Where did Modern Paganism start? - Ronald Hutton

Watch the Q&A session here: • Q&A: Where did Modern ...
The deeper exploration of Paganism begins with its roots in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, and the question of how ancient paganism was regarded then. It considers the mainstream views of that paganism in that period, which veered between regarding it as a religion of ignorance, tyranny and bloodshed, and one of great artistic and literary achievements that prepared the way for Christianity. It goes on to show how new ideas about it developed amongst radicals, which preserved the admiration for the accomplishments of ancient paganism while throwing away the caveats.
This lecture was recorded by Ronald Hutton on 30th October 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.
Ronald is the Gresham Professor of Divinity.
He is also Professor of History at the University of Bristol and a Fellow of the British Academy, the Royal Historical Society, the Society of Antiquaries and the Learned Society of Wales.
The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: www.gresham.ac...
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[@jonathanschreindl3575]

As a modern Germanic pagan, I found this incredibly interesting. A lot I already knew, but his depth is excellent, and his handling of language is tremendous.

[@BillSikes.]

Fantastic!!! ..The Reverend Dr Ronnie Hutton is my favourite lecturer from the Gresham Crew 🤙😊

[@rinryan8639]

My fav lecturer - full stop!! 😍

[@rinryan8639]

My fav full stop!!!! 😍

[@jenniferlevine5406]

Excellent lecturer and speaker, also Prof Hutton is so extensively knowledgeable, his talks are simply the best. I will be listening to this one again. Thank you for sharing such high quality videos! I really appreciate having access.

[@dpelpal]

He'd fit really well into the next Lord Of the Rings lol. Not only could he be a wise old hobbit, he could also consult on the film! 2 for the price of 1!

[@PRAISE_HASHUT]

I could listen to Hutton all day long… and sometimes I do! Great to have these accessible and free lectures, many thanks!

[@KernowekTim]

Always a fascinating pleasure to listen to and learn from, Ronald Hutton. Thank you Gresham College.

[@MymilanitalyBlogspot]

Fascinating and entrancing, as usual, thank you Dr Hutton and Gresham College

[@hArtyTruffle]

Another fascinating and well presented lecture for The Prof. Always an absolute pleasure.

[@averyy.gordin2408]

Oh my God! I've seen him in the Victorian and Edwardian Farm documentaries and he's absolutely delightful! Excited to hear what he has to say in this video!

[@johnrose9929]

I can't wait for his next lecture. Professor Hutton, your the best!

[@tis_the_other_thing]

as brilliant as usual, thank you for the talk!

[@Colganology]

Fascinating and entertaining, as always.

[@CAVEDATA]

Pretending that paganism is the problem points directly to the actual issues of the Church.

[@DavidEdwards-tl9fn]

Absolutely brilliant thank you Ronnie

[@Neilhuny]

Prof Ron leaves us on tenterhooks for his future lectures! "England had everything that was needed for a modern pagan revival: a vanishing countryside which attracted love, sympathy and a tendency to re-sprititulise nature, a classical education which provided tremendous models in literature and art, a strong and self-confident nation state to protect and nurture this society, a strong economy to fund it, and a harmonious and relatively united society which enabled a counter-culture to appear, without immediately being stamped out by an insecure society and government" Shall we lay bets on Tolkein and the First World War being mentioned (not necessarily in the same breath)?

[@RonJohn63]

+1 for correctly spelling tenterhooks!

[@Neilhuny]

@RonJohn63 { takes a bow )… Thank you!!

[@ladystardust2008]

Super Lecture! I wish Professor Hutton could be my personal tutor 🌛🌕🌜Love the mind picture I'm getting of a Black Madonna 😂 she would be down with that idea I'm sure 😉

[@DragonborneRising]

Thank you Professor Hutton, as a Pagan (learning) I'm thoroughly enjoying your lectures, I'm learning so much through this medium and look forward to your next offering.

