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I Read Three of the Most Highly Recommended Beginner Books on Wicca
I’m at a point right now where I’m trying to figure out which religious framework is the best fit for my spiritual life. (In case that wasn’t clear from the fact that I literally run a blog about exploring different religions.) Although I love the rich history and culture of the Catholic/Anglican environment I’ve spent most…
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Book Review: Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas by Elaine Pagels
“Spurred on by personal tragedy and new scholarship from an international group of researchers, Pagels returns to her investigation of the ‘secret’ Gospel of Thomas, and breathes new life into writings once thought heretical. As she arrives at an ever-deeper conviction in her own faith, Pagels reveals how faith allows for a diversity of interpretations,…
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Stephen King, “Children of the Corn,” and Childhood Trauma in the Church
It seems like every few months, another religious group makes global news for their abuse of members, specifically children. Catholic priests molesting altar boys. Extremist Muslim groups in Africa mutilating little girls. Pagan teachers extorting teenaged students for sex. Every religion has its monsters. Sacred spaces are typically places where we allow ourselves to be…
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Book Review: The Gospel of Mary of Magdala by Karen L. King
“Lost for more than fifteen hundred years, the Gospel of Mary is the only existing early Christian gospel written in the name of a woman. Unlike the controversial ‘Jesus’ Wife’ gospel fragment, the Gospel of Mary does not claim Mary was married to Jesus. But it does show her to be an important disciple to…
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Book Review: The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels
Today I want to talk about G N O S T I C I S M. Every time you read the word G N O S T I C I S M, imagine that you’re hearing me say it in a hushed, fearful whisper, while somewhere in the distance a funeral bell tolls. A cloud crosses momentarily…
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Book Review: Listening To The Light by Jim Pym
“Quakerism has been a source of inspiration for over 300 years. Combining spirituality with the practical life, its insights have a universal appeal that is particularly relevant to today’s world. Quakers deeply value inner peace and tranquility and believe that there is “that of God” within us all. They also have a compassionate determination to…
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Book Review: The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions by Marcus J. Borg and N. T. Wright
“Was Jesus born of a virgin? Did he know he was the Messiah? Was he bodily resurrected from the dead? Did he intentionally die to redeem humankind? Was Jesus God? In The Meaning of Jesus two leading Jesus scholars with widely divergent views go right to the heart of these questions and others, presenting the…
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Book Review: Irish Paganism: Reconstructing Irish Polytheism by Morgan Daimler
“Irish Reconstructionist Polytheism is an often misunderstood path, but it is one with great richness and depth for those who follow it. This short introductory book touches on the basic beliefs and practices of Irish Polytheism as well as other important topics for people interested in practicing the religion using a Reconstructionist methodology or who…
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Book Review: The Norse Shaman by Evelyn C. Rysdyk
“Reconstructing the shamanic practices of the hunter-gatherers of Scandinavia, Evelyn Rysdyk explores the evolution of Norse shamanism from its earliest female roots to the pre-Christian Viking Age. She explains how to enter Yggdrasil, the World Tree, to travel to other realms and provides shamanic journeys to connect with the ancestral shamans of your family tree, including…
Sam Wise 