My Gods are Neither Sad Nor Little

Oct 27

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John Halstead, who gets off insulting the Gods and pathologizing their worshipers as sufferers of mental illness, has done it again. Thankfully Heathen and Roman polytheist blogger Lucius Svartwulf Helsen is unwilling to let such things stand unchallenged and offered this smart and pointed rebuttal, which you can read here and here. It says a lot about Halstead’s character that to score a point he’s willing to align himself with rapists, transphobes and war criminals.

Edit: I think it’s also telling that the comments are now heavily moderated at his blog on patheos but he’s going around bombarding polytheists as a form of harassment. Like here. Thirteen comments, without any dialogue from the blog owner, is not cool.

Piety Possum says “For shame, Mr. Halstead, for shame.”

opossum

About ganglerisgrove

Galina Krasskova has been a Heathen priest since 1995. She holds a Masters in Religious Studies (2009), a Masters in Medieval Studies (2019), has done extensive graduate work in Classics including teaching Latin, Roman History, and Greek and Roman Literature for the better part of a decade, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Theology. She is the managing editor of Walking the Worlds journal and has written over thirty books on Heathenry and Polytheism including "A Modern Guide to Heathenry" and "He is Frenzy: Collected Writings about Odin." In addition to her religious work, she is an accomplished artist who has shown all over the world and she currently runs a prayer card project available at wyrdcuriosities.etsy.com.

Posted on October 27, 2015, in Uncategorized and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink. 19 Comments.

  1. Lucius Svartwulf Helsen | October 28, 2015 at 12:13 AM

    piety possum, that is awesome XD

    Liked by 2 people

  2. John Halstead | October 28, 2015 at 1:38 AM

    You might want to read Lucius’ blog and make sure you want to lend your support. He is a bit wack even for you.

    Like

    • Krasskova Creations | October 28, 2015 at 2:13 AM

      I’m hardly supporting him. Not sure where you’re seeing that. I am, however, pointing out that he’s refuting a lot of your bullshit. He’s hardly a friend and has given me a hard time before. Such is the nature of the blogosphere.

      Like

  3. thetinfoilhatsociety | October 28, 2015 at 1:45 AM

    Regarding his posts: TL:DR. Whatever. Though maybe I should, it’s always a good laugh to see exactly where his logic fails and he resorts to logical fallacies.

    I think he may be seeing his cushy paid gig as a blogger over with soon. One can certainly hope so anyway.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. aediculaantinoi | October 28, 2015 at 2:34 AM

    I’m so very weary of all this…

    John, if you’re reading this: why does saying “I don’t want to continue this conversation any longer because it’s going nowhere” and that being the (best) answer to peace and respect of differences–which is what I suggested should happen a few weeks ago–end up being responded to with “No, you’re not allowed to walk away from this conversation, I won’t let you” make you think of? This is really starting to sound like a non-consent issue to me. Harassment and stalking are the words that are coming to mind for me.

    Do you really want to prolong that? Are you prepared for what that makes you if you decide that you do, and that it’s “better” to do that? I’m asking very honest questions there, and if you’d like to respond on those, please feel free.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. John Halstead | October 28, 2015 at 2:53 AM

    Lupus, no one makes you read this. No one is “stalking you” or “harassing” you. Get some perspective. I haven’t even commented on your blog. I wrote a response on *my* blog to your post which was directed to me by name. Now, I am responding to people who have written about me by name. If you choose to reengage in the conversation, that’s your choice — you’re welcome to do so or not. No one is twisting your arm.

    Like

    • aediculaantinoi | October 28, 2015 at 8:54 AM

      Remember what you wrote, and realize what you’re saying by it:

      “We will continue to bump up against each other in online and IRL forums.
      So silence is not an option in this case either. We need more conversation, not less.”

      If you’re going to assume that I am speaking for all polytheists in what I have written, then how am I to take a statement like this by you in your piece, which pretty much says that walking away from this conversation is not something you think anyone else can or should do, and it’s clearly not something you’re willing to do simply for peace and a lessening of conflict (which is what I was suggesting)?

      I still owe you a poem, so you won’t be done with me yet. As soon as I can, I’ll have it for you.

      Like

  6. John Halstead | October 28, 2015 at 3:03 AM

    Galina, so I have a serious question. There’s this guy who says he *used to be* a troll and he thinks global warming is caused by Thor, and he’s thumping his chest and calling down his gods to smite me or whatever, and I tell him his gods are bunk. And then some other people who worship Germanic deities get upset and say their gods aren’t bunk. Here’s my question: Why do all people who call their gods by the same names assume they are worshipping the same gods? I don’t think people who do terrible things in the name of Jesus are worshipping the same god as Mother Teresa. And the same goes for Pagan and Polytheists. Are you sure his Thor is your Thor?

    Like

    • Gangleris Grove | October 28, 2015 at 3:10 AM

      I think this is a question that only an atheist or someone who has not dealt with the Gods would ask. Because the Gods are more than emanations of our own unconscious, we recognize Their uniqueness and individuality. Thor is Thor regardless of who is venerating Him. What He asks of us may be different, how we relate to Him may be different, but the God is the God always…and what people on the internet say or don’t say about Him is largely irrelevant to His nature etc. So why are automatically assuming that what this guy says is reflective either of what other people believe or the God Himself. A God’s existence is not dependent upon one’s ability to hear Him accurately and it’s certainly not dependent upon what we post online.

      Liked by 3 people

      • John Halstead | October 28, 2015 at 3:18 AM

        I’m taking it for granted for the purposes of this conversation that the gods are real and are not emanations of our unconscious. Let’s say you have had contact with Thor (sorry, I don’t recall from your writings whether you have, but let’s use it as a hypothetical in any case). Now Lucius says he’s had contact with Thor. Let’s assume he’s had contact with a deity. How do we know you’ve both had contact with the same deity? Mortal people often have the same name. Why assume that the being you are in contact with is the same being he is contact with? I mean, I know you can compare UPG. But it doesn’t seem like that always happens. Folks just assume they are talking about the same being because they are using the same name.

        Like

      • ganglerisgrove | October 28, 2015 at 3:25 AM

        I don’t know that it really matters unless we’re worshipping together. It’s not any of my concern unless we are together, venerating together and in which case, there are ways to determine: divination, certain signs, the Presence. Hell, I have grave suspicions about what some people say about Odin or Loki, especially on tumblr, but i generally keep that to myself unless it becomes a pressing theological issue.

        Like

  7. Alex | October 28, 2015 at 7:58 AM

    It’s crap like this that makes me reluctant to have my own blog.

    Like

  8. John Halstead | October 30, 2015 at 4:00 PM

    To everyone who interpreted my telling a certain person that he was a “sad little person with sad little gods” as referring to their belief in their gods, I apologize. It’s not an excuse, but the spiteful comment by me was made in response to a series of posts where the individual had (among other things) called my children trolls. The comment was not intended to refer to anyone else’s belief in their gods. The lesson to be learned is that when arguing with (self-described) trolls, the trolls always win.

    Like