The Deities Are Many: A Polytheistic Theology

by Jordan D. Paper

The Deities Are Many is a lively and learned introduction to polytheism. Drawing from both his scholarly research and his personal experience, author Jordan Paper is the ideal guide into this milieu. Paper was drawn to polytheism through his love of nature, seeing it as a source of the divine. In this book he focuses on Chinese and Native American religious traditions, as well as West African, African-Brazilian, Hindu, Polynesian, and circum-Polar traditions, to describe the theology of polytheism. The book provides a topology of polytheistic deities, focusing on the cosmic couple, Father Sky and Mother Earth; animal, plant, and mineral deities; ancestral spirits; divine ghosts; and culture heroes and tricksters. Paper also shows how monotheists misunderstand polytheism and provides a polytheist perspective on what it means to be human when the "deities are many." This is a fascinating, illuminating book, especially for those raised in monotheistic societies.

Genres: Religion, Paganism, Nonfiction, History, Mythology, Theology

169 pages, Paperback

First published March 3, 2005

Reviews

[Malum · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting something along the lines of John Michael Greer's A World Full of Gods; that is, an examination of and defense of polytheism. Unfortunately, I came away from Paper's book scratching my head and asking myself "who is this for"?

It has too much anthropology for those looking for spirituality, and too much spirituality for those simply looking for anthropology. Also, it is far too focused on Chinese and Native American tradition and myth to really be very interesting to people looking for a lot of general information or information outside of those two traditions.

As the cherry on top, Paper gives lots of his own personal experiences (that can't be verified, of course) that prove his worldview. My favorite: The time Paper went to see someone possessed by a deity and, to prove it, the possessed person pissed "wine", which Paper promptly drank. Good times.

[Salena · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent inquiry into polytheism. I preferred John Michael Greer's similar book "A World Full of Gods," mainly because it is argued from a neo-pagan perspective. However, Paper's book, seeing as how the polytheism discussed therein is mainly Chinese folk religion, may have a wider appeal, as it deals with one of the world's oldest and largest religions rather than one of its newest.

[Alice Vandommele · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book but I don't think I'm going to finish it.

There's two problems which make it hard to read:

1) When the author discusses religious elements I'm more familiar with (Judaism, Christianity, the various Mediterranean pagan religions) it's clear that he both gets things wrong and oversimplifies/twists them for his model. This throws into doubt the accuracy of his information on other traditions. I'm sure the information on Chinese folk religion and Algonquian traditions is fine, since those are both the traditions he's specialised in as a researcher and the ones he has inside insight on, but it's hardly the only thing he discusses. I'm not interested in having to read a bunch of other books on Sámi and Andean and Polynesian traditions and ATRs just to factcheck this.

2) A good chunk of the book is personal insight (this is, set up, as a personal theology after all) but... honestly, he's frequently so hostile to what he calls the Religions of the Book that it's downright aggravating and makes me entirely uninterested in what he does want to share. Moreover, his entire model relies on classifying spirits and deities in a few specific classes in a way that leaves it hard to account for a decent amount of spiritual entities that, as described in their relevant traditions, don't fit into his classifications.

Overall, I'm not willing to trust the anthropological information and the general model he proposes seems way too simplified to use.

[Jonathan Vincent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very mixed feelings. A lot of it was fascinating, but there were minimal citations, so a lot of it seemed to require the reader taking his word for it. There was a bibliography of sorts at the end, but it seemed more like a recommended reading list. Either way, it was weird mix of academic, personal anecdote, and quips against religions he didn't like. He overall just had an odd disdain for monotheistic religions, mostly the Abrahamic ones.

Wish there was a book under a similar topic that was more academic and less anecdotal.

[Mateusz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finished the book just to convince myself that the first impression was correct. It is rather hard to believe that the author comes from religious studies, history of religious ideas or comparative religion background. Perhaps I am wrong, as I have not read professional academic papers by this gentleman, but the book is amateurish at best.

As a polytheist he is confused, although I empathize with him on grounds of my personal convictions. I've read volumes on Chinese religion and in this matter I would suggest consulting John Lagerweys and Marc Kalinowskis work. Also -as for pagans, or nobilitas and their theology, or the traditional Graeco-Roman traditions, I'd strongly suggest researching relevant mysteries, academic books and in-depth studies of their pertaining socio-historical minset.

