The Path Ministry

  Omnipotence and the Negation of Free Will   If there is an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent deity, then our concept of free will is an illusion. Consider this: such a deity (let’s call it God, as so many are wont to do) knows everything you will ever do, every decision you will make, from cradle to grave. It is impossible for you to do anything other than that which he has already seen; you cannot surprise God, you cannot do anything contrary to his plan. Nothing will ever happen that he did not know about beforehand, and in fact directly caused, as the creator/controller of the universe. Were there such a deity (and I’m fairly confident there is not), he would be responsible for every tragedy, every atrocity, every natural disaster humanity has ever endured. If there is such a deity, humanity owes him nothing. In fact, I would say he has some serious explaining to do. Now, some of you may be saying to yourselves: What about the Devil? Isn’t he responsible? Doesn’t he

  On Sacrifice and the Path   Sacrifice is a prevailing theme of many world religions, whether you are giving up life, time, or money. The idea is that you have to pay for salvation somehow; nothing is free, after all. Some religions have an entire laundry list of things you cannot do, things you must give up entirely in order to practice their faith. Some ask for money, either through tithes or “charitable donations.” The entire Christian faith is based on what is an objectively barbaric form of human sacrifice. The message is clear: to be saved, you must offer up something in return, or forgo something you once indulged in. A sacrifice must be made. Pagan spiritual traditions incorporate energetic reciprocity: to invoke the favors of the gods, certain offerings are made. These offerings can be physical or energetic in nature, either cream and honey to please the Fae folk, or personal psychic energy expended during a healing rite. These sacrifices are more personal (as pagan pra