You could assume that a person who writes about the diminishing quality of education in America would be able to write a critical essay sans ad hominem attacks or without lowering himself to a level far below those he denigrates. However, in his article Strange Gods: Neo-paganism on campus, Peter Wood writes with a tone that can only be described as a singsong "Nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah-nyah!" in an out-of-tune minor third as he spews forth his "more intelligent than thou" rhetoric alongside the now cliché "holier than thou" arguments that Neo-Pagans constantly face. He could have at least done some research on the subject before writing his diatribe.

He begins with a quote from a discussion he had with a Pagan on his campus, describing the Pagan at the point of tears as he angrily faced off with Mr. Wood. Somehow I doubt that Mr. Wood's "questioning whether 'neo-paganism' [sic] ought to be one of the officially recognized religions at [his] university" was as innocent as he portrays. To give Mr. Wood the benefit of the doubt, perhaps "Mr. Beltane" truly was not secure in his beliefs and became defensive at innocent questioning. Certainly there are those who read too far into questions to try to find attacks within the words. However, any sympathy the reader might have for Mr. Wood's face-off with a person he describes as a part of a religion whose members are "confused, deluded, and generally dim" is lost as he continues on his merry way to proclaim his alleged superiority over another religious population on campuses across America.

While Mr. Wood dismisses "Mr. Beltane's" claims of following an ancient tradition, he then proceeds to shoot himself in the foot as he, himself, throws in the logical fallacy of argumentum ad antiquitam, or arguing that X (Christianity) is better than Y (Neo-Paganism) because X is older. He claims there is a difference between "the two-thousand-year tradition of Christianity" and Neo-Paganism. At the same time, he says "to find the students who are religiously serious, one heads off campus to congregations such as the evangelical Park Street Church." Somehow it is doubtful that even his cited church, which is less than 200 years old, has been practicing Christianity as it was practiced two thousand years ago by the Gnostics, believed to be the first "Christians" to claim the title. It must also be mentioned that if "Mr. Beltane's" tradition has been passed down to him through his father from his grandfather and great grandfather, it can be surmised that "Mr. Beltane's" tradition is at least 100 years old, given 25 years per generation…far older than many individual churches in America.

In that same paragraph, Mr. Wood loudly proclaims his beliefs in Christianity, and then follows it up with his lack of knowledge of Neo-Paganism, making me question his motives for his rant. For example, he mentions the Wiccan "adage" and quotes it as simply, "Do what thou wilt," while then attributing it to merely a shortened version of Aleister Crowley's "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law." Mr. Wood is only half correct on both counts. He conveniently leaves out the first part of the Wiccan Rede: "An it harm none," and later omits the end of Crowley's quote, "Love is the Law. Love under Will." Considering the entirety of Crowley's version is found on the same page in his The Book of the Law, and the Wiccan Rede can be found on any Wiccan website, it is my belief that his omission of the quotes in their entirety, then questioning if they have the right to be placed beside the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule as ethical injunctions, is his underhanded way of hinting that Wiccans and Neo-Pagans alike have little to no ethics comparable to other religions. Neo-Pagans know he has misquoted Crowley and the Wiccan Rede, but cannot deny his sources, fragmented as they may be. What Wood is ultimately doing is trying to convince people who do not know much about Neo-Paganism that Neo-Pagans are without morals or codes of law, and merely follow "a jumble of magical formulas and invocations to miscellaneous gods and goddesses." This sly act of libel against Neo-Pagans is continued later when he suggests that, in the name of diversity, student worshippers of Ba'al should be allowed to "invite Ba'al to the table for an ecumenical meal." Of all deities to choose from, why does Wood pick one often misrepresented as an equivalent of Satan if not to attack the character of Neo-Pagans? He then commits the fallacy of interrogation by posing the complex question, "Is a movement that disdains the goal of intellectual coherence a worthy addition to a university community?" I do agree with this statement: a movement that disdains intellectual coherence is not a worthy addition to a university community. However, with my years of experience as the leader of a campus Pagan group at a top-ranked private university and webmaster of College Wicca, I can assure you that Neo-Paganism is no such movement. By asking a yes/no question that cannot be answered simply without being placed in a bad light Mr. Wood shows his true colors in all their bitter tones.

