Beyond The Burning Times: A Pagan And Christian In Dialogue

Beyond the Burning Times Acknowledgments I want to thank friends and colleagues who read portions of my contributions for clarity, and particularly my Christian friend, Professor Bernie Lammers, who took the time to read the entire manuscript and made many suggestions for improving it. Of course, the final content is my own responsibility. Gus diZerega I would like to extend my thanks to my friend John W. Morehead, who has acted as an editor and coordinator of this dialogue, particularly for his patience and understanding throughout the writing of my contributions. It was John who originally contacted Gus about creating a dialogue book. Morag Reeve and Paul Clifford at Lion Hudson deserve special mention first for accepting this text for publication, and then for their patience and understanding during a period of delays in completing the work. Lastly, I am very grateful to my wife Ruth for her support and understanding, and also to my friends Matthew Stone and Simeon Payne, who have been enthusiastic and encouraged me throughout the project. Philip Johnson Beyond the Burning Times A Pagan and Christian in Dialogue Philip Johnson and Gus diZerega Edited by John W. Morehead Copyright © 2008 Philip Johnson and Gus diZerega The authors assert the moral right to be identified as the authors of this work A Lion Book an imprint of Lion Hudson plc Wilkinson House, Jordan Hill Road, Oxford OX2 8DR, England www.lionhudson.com ISBN 978 0 7459 5272 7 First edition 2008 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 All rights reserved This book has been printed on paper and board independently certified as having been produced from sustainable forests. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Typeset in 9.75/12 Baskerville BT Printed and bound in Wales by Creative Print and Design C ontents Foreword by Don Frew Foreword by Lainie Petersen 7 9 Introduction Gus diZerega Philip Johnson 11 14 1: The Nature of Spirituality Gus diZerega Philip Johnson 17 29 2: The Divine Gus diZerega Philip Johnson 42 55 3: Nature Gus diZerega Philip Johnson 67 79 4: Humans and the Divine Gus diZerega Philip Johnson 91 104 5: Jesus and Spiritual Authority Gus diZerega Philip Johnson 116 129 6: Paganism, Christianity and the Culture Wars Gus diZerega Philip Johnson 142 155 Responsive Thoughts Lainie Petersen Don Frew 168 176 Conclusion Gus diZerega Philip Johnson 183 186 Endnotes Further Reading 189 205 John W. Morehead edited this volume. He is the Director of the Western Institute for Intercultural Studies (www.wiics.org), a senior editor of Sacred Tribes Journal (www.sacredtribesjournal.org) and co-editor of Encountering New Religious Movements (Kregel, 2004). Gus diZerega is a Third Degree Wiccan Gardnerian Elder, who studied for six years with a Brazilian shaman and holds a PhD in Political Theory. He has published widely on political, scholarly and spiritual subjects and is a frequent conference lecturer, speaker and writer on topics such as the environment, community and society, contemporary politics, modernity and religion. Philip Johnson is the founder of Global Apologetics and Mission, a Christian ministry concerned with new religious movements and major religions. He is visiting lecturer in Alternative Religious Movements at Morling College, Sydney, Australia. He holds a Master of Theology degree from the Australian College of Theology and has co-written three other books on theology and new spiritualities. Don Frew is an Elder in both the Gardnerian and New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn (NROOGD) traditions of