Paganism and New Ageism - Essay Example

 Table of Contents Table of Contents i Abstract ii Introduction 1 Paganism and Neo-Paganism 3 The New Age Religion 9 The Difference between Paganism, Neo-Paganism and the New Age Religion 13 Conclusion 15 REFERENCES 17 Abstract This discussion presents an exploration of the Pagan and New Age spirituality to proceed later to compare Paganism with the New Age religious doctrine. In the present day and age, some people simply do not believe in a God because the promise presented by a monotheistic God appears not to work in the real world, but to other individuals, dissatisfaction with God has led to further efforts to embrace a more satisfying spirituality. According to the monotheistic religious doctrine, an all-powerful monotheistic God can end the suffering and the conflict apparent in the real world, but by not doing so, a contradiction is apparent. Thus, Paganism and the New Age religiosities have presented alternatives for those living in the liberal West, with Pagan promises for living in harmony with nature and the New Age lure for fulfilment of the self. However, both of these alternative spiritualties appear at odd with the monotheistic doctrines, and it is possible to argue that these alternative spiritualties are evil. Paganism encourages worship of godheads that are similar to the medieval Pagan godheads that thrived in an age of anarchy, and the New Age movement presents a complex mix of occult, science, belief in extraterritorial beings that exist in a different plane and “Enlightened Masters” to resemble Gnosticism. This essay argues that it is best to avoid the Pagan and New Age religiosities because they present a potential for even greater anarchy than is apparent in a world that predominantly subscribes to the monotheistic doctrines. (This page intentionally left blank) Introduction Dawson (1998) suggests that over the past decades, North America and the Western World have witnessed a substantial increase in the number and diversity of New Religious Movements and new forms of religious life. This is probably because of the fact that with the emergence of a new world, religion must now adapt to new realities. Now, religion is a private matter; more of a matter of choice than it used to be, and religion must now cope with advanced capitalism. Information is now far more readily available for the masses with the freedom to question and to think. According to Partridge (2006), notions of wellbeing are now important for spiritual health and individuals search for that which satisfies them most in their interaction with the world around them. The reality associated with suffering in a world in which God, an omnipotent being, the all-powerful and the all-knowing Creator, should and could have prevented despair creates a certain lack of satisfaction with the established religious doctrine, especially the monotheistic religious doctrine (Davy, 1997, pp. 1 – 20). After all, how could a merciful monotheistic God who deliberately divided His people into followers of Judaism, Christianity and Islam tolerate the slaughter and the butchery that are the result of His messages to humanity? Are any of the three of those that presented messages about monotheism imposters and Satanists? How can one believe in the truth of events that unfolded many thousands of years ago? Why is it impossible for this God, who has the power to create, to maintain all of His creations in dignity and satisfaction in a world that He created and if there is an omnipotent God, why does he delight in the slaughter and destruction of His creation? Many questions and doubts haunt many followers of the three monotheist religious doctrines and the history of monotheism spread over many thousands of years presents many flaws, contradictions, abhorrent notions and notions that defy logic. A study of Armstrong (2011), Stark (2003), Bianchi (1975) and Paterson (2004) lends some support to the previously mentioned doubts. Davy (1997) suggests that a failure to remain satisfied by the notion of God present in the monotheistic faiths has led to nihilism that has presented an exodus of people from mainstream Judaism, Christianity and perhaps even Islam into new religions. This exodus is far more evident in the liberal West, where tolerance permits a freedom of choice for religion than in Islamic theocracies, which present a society that sanctions the apostate (Van Ess, 2006, pp. 10 – 20). Neo-Pagan traditions with links to ancient Pagan thinking and the New Age religion are two of the more important present day phenomenon that have attracted those that have chosen to depart from their monotheistic beliefs in the liberal West. Thus, these doctrines are worth investigating, and this discussion presents an attempt to examine how Paganism differs from the New Age religion. Paganism and Neo-Paganism The pre-Christian religions of Europe, especially those from the Greco-Roman world constitute the paradigm of Paganism, which presents a polytheistic or pantheistic path (York, 2005, pp. 10 – 12). Ancient Paganism presents godhead in which a dominant god rules over lesser gods who all have powers to influence the world, humans and other living things. The Roman Jupiter, Juno, Minerva, Mars and Quirinus and the Greek Zeus, Hera, Athena, Apollo and Dionysus are but two examples of religious doctrines in which a dominant god directs the affairs of lesser gods and it is possible to trace the Pagan doctrine to regions outside of Europe, such as Palestine and Syria. However, Pagan doctrines do not present allegiance with