[@delphinidin]

Interesting to know that Kenneth Graham was experimenting with the term "Paganism", since there's that BEAUTIFUL chapter in The Wind in the Willows where our heroes encounter the god Pan - that scene made me cry the first time I read it.

[@judychallender2778]

As a child The Wind in the Willows was always my favourite book. If I was ill I would read certain chapters and my most recent-read one: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Which, incidentally, is emblazoned over one of the entrances to The Isle of Wight Festival every year. A nod to Pink Floyd too, no doubt, but strange how folklore begets further folklore. How intrinsically generations of fellow thinkers adopt and adapt ideologies.

[@thomashutcheson3343]

Somehow, there's a "Christian" version in the U.S. that leaves that chapter entirely out.

[@RyanEdmondsMyLifeAsRyan]

Just adore this lecture series by Prof RH! Love from South Africa 🇿🇦

[@diegooland1261]

This is wonderful, thanks for posting.

[@Gnif572]

That was lovely

[@dreznik]

I love Prof Hutton's lectures

[@menagers]

Love Prof Hutton ❤

[@stconstable]

Excellent!!

[@socchikurokawa9640]

Always love listening to Dr. H... and now I have a new way of talking about the "one true Grod" 😁

[@dorteweber3682]

What a story-teller he is. His ectures are wonderful.

[@johnlea8519]

I'm 76 and was brought up as a Christian but as I got older I realised Christianity was all about people and not the planet we live on, there are far more important things to worship than just people.

[@robertanderson2940]

blessed be

[@divinerdetective44]

I love Professor Hutton, he tells it like it is.

[@historyjunkie3144]

My favorite historian ❤...Is there a Ronald Hutton fan club? Lbvfs

[@risin4949]

Brilliant, Ronald Hutton at his best.

[@dahliamama4999]

Please keep the slide closeups on screen a bit longer so we can read them. Thank you for such interesting content!

[@AkashicStar]

Thank you so much. As a modern day pagan I found this very interesting 😊

[@Baka_Komuso]

During my days reading law at Teddy, I would see the good professor about town. We were both much younger then. I remember it as if it were yesterday.

[@rinryan8639]

😍

[@stevehall9333]

Excellent lecture from an outstanding academic. I remember Professor Hutton speaking at a Pagan Federation conference back in the 90s ( I think )..

[@niiwin5959]

Always a brilliant

[@chegeny]

Just when I thought I was out of Gresham College, Prof Ronald Hutton pulls me back in.

[@AncientWildTV]

great video, really enjoyed the insights you shared! however, i can't help but feel that while modern paganism is fascinating, it does sometimes overshadow traditional practices that have been around for centuries. what do you think about the risk of losing those original cultural elements in the mix?

[@livrowland171]

Very interesting 🙂

[@deaddocreallydeaddoc5244]

Madame Blavatsky claimed to receive her texts through "automatic writing." However, it was discovered that her writings were direct plagiarism of Tibetan works such as The Tibetan Book of the Dead." Theosophy had scandals early on as this and some of the sexual practices of some of its leadership became public. The most interesting produce of Theosophy was the life of Krishna Murti, who they "found" as a boy in India, and "took him under the wing" proclaiming him to be the "Khrisna, the Christ." Krishna Murti, however, rejected his assigned role, yet became a great philosopher in his own right.

[@robotempire]

The audio quality unfortunately makes this video unpalatable to my nervous system. The microphone is resonating in a very odd way, sounding like a continuous faint ringing as he talks. Too bad. Seems like a fascinating talk

[@samuellblake]

amazing dude

[@helenswan705]

The history is intriguing and often horrifying, but then the human race have rarely learned to be nice to each other, have we. Here's my own living definition of pagan. Recognition and observation of the natural cycle of the year. Recognition of the creative spirit in all things.

[@stevenjohnson5126]

Are you a Christian ?

