The Paracast Newsletter
October 4, 2026
www.theparacast.com
Pagan Founder Oberon Zell describes the worldwide religion and its meaning this week on The Paracast.
The Paracast is released every Sunday and available from our site, https://www.theparacast.com, your favorite podcast app, and the IRN Internet Radio Network. All episodes from 2022 and later now feature better audio and fewer ads. We are also re-releasing some of our most popular classic episodes.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVEN'T SIGNED UP FOR THE PARACAST+ YET? PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THE PARACAST+ SO YOU CAN SUPPORT THE SHOW AND ENJOY THE ULTIMATE PARACAST EXPERIENCE AT A SPECIAL LOW PRICE! We have another radio show and we’d love for you listen to it. So for a low subscription fee, you will receive access to an exclusive bonus podcast, After The Paracast, plus a special version of The Paracast with all the ads removed, when you join The Paracast+. We also offer a special RSS feed for easy updates of the latest episodes on your device. Episodes for subscribers to The Paracast+ are now released 24 hours earlier. Flash! Now includes over 100 classic episodes, so take advantage of our lowest rates ever! Act now! It's easier than ever to susbcribe! For the easiest signup ever, please visit: https://www.theparacast.plus
This Week's Episode (October 4, 2026): Gene and Geneva feature Oberon Zell, founder of the Church of All Worlds and a key figure in the modern pagan movement, in a wide-ranging discussion with Geneva and The. Oberon recounted how he transitioned from Tim to Otter and then to Oberon, and described his work with unicorns, the Eleusinian Mysteries, and the origins and growth of paganism as an identity. called “The Father of Modern Paganism,” in 1967 was the first to claim the identity of “Pagan,” incorporating the Church of All Worlds in 1968 and publishing Green Egg magazine for 57 years. An initiate in several different magickal Traditions, Oberon was instrumental in the coalescence of the Neo-Pagan movement, co-founding the earliest alliances. In 1970, he had a profound Vision of the Living Earth which he published as the earliest version of “The Gaea Thesis” — that our entire planetary biosphere comprises the body of a single vast super-organism universally identified as “Mother Earth.” Oberon has traveled throughout the world, conferred with indigenous shamans, celebrated solar eclipses at ancient stone circles, raised living Unicorns, and swam with Mermaids in the Coral Sea. He also designs jewelry, T-shirts, and altar figurines of Gods and Goddesses. His signature sculpture is Mother Earth as “The Millennial Gaia.” His website: https://oberonzell.com
After The Paracast — Available exclusively to Paracast+ subscribers: ained practitioners of shamanic arts and healing. He detailed how pagan traditions across different cultures share common elements including the Wheel of the Year with eight seasonal festivals, while also maintaining unique cultural practices. Oberon discussed the historical overlap between pagan and Christian traditions, explaining how many Christian holidays including Christmas and Easter originated from pagan festivals, and how Paul spread Christianity by connecting its teachings to existing pagan concepts of dying and reborn gods. Oberon and Geneva discussed the origins of religious mythology, particularly focusing on the story of Adam and Eve and its connections to Sumerian creation stories. in 1967 was the first to claim the identity of “Pagan,” incorporating the Church of All Worlds in 1968 and publishing Green Egg magazine for 57 years. An initiate in several different magickal Traditions, Oberon was instrumental in the coalescence of the Neo-Pagan movement, co-founding the earliest alliances. In 1970, he had a profound Vision of the Living Earth which he published as the earliest version of “The Gaea Thesis” — that our entire planetary biosphere comprises the body of a single vast super-organism universally identified as “Mother Earth.” His website: https://oberonzell.com
Reminder: Please don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal: The Paracast Community Forums. And look for @theparacast on Bluesky Social, Facebook, Threads and X.
Editors Note: Several months have passed since the episode with Preston Dennett was first recorded. In the interim I suffered from yet another bout of pneumonia. After a prolonged period of recovery, I’m back in the game with new Paracast episodes.
As you might expect, I am still overloaded with medical copays and other expenses. Please try to help the cause with your donations. You can send a PayPal payment (friends or family option), online or through the app with my thanks to:
paypal@technightowl.live
What is Christian Nationalism?
