Category: Religion

Interview: Inner Christianity and Esotericism With Richard Smoley

Published on by Angel Millar3 Comments

Richard Smoley is a consulting editor to Parabola magazine and the author of several books on esotericism, religion, and spirituality, including Supernatural: Writings on an Unknown History, How God Became God: What Scholars Are Really Saying about God and the Bible, and Inner Christianity: A Guide to the Esoteric Tradition.

During the 1980s, Smoley was a writer for the respected esoteric journal Gnosis, and in 1990 he became the journal’s editor. Under his editorship, Gnosis released issues on Gnosticism, Freemasonry, G.I. Gurdjieff, the spirituality of Russia, and more.

We spoke to him about the spiritual crisis of the West, alternative spirituality, and inner Christianity.  Continue reading “Interview: Inner Christianity and Esotericism With Richard Smoley” →

Focusing on The Smaller Things

Published on by Angel Millar1 Comment

The Western is a genre of literature, cinema, or other arts that depicts life in the American Old West during the latter-half of the 19th century and first decade of the 20th century. A common feature of such depictions is a vision of grandeur, limitless horizons, and untamed wilds. Lawmen vie with outlaws in desolate places to bring American civilization and order to new lands.

In the Western genre dreams of greatness are often expressed: a hope at establishing a new life “out West,” finding a fortune in the gold rushes of California, seeking personal revenge, or finding fame through heroic acts against Indian tribes or bandits. The modern version of the knight errant, the lone ranger seeking justice, is bound no social institution but only to his internal sense of honor. Continue reading “Focusing on The Smaller Things” →