[@myself2noone]

No, we mostly do. The things that make it into the history books are just the times that we don't. Humans kindness is more common, but we pay attention to human cruelty far more. And that deffination doesn't mean anything.

[@mikesummers-smith4091]

Lord forgive me, I remember reading _Coral Island_ (as a classic boys' book) in the 1950s. Rider Haggard was pretty bad too.

[@carltaylor6452]

I, too, read Coral Island as a child in the 1970s. Can't remember a thing about it, though. I started to read Haggard last year and love it.

[@shivnu]

14:55 - THE ONE TRUE GROD!

[@WickedFelina]

My surname is the name for Pagan used in the Middle Ages and the name of the largest stones in Stonehenge. It was used as a defamatory word. I am a direct descendant of people who came from Egypt.

[@TheMadAfrican1]

Brilliant lecture. Yet another example of the evils committed against innocent people in the name of "making the world a better place" at the beginning there.

[@Neilhuny]

All hail Knight's Gród in Byczyn! 15:11

[@djstarrjunkie]

Excellent~ Thank you~

[@LuneFlaneuse]

🖤

[@hackblob]

A great lecture. Could anyone tell me from which book of H.J. Massingham's the professor was quoting from?

[@azsqa6286]

This guy's like my favourite human being. Lol

[@Brokout]

Same!

[@rinryan8639]

Ditto!!!!!!😀

[@Kneenibble]

Who is your favourite human being then, if Dr. Hutton is like them?

[@curtiswfranks]

Woohoo!

[@We.are.all.human.]

Was interested in wicca in the 90s. Had a book written by the creator of wicca, and he was and used catholic rituals and ideas. Also to note, modern atheism is a religion created by Madeline O Hare, also catholic.

[@deaddocreallydeaddoc5244]

Although misinterpreted by the Nazis, Wagner's operas, especially the Ring Cycle, but also Lorengrin, were about the triumph of Christianity over paganism. J.R.R. Tolkien, an Englishman of German descent, did far more to revitalize the modern pagan movement than even he realized. However, he was clearly outraged and depressed by the advent of Nazism and its revealed works after WW2. "They (Nazis) poisoned, for all time, the glory of the Germanic and Nordic religions and forms through their usurpation of them.." He declared.

[@alexwilson365]

I guess theres two ways to look at it. Pagan deriving from the latin word paganus. Or in a abrahamic context that the original word goy or ethnikos translated from hebrew and koine respectively. Meaning: non-jewish (not an israelite) These are the words of the bible that were and still are translated to "pagan". Technically though the word pagan itself is not used in the original hebrew old testament or the new testament. It was probably copied over from the Biblia Vulgata. Why do i care? Because some of us people now are using words to describe things that do not align to their intended use. 😊❤

[@PRAR1966]

🙂

[@evolassunglasses4673]

Good book is " Pagan Imperialism " by Evola.

[@indigenousnorwegianeuropa4145]

Oh great Thor, god of strength and bravery, we call upon you in our time of need. As we face uncertainty and challenges, we seek your guidance and protection. Grant us the courage to stand tall and face our fears, and the strength to overcome any obstacle that may come our way. May your hammer Mjolnir imbue us with the power of the thunderbolt, giving us the resilience and determination to conquer even the most formidable foes. May your wisdom guide us as we navigate through difficult times, and may your presence bring us peace and comfort in moments of strife. Thor, we honor you and thank you for your unwavering support and guidance. May your blessings be upon us always. So be it!

[@lhadzyan7300]

A lot of modern Paganism got actually more lore and validation of values and believes from the Golden Dawn movement in late 19th centhury and early 20th one too, which had appeared and flourished alongside Blavastky´s theosophical movement yet a bit later and easily outshined over it after Blavatsky´s death and an inner split of the movement just a few years after she died.

