The Existential Pagan -- On Freedom and Responsibility [Paperback]

Eston Mansfield (Author), Rel Davis (Author), Greg Fisher (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1998 | ISBN-10: 096663800X | ISBN-13: 978-0966638004

The Existential Pagan is an in-depth look at the new paganism sweeping the world today. As environmental chaos threatens our species and the planet we live on, more and more people are looking for a way out. A new way of looking at the world -- based on ancient religious principles -- is gradually becoming more prevalent. Called Deep Ecology, women's spirituality, earth-centered religion, paganism or even witchcraft, it offers a way of life that respects the earth, values women, and challenges millennia-old concepts of power and control. In 27 essays, the Rev. Davis offers a way out for a world in crisis.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

A new publisher that until now has only produced newsletters, Old Time Religion, Inc. was founded to provide a voice for environmentally concerned people, particularly those who choose the pagan or earth-centered path. Publisher of Old Time Religion, the Quarterly Newsletter of Ancient Religion, the company now is proud to publish this work by Rel Davis, Unitarian Universalist minister, practicing witch and prolific writer and editor.

From the Author

Our species is doing a terrible job of taking care of our world. Consider these facts: Every night, one in two children in the world goes to bed hungry. Every 18 seconds, somewhere in the world, a child dies from hunger or hunger related causes. Right now, more people are alive than have been alive in the thousands of years of human history. Half of all the people who have ever lived are alive today! Humans now use nearly half (40%) of the total energy resources of the planet. All other species must survive on the rest of the energy resources. In 50 years, there will be 10 billion humans on the planet, consuming 80% of the earth's energy resources. At that time, most other species will have become extinct for the earth to support so many humans. Through overpopulation, pollution and depletion of natural resources, we are rapidly destroying the only home our species has. And, most importantly, we are doing this because our religions and our cultures mandate that we do so! The major problem in the world today is the religious and social structure that has ruled humanity for more than 4000 years the patriarchal, woman-hating, structure-driven system established long ago by conquering warrior cults. Looked at this way, we realize the only hope for the continued survival of humanity is a return to the principles and ideals of the original human civilizations of our planet. These the peaceful, cooperative, mother-focused (matrifocal) cultures taught a way of life that honored the earth, respected the environment, and valued all life forms equally. This is the focus of The Existential Pagan On Freedom and Responsibility.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Old Time Religion Inc (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 096663800X
• ISBN-13: 978-0966638004
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,758,531 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rel Davis is a retired journalist, Unitarian minister, and boat bum. A native of Texas, he became a Southern Baptist minister while still a teenager -- and was banned from preaching in his early 20s (the result of preaching against segregation in Texas.) He edited weekly newspapers in Montana, was reporter on a daily paper (The Missoulian), and later was a public information officer for the government in Washington. To protest the Vietnam war, he resigned his government position, sold his house and moved with wife and small daughter onto the wood motorsailer Hardtack, and sailed off. He settled in South Florida and became minister of the Unitarian Fellowship of South Florida in Hollywood, FL. He retired in 1999 and with his wife, Edith Sloan, served in the Peace Corps in Bulgaria. They now live in Mena, Arkansas.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Interesting Collection of Essays, May 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Existential Pagan -- On Freedom and Responsibility (Paperback)

The Existential Pagan is a collection of essays that is good to read on your own - but where it works best is the basis for group discussions. The author takes deliberate controversial positions that beg for further discussion. His ideaology tends to stick close to the Ancient Matriarchy as proposed by Merlin Stone and M. Gimbautus. The books weaker points are that because many of the essays were written in the 1980's, so much of the science he bases his arguments on is getting outdated - also Davis' past as a SF writer shows thru in his rather strange and elaborate explination of the humans soul as a Tesseract.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Total Package of Paganism, November 7, 1998

By 

Roland WordStone ([e-mail]) (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Existential Pagan -- On Freedom and Responsibility (Paperback)

Never, in any book, have I seen a witch more eloquently and perfectly describe what the craft is really all about.

He explains paganism as it is, and illustrates how integral the pagan world-view is to the continued existence of our marvelous planet.

Nowhere, in one volume, is it possible to get as full a picture of the craft as it is in "The Existential Pagan." By discussing science, magic, personal responsibility, history, mythology, philosophy as well as what witches take to be the standard practices of the craft, Rel Davis makes paganism not only a religion, but a culture as well, and provides us with glasses which allow us to get past our collective cultural stigmatism and see things the way they once were and could be again. Namaste ... - Roland WordStone