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Questions for Richard Smoley: Author of "Supernatural"

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Christopher O'Brien

Christopher O'Brien

Back in the Saddle Aginn
Staff member
"Nostrodamus...channeling...Atlantis...divination. Most serious people consider such topics nonsense. But look again. Writing w/ intellectual verve and a deeply critical mind, religious thinker Richard Smoley uses this anthology to explore and reconsider the supernatural in history and today. Smoley is a graduate of Harvard and Oxford. He was long time editor of Gnosis Magazine and is the author of several books"

His book is fascinating and extremely well-written. Please get your questions posted right away---we will be recording tomorrow at 2 PM!!!
 
Interesting guest to have on!

My question to Richard: how does one reconcile the ancient creation myths and legends with the prevailing kind/personalized god?

I'm thinking of the Enuma Elish's concept of man created to serve the gods, to the encorporation of the flood mythos into the Old Testament and wrathful hebreic God, and then encorporation of Mithraic and Egyption resurrection mythos into the new testemant -- and in modern times, a modern, personalized "accept Jesus in your heart" kind of mythos?

There have been very different concepts of God, all kind of rolled into one. How does one reconcile these into one concept?
 
cool guest-

Just wanted to say, Gnosis magazine is really good; a great eye opener.
anyhoo;

I wanted to know if Mr Smoley had any thoughts on The Diamond Net of Indra in Buddhism and its similarity with models of the Holonomic Brain Theory as postulated by Bohm or Pibram. Are there any other scientific materialist views which have their twin in ancient religious belief systems?

cheers
 
I don't mean to carpet bomb the question bank, but whatever you have time and interest for:

1. The ancient Romans celebrated Lupercalia from the 13th to the 15th of February. Do you have any thoughts about this holiday? Is there any evidence to support the claim that this holiday was transformed into St. Valentine's Day?

2. Mortification of the flesh has occurred in various religions around the world. A number of Catholic saints, as well as other figures including Pope John Paul II, practiced self-flagellation among other acts. To what extent do these acts serve an ecstatic function? That is, in addition to serving as a gesture of humility, do these activities not also serve to drive the participants into trance states and ecstatic visionary experiences?

3. To what extent do you feel that modern paganism is historically linked to pre-Christian practices? Do you feel that modern practices accurately follow historical precedents?

4. Have you read Lotte Motz's Faces of the Goddess, and if so, what is your opinion of her challenge to the notion of a universal earth mother goddess in the anthropological record?

Thanks!
 
supernatural is a great tv series but i have no idea where to get a copy of the first book could you help me with this issue
 
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