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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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Religion and Mythology in Dark Souls
“The eyes show a world destitute of fire, a barren plane of endless darkness. A place born of betrayal. So I will’d myself Lord, to link the fire, to paint a new vision.” – Ludleth of Courland, Dark Souls 3 “Like a moth drawn to a flame, your wings will burn in anguish. Time after…
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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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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: 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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Where Is Christianity’s Goddess?
A quick survey of popular religions around the world will make one thing abundantly clear — humans are naturally drawn to the concept of the Divine Feminine. Sometimes this Goddess appears alone as a representation of the creative forces of the universe. Often, She is paired with a male counterpart. The Hindu Trimurti (the masculine…
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Where Did Satan Come From?
Lucifer. Belial. Lord of the Flies. Prince of Darkness. Satan. The Devil. Most of us who come from a Judeo-Christian background, or who at least grew up in a culture where Christianity is the dominant religion, recognize some or all of these names. We all have at least a vague concept of the being behind…
Sam Wise 