The Pagan Myth of ‘Therianism’

The truth that mankind is different from animals by creation is unsurprisingly under attack in this era in which the culture-makers are following a resolute agenda to de-Christianise Christendom. This process of de-Christianisation is not meant to lead society toward a vacuum however. Rather, the de-Christianisation process is combined with a process of repaganisation of society. Paganism rests on pantheistic assumptions. It posits that everything is one, and thus, it spreads the belief that all distinctions are just an illusion. This worldview must therefore accept no distinction within reality. It therefore needs to spread the myth of transgenderism or androgyny to break the difference between man and woman. But this is just the first step toward the implementation of a pantheistic worldview.  

The logical next step is the breakdown of distinction between mankind and animals. Such a breakdown is beginning to be promoted under the name of therianism. In 2024, several Finnish television channels reported a new phenomenon of people who called themselves ‘therians’. What did they mean ? According to a website promoting this phenomenon,  

Therians are individuals who identify deeply with a particular animal species, even though they don’t have the physical traits of that animal. They often engage in behaviors related to their animal identity and may experience shifts, where they feel the urge to act like their animal or recall past lives as specific animals.[1] 

This bizarre idea rests on clear pantheistic presuppositions. And as we will see, these presuppositions, when put together, will make this whole structure of thoughts collapse upon itself. So what are these presuppositions? 

The first and most obvious one is that there is no distinction between animals and mankind. According to the pantheistic worldview, everything evolved from a common primeval egg. We thus deceive ourselves when we think that mankind and animals could form distinct categories, when in fact, everything comes from the same egg.  

Secondly, reincarnation is also presupposed in the definition of therianism, since it makes room for the possibility of previous lives. Most people associate the belief in reincarnation with Hinduism. Yet, reincarnation must also be a logical consequence of the pantheistic presupposition that all must be one. For pantheism to be complete, the distinction between life and death must also be eliminated. Reincarnation is the ultimate hope of pantheism. It is to pantheism what the resurrection is to Christianity. 

The third presupposition may not appear clearly in the definition, but can be easily inferred from it. A therian is believed to be someone who recalls past lives as specific animals. In other words, the soul of the therian, now trapped in a human body, used to be in the body of an animal in a previous life. For this to be so, therianism must presuppose that soul and body are separate entities. 

This last presupposition make the whole pantheistic structure of thought collapse upon itself. “All is one” means that there is no distinction between man and animal, nor that there is any distinction between life and death. So far, so good. But in order to justify that a soul now trapped in a human body used to be in an animal body in a previous life, the soul and the body must be seen as separate entities. There is no more room for the pantheistic “all is one” here. In other words, the pantheism which undergirds therianism collapses upon itself. Here, we see that these purely arbitrary ideas do not form a coherent body of thought. Therianism is thus a man-made myth. 

By contrast, the Biblical worldview which has defined the nations of Christendom for centuries, is the only system of belief that does not leave room for such myths. Only the Bible reveals that man is created different from animals. Moreover, this difference can only be understood in terms of man’s relation to God, i.e. man is made in the image of God. Thus, with the advent of anti-Christianity in Christendom in the form of humanism, the basis for the fundamental difference of mankind with the animals was lost. Ironically, it was humanism itself that removed all grounds to believe that man was different than animals. The damage was certainly not visible immediately. But two centuries later, the myth of therianism reveals how disastrous the replacement of Christianity by humanism was for Christendom. 

According to the Bible, God created man in His own image (Genesis 1:26). He made man to be just a little lower than Himself (Psalm 8:5). God teaches more to us than to the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the air (Job 35:11). These facts are unique to mankind. They are not true for animals. But our differences with animals are not limited facts related to our identity (ontology). Man has also a very different function than the animals in God’s creation. God made man to rule over the works of His hands (Genesis 1:27). God put everything under his feet, including all animals (Psalm 8:6-8). This is why God strongly condemns bestiality: 

If a man lies with an animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal. If a woman approaches any animal and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. (Leviticus 20:15-16) 

In light of the current wave of repaganisation of the nations of Christendom, some drastic measures must be taken. Firstly, these nations must acknowledge the fundamental differences between mankind and animals as defined by the Bible. Secondly, such recognition must be seen in the education provided to the children. The biblical understanding of man must be taught to the children from the earliest age. Thirdly, from a legal perspective, God’s law must be endorsed again. This means that therianism and bestiality (its logical consequence) must be legally condemned.  

Ultimately, therianism is a position of rebellion against God’s definition of mankind and animal. It is therefore a position of rebellion against God himself. God destroyed the nations of Canaan because of such practices. Therefore, unless the nations of Christendom repent, such rebellion will lead them to a similar kind of destruction (see Leviticus 18:24-25).  

[1]“What is Therian – Explained,” Therian Test, May 20, 2024, https://theriantest.com/what-is-a-therian-explained/.