As a heathen, I strongly sympathize with Mr. Jordan D. Paper, as an academically-inclined pagan, I must protest over such mistreatment of the topic, a personal ride sprinkled with fun-facts. The most interesting and valuable parts were the citations at the beginning of each chapter (thanks for the spoiler of Apuleian Metamorphoses, thanks Isis that I have read it beforehand some years ago)

There is no systematic outline of theologies, deologies, doxologies, philosophies and various traditions are brought up in a mixed-up fashion. I believe such a work should and must exist, but it should be a multi-volume work presented up to the standards of TheSCRA (Thesaurus Cultuus et Rituus Antiquorum).

If I'd like to present pagan outlines of my classical beliefs, that would be unwise to present this book to a Christian, a Muslim, a Jew to convince them that I don't believe in a rabble of nonsense. There is no strictness, precision of thought, even for a compact book like this. A promising topic was unfortunately discarded. Personally, I think this book should be avoided if one wishes an outline or an introduction to pagan theologies, I would rather recommend general classical reception books (offered by Brill series, for example) or highly esteemed academic works for each tradition separately.

[Tommy /|\ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, not a bad book on polytheist concepts. The author does note in his work that polytheism does not have a specific "theology" - and most of the book spends time on various concepts of polytheism.

The written aspect of the book was a little tough to follow, and I was expecting an academic work because I had checked out the author's background prior to reading. However, just a few pages into the introduction, and it became abundantly clear that the author was aiming this towards an audience of theologians and wanna-be theologians. The writing style, and the assumption by the author that the reader would be able to understand some theological concepts were even larger tip-offs to the prospective audience...and were also a big turn-off for me.

As I noted, overall its not a bad piece of work. But be a little prepared going in...I would never recommend this to someone trying to understand concepts of polytheism with no background in understand theological concepts. But for individuals with a more established background or a desire to move into theological circles, concepts and conversations - this would definitely be a book for those folks, as it is aimed directly at them as an audience.

--T /|\

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Initially, it became apparent that the author himself believes in a very real supernatural world-and while that perspective is no doubt interesting to see in this context I was prepared to be disappointed as what I really wanted was a scholarly work showing what polytheism has to offer culture and philosophy rather than emotional belief, being the stone cold materialist that I am.

But I need not have worried. The author does in fact go on to give a great a thorough study of a variety of the (few?) common features of polytheism, and is particularly strong when comparing it to monotheism and the world we live in where all aspects of socio-political discussion are colored by the language and inherited assumptions of those beliefs.

The price is a bit daunting for the size, but I still found this an essential addition to my collection to help me break down many of the dominant contemporary philosophies I do not like and where they come from.

[Min · Rating 5 out of 5]

The point I appreciated most about this book is that it is written by an author that is both an academic in Religious Studies, and practicing polytheist. This enables a beautifully broad, and knowledgeable view of several living polytheistic societies. His specialties are within the Native American, and Chinese cultures. These are ones that I know very little about. Reading what is shared by these many belief systems is quite enlightening. Also, the beautiful way the author points out the monotheistic bias in both speaking about, and interpreting other world religions, particularly, the misconceptions that continue to be spread about them from this ethnocentric lens.

This unique perspective, adding to the author's personable tone, and style while blending occasional offerings of his personal experiences into a highly readable, and educational work. I very much look forward to reading more of his work.

[Maya · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. Not exactly what I was looking for but still a good book to read on polytheism. I do disagree with the author's statements about faith being meaningless and irrelevant in Polytheism and that belief is only relevant to creedal traditions. Sometimes the chapters come off as more fluffy than they really are.

I will say that the author does have good points to make and discusses some very important thoughts in polytheism. Which is really done well.

[Conan Van Der Crom · Rating 5 out of 5]

A polemic, but given the significant internal bias against polytheistic religious traditions in Western societies, it is forgivable. For people who practice or are interested in practicing a polytheistic religious tradition, Mr. Paper provides some excellent intellectual groundwork.