Thoughts on the year in music, the future of Patheos Pagan, and the usual gripes and complaints about blogging. Seriously, I’ve had a great year, thank you all so much.
The New Testament and the Nativity
December 19, 2012 By 14 Comments
The Bible says very little about the birth of Jesus, and what it does say is often contradictory. What’s actually in there and is it literally true? Many people think they know the story of Jesus’ birth, yet what they know is an amalgamation of story and tradition and is quite different from what the New Testament tells its readers.
Yule Ritual 2012
December 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Yule has long been one of my favorite Pagan high holy days. There’s a festive spirit in the air, and though most people don’t know it, most of them are celebrating right along with us (even if it’s a few days later). On the Winter Solstice we celebrate the return of the Sun and we do so with joy and love and devotion to our gods.
Noah’s Ark (Or Why Does Some Mythology Get a Free Pass?)
December 13, 2012 By 3 Comments
Noah has more in common with King Arthur or Hercules than he does with any known historical personage. He’s a character from the land of myth, but you’ll never here that in the mainstream media. Why are certain mythologies considered true in a literal sense, and others assigned to the realm of fantasy?
Pagans and The Hobbit
December 10, 2012 By 20 Comments
Friday brings yet another installment in Peter Jackson’s translation of Tolkien to the big screen. Middle Earth is in my Pagan (and geek) DNA, and to say I’m excited is probably an understatement.
The Mayan Calendar and the End of the World
December 6, 2012 By 31 Comments
About a year and a half ago I sat on a “Pagan Panel” with such luminaries as Selena Fox, Christopher Penczak, and Raven Grimassi. We were asked how the end of the Mayan calendar would affect Pagans. I answered honestly, “Well, when December 21st comes around, I’ll probably be at the bar.”
Christmas Is Not Yours or Mine: The True Origins of the Holiday Season
December 4, 2012 By 28 Comments
Every year I hear the same refrain “Put Christ back in Christmas,” and every year I shake my head. No one faith owns Christmas, it’s a combination of various elements, some pagan, some Christian, some Jewish, and some cultural. Christmas is not yours or mine, it simply is, and it belongs to anyone who cherishes it.
Outside Looking In (or Is Anybody Really Listening?)
December 1, 2012 By 13 Comments
Are the “controversies” that inspire the Pagan Blogosphere actually the issues that we as a community are wrestling with on a day to day basis? Or is there just a small group of Pagans shouting at each other in some small corner of the internet while everyone else is at circle singing whatever chant we are all still allowed to sing together?
Wrestling with Esbats
November 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment
I’ve been running a small circle in my living room since March of this year. It’s been rather informal, while sticking to a few of the ritual tropes that my wife and I have been using for the last few years. When we were first starting out we met simply for esbats (more technically on [...]
On Vacation, But Links and Stuff (and Cats)!!!
November 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment
I’m taking a few days off for Thanksgiving, but thought I would provide a few links and other things until I return on Monday (or Tuesday). Lots of great stuff coming up in December, and then lots of traveling and other assorted things in January and February (some of it will be really crazy!). And [...]
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