A World Full of Gods: An Inquiry into Polytheism - Revised and Updated Edition

by John Michael Greer

An investigation into the underpinnings and superstructures of the Pagan world view Pagan religions have tended to be more concerned with practice that with theory and in a system that has no dogma - no legislated doctrine - that is as it should be. Yet as the movement grows and matures, it is inevitable that we will begin to think in a more abstract way about our models and systems. John Michael Greer has provided a primer on the kinds of ideas and themes that must be included in any discussion of the theology and philosophy of Neo-pagan religions.  Much of the book takes shape in a dialogue with existing ideas in theology, philosophy, and comparative religion. It looks to find a middle ground between too much and too little reference to the work of other scholars to find a comprehensible yet intellectually rigorous middle ground. It aims to be part of a conversation, that stretches out over the centuries.  Voices of polytheist spirituality have had little place in that conversation for many years, but much of value has been said in their absence. The rebirth of polytheism as a living religious tradition in the Western world will inevitably force a reassessment of much of that heritage, and pose challenges to some of its most cherished assumptions.  Yet reassessment is not necessarily rejection, and the traditions of modern polytheism are deeply enough indebted to legacies from the past that an attentive ear to earlier phases of the conversation is not out of place.

Genres: Religion, Paganism, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Mythology, Theology

218 pages, Paperback

First published September 20, 2005

About the author

John Michael Greer is an author of over thirty books and the blogger behind The Archdruid Report. He served as Grand Archdruid of the Ancient Order of Druids in America. His work addresses a range of subjects, including climate change, peak oil, the future of industrial society, and the occult. He also writes science fiction and fantasy. He lives in Rhode Island with his wife.

Reviews

[JHM · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a mature, scholarly exploration of the spiritual, philosophical and moral legitimacy of polytheism as a spiritual path.

Modern Western culture tends to view monotheism as the only truly mature and legitimate form of religiosity, based on the idea that cultures "grow out of" polytheism to embrace monotheism. Greer, a critic of the "myth of progress" which claims that every new stage of human cultural development is necessarily better than the previous one, systematically builds his case for not only the legitimacy of polytheism, but the ways in which it answers and solves several of the nagging problems of monotheism such as "why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?" and the fact that human beings have always been religious but the diversity of religious experiences does not suggest a single divine being at the root of all.

I would recommend this book to any student of comparative religion, or anyone with an open mind who wants to gain an understanding of the rapdily growing communities of polytheist spirituality.

[Rachel Bonaccorso Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is enormously helpful as a beginning resource into the differences between polytheism and monotheism in the areas covered by the topic of philosophy of religion: specifically, the ways in which polytheism quite rationally resolves many of the so-called problems of religion. It is clearly written, and a reference I go back to all the time. It creates starting-points for all kinds of research and reflection possibilities.

It should be stated that the book focuses on Neopagan polytheistic religions and not on any specific ONE of them.

The negative reviews I see seem to be written by people who misunderstood the purpose of the book, or were unhappy that it wasn't written for other goals, or simply failed to comprehend the prose.

[Malum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe closer to 3 or 3.5, but there was enough food for thought and a rabbit hole of references for me to follow to get something interesting from this book.

Greer probably isn't going to convert anyone to polytheism, but he does prove his point that it makes at least as much sense as any other theism, and maybe slightly more sense than monotheism (when you don't have just one all-perfect god, it's easier to explain away why evil exists or why your prayers are just sporadically answered even when you click your heels together, crossed your fingers, and REALLY believed).

Some of the problems with this books is that it was written like a college essay, complete with references thrown around everywhere. References are obviously good, but Greer shoves them in all over the place, even when he didn't really need to reference anything to make his point. His references are also really old for some reason. Most of his research seems to have come from the 1980s.

