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TWIH Episode 57: Atheism, Science, and Culture with Maria Vorontsova

This Week In Heresy

Release Date: 10/05/2015

TWIH Episode 81: Planting the Church Unusual with Darnell Fennell #radicalinclusion #blacklivesmatter show art TWIH Episode 81: Planting the Church Unusual with Darnell Fennell #radicalinclusion #blacklivesmatter

This Week In Heresy

This episode we welcome Darnell Fennell, the founding pastor of Just Love, a radically inclusive church plant in Houstan, TX. We discuss what it’s like to create an inclusive church in an area that is seen as more conservative to the wider progressive community. What does it mean to be “church” and what are the difficulties in starting a new church in general? How do you bridge the conversation on race and privilege in a mixed congregation? What is the importance of doing the inner work outside of the worship space?  We also discuss how to pastor people through the ever shifting...

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TWIH Episode 80: Learning from Where You're At with Pat Mosley #hb2  show art TWIH Episode 80: Learning from Where You're At with Pat Mosley #hb2

This Week In Heresy

In this episode we talk with Pat Mosley, a Gardnerian witch in North Carolina. We talk about how Wicca takes on the culture of where it’s at, and how it’s not that much of a stretch for people to be multi-faith practitioners. Pat discusses his coven, Granny Magick, and his involvement in CUUPs. We also talk politics and #HB2 (also known as the “bathroom bill”) and how, on the ground in North Carolina, there are more people who are against it rather than for it. Pat talks about the uphill battle in challenging their state government and the disconnect of their elected leaders from the...

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TWIH Episode 79: The Needles and the Compassion Done with Denise Cicuto #orlando show art TWIH Episode 79: The Needles and the Compassion Done with Denise Cicuto #orlando

This Week In Heresy

Denise Cicuto returns in this episode to talk about her call to study acupuncture through a visitation by Kuan Yin. We talk about her journey, not only through acupuncture school, but her spiritual journey with Kuan Yin and her current studies of the spiritual side of acupuncture . We also discuss the nature of Kuan Yin, and how compassion isn’t necessarily “fluffy”. We also talk about the importance of self care when doing activism and after major emotional events such as Orlando.   Denise Cicuto is a Witch and Healer. She is a third degree Priest in the Circle of Cerridwen. In...

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TWIH Episode 78: The Magick of Pagan Music with Sharon Knight show art TWIH Episode 78: The Magick of Pagan Music with Sharon Knight

This Week In Heresy

After a brief TWIH hiatus, we return with our guest Sharon Knight, a pagan musician who does both solo work and plays as a group with her partner Winter in Pandemonaeon. We talk about the art of performing, the magickal experience of being on stage, the future and past of pagan music, and how music influences her work, both spiritually and professionally. We also talk about her latest album and the work that goes into writing, recording, and making videos for an album.    Note: Please excuse the audio weirdness. We were having a bad Skype day.   Festival Favorites Sharon...

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TWIH Episode 77: The Politics of the Body with Irene McCalphin show art TWIH Episode 77: The Politics of the Body with Irene McCalphin

This Week In Heresy

Irene McCalphin joins us this week to talk about the intersections of fat liberation and marginalization. Why is it important to have representation in spiritual imagery, both in regards to race and body size? Why is the language of our rituals important? How can we move through learning about these issues of marginalization and come to a place where we can see outside of ourselves to a more inclusive community? Why is it important to keep the language of the diet industry out of spiritual space? How can kink (BDSM) be used as a spiritual tool and a pathway to a positive self image? ...

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TWIH Episode 76: Being Heathen with Cara Freyasdaughter show art TWIH Episode 76: Being Heathen with Cara Freyasdaughter

This Week In Heresy

In this episode, we talk to Cara Freyasdaughter, where we discuss her journey to Heathenism, her introduction to Freya and Freyr, and some of the issues that are challenging modern Heathenism. What are  CUUPs and ADF? What does the lore say about racism and other issues that have been being dealt with within the Heathen community? ...

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TWIH Episode 75: Called by Kali with Chandra Alexandre show art TWIH Episode 75: Called by Kali with Chandra Alexandre

This Week In Heresy

In this episode we talk to Dr. Chandra Alexandre about her journey with Kali Ma and her experiences with the Divine Female. Not only through her travels and learning in India, and her current work in the Bay Area. What is Tantra and the SHARANYA practice? Why is daily practice important and how do you keep up a daily practice? How do we approach the everyday to support our own practices? ...

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TWIH Episode 74: The Polytheist Death Guild with Rebbeca Lynn Scott show art TWIH Episode 74: The Polytheist Death Guild with Rebbeca Lynn Scott

This Week In Heresy

In this episode we talk about death and dying with Rebecca Lynn Scott, founder of the Polytheist Death Guild. She talks about her own experiences that lead her to creating the Guild and the importance and necessity of death rituals in our society. How do we talk about death in our society? How are we able to express grief? Do pagans (of any traditions) have a healthier view of death than other traditions? ...

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TWIH Episode 73: Paganism and Shinto with Megan Manson show art TWIH Episode 73: Paganism and Shinto with Megan Manson

This Week In Heresy

This week we talk to Megan Manson, a pagan who also practices Shinto, the indigenous religion of Japan. Megan talks about her path to Shinto, some of the history of Shinto and how it relates to the other religions practiced in Japan. We also talk about how religion co-exists together in Japan and how it differs from how religions get along in the West. What is the difference between Japan and the West in regards to religious identity? What does it mean to be multi-faith, and how do we explain it to others?  ...

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TWIH Episode 72: Honoring Death with Robin Griffith show art TWIH Episode 72: Honoring Death with Robin Griffith

This Week In Heresy

Robin Lynn Griffith joins me in this episode to talk about death and dying. Both of us are called to minister to the dying and while, for the two of us, this is a normal process, for most people in our culture, death is something you just don’t talk about. Why does our society tend to try and banish the idea of death? Why are we so afraid of something that is inevitable? Are we doing a disservice if we don’t allow someone to really grieve in their own way or telling people to just “get over” their grief? When does one’s grief need more professional help? Should we...

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In this episode we talk to Maria Vorontsova, who is a botanist at Kew Gardens, who was born in Russia and came to the UK when she was young. We talk about her experiences of religion and atheism in regards to her Russian roots and in her interactions with people during her field work in Africa. What does it mean to be an atheist? Does atheism mean that someone doesn’t have a moral compass? Where does atheism fit in with interfaith dialog, and why does the interfaith dialog NOT include atheism?

Maria Vorontsova studies grasses and everything about them at the Kew Botanic Gardens in the UK, with a particular focus on tropical African diversity and poorly known lineages, their evolutionary history, and the history of tropical grasslands and savannas. She is also interested in the history and development of classifications and in botanical nomenclature and bibliography. She looks after GrassBase and develop it to bring together global taxonomic knowledge across all Poaceae and to build it into a broad research utility. If it is about grasses, she wants to hear about it!

Links

Maria’s Kew Page 

Email:  [email protected]