By Oberon Zell
Christian Nationalism is a political ideology and cultural framework that seeks to merge American and Christian identities. It suggests that “real Americans” are Christians and “true Christians” hold a particular set of political beliefs. It demands that Christianity be privileged by the state, and it implies that to be a good American, one must be Christian.
Christian Nationalism seeks to exert political power to enforce borders based on the myth that the US was, is, and should be a Christian nation.
It often overlaps with and provides cover for white supremacy and racial subjugation. There are prominent instances of merging Christian identity with white supremacy throughout US history and in our modern day.
Christian Nationalism claims that America is a promised land for white Christians, divinely given to them by God. This belief undergirded Manifest Destiny and the Doctrine of Discovery. In the name of this philosophy, European colonizers seized this land from Native Americans and committed horrible acts of violence against them, rationalizing that it was God’s divine ordinance for them to do so.
The institution of chattel slavery was defended on the basis of Christian scripture as divinely ordained law. The Ku Klux Klan rallied around the symbols of the Bible, the cross, and the American Flag, merging their racist ideologies and hateful violence with their interpretation of Christian faith and American identity.
Current anti-immigrant policies, targeting and sowing hatred against immigrant populations in the US, paint immigrants as a threat to the US. While white immigrants are also affected, immigrants of color, especially our Latin American neighbors, are disproportionately impacted by these policies. When Bishop Budde, in her inaugural sermon, implored President Trump to have mercy, not only on immigrant children but also on gay, lesbian, and transgender children, the response of Trump and his supporters in Congress was to condemn her words as a “distorted message.”
Anti-Asian hate also has connections to Christian Nationalism. When Chinese immigration began in the US in the 1850s-70s, it was spoken of as the “yellow peril.” Where America was a bastion and chosen land for white, European colonizers, Chinese immigrants were depicted in media as a swarm that threatened that sanctity. They were one of the first ethnic groups to be targeted by anti-immigrant legislation, such as requiring them to carry their legal documents at all times. Much of the anti-Chinese rhetoric was couched in scripture in Revelation, misogynistically aligning all Chinese people with “the whore of Babylon” or with images of Satan; thus, fundamentally, they were considered the enemy. The Covid-19 pandemic resurfaced similar rhetoric, referencing the “China flu” and physical violence against Chinese Americans and Asian Americans broadly, again “othering” them as enemies to the sanctity of God’s pure, white America.
Christian Nationalism was founded in the 1930s in Nazi Germany as a Protestant movement that sought to align Christian faith with the antisemitic and racist ideologies of the National Socialist regime. The term “Christian Nationalism” was coined as a more acceptable euphemism for Nazism.
Christian Nationalism threatens American democracy, distorts America’s promise of religious freedom for all, and distorts Christianity by taking its central message, a gospel of love, and turning it into a false idol of power.
Christian Nationalism can manifest in violent and extreme ways.
For example, the January 6, 2021 insurrection infused political cause with religious fervor. Throughout the event, insurgents carried Christian symbols like crosses and flags with religious slogans, invoking God's authority to justify their actions. Some rioters even used prayers and Christian chants to rally their peers, blending their political and religious fervor.
The Reawaken America Tour was a series of events that blended far-right political ideologies with Christian faith, promoting the idea that America is a "Christian nation" and advocating for policies that reflect Christian values. It used Christian language and symbols to justify political views, opposed secularism, and framed cultural issues like LGBTQ+ rights and abortion as battles to protect Christianity. The tour appealed to conservative evangelicals who felt their culture and values were under threat, pushing for a government that aligns with their vision of Christianity at the center of American identity and policy.
Christian Nationalism can also show up in our everyday lives.
It can show up in churches, with American flags hanging inside church sanctuaries or on church grounds. Or blending political ideology and religious teachings in church programming and preaching.
It shows up in many ways in public schools, such as laws requiring display of the 10 Commandments in every public school in the state, religious chaplain programs in schools, and Bible-based curriculum. Such examples are a means of exclusion in our public school system as they inherently favor Christian students while marginalizing and seeking to indoctrinate students of other religious backgrounds or those who do not identify with any religion.