[@franzwohlgemuth2002]

As an ACTUAL pagan (and historian), I will fact check... Right off the rip, you are blazingly WRONG... Pagan: Derived from the Latin Paganus, in classical Latin "villager, rustic; civilian, non-combatant" noun use of adjective meaning "of the country, of a village," from pagus "country people; province, rural district," originally "district limited by markers," thus related to pangere "to fix, fasten" (from PIE root *pag- "to fasten"). c. 1400, perhaps mid-14c., "person of non-Christian or non-Jewish faith," The religious sense often was said in 19c. [e.g. Trench] to derive from conservative rural adherence to the old gods after the Christianization of Roman towns and cities at that time it became an epithet. The English word was used later in a narrower sense of "one not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim." As "person of heathenish character or habits," by 1841. Applied to modern pantheists and nature-worshippers from 1908. Then there is Neopagan, Paleopagan, Mesopagan, Reconstructionist..... Europe, Near East, Africa, Asia, The Americas.... stop minimalizing. Heathen is simple the Germanic version of Paganus. Even has the EXACT same meaning. Explain what an idol is for. I bet you get it wrong. The bible is full of human sacrifice as well. "Engulfing"... read as "exploiting, enslaving, subjugating and oppressing...". The word "savage" comes from the Late Latin word salvaticus, which is an alteration of the Latin word silvaticus. Silvaticus means "of the woods" or "wild". The word "savage" was first recorded in the 13th century. When you know where words actually come from, it changes everything. Demon comes from the Greek word for Divine. Roman did not entirely view the tribal people of Europe that way. Read Tacitus. "Missionary publications..." written by white colonizers.... you missed that part.... "Pacifists...." LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The word “barbarian” comes from the Greek word bárbaros, which means “babbler”. The word is onomatopoeic, with the Greeks perceiving the unintelligible sounds of foreign languages as “bar bar bar”. The word was originally used by the Greeks to describe anyone who didn't speak Greek, including the Persians, Egyptians, Medes, and Phoenicians. The Romans later changed the meaning of the word to refer to any foreigners who didn't share Greek and Roman traditions. That religion lingered..... yeah. Ya'll never got rid of us. We've been here the whole time. Deuteronomy 32:8, When the Elyon apportioned the nations, when he divided humankind, he fixed the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the bene elohim which numbered in 70. Elyon is the creator god of the Canaanites. One of his kids is El Shaddai (who was worshipped all the way until Moses). El Shaddai had a wife named Asherah and they had 70 kids. One of them named Yahweh. Abraham came from Mesopotamia. Specifically city of Ur, founded in 3800 BCE. The city is now known as Tall al-Muqayyar, and is located about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad. Abraham lived in Mesopotamia and was exposed to a polytheistic culture. He rejected his family's beliefs and became a monotheist. traveled west to Shechem in Canaan. Land of the Canaanites (4500 to 1550 BCE). From there, the Hebrews are considered to have emerged from groups of indigenous Canaanites, meaning that the Hebrews essentially developed as a distinct people within the larger Canaanite population, sharing cultural and linguistic similarities with them; essentially, the Hebrews are considered a branch of the Canaanite people (Biblical Hebrew is considered a regional variation of the Canaanite language). Archaeological findings support the idea that the Israelite culture, which is associated with the Hebrews, largely overlapped with and derived from Canaanite culture. The word Hebrew comes from the word ʿeber, which means "the other side". This could refer to Abraham, who crossed into Canaan from the other side