Ascendant 1 now available

[ecosophia]

I mentioned, a little over a month ago, the imminent release of a new anthology of essays on theology written from a polytheist perspective. It's now available in both print and ebook formats, and can be ordered here. Here's a glimpse at the contents: 

Introduction: Theology: What It Is, Why We Need It by Michael Hardy 

From the Desk of the Editor-in-Chief by Rebecca Buchanan

Why Theology? by Wayne Keysor

Approaching Theology Through the Divine Individual by Brandon Hensley

The One and the Many: An Essay on Pagan Neoplatonism by John Michael Greer 

Two Models of Polytheism by Edward P. Butler

You Can’t Offend the Gods by Patrick Dunn

The Hellenic Gods and the Polis by Gwendolyn Reece 

Of Lying Gods and True Religion by Wayne Keysor

Moral Humans and the Immoral Gods: An Examination of the Problem of Divine Evil in Contemporary Paganism by Wayne Keysor

That is to say, a fine robust banquet of essays on the gods and their relations to us and to the rest of the world. There's going to be a second volume, too, as this first collection has attracted plenty of interest and enthusiasm. Stay tuned! 

Comments

No Link

[(Anonymous)]

There's no link where you write the word "here".

My Buy

[jeremymcjohnson]

I must buy this, and "here" is not showing up as a link.

link?

[(Anonymous)]

FYI, if you were intending to include a link, it's not there.

No live link

[(Anonymous)]

"here" isn't a hyperlink.
-Dewey

[(Anonymous)]

Well, I guess I'd better add this to the list. Seems like every time I finish a book, two more pop up to grab my attention.

It would have been nice to have books like this back when I was a teenaged pagan, rather than the gutter-grade New Age and Wicca publications that were available. I suppose everyone's got to slog through the barrens at some point, though.
-Cliff

[(Anonymous)]

Also, the link to where the book can be ordered appears to be missing.
-Cliff

[ecosophia]

Hmm! No idea why the link didn't work. I've replaced it, and it appears to be working now.

[(Anonymous)]

"...new anthology of essays.."

Does that mean there's also an older one?

[ecosophia]

No, just that it's brand new. There's going to be a second volume, though!

Question

[(Anonymous)]

Would you personally describe yourself as a neo-Platonist?

With best wishes,
A reader

Re: Question

[ecosophia]

I don't tend to make much use of philosophical brand names like that. I find Neoplatonic philosophy valuable as a source of insights and a basic frame for magical and spiritual practice, and I also find Plotinus in particular exhilarating to read -- a first-rate mind pushing at the very limits of human cognition -- but it's not the only philosophical approach I find useful. More generally, sentences of the type "I am a (insert label here)" are a dubious use of language -- Korzybski's cautions about the "is of identity" are worth keeping in mind.

Re: Question

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks. I also sometimes feel drawn to an eclectic (ἐκλεκτική) approach. To paraphrase another American, Henry James, 'Let us take [philosophies] as we take all things in these critical days, eclectically.'

[robertmathiesen]

Ordered! I am eager to read this.

Ascendant 1 anthology

[(Anonymous)]

Well, this looks like an excellent collection, and your "pagan neoplatonism" is just one of the invitations standing out here. (And, I did read your remark elsewhere about not having an over-investment in the label.) Lately, both Plotinus and Iamblichus have been showing up on my radar, and I have been considering the matter of theurgy in a (Neo)Christian context...

Thanks for the heads up,
Petrus