Christian Nationalism shows up in politics and policy in many ways, and those who adhere to it are more likely to hold certain views. Based on survey research, Dr. Andrew Whitehead and Dr. Samuel Perry, in their book Taking America Back for God, suggest that Americans who embrace Christian Nationalism are more likely to:
People of all faiths and people of no faith have the right and responsibility to engage constructively in the public square.
One’s religious affiliation, or lack thereof, should be irrelevant to one’s standing in the civic community.
Religious instruction is best left to our houses of worship, other religious institutions and families.
America’s historic commitment to religious pluralism enables faith communities to live in civic harmony with one another without sacrificing our theological convictions.
Conflating religious authority with political authority is idolatrous and inevitably leads to oppression of minority and other marginalized groups as well as the spiritual impoverishment of religion.
Oberon Zell, called “The Father of Modern Paganism,” in 1967 was the first to claim the identity of “Pagan,” incorporating the Church of All Worlds in 1968 and publishing Green Egg magazine for 57 years. An initiate in several different magickal Traditions, Oberon was instrumental in the coalescence of the Neo-Pagan movement, co-founding the earliest alliances.
In 1970, Oberon had a profound Vision of the Living Earth which he published as the earliest version of “The Gaea Thesis”—that our entire planetary biosphere comprises the body of a single vast super-organism universally identified as “Mother Earth.”
Copyright 1999-2026 The Paracast Company. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy: Your personal information is safe with us. We will positively never give out your name and/or e-mail address to anybody else, and that's a promise!
October 4, 2026
www.theparacast.com
Pagan Founder Oberon Zell describes the worldwide religion and its meaning this week on The Paracast.
The Paracast is released every Sunday and available from our site, https://www.theparacast.com, your favorite podcast app, and the IRN Internet Radio Network. All episodes from 2022 and later now feature better audio and fewer ads. We are also re-releasing some of our most popular classic episodes.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVEN'T SIGNED UP FOR THE PARACAST+ YET? PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THE PARACAST+ SO YOU CAN SUPPORT THE SHOW AND ENJOY THE ULTIMATE PARACAST EXPERIENCE AT A SPECIAL LOW PRICE! We have another radio show and we’d love for you listen to it. So for a low subscription fee, you will receive access to an exclusive bonus podcast, After The Paracast, plus a special version of The Paracast with all the ads removed, when you join The Paracast+. We also offer a special RSS feed for easy updates of the latest episodes on your device. Episodes for subscribers to The Paracast+ are now released 24 hours earlier. Flash! Now includes over 100 classic episodes, so take advantage of our lowest rates ever! Act now! It's easier than ever to susbcribe! For the easiest signup ever, please visit: https://www.theparacast.plus
This Week's Episode (October 4, 2026): Gene and Geneva feature Oberon Zell, founder of the Church of All Worlds and a key figure in the modern pagan movement, in a wide-ranging discussion with Geneva and The. Oberon recounted how he transitioned from Tim to Otter and then to Oberon, and described his work with unicorns, the Eleusinian Mysteries, and the origins and growth of paganism as an identity. called “The Father of Modern Paganism,” in 1967 was the first to claim the identity of “Pagan,” incorporating the Church of All Worlds in 1968 and publishing Green Egg magazine for 57 years. An initiate in several different magickal Traditions, Oberon was instrumental in the coalescence of the Neo-Pagan movement, co-founding the earliest alliances. In 1970, he had a profound Vision of the Living Earth which he published as the earliest version of “The Gaea Thesis” — that our entire planetary biosphere comprises the body of a single vast super-organism universally identified as “Mother Earth.” Oberon has traveled throughout the world, conferred with indigenous shamans, celebrated solar eclipses at ancient stone circles, raised living Unicorns, and swam with Mermaids in the Coral Sea. He also designs jewelry, T-shirts, and altar figurines of Gods and Goddesses. His signature sculpture is Mother Earth as “The Millennial Gaia.” His website: https://oberonzell.com