Also, I instantly distrust anyone that tries to tell me that prayer can heal people (or do anything else, for that matter). Greer gives us just one study to back up his claim, but most prayer studies that have shown positive results have been proven to be very lacking or downright biased. The studies that have been totally unbiased have shown that prayer can actually stunt recovery time for people who know they are being prayed for (the theory is that, since god is going to heal them through prayer, they feel they don't need to do any work in getting better themselves).

[Sheherazahde · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fantastic! I think everyone should read it.

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I just started reading this book, and it is what people say it is - a very scholarly discussion of how polytheism is different from monotheism.

What he says is the truth but it is not the whole truth.

He doesn't seem to be aware of the Pagan Monotheism of classical Rome and Greece. Personally I think the recent spate of books on the subject misunderstand classical pagan monotheism.

But there is evidence that classical pagans did believe that their many gods were "representatives" of a much higher universal God. Part of the understanding the Romans had with the Jews (that gave the Jews a waiver from honoring the gods of Rome) was the idea that the Jews worshiped the one highest God, who was also the God over the Roman gods. The Romans agreed that the Jews' one God was the same universal God their gods reported to, that all gods reported too.

This is a sort of syncretism that Greer and many modern polytheist reject. Which is OK. It doesn't bother me, or God.

The distinction he makes between the characteristics of the monotheistic God and the polytheistic gods are valid.

Personally, I believe that there are two distinct ways that human beings experience divinity. One is as the universal, omniscient, ubiquitous, omnipotent, all loving presence that wants nothing and does not intervene in our lives. And the second is as the more limited powerful beings, persons, that Greer describes. The many gods and goddesses and spirits.

My main criticism of monotheism is that human beings are not well suited to worship the One God. We want intervention so we always end up worshiping the lesser beings that can actually do something for us.

Christianity fell into worshiping Jesus just a few centuries after he died. And then the Catholic church "solved" the problem of not having enough gods to meet everyone's needs by calling their many gods "saints".

Protestantism, by rejecting saints, has created a real problem for itself that seems to be only solvable by creating a new sect that worships a different version of Jesus every time they have a disagreement.

Buddhism has the same problem with worshiping The One True Reality, their many gods are called Bodhisattvas. Like Catholic saints they are officially not gods but they serve the same function and are as Greer defined gods: entities who are the proper object of human worship (or veneration).

He briefly mentions Wiccan dualism but declines to elaborate because he is not a Wiccan. As a Wiccan I guess I should write a book on that.

Wiccan dualism isn't really about gods. It comes up when we talk about gods but it has less to do with any doctrine about all gods being manifestations of one god or goddess than it does with the importance of balance. Most pagan religions aren't "about" gods. We have gods, but our religion is about life. Wiccan sophiology (the study of wisdom not the study of gods) is about maintaining the balance between complimentary forces. It has more in common with the Taoist idea of ying and yang than anything else. Wiccans are not required to believe anything in particular about the nature of the gods. But Wiccan ritual and Wiccan sophiology encourages us to try to maintain a balance.

I like to contrast the masculine/feminine duality of Wicca to the good/evil duality in Christianity. Christianity adopted the Zoroastrian belief that the world is a battleground between two opposing gods, one good the other evil. Two men fighting for possession of the world. Wiccans on the other hand like to view the world as the combination of two complimentary forces seeking union. A man and a woman having sex. The Great Rite, a central ritual action in Wicca, the union of opposites as an act of creation.

[Amy nicole Giles]

Thoughtful and thought provoking

Whether you are currently a part of Pagan spiritual movements or not, although perhaps especially if you are, this is a valuable and deeply pertinent discussion of the logic and philosophy of a polytheistic world view. I find it resonant with and relevant to modern life and the many changes and challenges we are experiencing. I highly recommend this book to anyone.

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a while to get into this book (I partially blame the digital copy), and I struggled with the writing style. Toward the middle and end it became more compelling for me. Substance-wise, I found it validating, but had some issues with terminology (such as “the West”). I think the author would find value in reading current work in anthropology discussing ontology and may find that some Indigenous authors are also exploring these perspectives.

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful defense of polytheism by a contemporary druid.

