escaping fundamentalism
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Dealing with door knockers
Read more: Dealing with door knockersMy best ever riposte to some doorstep evangelists was when they asked me “who do you believe is the ruler of this Earth?” And I replied “I don’t believe the Earth can be ruled, I believe that she’s a goddess in her own right”. The doorstep evangelists practically ran away down the front path. The…
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Just visiting
Read more: Just visitingI’ve often referenced these posts by Annika Mongan, which present a fascinating account of what’s happening energetically at evangelical churches, and at Pagan gatherings. I also got independent confirmation of this by speaking to another Wiccan who sees energy as colours (I experience it as changes in temperature) who confirmed that she saw a lot…
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A healing journey
Read more: A healing journeyA new book from Moss Matthey, An apostate’s guide to witchcraft: finding freedom through magic, explores his personal journey from fundamentalist Christianity to witchcraft. Moss writes: This book is about my journey from a fundamentalist Christian cult to the joyous and freeing world of Witchcraft. Blending my personal experience with gentle exercises, this book is for anyone who is…
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Movies and TV
Read more: Movies and TVChanging Paths challenge day 27: movies and TV. Movies and TV that changed my mind / blew my mind.
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Books
Read more: BooksChanging Paths challenge day 25: books đź“š I love reading books. I love writing books. I love talking about books. I love having a to-be-read pile. I love rereading books that I have enjoyed. A book is a little world and its characters are mirrors you can hold up, and try identifying with them to…
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Animals and birds
Read more: Animals and birdsChanging Paths challenge day 10: animals and birds. I love animals and birds and Nature. It feels like such a privilege to see animals and birds in the wild. In our garden we have chipmunks and cardinals and robins and rabbits. We were once visited by a very floofy skunk. We have only seen one…
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Nature
Read more: NatureChanging Paths challenge day 4: Nature. 💚🌿 Many years ago, when I was a child, I was told that the Israeli settlers had planted trees in the desert and made Israel greener. I was told this at an event organized by evangelical Christians. This shows the prevalence of Zionism among evangelical Christians. (1)
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ExVangelical solidarity
Read more: ExVangelical solidarityFantastic article from John Beckett (polytheist UU Druid) on the rise of the ExVangelical movement and how to get the tentacles of Christianity out of your brain.
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Reblog: A weird boy, but definitely a boy
Read more: Reblog: A weird boy, but definitely a boyA weird boy, but definitely a boy: Freestyling it again for chapter 4 of “Changing Paths” This Friday, I’ll be blogging some of my thoughts from reading Chapter 4, “Religion and Gender” of Yvonne Aburrow’s book, Changing Paths… It’s been interesting for me as a man primarily dedicated to and working with Freyja. It seems…
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Alanah Sabatini
Read more: Alanah SabatiniBeautiful music for deconstruction from toxic religions by Alanah Sabatini, who has just released an EP of reclaimed hymns. It’s available on Bandcamp and YouTube now, and on all the major streaming services next Friday: It’s very calming and could be sung as a group. It would work well in Unitarian, Unitarian Universalist, and Pagan…
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Reblog: Reflections on chapter 3
Read more: Reblog: Reflections on chapter 3Being gaily religious and religiously gay: Blogging freestyle for chapter 3 of “Changing Paths.” This week, I want to blog about chapter three of Changing Paths by Yvonne Aburrow… My relationship with my sexuality when I was an evangelical Christian was a complete mess, and not solely because I was gay. For those who may…
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Liberty for some
Read more: Liberty for someSarah Zang hoped to escape her highly controlled home life in 2006.She enrolled as a student at Liberty University in Virginia. She looked forward to making her own decisions, free of her parents’ strict rules. Liberty University, a Christian college, seemed like the perfect haven, promising safety and a community that shared her values. —…
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State funding removed from Norwegian JWs
Read more: State funding removed from Norwegian JWsIn Norway, subject to rules about not being coercive or oppressive, all religious groups can apply for state funding. Due to the JWs’ practice of disfellowshipping and shunning people who leave, including children, the Norwegian government has removed their funding. Friendly Atheist: Norwegian court upholds ban on state funding of Jehovah’s Witnesses
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LGBTQ+ religious trauma
Read more: LGBTQ+ religious traumaReligious trauma still haunts millions of LGBTQ Americans. Some mental health experts are advocating for religious trauma to be considered an official disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Religious trauma occurs when an individual’s religious upbringing has lasting adverse effects on their physical, mental or emotional well-being, according to the Religious…
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We need to talk about miracles
Read more: We need to talk about miraclesThere are many wonderful things that we could classify as miracles: the capacity for love, the beauty of a sunny morning, dew on roses, the ability to paint or compose a masterpiece, and many other natural wonders. Many Pagans believe in healing energies and such; but we tend to regard them as supplementary to conventional…
Changing Paths 