Spirituality – Page 2

The Trance of Belief: Part I.

Posted on April 27, 2016October 15, 2018 by Gus

I have been both fascinated and appalled at how quickly mostly the political right has abandoned reason and evidence in favor of assertion and arrogance in discussing issues. Here is what I think is going on. I published it in … Read more

Foster Gamble Again

Posted on December 14, 2015December 14, 2015 by Gus

A couple of days ago I received an email from a Pagan list connecting to a “New Paradigm” conference where prominent speakers would be libertarians mixing a dose of conspiracy theory, libertarian boilerplate, and New Age rhetoric into a supposed … Read more

Answering critics of Pagan polytheism

Posted on June 12, 2015 by Gus

Bizarrely some Pagans are trying to claim the term “polytheist” for themselves, and deny it to anyone who looks at the matter differently. In my newest Witches & Pagans post I demonstrate they do not know what they are talking … Read more

Language, Power, Care and Childhood

Posted on May 15, 2015 by Gus

Changes in what words are dropped from the Oxford Junior Dictionary point to troubling shifts in the words that dominate not just adult life, but also that of children I discuss this worrisome trend in The Language of Power and … Read more

Musings on the Solstice in Dark Times

Posted on December 28, 2014 by Gus

These are dark times for anyone with any affection for the liberal values that underlie the best of this country all the way back to our Founders. From ‘patruots’ who understand this country’s principles as well as Fundamentalists and ISIL … Read more

Bernd Heinrich’s “Life Everlasting”: a review essay

Posted on October 19, 2014December 13, 2014 by Gus

This has been cross-posted at Witches and Pagans.

Scientists motivated by a deep love and fascination for the natural world share much of a Pagan sensibility about the world’s intrinsic value without our metaphysics, but with skills of observation … Read more

Considering ‘Privilege’ White, Wiccan, and otherwise.

Posted on April 2, 2014April 2, 2014 by Gus

This is a long post on the mostly bad effects of using the term ‘privilege’ in social and political analysis. I broke it up into three parts at Patheos. Part I dealt with Wiccan privilege. Part II with the concept … Read more

Kent Nerburn’s “The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo”: magnificent at many levels

Posted on December 18, 2013December 19, 2013 by Gus

Kent Nerburn’s new The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo: A Child, an Elder, and the Light from an Ancient Sky is a wonder. The final volume in a trilogy that is neither Western-style history nor fiction, it does what … Read more

Two articles on my new book (written by me).

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Gus

The first is for Witches and Pagans, a name which explains the site, and so its focus is on a Pagan audience.

The second is for Patheos, an interfaith site, and again, the paper is focused … Read more

Pantheism, Paganism, and Tocqueville on the Soul of Democracy

Posted on October 26, 2013 by Gus

I have a new post up on Witches and Pagans that explores how the themes of modern Pagan spirituality appear inherent in a democratic culture… or at least so Alexis Tocqueville believed. Though as a good Catholic he was not … Read more