[Oryan · Rating 1 out of 5]

In my opinion, this book is a mess.
I can only imagine it was written with the expressed purpose of being part of a college courses selected readings. It is written in the style of a scientific paper with constant citations, but the information from said citations is rarely more than a vague sentence that does not impart the valuable information necessary to complete his arguments.
While the style may attempt to be scientific, the tone is clearly conversational. His turns of phrase and poorly thought out examples are clearly written as if he is speaking them to an individual or group, which conflicts with his intention of having a well referenced work of research. On top of this he take incredible care to be circuitous in his phrasing and word choice. Ideas that could be expressed simply and directly, seem not to have imparted his self-believed genius, so instead he takes the long winded and overly indulgent path to express his points.
Writing intention, style and tone aside, he spends at least half of the book discussing monotheism and atheism. The book should contain some information on the two for background and comparison purposes, but why call this "An Inquiry Into Polytheism" if just as much of the writing is an inquiry into monotheism or atheism. Most of his arguments are circular and self-defeating, he will discuss the flaws in monotheist and atheist arguments against polytheism only to turn around and use the same style arguments to attempt to prove polytheism is a more logical idea. The book spends far too much time tearing down monotheism and atheism, and then using that as a basis to bolster the argument for polytheism. The argument that monotheism doesn't address this and atheist are following a wilful ignorance, therefore polytheism makes more sense, is itself nonsensical. Certainly it would seem that many of the points Greer makes in this inquiry are well researched and backed by quality information, but do to his choices to be vague when invoking previous works, the only way I can know for certain is to find and read everything cited in his 8 page bibliography (this is almost as long as most of his chapters)
To wrap this up, I would never recommend this book to anyone, unless they were curious to see how easy it is to get a book published when you can hide it in the guise of intellectual writing and actually have it make no sense and not contribute in any way to intellectual knowledge. Speak in circles, use big words and choose a topic that cannot be proven right or wrong, and you'll be on your way to your first published book.

[Ancestral Gaidheal · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found the first chapter of this book extremely difficult to understand and I could not comprehend its inclusion in the book. I gained nothing from the first chapter and, honestly, little more from the rest.

From the second chapter onwards, I was able to follow the arguments being put forward for polytheism (as opposed to monotheism or atheism), but I am not sure I agreed with them. Some of the logic appeared circular to me: Greer seemed to disprove reasoning used by monotheists and atheists, but, in the next breath would use that very same reasoning to build a case for polytheism. But, then, what do I know.

I feel this book could have been so much more; I just don't know how it could have been improved. This book just didn't flow for me; I felt like I gained nothing from reading it; and it left me feeling rather frustrated.

The quality of this edition was poor with the words crammed right up to the edges of the margins and pages, resulting in my reading the title of the book rather than the follow-on sentence from the previous page, and there were innumerable spelling and grammatical errors throughout the text. Also, my preference is for either footnotes or endnotes; the notes provided in this edition were so awkwardly positioned, I gave up reading the notes, as I found it difficult to locate, and bookmark them prior to starting each new chapter.

[Angela Pippinger · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful! To begin with it's written like a college thesis. Secondly, I felt like I was being scammed on something but the twisting of words was so awful I couldn't pin point what exactly the author was being shifty on. I wouldn't recommend this one to anyone.

[Maya · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the full review, please see my website: A World Full of Gods

