Pagans, Recons and LHPers - comparirons?

[Mike182]

i thought the forum had been lacking in discussion over Pagan, Reconstructionist and Left Hand Path beliefs recently, so i thought i'd start a thread to compare and contrast all three!

so, first of all, what do people understand the above three religious groupings to mean?

 

[MoonWater]

Well I see Paganism as being any earth-centered faith but particularly those that are based on/inspired by/trying to follow the old folk traditions that were around before Christianity. Recrunstructionism is I think a religion that follows as closely as possible to one of the old faiths like Druidism. As for left-hand paths I don't know much about them. I do know that Satanism and Luciferian are called left-hand paths but that's about it.

 

[ChrisP]

Mike man I don't know if this is off topic but I'd really love to see a definition of Pagan banged out here. Dictionary definitions are so dry.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I'd really love to see a definition of Pagan banged out here. Dictionary definitions are so dry.

I can think of three right off the top of my head.
1)Any non-Abrahamic religions.
2)A Country dweller
3) An adherent to an earth-based religion.

 

[Azakel]

I think that MoonWater's saying pretty much fit what I think of them. Has for Left Hand Path(LHP), though Satanism and Luciferian are the two most know there is Setianism. LHPer can be in almost on Religion, it just might seem weird. Though I do call myself a Chaote(Chaos Magician), or even a Paradigm pirate(guess). I do on a more deep down level consider myself a LHP Pagan. Really to be LHP is really just to be in not Worshiping any God/Gods/or Goddess. That's not to say we don't recognize or respect them, it's all a matter of the person. So to me really, Pagan is a more earth based belief, that work with idea most from Religions that are PreChristian, around Europe. LHP just more of a way of thought then a Religion to me really in which one doesn't believe in worshiping, bowing in the glory of or anything like that to a God(there nore to it, but that's just me). And Recons, well what MW said. ^_^

 

[Gaddock]

Hi Azakel,

I've always found Peter Carrolls distinction between Left and Right hand path the most useful:
The RHP is that which tends to put its emphasis on having faith in God, the universe or some higher being however envisedged, while the LHP put their faith in the individual.

Regards

Gaddock

 

[Azakel]

Hi Azakel,

I've always found Peter Carrolls distinction between Left and Right hand path the most useful:
The RHP is that which tends to put its emphasis on having faith in God, the universe or some higher being however envisedged, while the LHP put their faith in the individual.

Regards

Gaddock

Thank you, I already know that. I am for the most part an LHPer.

 

[blackout]

Hi Azakel,

I've always found Peter Carrolls distinction between Left and Right hand path the most useful:
The RHP is that which tends to put its emphasis on having faith in God, the universe or some higher being however envisedged, while the LHP put their faith in the individual.

Regards

Gaddock

wow.
I guess that would make me ambidextrous!

 

[Gaddock]

wow.
I guess that would make me ambidextrous!

Hi Ultraviolet - yes I agree. I have a pantheionistic concept of God of which we are an important and conscious constituent part. When we accept our own divinity we understand we have a source of access to divine power. However, we only fully realsie this divinity by understanding our connectedness to the rest of the world and our evolution towards fulfilling this potential involves transcending our incarnate human egos.

The two paths come together in a way that is almost impossible to express accurately in words.

Regards

Gaddock

 

[Storm]

I have a pantheionistic concept of God of which we are an important and conscious constituent part.

I'm sorry, but is that a word of your own coining, or did you mean "pantheistic/ panenthesitc"?

 

[Gaddock]

Hi Storm,

Yes I did mean Panentheist. I was typing quickly and carelessly without due care.

Regards

Gaddock

 

[Storm]

Thanks

 

[lamplighter]

Pagans - People who worship spirits of the earth usually through ceremonies and practice "white magic" sometimes and are polytheist usually
Left Hand Path - IanAlmighty said it best, worship is virtually non-existent in left-hand path religious thought. Worship of life, nature and, most importantly, one's self.Worship of oneself is practiced through rejecting mainstream dogmas of altruism and egalitarianism and focusing on yourself and your close friends and family before falling prey to the notion that you need to sacrifice everything to everyone.
Reconstructionist - I know absolutely nothing about them as far as I am aware of.
That's what I understand about the three.

 

[GabrielWithoutWings]

Hi Azakel,

I've always found Peter Carrolls distinction between Left and Right hand path the most useful:
The RHP is that which tends to put its emphasis on having faith in God, the universe or some higher being however envisedged, while the LHP put their faith in the individual.

Regards

Gaddock

Hmm...

Does that mean that Hinduism is both? Brahman-Atman and all that.

 

[blackout]

Pagans - People who worship spirits of the earth usually through ceremonies and practice "white magic" sometimes and are polytheist usually
Left Hand Path - IanAlmighty said it best, worship is virtually non-existent in left-hand path religious thought. Worship of life, nature and, most importantly, one's self.Worship of oneself is practiced through rejecting mainstream dogmas of altruism and egalitarianism and focusing on yourself and your close friends and family before falling prey to the notion that you need to sacrifice everything to everyone.
Reconstructionist - I know absolutely nothing about them as far as I am aware of.
That's what I understand about the three.

Ok. By Lamplighter's definition here,
then I am definately more of the Left Hand Path.

 

[Gaddock]

Hmm...

Does that mean that Hinduism is both? Brahman-Atman and all that.

Hi UltraViolet,

Hinduism is actually quite broad and it would depend on the emphasis of the individual. Many hindus practice devotion to a particular deity they see as a manifestation of Braham, which would be a RHP focus. However, you are right that the Braham-Atman doctrine can be read in quite a similair manner to the Panentheist view of God I talked about above, in which case it sort of straddles the distinction.

It all depends on practice.

Gaddock

 

[eudaimonia]

I've always found Peter Carrolls distinction between Left and Right hand path the most useful:
The RHP is that which tends to put its emphasis on having faith in God, the universe or some higher being however envisedged, while the LHP put their faith in the individual.

So then what would Buddism be closer to?


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[lamplighter]

How is Hinduism both? Somehow I can't really picture Hinduism being both, I mean I can't think of any instance where a Hindu places themself religiously before any deity.

 

[Gaddock]

Although I'm not claiming to be the greatest expert on Hinduism, I did study it for a while and their have certainly been atheistic strains within Hindusim - or at least versions that did not see God as ultimately a personal entity. As I said, hinduism has been very diverse. Whether you would want to classify these strands as RHP or LHP is another matter. I think the point about Hinduism isn't that it is both, but contained elements that could be identified with either, at various times in its development.

There are certainly elements of Tantric practices such as AMOOKOS that have LHP leanings and which have their origins in Hinduism.

Gaddock

 

[Mike182]

Although I'm not claiming to be the greatest expert on Hinduism, I did study it for a while and their have certainly been atheistic strains within Hindusim - or at least versions that did not see God as ultimately a personal entity. As I said, hinduism has been very diverse. Whether you would want to classify these strands as RHP or LHP is another matter. I think the point about Hinduism isn't that it is both, but contained elements that could be identified with either, at various times in its development.

There are certainly elements of Tantric practices such as AMOOKOS that have LHP leanings and which have their origins in Hinduism.

Gaddock

i think an argument could be made that different strands of Yoga could be more towards the LHP, Yoga to increase one's Karma and Yoga to fulfill one's Dharma is focusing on the individual and not on Divinity... but then again, Yoga can be traced back to teachings from the Gods, so it's still connected to Divinity, and often Yoga is practiced within the wider context of a belief in God, so it can't escape dependency upon God.

but yes, Hinduism is so wide, varied, complex and layered that there can never be a definitive answer.