A positive one-point pagan orthodoxy

[ianphanes]

I would like to propose a positive pagan orthdoxy:

"Diversity is good."

That's it.  One tenet only.  I would like this to be the primary standard by which intra-pagan ecumenicism is judged.  Let this be our ethos.

Comments

[ianphanes]

There are some people and groups who really are doing it wrong. But mostly what they are doing wrong is how they treat other human beings. And that can be addressed as an issue of ethical behavior and community standards, rather than one of orthodoxy.

[mq_musings]

I am on board with your tenet. If one wants tolerance, one must give it.

Hi, btw!

[ianphanes]

I'd like us to strive for acceptance, not merely tolerance.

I think one key to true acceptance is to get to know individuals who have different world views. If one knows Chuck, who has a fundamentally different polytheology than one does, one is more able to see how that polytheology could be meaningful. If one is secure in ones own worldview, one has no reason to fear coming to understand another worldview. And, conversely, if one seeks to understand various worldviews, one is likely to become more secure in ones own worldview. (Though one does risk discovering that ones core worldview is other than what one thought it was. One might even have to--horrors--think for oneself, not merely repeat what one read in books!)