pagans/Wiccans does your faith?

Question

Does your faith accept or reject the theory of evolution as part of man's ascend to conciseness?
So where does Darwinism come into play?

Did Wiccan evolve too?

did the Goddess zap us with conciseness? Or was it though a processes of just observation that we want to preserve nature?

So Nightwind

Do you see nukear power as natueal energy given by the Goddess too? and it's hazards.

Answer 1

Wicca doesn't really have a comment on evolution (Wicca is in many ways a path to knowledge, not specific teachings of knowledge). I've never known a Wiccan who didn't believe in evolution.

Where does Darwinism NOT come into play? Over billions of years we went from proto-plasm to modern humans. At some point we became aware that there were things out there besides the purely physical. Religion is our way of understanding what those things are.

When you say conciseness, do you mean consciousness? All animals are conscious to varying degrees. That is part of our nature. I don't think the gods "zapped" us with much of anything...as they are a part of the universe they develop alongside it. I don't need a supernatural or metaphysical explanation for my existance.

As far as preserving nature...Wicca teaches me to strive for balance. Saving a tree just for the sake of saving a tree is pointless. The gods gave us trees, but they also gave us brains. Progress is not a bad thing, but it needs to be done responsibly. If you tear down all the trees, we don't get oxygen. You drain all the swamps, and you lose natural firebreaks. Etc.

BTW, I consider everything to be a part of nature. Plastics come from natural petroluem. Why should I see that as somehow divorced from reality? There is nothing in the universe that is "unnatural."

Addition, in response to question:
"Given" isn't quite the right word. The gods (I believe in multiple, not a single Goddess) aren't separate from the rest of the universe. They don't sit on clouds (or whatever) and build planets and watch them spin from afar. They are intimately connected with the world, and yes, nuclear power would certainly be a part of that. Nuclear power comes from breaking down tiny material components into even more tiny components. Nuclear fusion was a major player in the construction of the universe. Its an integral part of cosmic creation.

Nature is not just trees and butterflies. Earthquakes and supernovas are just as much a part of nature. Nuclear power is a neutral entity that is available like any other resource. If we don't know how to properly handle it, or if we don't bother being serious about the potential consequences, then we can do really horrible things with it. Nature is full of such hazards.

Answer 2

It's a good question; but I suppose the answer is that it's anyone's guess.

All I know is that as brains have become more complex, our observations about the world, our personalities, and our self-awareness have become more complex, too. It's distinctly possible that several million years in the future, our descendents will look back on us as having more in common with chimpanzees than them.

It's also distinctly possible that all life will be wiped off this planet.

You win some, you lose some.

How you answer this question depends by and large on your theology. If you believe in a real "Big Lady in the Sky" type of goddess, then you're free to assume that she played a role in the introduction of consciousness. If you believe in archetypical ideas, then you probably assume that the natural explanation represents the concrete truth, while mythology gives a poetic, spiritual meaning.

It's up to you really.

Hail Satan,

Lazarus

Answer 3

Celtic Reconstructionist, and, sure, evolution was part of how things came about. I'm willing to bet that the gods "tweaked" things along the way.

Personally, I think that preserving nature is just good sense. Not only is it better to keep the place you stay clean, but if we preserve stuff, that ensures the survival of our kids.

And, yes, radioactive material is natural too (well, at least some of it is). A lot of people forget that natural doesn't always mean good for you.

Answer 4

My personal beliefs agree with Evolution and the Big Bang theory back to the origins of the Universe, but I believe that the source of the original matter and energy is the Divine.

Answer 5

I accept the theory of evolution.

Wicca evolved, yes, just as all religions are created and evolve. It is evolving even now.

As for your last question, I'm not sure I even understand what it is. Do you mean consciousness? I believe that all life exists on a continuum and human consciousness is a consequence of our highly developed forebrain, not a God(dess)-given gift.

Answer 6

You assume we have faith. We are not seeking faith, but wisdom. I would rather have a mind open to wonder than one closed by belief. Your questions do not pertain to anything that would cause a Wiccan to give a responsive answer.

Answer 7

Folkish heathens like myself tend to subscribe to what I call the "Uplift Theory" . . . that at a certain point in our natural evolution as a species, at roughly the same time around the planet . . . something happened.

There is a documented explosion of art, technology, and religious practice arising in different ways among different peoples. Perhaps, the theory goes, we reached a level of sentience worth the attention of the godhs of the earth . . . perhaps all those things are simply the result of our rise to sentience, and we remember the moment of its attainment AS the godhs. Who can really say?

Yet it seems to me that these gifts were perceived by different ethnocultural groups in different ways, and led to different results . . . for my primeval Norse ancestors, it was "life, breath, and goodly hue," while for others it was "The Fall." These differences line up with my own polytheistic belief that each "Folk," each people, have their own pantheon of godhs, remembered in stories and looked to for guidance . . . not some single, all-powerful, vengeful and capricious Creator of All, but something more local, more integral to who we are.

Something above and beyond, but still OF us, that for lack of better words we called our godhs. Something that gave gifts beyond what evolution provided, and made each culture, each people, unique.

The stories are what WE tell. The reality behind those stories may be beyond our reach, but I find beauty and depth and purpose in honoring it as my own ancestors did.

Answer 8

I am a Wiccan and an evolutionary biologist.