After The Paracast — Available exclusively to Paracast+ subscribers: ained practitioners of shamanic arts and healing. He detailed how pagan traditions across different cultures share common elements including the Wheel of the Year with eight seasonal festivals, while also maintaining unique cultural practices. Oberon discussed the historical overlap between pagan and Christian traditions, explaining how many Christian holidays including Christmas and Easter originated from pagan festivals, and how Paul spread Christianity by connecting its teachings to existing pagan concepts of dying and reborn gods. Oberon and Geneva discussed the origins of religious mythology, particularly focusing on the story of Adam and Eve and its connections to Sumerian creation stories. in 1967 was the first to claim the identity of “Pagan,” incorporating the Church of All Worlds in 1968 and publishing Green Egg magazine for 57 years. An initiate in several different magickal Traditions, Oberon was instrumental in the coalescence of the Neo-Pagan movement, co-founding the earliest alliances. In 1970, he had a profound Vision of the Living Earth which he published as the earliest version of “The Gaea Thesis” — that our entire planetary biosphere comprises the body of a single vast super-organism universally identified as “Mother Earth.” His website: https://oberonzell.com
Reminder: Please don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal: The Paracast Community Forums. And look for @theparacast on Bluesky Social, Facebook, Threads and X.
Editors Note: Several months have passed since the episode with Preston Dennett was first recorded. In the interim I suffered from yet another bout of pneumonia. After a prolonged period of recovery, I’m back in the game with new Paracast episodes.
As you might expect, I am still overloaded with medical copays and other expenses. Please try to help the cause with your donations. You can send a PayPal payment (friends or family option), online or through the app with my thanks to:
paypal@technightowl.live
What is Christian Nationalism?
By Oberon Zell
Christian Nationalism is a political ideology and cultural framework that seeks to merge American and Christian identities. It suggests that “real Americans” are Christians and “true Christians” hold a particular set of political beliefs. It demands that Christianity be privileged by the state, and it implies that to be a good American, one must be Christian.
Christian Nationalism seeks to exert political power to enforce borders based on the myth that the US was, is, and should be a Christian nation.
It often overlaps with and provides cover for white supremacy and racial subjugation. There are prominent instances of merging Christian identity with white supremacy throughout US history and in our modern day.
Christian Nationalism claims that America is a promised land for white Christians, divinely given to them by God. This belief undergirded Manifest Destiny and the Doctrine of Discovery. In the name of this philosophy, European colonizers seized this land from Native Americans and committed horrible acts of violence against them, rationalizing that it was God’s divine ordinance for them to do so.
The institution of chattel slavery was defended on the basis of Christian scripture as divinely ordained law. The Ku Klux Klan rallied around the symbols of the Bible, the cross, and the American Flag, merging their racist ideologies and hateful violence with their interpretation of Christian faith and American identity.
Current anti-immigrant policies, targeting and sowing hatred against immigrant populations in the US, paint immigrants as a threat to the US. While white immigrants are also affected, immigrants of color, especially our Latin American neighbors, are disproportionately impacted by these policies. When Bishop Budde, in her inaugural sermon, implored President Trump to have mercy, not only on immigrant children but also on gay, lesbian, and transgender children, the response of Trump and his supporters in Congress was to condemn her words as a “distorted message.”
Anti-Asian hate also has connections to Christian Nationalism. When Chinese immigration began in the US in the 1850s-70s, it was spoken of as the “yellow peril.” Where America was a bastion and chosen land for white, European colonizers, Chinese immigrants were depicted in media as a swarm that threatened that sanctity. They were one of the first ethnic groups to be targeted by anti-immigrant legislation, such as requiring them to carry their legal documents at all times. Much of the anti-Chinese rhetoric was couched in scripture in Revelation, misogynistically aligning all Chinese people with “the whore of Babylon” or with images of Satan; thus, fundamentally, they were considered the enemy. The Covid-19 pandemic resurfaced similar rhetoric, referencing the “China flu” and physical violence against Chinese Americans and Asian Americans broadly, again “othering” them as enemies to the sanctity of God’s pure, white America.