the concept of omnipotence because the distribution of power in the godhead presented a personified and distributive arrangement. According to Manning (2004, pp. 3 – 4), Pagan religions present a plurality of divine beings, manifestations of divinity in laws of the material world and a female face of divinity that is at odd with the monotheistic concept of a single omnipotent male god figure. Pagan religions lack a received doctrine communicated to humans through a prophet or messiah, and a written word of a human intermediary is lacking. Thus, it is possible to infer that a manipulation of human imagination plays a role in creating the manifestations of Paganism. Foster (2010) suggests that it was not easy for monotheism to present a clean break from Pagan thinking and Pagan religious customs and traditions continued to influence Judaism, with winged creatures called cherubs supporting the throne of Yahweh, the God of Israel, as they had supported the thrones of Pagan gods. According to Foster (2010) and Newton (1875), the highly detailed sacrificial system with its regulations depicted in Leviticus present parallels with depictions in documents from second half of second millennium BC and it is possible to convert the language of a hymn to Baal, an ancient god later regarded as a demon, into a hymn for Yahweh. The religious cultures of the people of ancient Syria – Palestine dating back to the time before Moses presents an example of a Pagan godhead in which El is the chief god who rules over lesser gods born from his consort Asherah, the mother of gods (Holland, 2009, pp. 199 - 210) and Hefner (2012). Baal was one of the sons of El who later fought with Mot (death) with the help of other gods to win because El dismissed Mot. Baal and his cohort Ashtoreth, or Astarte were symbols of fertility and other gods that ruled with them included Melqart, the god to the Phoenician city of Tyre. Catholic Encyclopaedia (2012) and Newton (1875) suggest that the religion of Baal was widely accepted by all tribes of Israel, and Baal demanded sacrifices, including occasional human sacrifices. However, divine rivalry persisted in Syria – Palestine and Yahweh Elohim demanded exclusive loyalty from the people of Israel, who entered into a covenant with Him after He guided them out of the slavery of Egypt under the guidance of Moses. The Old Testament of the Bible was to regard Baal, also known as Beelzebub or Baalzebub, as a fallen angel of Satan. However, it will appear that according to Baal.com (2012), the worship of Baal continues until this day and Newton (1875) presents strong links between Baal, Hinduism and Paganism. Clearly, the conflict between the House of El, who is the father of Baal, and Yahweh Elohim continues although the House of El now presents a much muted and defeated posture, or does it. Oddenino (1999, pp. 330 - 332) and Newton (1875) state that Hinduism presents a Pagan background with a history extending to the time of Baal and it is difficult to decide whether Islam is the work of El, Yahweh Elohim or someone else. Issac (2002) and Thompson (2012) suggest that although Islam asserts that the God Yahweh Elohim presented his message to Mohammad, other monotheistic religions disagree. According to Bushby (2012), Jews regard Christ as a rebel of God and fundamental disagreements persist in the core of all religious doctrine. The Neo-Paganism of the present day and age presents a love and kinship with nature, without a desire for aggression and domination over nature with abhorrence for inflicting harm on anything (Manning, 2004, pp. 3 – 4). However, it is important to remember that the cult of Baal and certain deities of Hinduism demanded human sacrifice. Pagan religions have always presented a cosmic dance of Gods and Goddesses, who were males and females, without a desire for suppressing either the male or the female, but male figures were often more dominant. Witchcraft and the occult are often associated with Pagan religions. Crone (2010) suggests that Pagans existed at the time of the birth of Islam, as they did at the time of the birth of Judaism, and although these Pagans were willing to accept that the God presented by Mohammad was a superior God, they wanted to include lesser gods in the godhead. At the time of the birth of Islam, Mecca was full of idols depicting deities with various powers and lesser gods acted as intercessors between mortals and superior deities. Thus, it will appear that the monotheistic doctrine has always been at odds with the Pagan doctrine and the conflict continues. The discussion presented will indicate that Pagans have existed in all ages and it is important to note that although names may change, the concept of godhead in a Pagan religion presents the same human images of gods with human like families, sons and daughters quarrelling with each other while demanding from the humans worship, offerings and sacrifices. Pagan gods give hope for maintaining human wants in exchange for worship, offerings and sacrifice, but it is important to note that they do not claim to create the universe or the humans. Claims related to creation are only evident in the God of the monotheistic doctrine. History presents an eternal conflict between monotheism and Paganism, with the “peaceful” Pagan gods resorting to extreme violence to subvert monotheistic movements and an example of this is the persecution of Christians by Romans who were followers of Pagan gods, or the persecution of the followers of Islam. Even Judaism presents evidence of conflict between Pagans and followers of