of the Euphrates or Jordan River. The Hebrew Bible refers to the Hebrews as the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the patriarchs of Israel. Which is why... Deuteronomy 32:8, When the Elyon apportioned the nations, when he divided humankind, he fixed the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the bene elohim which numbered in 70. Elyon is the creator god of the Canaanites. One of his kids is El Shaddai (who was worshipped all the way until Moses). El Shaddai had a wife named Asherah and they had 70 kids. One of them named Yahweh. Yes, Yahweh is technically a Canaanite god. But I digress..... Abraham would have brought stories from Mesopotamia with him. Including tales of the religion... including creation. The name Adam means "son of the red Earth". It comes from the Hebrew word adamah (אדמה), which means "earth". The name "Eve" comes from the Hebrew word Chavah, which means "to breathe" or "to live". Genesis 5. Adam. 930 years. Divided by moon cycles, that would be 77.5 years old. No statement of how he died. The bible never mentions the death of Eve. Jubilees and and The Life of Adam and Eve, non canon, attempt to explain. Jubilees says Eve died shortly after Adam. 6 years after. Yet never mentioned in the bible. Focusing on male lineage instead. As was the cultural norm. Cultural. However, Eve is tied to prophesy in Genesis 3. "The seed of the WOMAN will crush the serpent's head". (Proto Evangelium) Then oral tradition was used CENTURIES before anything was written down. According to a traditional view, Adam and Eve were created by God as fully formed humans between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago (which given historical understanding makes them NOT the first people). According to the Sumerian King List, the earliest Sumerian king mentioned is Alulim, who is said to have ruled the city of Eridu around 6,000 BCE. Fits the time line of Adam and Eve... In ancient Mesopotamian traditions, the name "Alulim" is often considered a potential equivalent to the biblical figure Adam, particularly due to the Sumerian King List which names Alulim as the first king, ruling over the city of Eridu, which is seen as a possible "first city" concept mirroring the biblical creation narrative where Adam is the first human; thus, drawing a connection between the two names as representing the first human ruler in their respective traditions. There's that pagan influence, again... Eridu derived from Akkadian edinnu, which came from the Sumerian word..... EDIN (Eden.... hello?) meaning 'plain' or 'steppe', closely related to an Aramaic root word meaning 'fruitful, well-watered'. The name Alulim derived from the name Adapa of ancient Mesopotamian religion. Adapa was a Mesopotamian mythical figure who unknowingly refused the gift of immortality. Well isn't that something...... Adapa, and his wife Kava (Sumerian etymological equivalent of Adam and Eve) were jointly called... Adama. I state again... The name Adam means "son of the red Earth". It comes from the Hebrew word adamah (אדמה), which means "earth". The name "Eve" comes from the Hebrew word Chavah, which means "to breathe" or "to live". Adam and Eve come from Pagan Sumerian, not out of a vacuum. In Mesopotamian mortuary tradition, it was said that the dead traveled to The House of Dust (Genesis says "God, who formed Adam out of the dust of the ground, announces that Adam will one day die and return to dust"). Genesis 1-11 is HEAVILY influenced by Mesopotamian mythology, drawing on themes and elements from ancient Sumerian and Babylonian creation myths, like the "Eridu Genesis" and the "Enuma Elish," while adapting them to a monotheistic perspective unique to the Hebrew Bible. Even the Cain and Abel story is found in the Sumerian myth of Enlil and Enki. Both Mesopotamian myths and Genesis include stories about creation, a great flood, and the origins of humanity, often with similar characters and plot elements. The entire Abrahamic religious line comes from paganism.

