Tag: Dialogue
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Closing the Comments at Bishop in the Grove
I’ve decided to close the comments at Bishop in the Grove. It’s something I’ve considered for some time, but in recent days it’s become clear that this would be a good decision to make for my own well being. Let me explain a bit of why this seems like the right choice. I blog about […]
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To meat or not to meat
To meat or not to meat. That, apparently, is a hot button issue. I brought it up yesterday on Facebook and Twitter (rather apolitically, I might add). I think I accidentally became a vegetarian yesterday. — Teo Bishop (@TeoBishop) October 1, 2013 That was it. What followed, particularly in the thread of comments on Facebook, […]
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Where Does Love Fit into Pagan and Polytheist Traditions?
I am not a Christian, but I have no problem with placing love at the center of my religious ideology. (That I should feel the need to qualify the centrality of love with an “I am not” statement is notable.) When I check in with my desire, my deepest yearning, I discover love. It’s there, […]
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Be Nice, Pagans. Be Nice Polytheists. Be Nice.
I had occasion to speak to a very nice, young man last week about online etiquette. For me, what it boils down to is this: Be nice. It may seem simplistic, or perhaps reductive to some. But, I think it’s a good rule. Be nice when you talk to people, whether you know them or […]
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Yule on HuffPost and the Question of Decentralization
What a week this has been. The SDF liturgy is live, and the response has been tremendous. I don’t have any way of knowing what the perspective is from every person participating, and I kind of prefer that for the moment. It may seem that I’m coordinating some massively social endeavor, but there is still […]
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Liturgy And A Cocktail
Let me try to explain how I’m feeling right now. When I exhale, my breath shakes a little. Not the crying kind of shake, but almost the laughing kind of shake. My fingers are cold, which is partly on account of the freezingness of Colorado (and I’m using that word, regardless of what the auto-spell […]
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My Pagan Pride Day Post Went Meta
One of the most valuable contributions to the conversation around my Pagan Pride Day post came from a single commenter, who I’ll leave unnamed. He joined the comment thread and my Pagan Pride Day post went meta, because he gave me cause to take a closer look at the function of this blog, and the […]
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Gender Essentialism is a Problem, Pagans.
Inspired by a comment posted on Trans Is A Teacher For All Of Us, I posted the following status update to Facebook: “I wonder how my Wiccan friends might respond to the idea that the Lord and Lady gave us our form, or that a trans person transitioning is the greatest insult to them.” The […]
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Are You There Gods? It’s Me, Teo.
Sometimes I think there’s a good reason for blind faith, religious ignorance, unwavering piety. Sometimes those seem like a much easier choices than being inquisitive, being contemplative, being patient with your own uncertainty. The dialogue around the last post extended deep into the theoretical as well as the practical, even spawning an interesting offshoot post […]
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What is the Point of Your Religion?
Last week I asked, “Where does compassion belong among Pagans and Polytheists?” Beneath this first question there is another, more relevant question; one that has been nagging at me for several days: What is the point of your religion? I think this is a valuable inquiry, and no one has asked me this just yet. Yesterday […]
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Chew on THIS, Pagans.
We set fire to the kitchen last night. Metaphorically, I mean. The conversation started while I was preparing dinner, and it continued on throughout the meal and into the clean-up. I woke up thinking about it, and I feel compelled to share some of it with you, my readers; my community of dig-deepers. I’m not […]
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Please Don’t Cut My Heart Out on Thanksgiving
Blogging is very much a form of community engagement for me. I look at the last few posts, and there is so much to learn from one another about spirituality, religion, semantics, and how to engage in effective dialogue on the internet. It’s a relief to read thoughtful, mindful comments, and witness the kaleidoscope of […]
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More On Christian-Pagan Relations
Pagans hate generalizations made about Pagans (he writes with a smirk). That’s one generalization I feel confident in making. In my last post I made some bold statements about the unwillingness of Pagans to accept the existence of the Christian god, knowing full well that those statements were not completely accurate (or, perhaps even close […]
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Christian-Pagan Couples Counseling
Pagans don’t want to accept the possibility that the Christian god is real. Doing so might open us up to a diatribe about salvation, our inherent sinfulness, or our “need for conversion”. We’ve had that talk a time or two, and – thank you – we’ll pass. Christians are of the “One and Only God” camp. Not […]
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Pagan Is The New Gay
Admittedly, I’m a newbie in the Pagan community. But, I’m no newbie Gay. I feel there’s a valuable parallel between our struggles that no one is picking up on.
