The Gods They Are a Changing
March 25, 2013 By Jason Mankey 1 Comment
. . . . . (Part one of a three part series on the nature of deity)This past Saturday I celebrated Ostara with my local "open" group. We have a history of letting various covens, circles, and individuals present our rituals, so what we do is almost always different from sabbat to sabbat. This time around we had a collection of artists and school-teachers in charge of things and they put together a very "youth oriented" Ostara, so we had art projects, story-time, and a Beatles sing-a-long. … [Read More...]
Hot-Cross Buns (A Recipe, Yes a Recipe)
March 22, 2013 By Jason Mankey 6 Comments
I love to cook, and I generally cook everything in my house from scratch. I'll admit to cheating periodically with a good peanut sauce, but we don't eat a whole lot of packaged or frozen food. I love slow roasting a bird and generously applying olive oil to nearly anything. My hasbrown casserole is divine and my wife calls my potato soup "potato crack" because it's so addictive. Despite my love of cooking, I'm a terrible baker. In fact I only bake once a year, and that once a year is today. … [Read More...]
Jesus and Pagans: A Tired and Divisive Debate
March 20, 2013 By Jason Mankey 51 Comments
I don't worship Jesus, but I'll always defend the rights of Pagans to do so if they so choose. I don't have a stranglehold on truth, nor do any other Pagans I know. Certainly there are those who can define truth in their specific traditions, but in the general scheme of eclectic Paganism it's just not possible. There are certain things that bind us together, and there are certainly things that also help to pull us apart.One of the most damning forces in Modern Paganism is the … [Read More...]
Pagans of the Books
March 19, 2013 By Jason Mankey 4 Comments
Monotheistic faiths often use the term "people of the book" to describe certain religious adherents. The term is most familiar to me from Islam, and the Koran uses that turn of phrase when referring to Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians. It's also sometimes used in Judaism in a self-referential sort of way. One group that the term has never been applied to are Pagans, both Modern and Classical, which is fine with me. We aren't people of the book. Sure, we have books of ritual, and we … [Read More...]
Pope Watch 2013
March 14, 2013 By Jason Mankey 8 Comments
"I adore thee Mother Mary, but would you change me back to a Witch?" -Richard Shindell (from the song "On A Sea of Fleur-De-Lis")That line pretty much sums up my feelings about "Pope Watch 2013." I love the pomp and circumstance of the the Catholic Church on occasion, and never more so then when a new Pope is being installed. There's something about the crowd, which feels less like a gathering of the faithful and more like a bunch of punters at a (European) football match, and the beauty of … [Read More...]
Eostre, Easter, Ostara, Eggs, and Bunnies
March 12, 2013 By Jason Mankey 2 Comments
(An earlier version of this piece appeared on Agora last Spring. It's been updated, changed and reworked, but if you are a long-time Patheos Pagan reader you might recognize a paragraph or three.)I kind of celebrate Easter. I know that to a lot of Pagans that's a sort of blasphemy, and if you grew up in a household lacking such traditions I totally get it. However, if you grew up with Easter egg hunts, baskets full of jelly beans, and huge ham dinners it's hard to leave all of that behind. … [Read More...]
25 Most Influential People in the Birth of Modern Paganism (Top 5)
March 7, 2013 By Jason Mankey 43 Comments
The response to this series has far exceeded my expectations, which is of course both flattering and terrifying. If you are just coming aboard you are at the end of a 3-part series highlighting the people I think have been most important to Modern Paganism over the last 200 years. Part one looked at ten European pioneers, while part two focused on their eleven American cousins. Interspersed with those two lists were some smaller lists featuring people who just missed the cut or might make the … [Read More...]
25 Most Influential People in the Birth of Modern Paganism (American Wing)
March 6, 2013 By Jason Mankey 23 Comments
Who doesn’t love a good list and a short history lesson at the same time? Modern Paganism has been influenced by countless people over the past 200 years, but only twenty-five of them (give or take) made my list. Today’s installment looks at Ten Americans (sorry Canada) who have made (and in most cases continue to make) significant contributions to the development and practice of Modern Paganism. If you missed the previous "European Wing" installment please catch up! Part three features my … [Read More...]
25 Most Influential People in the Birth of Modern Paganism (European Wing)
March 5, 2013 By Jason Mankey 25 Comments
Who doesn't love a good list and a short history lesson at the same time? Modern Paganism has been influenced by countless people over the past 200 years, but only twenty-five of them made my list. This installment looks at ten Europeans who made invaluable contributions to Modern Paganism. Part two of this series look at eleven Americans who also played a large role in Paganism's rebirth. The third and final installment is a "Top 5" list and contains all the people you thought would be in … [Read More...]
Myth as Myth (A few hours with “The Bible” TV Mini-Series)
March 4, 2013 By Jason Mankey 6 Comments
I'm a sucker for religious programs and historical dramas. Put the word "Bible" into the title of a basic cable series and I'm usually there. (Oh, how I miss you Mysteries of the Bible!) If you share my passion for all things religious and spiritual you might have stumbled across The History Channels's The Bible last night, produced by Mark Burnett (Survivor) and Roma Downey (Touched By an Angel). I found the show pretty awful across the board (though the actors certainly seemed to be giving it … [Read More...]
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