[@Lovesongs-Deathdance]

Very interesting, thank you! 🌹

[@panalternate]

Tad more edifying than James Fraser’s foray into utter codswobble with the Golden Bough

[@fabiodeoliveiraribeiro1602]

This was a good talk. Unfortunately, the speaker remained completely confined to the symbolic universe of Europe in general and the British in particular. And he failed to notice obvious ironies, one of which is the success of Buddhism and other Asian religions in Europe as a result of cultural exchanges and emigration from the 19th century onwards. What Europeans considered paganism was the dominant religion in Asia, but when Buddhism and Hinduism (and Islam too) spread throughout Europe and were introduced and cultivated in England, they began to compete with Christianity and redefine the concept of paganism. For the Muslim, the pagan is the Christian. A paganism to be violently eradicated through terrorism in the case of the extreme branch of Islam, something that led many of the neo-fanatic European and English Christians of the 21st century to regress to particularly violent forms of behavior typical of those attributed to pagans in the 19th century. In Brazil, the Tupi and Tupinambá Indians practiced anthropophagy, a habit immediately considered unworthy, savage, barbaric and pagan by the Portuguese colonizers. One of the first works of literature in the New World was a play written by Anchieta in Portuguese and translated into the Tupi language to teach the Indians that an evil deity they feared (Anhangá) was defeated by a low-ranking angel from God's heavenly army. Centuries later, in the mid-20th century, an important and very creative cultural movement emerged in Brazil. It calls itself the "Anthropophagic Movement", whose main proposal is to devour everything that exists in foreign cultures (especially American and European) in order to then create a specifically Brazilian version of it without disregarding what exists of particularly pagan and indigenous/African origin in our own culture. For decades, Americans and Europeans have been consuming the latest results of this movement by listening to the music of the most famous Brazilian singers, but I suppose they don't even know that they are digesting South American paganism remanufactured from their own culture. The point here is this: there is more to heaven and earth than the dreams of scholars who close themselves off from the cultural universe of Europe as if they were prisoners of Eurocentrism.

[@ciggystardust99]

"Ronald Edmund Hutton CBE FSA FRHistS FLSW FBA is an Indian-born English historian specialising in early modern Britain, British folklore, pre-Christian religion, and modern paganism." He's an English dude whose entire life's work has literally been studying British history. Giving a lecture on paganism in the pre-modern history of England. What did you expect?

[@francesbernard2445]

Paganism is when putting faith into objects owned instead of living by faith. Like when failing to realize that retaining the ability to play and be entertained when others are playing too in their own circle of play is sure to mean that when older brain function will then diminish over time since us humans need recreation time regularly just like otner mammals do too. Since some people are with the use of coersive control are being delegated to work long hours in an up to 5 decibels over a healthy sound power in a work environment chances are their tastes in music are of course going to be different as result than others who work with for example surgical instruments often.

[@lhadzyan7300]

Somewhere I think Blavasky may have quoted Higgins as a reference on building her own doctrine, but she rellyied on A LOT of sources beyond him alone!! The main trouble with her was indeed not quoting properly on time all times the sources to support her ideas on arguments, and well indeed saying that a lot was given by a mysterious main source of the Mahatmas of the Trans-Himalayan White Brotherhood of the World, that seemed pretty much very ambiguously bogus on her part. (Though other parts were eeriely unknown from the properly source about it, including actually sorts of Tibetan mystical esoteric Buddhist lore that came to be fully acknowledged a whole centhury later on!)

[@tortuvus]

from what I understand of history pagans were actually mostly peaceful until attacked, even the Vikings were traders until they got bored of 700 years of Christians attacking their neighbouring Frankish pagans which is why they at first stuck to raiding monasteries and churches, you show how peoples intent shows how they view things really well

[@TheMountainBeyondTheWoods]

European colonialism was a great good on the world and everyone owes Europeans a debt of gratitude.

[@AliHassan-hb1bn]

Paganism is every where, if you like it.

[@experimentalelemental92]

What a load of twaddle! Your definition of Paganism is riddled with christian bias. Ancient Greek.. pre christian.. Pagi = Boundless. Celts, Pagans & Druids were speaking Mother Greek to trade. The Pagan world was rich. Animals were cared for & land was treasured. As for animal sacrifice, explain to an Ancient Druid what a slaughter house is... with not one animal being honoured..

[@stephfoxwell4620]

It was invented, like many things, in the mid Victorian era.

[@nco_gets_it]

well, we started with a false definition and it went downhill from there. Typical shyte passing for scholarship today.

[@experimentalelemental92]

I got to 2mins 40 ..

[@hgriff14]

@@experimentalelemental92 i got to 41 seconds

[@stephengent9974]

People will always try to justify their excesses in such terms as civilizing the native, even if the natives are obviously civilized already.

