Pantheism

Paul Harrison is the founder and president of the World Pantheist Movement. He lives in Hampstead, London, making it a bit more relevant to this site. This page is here to describe what is my second favorite religion after Satanism; although I toyed with the idea of being a Pantheist I have found that I cannot. This page is a quick description of Pantheism and a comparison to its beliefs and to that of Satanism.

Sources
I was a member of and a small time contributor to the WPM mailing list. My other source of information is "Pantheism" by Paul Harrison.

What is Pantheism? - bullet points by Paul Harrison

• Pantheism accepts and affirms life joyously. It does not regard this life as awaiting room or a staging post on the way to a better existence after death.
• Pantheism has a healthy and positive attitude to sex and life in the body.
• Pantheism teaches reverence and love for nature. Nature was not created for us to use or abuse - nature created us, we are an inseparable part of her, and we have a duty of care towards her.
• Pantheism is uniquely adapted to the space age. The Hubble Space Telescope has revealed the vastness, power, creativity and violence of the universe. We need an idea of divinity in keeping with this new knowledge.
• Pantheism does not simply co-exist uncomfortably with science: it fully embraces science as part of the human exploration of the divine universe.

Pantheism
Pantheism is not a superstitious religion. Its appearance and texts are very positive, hippy, Earth-adoring, tree huggin' green peace style melodrama. Its underlying beliefs are in a more mathematical Universal god that manifests itself purely through natural laws and particles; i.e., everything is part of it and it is formed by everything.

Pantheists therefore belief in a non-personal, non-anthropomorphic, non-personified god; that every thing has beauty because everything is divine. It takes a while to get used to their style of expression because it can come across as quite meaningless, but beyond the surface Pantheism is a quite powerful religion.

Why I support pantheism
Pantheism is a very feel good religion; it is therefore good for the masses who in general, prefer to be told that things are going to be ok and that everything is taken care of. It has a very clean image and is perfectly accepting of science, because all science is viewed as gaining a deeper and more wondrous insight into the universe. It is scientifically and philosophically sound; impossible to refute. Its only weakness is that it may appear a bit too hippy for some people.

Pantheism is therefore the pagan religion that mundanes are most likely to buy; it is a good, strong threat to other religions. It isn't a new _idea_, but it is a new religion. It is comparable to the Upanishad teachings, and the Christian philosopher Spinoza (who is my favorite Christian philosopher). It is a very deist religion. See deism.com. Deists believe in god but not in organized religion or revelation.

Similarity to Satanism
It is similar to Satanism in that it views the entire Universe as a divine object (I clarify this later). It does not give the individual any meaning in life other than to exist and be happy.

It goes without saying that Pantheism & Atheism both have many points in common with Satanism, including a certain amount of down to Earth materialism.

Difference to Satanism
Pantheists do not make the following step; or they make it and do not incorporate it. Taking the entire universe as a single divine object is not objectionable; the most senior and respected scientists of the past century have been pantheistic in their remarks about the (religious) nature of the universe. A pantheist does not combine subjectivism/existentialism with pantheism to realize that they themselves are the creator of the viewed universe. The essay Masters of Existence is about this Satanic concept.

Also, Pantheism is compatible with a generic right hand path; a generic sheep mentality whereas Satanism is not. My problem with Pantheism was primarily with its image and dramatic environmental stance. Although I do believe in preserving our environment (because it's where I live), I only believe in this for selfish reasons, not dogmatic ones.

The Use of Pantheism
I see Pantheism as a valid religion. I also see it as one that is likely to continue its explosion. I see it as a threat to organized and established religion; in that it has a sounder philosophy, a nice attitude and is not associated with the guilt complexes of monotheistic religion, the bloodshed or bigotry.

In short the more exposure this religion gets the better. Also, Paul Harrison himself, his various writings and postings, appears to be a very down to Earth and go-get-it person. Hail Paul Harrison!