Since when does following one religion mean that a person is of a lower intellect or is opposed to being intellectual? Most Neo-Pagans are avid readers who study a large variety of subjects that help them on their spiritual paths. While I majored in French and Business, I also took several courses that, while aiding my major field of study, also helped my spirituality. I took courses in etymology (particularly Latin and Greek), a course called "Ancient Rome in Film and Fiction" which compared the fictional view of the Roman Empire at the dawn of Christianity to the history behind it, as well as Greek Mythology, which explained the circumstances of Greek civilization to explain their myths. The three courses in conjunction helped me later decipher some of the linguistic and cultural intricacies of historical Paganism. I also took courses in anthropology, religion, women's studies, and literature to try to grasp a broader view of how spirituality fits in with my personal corner of the world. These are just a few of the subjects in school, not including the history, literature, religion, psychology, and even the theoretical sciences I studied in my free time, and they all helped my religious path grow and be defined.

My religion continues to develop with me as I develop, and the same can be said for anyone in any particular religion. We are all always taking in new information. Some choose to deny that information based on their religious beliefs, but those who even consider the new information will inevitably change their own perspectives over time. A Christian may still remain a Christian after learning something new about evolution, for example, however her beliefs will shift, even if only a little, but she will no longer follow the exact same system as she did previously. The important fact is that she remains aware of her path, not denying that changes occur. Change is inevitable, and while she may remain in the same church or even move on to a different denomination, she is still molding her path to her new beliefs. Neo-Pagans are no different.

Again, Mr. Wood is half-correct about Neo-Pagans freely admitting they "make it up" as they go. Learning new things and changing with them is what growing is all about. We are all always learning, in and out of college. By taking various courses that welcomed a large variety of viewpoints, from the scientific to the philosophical, I had to constantly question and define my own beliefs according to what I thought to be "true" in the world. I then formed my religion around those beliefs, not my beliefs around a religion, and became true to my Deity and myself. To put it into perspective, it would be wrong for an atheist at heart who simply cannot believe in God/Goddess/Deity/Spirit in any form to try to claim any religion that centers on a deity. In the same manner, if I don't believe in the Norse deities, the Hindu deities, or the Judeo-Christian deities, I cannot honestly claim those religions as my own. I would be lying to myself and making an attempt to lie to my Creator. I also think that belief is what creates the religious experience. For some people, sitting in a pew while listening to a religious authority is enough for them to feel religiously sated. Others may believe that hopping on one foot while naked and howling at the moon to the tune of La Bamba is necessary for a successful religious experience. If all conditions are not met, the people will not feel they made any connection to their deity at all.

The whole purpose of religion in the first place is to connect with Deity (whatever name you may give it) in some way. In fact, the etymology of the word religion means just that: The act of (-ion) connecting (LIG-) back (re-) to something greater than the self. The word has nothing to do with the age of a particular religion, nor to which Deity/Creator/Spirit one chooses to connect to. If a person truly believes he was created by the Almighty Dopefish and must perform all his rituals in the water, no other method will qualify as a religion to him. While there are those who make mockeries of religion, the one thing that Mr. Wood fails to realize is that the good majority of Neo-Pagans are serious about what they do. They may call upon "God" by names different from what Mr. Wood uses, but they are no less sincere in their desire to connect with the greater force in the universe.

There will always be those who are not up to the intellectual par as the Neo-Pagans I tended to associate with, but the same can be said for any religion. One thing I can say in the defense of Neo-Pagans, particularly those raised in another religion, is that at least they decided to explore for a religion that felt right to them, rather than sticking to their original religion just because an authority told them to stay put. The natural curiosity found in Neo-Pagans is a trait I believe should be admired, not insulted. Neo-Pagans will always think outside the box, despite people like Mr. Wood pigeonholing them into stereotypes as being dim-witted fools, "nutty," and dragging down the standards of higher education.

Mr. Wood's word jockeying is a deliberate attempt to harm the reputation the entire Neo-Pagan community, as he never gives any proof of how Neo-Pagans are less intellectual than any other religious group. However, his statements are carefully worded to make the average reader agree with him without questioning his motives. Higher education is not in trouble because of Neo-Pagans on campus. The only threat to higher education is the arrogant pandering of "I'm right, you're wrong" by people like Mr. Wood. If you do not agree with him or even do so much as question him, he deems you as being of a lesser intellect and a detriment to the university setting, while he then lowers himself further by reducing his arguments to name-calling. His own words do not prove him to be more intellectual than anyone else. His blatant logical fallacies only prove himself deceitful and untrustworthy. If his is the kind of intellect that we should strive to achieve, I for one am glad I am a steadfast Neo-Pagan.