[Kathleen O'Neal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Given the rather shallow nature of a lot (albeit not all contemporary Pagan literature), I found it refreshing that this author was willing to deal with the finer points of theology and engage with a wide spectrum of Pagan, Christian, atheist, and other theologians and philosophers. The book started off very strong thanks to the author being obviously very well read and well versed in a broad range of philosophical and theological discourses. However, I found the book's treatment of the topic of Pagan ethics to be rather disappointing and superficial. I also found the author's insistence that others concerned with ethics pay too much attention to moral patients at the expense of moral agents (particularly those concerned with the rights of unborn human beings and of animals but also all others concerned with moral patients too) to be downright bizarre. Similarly, for an author interested in challenging what he views as the eschatological bent of many other religions, I felt that Greer's discussion of what is problematic about the "myth of progress" and hints of looming environmental catastrophe strayed closer to that territory than would have been expected. I see this book as ultimately throwing down the gauntlet to other writers working within the Pagan tradition to engage with their faith and the ideas related to it in a more learned, systematic, and cerebral way. Greer has just scratched the surface of the insights that Pagan and polytheist theology and philosophy have to offer. I hope his book serves as an inspiration to many others to pick up where he left off and to offer their own ideas in turn.

[Kevin Thomsen · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's such a humble thesis ("polytheism is at least reasonable given other religious views") that he really undercuts by trying to come at it from every conceivable angle, making the book full of terrible half-baked arguments right next to the good arguments. The cat village intuition pump in ch 6 has an obvious flaw: the only reason the cat denier sounds crazy is because we in the real world already know cats exist. Swap "cat" for "heffalump" and the analogy fails.
The description of "weak miracles" is also very funny. Like, apparently if I roll a die and pray "Oh Zeus, give me a [1-6]" six times while its tumbling, it landing on on an edge would be the *non-miraculous* result, and the ordinary 1-6 a miracle. It's hard to figure out then what *isn't* a miracle if someone decides to pray "oh Odin, please cause each individual event that happens from now on to happen".
His arguments from religious and near-death experiences also lead to the unfortunate inability to deny the existence of some explicitly fictional god, like Santa or Naruto. For this flavor of polytheist, if anyone anywhere has ever had a vision of Geodude, then he is real, he is strong, and he is my friend.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was challenging and not an easy read. Although it's short (just under 200 pages), I found myself reading a few chapters, putting it down for a week or two, then picking it back up when I had the mental stamina, curiosity, and a fresh cup of coffee and a highlighter. That said, this book is a wonderful discussion on the logic of monotheism, polytheism, henotheism, and atheism, among others, and how each system has its own pitfalls and strengths. This would be a good read for a student of moral philosophy or philosophy of religion. It covers topics ranging from which system is most logical and which forms of proof are most appropriate in religious debates, to how myths should be interpreted and predictions on the future religious landscape. It's helped shape the ideas of "divinity" in my mind and I am grateful for the author's hard work in putting together such a fine little treatise.

[Jessica Donegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really cool and thoughtful book. It has a similar style to Thomas Hobbes or David Hume, even if the arguments are not at all similar. There are playful analogies that break up more heavy intellectual and philosophic principles.

This IS NOT and introduction guide to help someone practice, get in touch with, or otherwise participate in polytheism. Instead this is a guide meant to help others see a polytheistic world view. How they can interact with and affirm some variety of Christian/monotheistic belief without ever agreeing to the whole, and how most atheistic arguments do not apply to a polytheistic world view, since a lot of the attributes they choose to attack in a god don't apply to polytheistic sense of deity.

It's a clear explanation and I think it will really help people trying to meet together for theological conversations, because it explains the mindset many polytheists come to the table with.

Well sourced and I highly recommend it.

[Coeruleum · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is quite disorganized, though amusing and easy, and does not make a convincing case for polytheism. However, it makes a case for using a Merkur (German name for the Roman god Mercury) razor and for astronomers printing people's astrological birth charts using their telescopes to fund astronomy (which is reportedly underfunded.) I would give it four stars for being entertaining if it did not contain wrong information at parts, and it does not even vaguely do what the title says (perhaps for the better, as "polytheism" is a rather meaningless term.)

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book. It's the best theology book, that I ever read. The author doesn't waste the reader's time, trying to awe them with his intelligence. He goes straight to the weaknesses of the prominent ways of thinking on religious matters, in the modern West. I can't see why anyone wouldn't like this book.

