Elements of Pantheism: A Spirituality of Nature and the Universe

By Paul A. Harrison

Book Overview

At the heart of modern scientific pantheism is reverence for Nature and the Universe. It offers a challenging alternative, beyond theism and atheism, with a joyful approach to our lives and a caring concern for all life on this earth. Pantheism is a 2,500 year-old belief system expressed by many famous thinkers and artists including Lao Tzu, Heraclitus, Spinoza, Wordsworth, Whitman, Thoreau, Einstein and Carl Sagan.
Today pantheism is seeing a revival as the underlying world view of many environmentalists, of leading scientists, of nature-revering pagans, and of non-theists looking for a more embracing perspective. This accessible and authoritative handbook is the only available introduction to the history, theory and practice of pantheism.
Reviews from Amazon
This book is surely one of the most extraordinary books written in recent years about the subject of religion. Bill Bruehl
Probably the best book to recommend to someone who is no longer comfortable living with the intellectual compromises necessary to maintain a traditional "faith." This book is a gem, with useful contextual information and insights on every page. George Faulkneron
Must read. Wonderful book for exploring a way to approach religion in a scientific world. Brady Walker
The perfect introduction to Pantheism. It's well written and to the point. Tells what Pantheism is and what it isn't, offers a history and gives basic practices. Fantastic Tag Jones
Highly impressed with this book and author. He carefully explained the beliefs of Pantheists without being condescending or judgmental toward other belief systems. This is a book I will keep to refer back to in future. Dragon Lady

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1490494936
• ISBN13: 9781490494937
• Release Date: September 2013
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 114 Pages
• Weight: 0.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Thorough Explanation of Pantheism

I was highly impressed with this book and author. He carefully explained the beliefs of Pantheists without being condescending or judgmental toward other belief systems. His explanations were presented in a logical order and easily understood. This is a book I will keep to refer back to in future.

A "must read" for the metaphysically-minded

With the volume of pro-atheist books coming to market, most of which suggest that there are only two choices - atheism or the Christian/Judaism/Islam God, it is a real blessing to encounter a book which creates context for spiritual belief and reveals the complexity of alternatives to Western belief concerning deities. Harrison does a credible job explaining pantheism, what it is and is not, and where it fits on the broad continuum of belief. I particularly liked his forthright manner of confronting the soul-less and desolate landscape of atheism. Panthiesm is an ancient philosophy which can satisfy thinking humans who recognize that there is more to themselves than just their bodies in this one life. Harrison falls short, in my opinion, in only one area, which is why I would not give the book "5 stars". His own orientation is toward "physicalist pantheism", which views the physical world as its own spiritual experience, as the only reality, and chooses to not address the issues of soul, afterlife, and the progession of humankind back to its divine origins. He acknowledges that there is a "dualist school of thought" in panthism, which does believe in a soul, and which does see a purpose to life beyond just this one life we are currently living. Unfortunately, he stops with this acknowledgement and really doesn't explain it thoroughly, and does not explore Eastern thought in any significant depth. Since the book is short (and very readible), adding another 25 or 30 pages to explore Eastern Thought and the play of pantehism in those cultures, would have been a wonderful inclusion to Harrison's book. Nevertheless, I would highly recommend the book to any spiritual seekers - especuially those not up to reading Spinoza, but who still want to consider all the alternatives.

A fine book

I've written a long review, but here's the summary: This book's author, Paul Harrison, is the president of the World Pantheist Movement, which has a web site at www.pantheism.net. If you are unfamiliar with pantheism, check out the website; and if you want more, this book is for you. It covers about the same material as the webpage, but in a bit more depth. Nevertheless, don't imagine that this is a scholar's book: with about 100 pages of text, it is just a simple introduction--but a good one, accessible to average readers. In the first chapter, "What is Pantheism?" Harrison explains that pantheism is a religious reverence for nature or the universe, embracing science and affirming life. He contrasts it so several other "isms," such as atheism, panentheism, and so on. He writes that "when Pantheists refer to the Universe as their god, what they really mean is that they feel the same profound sense of awe and reverence that other believers feel towards their gods. ... Although it does not tell us anything extra about the Universe itself, it expresses the powerful emotions that Pantheists towards the universe." This alludes to high scholarly discussion and criticism of pantheism, but Harrison makes the discussion no more complicated than that. Chapters two and three sketch a history of pantheism from ancient times to the twentieth century. He finds pantheism in the Hindu Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, in Mahayana Buddhism, especially the Hua-yen and Zen traditions, in Taoism (he quotes Chuang Tzu a few times in the book), in some pre-Soctratic philosophers, in the Stoics, Epicureans and Plotinus; he finds hints of it in the Hebrew Bible and Talmud, but especially in the Kabbalah; hints again in the Koran, but especially in the Sufis (he cites Al Hallaj and Ibn Arabi); hints in the New Testament and the Gospel of Thomas, and in a few heretics such as David of Dimant and Amalric of Bena, and also in Meister Eckhart. He regards Giordano Bruno as a post-Christian pantheist, and in this category he places John Toland, Spinoza, Goethe, Schelling, Hegel, the English Romantic poets (at least for parts of their lives), the American Transcendentalists, Richard Wagner, Gustav Mahler. He even admits that Ernst Haeckel was a pantheist. For twentieth century pantheists, he includes Frank Lloyd Wright, Robinson Jeffers, D. H. Lawrence, and Einstein. The reader need not be intimidated: his discussion of these figures takes only 21 pages! Unfortunately, you will not taste the flavor of those spiritualities, but you will at least realize that pantheism is a "perennial heresy," as Harrison cleverly put it. He could have included many more examples. For instance the recommended reading, in the appendix, mentioned Jakob Boehme as well. I'd love to see a book that explored these figures and movements further, from a pantheist point of view. Chapters four and five outline the "core beliefs" of pantheists: reverence of the universe and sacred nature. He writes,

The universe as divine and nature as sacred.

Dr. Paul Harrison intelligently discusses how Pantheism relates to other belief systems. He refers to numerous publications and thinkers through the ages. I would have liked to see more discussion of Pantheists and the belief/struggle relationships with technology and development. There was no mention of nature-based music/lyrics (i.e. John Denver) or outdoor experiences (i.e. camping, exploration). It is has numerous quotations but no pictures (of celestial events or nature photography) which in turn make it affordable. Highly recommended. I enjoyed it.

Teaches us to see our Earth as sacred our Universe as divine

This book is surely one of the most extraordinary books written in recent years about the subject of religion. It's author is a professional writer educated at the London School of Economics and Cambridge University who brings to the task a comfortably direct style accessible to any reader of English. If you are concerned about the Earth and the way we are treating it in our culture you will want to read his book. Harrison shows us how humanity can make this a better world by applying the principles and values of the ancient, long neglected, but now revived philosophy of Pantheism.The basic idea of Pantheism is that the Earth is sacred and the Universe is divine, that there is no personal divinity, only the Universe itself. He makes the point that the Universe is all that is and it exists without judging humans but humans are deeply connected to every element in this universe which means we have a special responsibility to the Earth and to each other. In other words he shows Pantheism to be deeply ethical and scientifically valid.The book takes the reader on a swift over view of Pantheism throughout the centuries and in cultures east and west including elements of the Pantheist philosophy found in the monotheism of the West. He does so evenhandedly and with respect for all religions. I recommend the book to all seekers interested in discovering an ancient and respectable religious tradition re-emerging in our time.