[@deisecanella4640]

Nunca se esqueçam que qualquer pensamento ou ideologia é baseado em crenças, dogmas e mitos e que são baseados em leituras, o que não quer dizer que é a verdade.

[@davidmorse9894]

Jacob sewed together the offcuts of his older sons' coats to make Joseph's 'dream-coat', and the later 'Ephod' united coloured gems to the same symbolic end. The Jewish tribes developed regional (paganus) customs, but maintained customs universal (catholicus) to the commonwealth of Israel, developing a Constitutional document, amended in the Assyrian and Persian Periods. The patriarch of certain tribes descended from Japeth's grandson, Ashkenaz, is said to have hung on the world tree to acquire the secret of the Runes (from the perspective of non-literate cultures, who set their stories in the stars, those who get their tales from books look like hanged men). As Hebrew is the only surviving Canaanite dialect, so Odinic culture has survived in Christendom's twilight, with the 7 wandering (planetai) lights preserving their regional/paganus names in our weekday names.

[@wilhelmu]

modern paganism in europe revived not thanks to natives, but thanks to Wagner composing some operas based on nordic sagas, brothers Grimm popularizing european folklore and thanks to esoteric crooks like Crowely

[@Caseyuptobat]

Crowley was many (often unkind) things, but to describe him as a crook is to mischaracterize him. He was a sincere mystic, even if you personally doubt his experiences.

[@wilhelmu]

@@Caseyuptobat As you wish, then thanks to geniune mystics like Crowley. At any rate, the point remains that it's romantic interest in magic, occult, folklore and paganism that brought in the revival of paganism in europe, and particularly nordic religion is very popular, with its themes and symbols and believes known and popular even among the non-believers. Meanwhile, no one heard about these "native faiths" from british colonies this guy is talking about. So how could they have significantly contributed to anything?

[@lhadzyan7300]

It isn´t the "Cosmic" Doctrine but The Secret Doctrine, the magnum-opus of Blavatsky´s theosophical movement! (The first book of the set of two - later three a bit while after her demise - it´s indeed about Comogenesis and their evolution, but the whole story is named differently!)

[@lhadzyan7300]

Some theosophical thoughts and later adaptation or derivative ideas from their POVs were pretty racist-types, however... Blavatsky was very much ahead on multicultural validation regardless of acknowlegding race differences on origins and characteristics, she also oftenly quoted that the evolutionary path for improval might happen to ALL people regardless of their origin and that each one had values and weaknesses fitted for that or that other issues, yet nothing was all fixated, neither she was pushing over the social engineering issue that was developed later on after a missguidance of her ideas with happened to be LESS RACIST than the average people she met on then!! Also it´s hard to properly address racism back then on the setting of society values validated back then compared with later contemporary trends where those have changed A LOT, so it´s a kinda forcing an historical revisionism on current trends than on the values back then on what was prized or spurned too, and well most of people were plainly racists as average by default, and even then Blavatsky WASN´T MUCH as the average people about it, so... it´s a very big easy missjudgement about her. (Pretty much the same which had happened to Tolkien as well, eventhough over time he lived longer enough to be even more noticeable his standard views as racist-aproaching regardless on how much Tolkien fans wanted to dismiss it; Lovecraft fans in other hand had never ever dismissed the over-the-top racism of his author, yet... that was kinda something which helped to to a lot of the particular literary style on his work of cosmic horror.)

[@TheMetalfarmer]

I would listen to him give a lecture about ANYTHING

[@KeithR2002]

On a humorous note. Dr ronnie looks suspiciously like Robert Greene in a british disguise.

