed no problem exists.  To many modern humans, however, for better or for worse, the conflict is actual.

  Actually most pagans I have read or spoken to have no conflict between science and their spirituality. The only people I've ever met who see a conflict between their spirituality and science come from certain types of christian denominations