Even though, the author seems to write about topics, that I'm not very interested in, I might have to pick up another of his books. I liked his style of writing in this book. Also, I have heard interviews with him, and he seems like a kind, intelligence, and wise person.

[Julian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Several people whom I respect recommended this title to me, but frankly, I found it dull. I have no problem reading academic works in general, so that wasn't the problem. Perhaps I'm just unfamiliar with writings on logic and philosophy. Despite agreeing with most of the points made, I just felt like something was missing. I can't imagine feeling the urge to re-read this one any time in the next decade.

[Vanessa Wardwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

I was reccomended this as a budding polytheist, and it really helped me to better understand polytheism, especially as someone coming from a background of monotheism and then agnosticism. I feel it borderline bashes on monotheism and atheism, but it's unavoidable. John presents things factually and just how they are with little personal emotion tied into it. Sources are cited well, and only one chapter felt rambly.

[Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, it's a good book on polytheism and the philosophy around it. However, Greer's ecofascism mask slips several times, going into apocalyptic fantasies to use them as bad examples, and goes into territory he clearly lacks thorough knowledge on (specifically on economics annoyed me the most). This results in a lot of rambling, but if you can sift through that you will get some solid arguments for polytheism. Good luck on not throwing this book across the room at any point though.

[mika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting in terms of polytheist theology and its opposition to other theologies but this book seriously stumbles when the author tries to delve into politics. Really disliked the centrist vibes it gave off and some perspectives on paganism seem outdated, as many pagan communities have grown and developped away from the focus on "nature-worship" that this book presents.
A recommended read if you want to delve into theology but keep in mind that other parts of it may be quite lacking.

[mika]

Really interesting in terms of polytheist theology and its opposition to other theologies, but this book seriously stumbles when the author tries to delve into politics. Really disliked the centrist vibes it gave off, and some perspectives on paganism seem outdated, as many pagan communities have grown and developed away from the focus on "nature-worship" that this book presents.
A recommended read if you want to delve into theology, but keep in mind that other parts of it may be quite lacking.

[Garurumon3d · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book on polytheist theology one can read. It touches every subject and challenges the common notions of religion in general. It's short but it provides a lot of information. It's well written and promotes a lot of reflection needed for every pagan today. I'm looking forward to reading more of John Michael Greer's books.

[Bruno Maroneze · Rating 5 out of 5]

Impressionante. Um dos melhores livros que eu já li sobre filosofia da religião e sobre politeísmo de maneira geral. A argumentação do autor é plenamente coerente e, embora possa ser contestada (como qualquer argumentação), é suficientemente clara e precisa para merecer ser levada em conta. Eu concordei com a grande maioria dos seus argumentos.

[Courtney McG]

Dense, but Systematic and Profound

This book took me a long time to get through as his writing feels intensely academic, long words, footnotes, and all. That being said, it clearly lays out his arguments and makes a decisive statement on the logic of polytheism over monotheism. Keep a dictionary, highlighter, and sharp pencils nearby and enjoy!

[Visionplant · Rating 2 out of 5]

I disliked this book so much that I turned towards Platonism for an actually substantial polytheistic theology and ethics. The author does not engage with historical pagan theology or ethics and instead bases the book on his own postmodern ideas which he smugly claims are "common sense." He also has a very compartmentalized vision of the Gods

[Mitchel Weaver · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting enough, but virtually all the space is spent defending polytheism against misconceptions and the like rather than building up a coherent polytheistic system. The book felt like an overlong preface.

[K. Ley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

I don’t necessarily agree 100% with the author, but I found myself agreeing with the sentiments of the book. Christianity, in my case, became the villain it accused everyone else of being.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Difficult to review. The thesis makes sense and some of the cited works as well, but at other times the author makes claims that should have also received references in order to strengthen their foundations. In any case, it got me thinking.

[Sophia Hope Heilig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned so much and feel like my world view very much deepened and developed. 
However, I will say the writing is very academic with challenging words and hard to understand at times. Take it slow with this one, and it will be worth it!