Christian Nationalism was founded in the 1930s in Nazi Germany as a Protestant movement that sought to align Christian faith with the antisemitic and racist ideologies of the National Socialist regime. The term “Christian Nationalism” was coined as a more acceptable euphemism for Nazism.
Christian Nationalism threatens American democracy, distorts America’s promise of religious freedom for all, and distorts Christianity by taking its central message, a gospel of love, and turning it into a false idol of power.
Christian Nationalism can manifest in violent and extreme ways.
For example, the January 6, 2021 insurrection infused political cause with religious fervor. Throughout the event, insurgents carried Christian symbols like crosses and flags with religious slogans, invoking God's authority to justify their actions. Some rioters even used prayers and Christian chants to rally their peers, blending their political and religious fervor.
The Reawaken America Tour was a series of events that blended far-right political ideologies with Christian faith, promoting the idea that America is a "Christian nation" and advocating for policies that reflect Christian values. It used Christian language and symbols to justify political views, opposed secularism, and framed cultural issues like LGBTQ+ rights and abortion as battles to protect Christianity. The tour appealed to conservative evangelicals who felt their culture and values were under threat, pushing for a government that aligns with their vision of Christianity at the center of American identity and policy.
Christian Nationalism can also show up in our everyday lives.
It can show up in churches, with American flags hanging inside church sanctuaries or on church grounds. Or blending political ideology and religious teachings in church programming and preaching.
It shows up in many ways in public schools, such as laws requiring display of the 10 Commandments in every public school in the state, religious chaplain programs in schools, and Bible-based curriculum. Such examples are a means of exclusion in our public school system as they inherently favor Christian students while marginalizing and seeking to indoctrinate students of other religious backgrounds or those who do not identify with any religion.
Christian Nationalism shows up in politics and policy in many ways, and those who adhere to it are more likely to hold certain views. Based on survey research, Dr. Andrew Whitehead and Dr. Samuel Perry, in their book Taking America Back for God, suggest that Americans who embrace Christian Nationalism are more likely to:
- Approve of authoritarian tactics like demanding people show respect for national symbols and traditions;
- Fear and distrust of religious minorities, including Muslims, Atheists, Jews and Pagans;
- Condone police violence toward Black Americans and distrust accounts of racial inequality in the criminal justice system;
- Believe that racial inequality is due to the personal shortcomings of minority groups;
- Report being “very uncomfortable” with both interracial marriage and transracial adoption;
- Hold anti-immigrant views;
- Fear refugees;
- Oppose scientists and science education in schools;
- Believe that men are better suited for all leadership roles while women are better suited to care for children and the home;
- The U.S. government should declare America a Christian nation.
- U.S. laws should be based on Christian values and the Old Testament.
- If the U.S. moves away from our Christian foundations, we will not have a country anymore.
- Being Christian is an important part of being truly American.
- God has called Christians to exercise dominion over all areas of American society.
People of all faiths and people of no faith have the right and responsibility to engage constructively in the public square.
One’s religious affiliation, or lack thereof, should be irrelevant to one’s standing in the civic community.
Religious instruction is best left to our houses of worship, other religious institutions and families.
America’s historic commitment to religious pluralism enables faith communities to live in civic harmony with one another without sacrificing our theological convictions.
Conflating religious authority with political authority is idolatrous and inevitably leads to oppression of minority and other marginalized groups as well as the spiritual impoverishment of religion.
• • •
Oberon Zell, called “The Father of Modern Paganism,” in 1967 was the first to claim the identity of “Pagan,” incorporating the Church of All Worlds in 1968 and publishing Green Egg magazine for 57 years. An initiate in several different magickal Traditions, Oberon was instrumental in the coalescence of the Neo-Pagan movement, co-founding the earliest alliances.
In 1970, Oberon had a profound Vision of the Living Earth which he published as the earliest version of “The Gaea Thesis”—that our entire planetary biosphere comprises the body of a single vast super-organism universally identified as “Mother Earth.”
Copyright 1999-2026 The Paracast Company. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy: Your personal information is safe with us. We will positively never give out your name and/or e-mail address to anybody else, and that's a promise!