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Pagan

2016-05-19T00:00:13-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

An Anarchist Goes To Court

Last updated on: May 19, 2016 at 12:00 am By Tom Swiss

Thornley drew an interesting parallel between this power of the state and the mental and spiritual power of organized religion. One of my treasures is a signed copy of his book Zenarchy, which the author adorned with a sketch of a tiger and the words "Kill the Buddha! Smash the State!" I can't speak for Lord Omar, but it seems clear that he's drawing an analogy with the famous advice of the Zen master Linji: "If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him!" Read more

Discordianism

Ethics, Virtue, and Right Living

2016-08-02T15:37:49-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

When the Land Changes

Last updated on: August 2, 2016 at 3:37 pm By Tom Swiss

Every bit of land has its own spirit, its genius loci, its kami, call it what you will, but accidents of geography and history make it more palpable in some places than others. I can remember stopping to fill my gas tank one summer day, the most mundane of tasks, standing at the pumps at the High's store-cum-Shell station on Frederick road, with the steep rock face maybe fifty feet high behind it and the river itself winding through trees right across the street, and a moment of silence with no cars driving by, just the breeze rustling the trees, and feeling of welcome and belonging, as if the forest spirit had put a hand on my shoulder and given a friendly nod. Read more

My Blogging Life and Times

land spirits

2016-05-10T11:16:26-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Religious Liberty: Something Pastafarians and Evangelicals Both Deserve

Last updated on: May 10, 2016 at 11:16 am By Tom Swiss

Now, basic concern for others and a reluctance to use state force against them ought to be enough to make us respect the basic liberties of others, even people who are wrong. But there's also a very good self-centered practical reason: when we protect the rights of others, we protect our own. We give the Devil himself the benefit of the law so that the same protection cannot be taken from us Read more

Discordianism

Ethics, Virtue, and Right Living

Religion & Politics

Pastafarianism

religious liberty

2016-05-05T00:24:56-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

What Would Luke Skywalker Do?

Last updated on: May 5, 2016 at 12:24 am By Tom Swiss

Forget the lousy prequels and shun the "special editions" with their pointless effects and plot changes. (Han. Shot. First.) Let J.J. Abrams' fun but hollow fan fiction wash over you but don't take it seriously. Those few seconds of Return of the Jedi about the moral choice we face, about understanding how others can fail in making that choice, about finding compassion even for people who have done horrible things, about the ever-present possibility of redemption, justifies everything about the original trilogy. Read more

Culture

Ethics, Virtue, and Right Living

Jedi

Star Wars

2016-04-20T22:23:46-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A “420” Miracle

Last updated on: April 20, 2016 at 10:23 pm By Tom Swiss

Not to sound like a stoned dorm room conversation, but the whole experience is a reminder to me of how connected our lives are, and how contingent they are, how anything can change in an instant. Ian's work has touched thousands of people, their lives would be different -- in ways subtle or large -- without him. On that April night there were other people there to help, but I think it would have taken longer for that to get organized if I wasn't there; so in an indirect but real way, my life has touched theirs. Read more

Ethics, Virtue, and Right Living

My Blogging Life and Times

420

CPR

Telesma

2016-04-18T00:07:23-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Render Unto Caesar — But Not My Flesh

Last updated on: April 18, 2016 at 12:07 am By Tom Swiss

There are things that must always be taken as beyond the authority of kings and legislatures and the voting public. Even in the best possible utopian state, there are things that we deal with not as citizens but as seekers, shamans, kosmos and prophets en masse, priests unto ourselves. Some things are, in word, sacred. Read more

Ethics, Virtue, and Right Living

Religion & Politics

politics

taxes

2016-04-15T13:00:59-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

“The Walking Dead”, Meta-Narrative, The Nature of Horror, and Human Sacrifice

Last updated on: April 15, 2016 at 1:00 pm By Tom Swiss

Horror might be defined as the subgenre of speculative fiction that sets out to disturb the emotions in order to investigate the boundaries of the human condition....In other words, you are supposed to be upset. Disturbed. Displaced and discomforted. Read more

2016-04-09T20:49:59-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

What Is A Black Belt? Initiation in the Martial Arts

Last updated on: April 9, 2016 at 8:49 pm By Tom Swiss

Those who don't train or are new to the martial arts often think of a black belt as denoting mastery. But really it means only a competence in the basics. We call the first black belt rank "shodan", which means "beginner's rank." (The "sho" here is the same as "shoshin", "beginner's mind/heart".) It's an important milestone but traditional martial arts are a lifetime pursuit and one does not master them in the handful of years it takes to earn shodan ranking. Read more

My Blogging Life and Times

Zen

martial arts

2016-03-26T19:19:40-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Why Batman v. Superman Matters

Last updated on: March 26, 2016 at 7:19 pm By Tom Swiss

Batman and Superman matter, because the tales of the superheroes are our modern myths. By “superheroes” here I mean not just the DC and Marvel pantheons, but all the larger-than-life heroes of popular speculative fiction: Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, Frodo and Sam, Kirk and Spock. These stories are to a modern American what the tales of Heracles and Jason and Apollo were to a citizen of ancient Athens. Read more

2017-02-26T23:14:55-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Gods Are Like Golden Apples

Last updated on: February 26, 2017 at 11:14 pm By Tom Swiss

A golden apple is no trinket. You don't just pop over to the produce aisle of your local supermarket and pick one up. Retrieving a golden apple was the penultimate labor of Heracles, and it was not a trivial task. But we're asked to believe that Eris repeated one of the greatest feats of Heracles in order to pull off a prank? I don't think so. Read more

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