Should Christians make a big deal out of Easter?  Should Pagans go all out for Beltane?  Are special holidays worth the trouble?   Here’s an interesting essay by Bruce Reyes-Chow, a Presbyterian minister who’s calling on his congregation to “Stop Making a Big Deal Out of Easter Worship.” He calls it “activity that ends up with people who are burned out and a worship service that looks nothing like the service that is held on a normal Sunday,” says that... Read more

If you really pay attention you may have noticed a change in the blog roll earlier today. The new addition is No Unsacred Place, a new blog on “Earth and Nature in Pagan Traditions.” It’s part of the Pagan Newswire Collective and it will cover religion, spirituality and the environment from a Pagan perspective. I’ll be blogging there once a week or so, plus I’ll be writing a monthly column titled “The Sacred in Suburbia”. Suburbs have a rather bad... Read more

Three occasions for one to speak falsehood without excuse: to save the life of one who is innocent, to keep the peace among neighbours, and to preserve the Wise and their crafts – a Druid triad Lucinda Breeding of the Denton Record-Chronicle (better known as Cindy to Denton UUs) has a new column discussing the “It Gets Better” campaign, which attempts to reduce LGBT youth suicides by telling the stories of people who have been through what they’ve been through... Read more

Here’s an interesting article on polytheism from a Hindu perspective by Ramdas Lamb, a Professor of Religion at the University of Hawaii. There has been a fair amount of Pagan-Hindu dialogue recently (including several panels at February’s Pantheacon) and I think it’s helpful to see how our views compare and contrast. Professor Lamb begins with the proposition that “No human has demonstrable or irrefutable proof for or against a belief in a divinity or a lack thereof.” Therefore “we should... Read more

Is Gandhi in hell? Is Hitler in heaven? Evangelical pastor Rob Bell’s new book Love Wins has caused quite a controversy in Christian circles. Some see it as a breath of fresh air while others simply call it heresy. I’ve been a universalist since before I understood the term, but I grew up in an evangelical church and I wanted see for myself what Bell had to say “about heaven, hell, and the fate of every person who ever lived.”... Read more

The Chocolate Ritual.  More pictures on the Denton CUUPS Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/DentonCuups I take my religion seriously. Though I attempt to sprinkle humor throughout my rituals, sermons, writings and practices, for the most part what I say and what I do is serious. My religion is important to me, and I want to give it the respect and the depth it deserves. But every now and then even I have to loosen up. When we were planning our circle... Read more

Thorn Coyle has a new essay on her blog titled “Theologies of Justice” where she discusses some of the Catholics she’s worked with and their deep commitment to social justice. She references Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was assassinated 30 years ago in El Salvador, as well as priests and nuns who have gone to jail in this country for protesting nuclear weapons. Many of the comments on Thorn’s blog emphasize that Paganism doesn’t need martyrs – a position I’m inclined... Read more

In the most recent Standing Stone and Garden Gate podcast, Brendan Myers presents – and then refutes – Pascal’s Wager. As with all the podcasts Brendan and his partner Juniper do, this one is entertaining, enlightening, and well worth your time. I’m glad to see the professional philosopher tackle one of the most annoying attempts to make exclusive Christianity seem reasonable. Pascal’s Wager says that it is more reasonable to believe in God (who, of course, is the God of... Read more

Spring is a season of faith. Not the kind of faith that asks us to believe that Ra spoke and the sun rose and the winds blew, nor the kind of faith that asks us to believe that beyond death there is peace and freedom and reunion with those who have gone before. There’s a place for that kind of faith, but that’s the faith of Samhain. The faith of Spring and the faith of Ostara is the faith of... Read more