paganism
Halloween: Your Questions, Answered
Halloween’s origins lie in the Celtic mists of carved turnips, bonfires and celebrations of life and death. It’s always been a fun/spooky time of year since, of course, the flipside of harvest is utter desolation and fleece socks. The Irish brought Halloween to America, where it became a children’s holiday. Tots were free to wear…
It’s All Fun and Games Until Odin Gets Eaten by a Wolf
You may have seen the links going around. Certainly I have, though I guess I’m an obvious target. “Vikings of the World Unite: The Apocalypse is Upon Us.” “Viking apocalypse: End of the world predicted to happen on Saturday (but don’t cancel your weekend plans yet.)” Word on the street is that Ragnarök is scheduled…
Only the End of the World Again
I don’t think there’s much point in reiterating the genesis of this post; if you’re reading Killing the Buddha, I’m guessing that you’re exposed to the same media universe as the rest of us, and you’re aware that a significant portion of the population believes a significant portion of the population believes the world is…
Mother Earth, Father Time
I watched her go. I did not follow. My friends all said I should have, but I didn’t.
Buddha-killing The Avengers: Puny God
Behold, Part 2 of the epic saga ‘Buddha-killing The Avengers’! Today’s dispatch comes to us from KtB contributing editor Eric Scott, who has written lots of great stories about life in contemporary paganism–including two wonderful exegeses on the Marvel careers of Thor and Loki, characters who reside in the Norse-mythological realm of Asgard. His Buddha-killing…
Belief-O-Matic Results!
I took BeliefNet’s Belief-O-Matic test and here are the results. Check out #1 and #27 out of #27. OK. Fine. I’ll light some candles and don a shawl and pray to the Goddess. Oh wait. I already do that. The first shall be last and the last shall be first, Belief-O-Matic. Click any Faith for…
What Does Eric Scott Really Believe?
Eric Scott’s recent essay on KtB, “Valhal-Mart,” keeps arousing controversy. First, it was his alleged insensitivity to how Hollywood treats Christianity. Now, his own pagan religious beliefs are under attack. Buddha-killer Alex Rose takes an especially serious swipe, in lower case: this guy is a phony. however engaging his story or compelling the subject of spirituality and…
Hollywood Messes with Christianity, Too
In another letter about Eric Scott’s “Valhal-Mart,” Alexandra Erin writes: I really have to disagree with the contention near the end of Eric Scott’s posting “Valhal-Mart”. While it must be remembered that Christianity enjoys a very privileged position in our culture and thus can’t claim to be injured by off-target pop culture depictions, the fact…
Season of the Witch
Tea Party candidates aside, I’m always thrilled by the pagan good times offered by Halloween, and what is now called the Halloween season. We are approaching the time of year when many cultures consider the membrane between the worlds to be the thinnest. I enjoy celebrating the Feast of All Saints on November 1st, and…
Pagan Retention Rates
Deborah Lipp from New York writes in about Eric Scott’s recent essay, “Lughnasadh“: I can’t thank you enough for this. As one of those Pagan parents who dragged The Kid to rituals and Pagan festivals, I am moved to near tears by how our children grow. Today my son is a young man who has…
