Some of them even insist we don't REALLY believe in gods--that they're just 'archetypes'.
x__X Well, they can be SEEN as archetypes, or faces and names for forces of nature, but they are still gods. They are still forces that we work with in our circle. It's incredible the sort of things about paganism that pagans feel ASHAMED of admitting. As if there's anything to be ashamed of! 
Precisely!
There's no one right or wrong way to view the gods--as long as one can acknowledge that they're there, in some form or another.
It's like, what the fuck, man?
There's no one right or wrong way to view the gods--as long as one can acknowledge that they're there, in some form or another.
It's like, what the fuck, man?
And even if the pagan in question has some issues with the terms "god", "goddess" or "deity", all they need to do is re-phrase it. "Great Father", "Great Mother", "Great Male Spirit", "Great Female Spirit" etc, etc, etc. But to pretend they don't exist is to shoot your rituals in the spiritual foot.
It's essentially LaVeyan Satanism, but with pagan gods instead
Pretty much.