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An Open Letter to Christian Witches
On this blog, I often champion the idea that witchcraft is a practice, not a religion, and that a witch can practice any religion, provided that religion does not explicitly forbid witchcraft. I still very much believe this, and the point of this post is not to tell Christians that they can’t be witches. However,…
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Cults? In my life? It’s more likely than you think.
In my last post, I talked about how the Law of Attraction and Christian prosperity gospel both use the same thought control techniques as cults. I’ve received several public and private replies to that post: some expressing contempt for “sheeple” who can be lead astray by cults, and others who say my post made…
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The Law of Attraction, Prosperity Gospel, and Other Ways of Controlling How People Think
In the words of Rhonda Byrne, who brought the Law of Attraction to popular consciousness with her book The Secret:“Life doesn’t just happen to you; you receive everything in your life based on what you’ve given.” Or, to put it even more bluntly: “You attract to you what you think about most.” At…
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A Universalist Perspective on Easter
(Cover image for this post is “And He Rose: The Resurrection” by Vincent Barzoni.) Note: When I use the terms “univeralist” and “universalism,” I’m talking about the concept of underlying themes or principles that all religions share in common, and the idea that these common themes are more important than surface-level differences. This is…
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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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A New Year’s House Blessing
We moved into a new home at the very end of December, and I thought that a house blessing would be a really nice way to celebrate this new beginning and ring in the new year. Especially since we’re renting and don’t know the people who lived here before us, I wanted to do something…
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Do I Believe in Demons and Demonic Possession?
It is a dark winter night. Fog looms over the streets of a secluded neighborhood. A figure strolls through the gloom, his heavy coat not quite concealing his white priest’s collar. He stops at a house positioned at the end of a lonely street, as if it has been forced away from the rest of…
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Christmas, Yule, and the Cycle of Rebirth
I haven’t gotten to do much for Christmas this year. Between college finals, my jobs, and leasing my first apartment (which, by the way, is a thing that happened!), the last month of my life has been a whirlwind. I’ve barely had time to sleep between study sessions, work, and home inspections, let alone bake…
Sam Wise 