[@franzwohlgemuth2002]

Part 2. Only 15 minutes in.... Said manuscripts of the Romans and Greek were compiled by Muslims. You forgot to mention that. Homer being there doesn't make it a pagan statue. Showing him in a Roman Toga isn't a pagan statue.... Theosophy came from Occult, Which came from Kabala, which came from Gnostics, which came from Judaism and Christianity. NOT pagan. It's main mistake was ignoring Animism. As far as the claim... Roman, Greek, Celt, Germanic, Norse, Slavic, Mesopotamian, Persian, Hindu... ALL came from Indo-European, which has roots in Africa. So, the claim is in fact valid. Reincarnation is MUCH MUCH older than her. Half hour in, I'm not really seeing why he's so respected. Not once does he actually quote any pagan, pagan culture, or pagan religion, yet speaks about paganism. That means he's leaving out A LOT of information.

[@sidhe3303]

Qabbalah didn't come from the Gnostics. Jewish mysticism has existed prior to the Gnostics. The Gnostics were some of the early Christian mystery cults alongside the Marcionites, Ebonites and other mystery cults. Homer was Greek, he wasn't wearing a Roman toga. It's called a chiton. Roman borrowed a lot from the Greeks including fashion. For someone who claims that they know more than a respected professor who taught at Oxford, you sure as hell love to talk out of your ass. Also Theosophy didn't come from the occult. It came out of Madam Blavatsky's ass. Signed, an actual Pagan.

[@franzwohlgemuth2002]

@@sidhe3303 Gnosticism started in the first Century. Kabbalah is from the late 12th century, primarily in the regions of southern France and Spain, with the most significant text, the Zohar, emerging in the late 13th century.

[@lhadzyan7300]

Blavatsky attempted to merge all ideas into one common background henceforth that´s why Paganism was just only one alone part of the complex mixture of ideas on the theosophical movement, as a sort of forerunner on comparative anthropological philosophy on religions and mythologies or folkclore in the world, and indeed Eastern esoteric mysticism - specially from India which actually fascinated as a whole the Victorian society back then A LOT - was the core center of his fully fleshed out doctrine on The Secret Doctrine (Isis Unveiled rellyied more on an even paired issue of both Western and Eastern esothericism but that was an earlier development too of theosophical thought.)

[@AliHassan-hb1bn]

He is listening himself.

[@troyevitt2437]

Hundreds of years before the dawn of history...the [pagans]...nobody knew who they were...or...what they were doing." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Spın̈al Tap/"Stonehenge"

[@hgriff14]

wtf is “modern paganism” ??

[@biomechanique6874]

A convenient fiction for carrying the modern narrative. Ancient Europe was always Heathen, not pagan.

[@michaelhoffmann2891]

37:50 "shallow", or, as serious researchers of Roman history call them "romaboos". 😆

[@georgewyatt4912]

Anne Ross for me better than Hutton or miranda alehouse green.

[@Cat_Woods]

"superstition and beastly practices..." That's rich coming from the British.

[@irenejohnston6802]

Paganisn began Genesis 3:15; The Adversary's alternative construct against The Sovereign Creator of the Universe. It pander's to humanity's desires. The consequences of mankind's deliberate rebellion. All the myths and legends stem from historic memory. John 17-1-26. Ezekiel 38:23. Revelation 12:7-12. John 18:36-38. Christendom is counterfeit. The Bible's false friend.

[@james_hondo]

British intelligence operation …

[@gregthomas1346]

Neopagan practitioners

[@Purpleninjawv]

In the Catholic church when they formed Christianity.

[@jaggedstarrPI]

Nope.

[@francesbernard2445]

Paganism is when putting faith into objects owned instead of living by faith. Like when failing to realize that retaining the ability to play and be entertained when others are playing too in their own circle of play is sure to mean that when older brain function will then diminish over time since us humans need recreation time regularly just like otner mammals do too. Since some people are with the use of coersive control are being delegated to work long hours in an up to 5 decibels over a healthy sound power in a work environment chances are their tastes in music are of course going to be different as result than others who work with for example surgical instruments often.