The Dance of Culture and Spirit
I apologize for the lack of explicitly pagan context in this. It's topical for me, personally: When I dance, it is always spiritual. Others may disagree, and if our moderators decide this is not appropriate here, I already have a copy of it. ;-)
Some disclosure about intent: During chasingtides' recent thread, I had the thought that "cultural" is a ( Read more... )
Some disclosure about intent: During chasingtides' recent thread, I had the thought that "cultural" is a ( Read more... )
To set my personal stake in that up front: Before I began on this path, I was a hard atheist, and over time and experience I find that the term best suited to describing my beliefs in deity is panentheism. I retain a strong "anti-anthropomorphism", in that I personally reject the notion that deity has an innately human form, but rather obtains that form imposed on it by humans. I'll just add that, from my POV, human "imposition" defines faith, and while it can be a detriment, it is not inherently detrimental. How we connect to spirit comes before the connection being made. I absolutely am not criticizing the value of method, just stating my personal method and that it is outside the narrow mainstream of paganism.
So, on one extreme stands a person like me, with few (if any) overt symbols on which others might trample, or from which others might steal. As a dancer (see OP), I find it easy to sympathize with others who have more overt vulnerabilities. For me, "stepping on toes" has an immediate and painful connection. }:-O
On the other extreme is someone like my friend saavik, who is neither the first nor most outspoken person I've encountered to say something along the lines of "Are you kidding me? I wouldn't touch that idiot with a ten-foot casaba melon, because s/he has painted on a neon bull's eye, and [deity in question] sooner or later is going to find it and hit it." I wouldn't go so far as to assert that such a thing has happened, but I've witnessed things or encountered people for which or for whom this notion would fit rather well. It is not pretty. I have difficulty imagining an enemy I hate so much that I'd wish it on him/her.
The middle way is difficult to define. One problem I've already seen (and not just here) is the very real mercenary profit-making that goes on and the reactions to it from people who, regardless of my opinion of how they express it, make a very real and valid call for justice, or just restitution* or simply compliance with a a cease-and-desist order.
So, one open-ended question would be: what, exactly, is justice in this context? When the target is a religious icon or relic, do we put a monetary value on it, do we put the perpetrator in jail (for more than the usual charges of theft or vandalism)? Whatever answer you (general) might give, why do you give that particular answer?
* For me, anyway, a strong implication of material restitution is that those who do "own" that culture can be seen trying to sell it at roadside stands and theme park concessions. When does a matter spiritual stop being about faith, and start being about profit? Are the two ever capable of coexisting? How do we respond to the "if they can do it, so can I" mentality that is foundational to capitalism? Personally, I'd rather let the "insiders" deal with their own people, and for my own part refuse to patronize the entrepreneurs.
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