What Does It Mean For The Gods To Exist?What is a god? What does it mean to exist? Can one be both an atheist and a Pagan? Do ancient spiritual traditions have any lessons relevant to the Ferguson and Baltimore Uprisings? Could the Buddha legitimately be called a humanistic Pagan? Is nudity - going "skyclad" - too wild for modern spiritual seekers? Does the culture of Burning Man share values with the modern Pagan revival? Explore these and other questions in this collection by one of the most original and outspoken writers in contemporary Paganism. Includes twenty-six pieces by Tom Swiss, including his complete run on the Patheos Pagan "Agora" blog. |
Contents
Preface | 5 |
Martial Arts as Magical Practice | 19 |
The Burners and the Pagans | 33 |
Contemplative Druidry by James Nichol Book Review | 49 |
Religion Identity Practice Doctrine Is and Ought | 63 |
What Does It Mean For the Gods to Exist? | 79 |
The Politically Incorrect Pagan | 97 |
Was the Buddha a Humanistic Pagan? | 115 |
Endnotes | 127 |
Acknowledgments | 135 |
Common terms and phrases
20th century 4chan aesthetic American anatman ancient Atheist Baltimore Bardic blog Bodhidharma Bodhisattva boundaries brick Buddha Buddha Touched Buddhism Burning claim contemplative cops culture Daibutsu dance deities Discordian discussion Druidry Druids drums dukkha enlightenment exist experience Facebook feel Feynman Fire Circle folks Free Spirit Free Spirit Alliance Free Spirit Gathering Goddess gods idea Jizō karate king living look magic Mara martial arts means meditation metaphor mind myth mythology naked nature Neopagan numbers ontological Pagan Atheist Pagan festivals PantheaCon PantyCon Patheos Peelian principle perhaps philosophy Plutarch police practice psychedelic psychedelic drugs racism religion religious ritual Santa Claus Seung Sahn Siddhartha sitting someone sometimes sort spiritual Starwood story student supernatural talking Taoist teaching tell temple Terminus There's things Touched the Earth tree trying understand walking wild Zen Pagan