Pantheism
Pantheism is a very simple belief. It holds that the divine is immanent in the living world. Everything is divine, and the divine is everything. The name derives from Green pan- (all, or universal) and theos (god).
Pantheism does not require any particular rituals, though one can have them if desired. Nor is it necessary to evoke the divine through separate deities, since the divine is already present in everything, including ourselves. What pantheism requires is a respect for the divine quality of nature, of the living world. It is perhaps the most "earth" Earth Religion, and particularly close to Green beliefs.
By: John Norris
What Pantheism believes.
At the heart of pantheism is reverence of the universe as divine and for the natural earth as sacred.
When we say THE UNIVERSE IS DIVINE we are not talking about a supernatural being. We are talking about the way our senses and our emotions force us to respond to the overwhelming mystery and power that surrounds us.
We are part of the universe. Our earth was created from the universe and will one day be reabsorbed into the universe.
We are made of the same matter and energy as the universe. We are not in exile here: we are at home. It is only here that we will ever get the chance to see the divine face to face. If we believe our real home is not here but in a land that lies beyond death - if we believe that the divine is found only in old books, or old buildings, or inside our head - then we will see this real, vibrant, luminous world as if through a glass darkly.
The universe creates us, preserves us, destroys us. It is deep and old beyond our ability to reach with our senses. It is beautiful beyond our ability to describe in words. It is complex beyond our ability to fully grasp in science. We must relate to the universe with humility, awe, reverence, celebration and the search for deeper understanding - in other words, in many of the ways that believers relate to their God.
This divinity is everywhere inside you and outside you and you can never be separated from it.
Whatever else is taken from you, this can never be taken from you.
Wherever you are, it's there with you.
Wherever you go, it goes with you.
Whatever happens to you, it remains with you.
When we say THE EARTH IS SACRED, we mean it with just as much commitment and reverence as believers speaking about their church or mosque, or the relics of their saints. But again we are not talking about supernatural beings. We are saying this:
We are part of nature. Nature made us and at our death we will be reabsorbed into nature. We are at home in nature and in our bodies. This is where we belong. This is the only place where we can find and make our paradise, not in some imaginary world on the other side of the grave. If nature is the only paradise, then separation from nature is the only hell. When we destroy nature, we create hell on earth for other species and for ourselves.
Nature is our mother, our home, our security, our peace, our past and our future. We should treat natural things and habitats as believers treat their temples and shrines, as sacred - to be revered and preserved in all their intricate and fragile beauty.
By: Paul Harrison
Copyright ©: Paul Harrison 1996, 1997, 1998.
Scientific Pamtheism
Links
Scientific Pamtheism
The Pantheist Realm
Universal Pantheist Society