Curious Christian

Reflections on culture, nature, and spirituality from a Christian perspective

Understanding Paganism: An Interview With Mike Stygal

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Matt Stone

2007-02-10

I would like to bring your attention to John Smulo’s interview of Mike Stygal at the Missional Apologetics blog.

Mike (or Cern Deosil as I know him) is British Pagan I been chatting to for many moons now through the Pagan and Christian Moot, my favourite interfaith forum, of which he is the prime instigator. He’s a top bloke, and as a Pagan married to a Christian wife he has an exceptional and personal gasp of interfaith issues.

In this interview he shares his thoughts on his various projects, Christianity, and his own path as a Pagan. The amusing backstory to this is that here we have two friends of mine coming across one other and (apparently) having no idea that they are mutual friends of mine. Ah, the ironies of the global villiage.

Tags Pagan

8 responses to “Understanding Paganism: An Interview With Mike Stygal”

espiritu_paz

2007-02-10

Fascinating!
Thanks for the link. Sorry to gape at you here but I am still astounded that a confessing Christian knows so much about Paganism and it isn’t out of a morbid attachment to fear or rebellion–things people assume when you read Aleister Crowley.
The culture shock schema seems very accurate as well. It brings one to see a better course of action when in the throws of an emotional encounter.

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John W. Morehead

2007-02-10

Matt, I wish I could take credit for this one, but this is John Smulo’s interview, not mine. Smulo is the one who resembles a short, more egg-shaped Anton LaVey, whereas I am the John who looks more like a blonde Tom Selleck. I know the caliber of our work causes us to be confused, but the looks tend to clarify things.

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John Smulo

2007-02-10

Matt,
I don’t even know how to respond to Morehead’s comment above!
The only thing he and Tom Selleck have in common is they’re both aging quickly!
As for me looking like an egg-shaped Anton LaVey, I have to admit, that is kind of hard to deny! 🙂

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Matt Stone

2007-02-10

Sorry guys, I had you both on the brain when I did this and in my haste I fluffed up. I have corrected the attribution accordingly.
As for look alikes I wonder who I come close to? Mike Driscoll without the attutude? Online I’ve been confused by with the Southpark creator – another Matt Stone with wicked humour. Must come with the name. Some of the misdirected groupie fan mail has been highly amusing if somewhat M rated.

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Sun Warrior

2007-02-12

It is very odd. Every ‘pagan’ I know has the deepest respect and reverence for Christ. Why is that?
How many Christians realize this? How would many Christians feel if they were talking to a pagan, knowing they recognize the spiritual reality of Jesus, and were comparing the Jesus they know through their expanded spiritual reality, with the behavior of the Christian in front of them?

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Sun Warrior

2007-02-12

It is the control of the meaning of Christ through the truncated spirituality of theology that really gets pagans’ goat.
Too many Christians just do not want to face the abyss of how truly narrow their spiritual reference points are. There is more to spiritual reality than the molecule known as the human.

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Matt Stone

2007-02-13

I have found many Pagans hold a respect for Christ but in many cases it is a Christ reconstructed in their own image, bearing only cursory relationship to the primary sources. Christ offers to transform us and we return him the favour, for that is the easier path.

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Sun Warrior

2007-02-13

Yes, Christ has been good to us during the course of history. Too often pagans forget about God.

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