the monotheistic faiths. Throughout history, Pagans have presented various cults, and Paganism lacks a uniform belief system despite the fact that the core of all Pagan religions is a belief in a godhead consisting of various gods and goddesses. According to BBC (2012) and Higginbotham and Higginbotham (2002), Neo-Paganism is a restoration of indigenous Pagan religion, or various forms of ancient Paganism which went underground when confronted by monotheism. Thus, modern Neo-Paganism resurrects and sustains the core beliefs of ancient Pagan doctrines, despite the fact that modern Neo-Pagans may give the impression that they are earth-centred and harmless nature lovers. A wide diversity exists for Pagan rites and the Aborigines of Australia, the Druids, the Wiccans, Hindus, the Pagans of Scandinavia, etc. all offer their various rituals, rites of passage, traditions and worship. Tryskelion (2012), Australian Aboriginal (2012), Newton (1875) and Cauldron Living (2012) present a discussion of three examples of Pagan rituals, rites of passage and worship traditions. A wide variety of websites is now available on the World Wide Web to depict the diversity of Neo-Paganism. However, because it is possible for any joker to put up a website to depict a Neo-Pagan religion, it is important to try to examine sources that are academically rigorous when pondering on the issue of Pagan rites, rites of passage and worship in an effort to be fair to Pagans. Unfortunately, very limited scholarly work exists for ancient Pagan rites and Filotas (2001) is a rare example of an academically rigorous work that depicts Pagans of Western Europe and their rites in early Latin pastoral literature. An examination of Filotas (2001), Tryskelion (2012), Higginbotham, and Higginbotham (2002), Newton (1875), etc. clearly illustrates the fact that Pagan rites of passage invoke various gods and goddesses. Mere invocation of the name of a variety of gods and goddesses presents problems with the monotheistic doctrine. Tryskelian (2012, “A Wiccan Funeral Ritual”) presents an assertion that all Wiccans comes from a “Horned One” and this links back to the Pagan thinking of the House of El, Baal the fallen angle of Satan and other Pagan gods that are an anathema to monotheism. Is it possible that Neo-Paganism presents a continuation of demon worship of the Satan depicted in the monotheistic doctrines of Judaism, Christianity and Islam? The New Age Religion According to Redden (2005), the New Age presents such a breadth of spiritual doctrines that it is hard to draw boundaries to the New Age religious phenomenon and to ascribe specific typologies to this collection of spiritualties. For Franz Höllinger the New Age spirituality represents “heterogeneous groups aimed at transforming society through spiritual change” and for Michael York, the New Age spirituality is about “blend of pagan religions, Eastern philosophies and occult psychic phenomena” (Redden, 2005, pp. 231 – 232). Kuhling (1998, pp. 1 – 10), suggests that the New Age spirituality represents a collections of practices, ideas and philosophies that mix 17th century romanticism, herbalism and other long-standing beliefs and practices with an eclectic and colourful mix of healers, psychics, holistic foodsters, folk metaphysician, psychotechnologists, UFO contactees, crystal therapists, dolphin advocates, etc. The New Age movement presents a blurring of distinctions between religion and magic, theology and science, religious ritual and show business (Huss, 2007, pp. 118 – 119). Reidinger (2002, pp. 66 – 67) suggests that the New Age religiosity picks and chooses from traditional and non-traditional religions to create a comfortable metaphor to create the infinite divine. However, an examination of Lawrence (2012, “Computer Resources”) will suggest that the New Age spirituality maintains links with Paganism, Hinduism, Wiccan thinking and the occult to try to maintain economic viability for the demon and his minions in their adventures in a material age. The Church of Christ depends on tithes, and other economic activities to cater for its nurturing mission, but the demon with his backward people cannot operate openly. Thus, perhaps a need existed somehow to make money by offering to people something in exchange for funds while continuing with the demonic mission of misleading humanity. The author of this essay mentions demon in relation to the New Age because of strong links that New Age presents with Paganism, Hinduism, witchcraft, Wiccan religion and occult. It is important to note that the offerings presented by science and technology are based on rigorous observation of nature and the forces that influence nature to learn the truth rather than derivation of fuzzy concoctions of the New Age spirituality. Thus, science is about observing and learning how the universe works and not about speculating about the nature of God. Had the New Age spirituality not presented links with Paganism, it would probably be true to suggest that the New Agers are adventurers exploring new horizons, but it is important to note that the mainstream doctrines of all monotheistic religions most strongly demand compliance with the notion of one God who created the entire universe. Isaac (2002, pp. 1 – 36) suggests that in monotheistic doctrines, any association of other gods with one God is unpardonable and the first of the Ten Commandments clearly stipulates, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Ex. 20:3). Thus, the Pagan religious doctrine runs very contrary to the monotheistic religious doctrine and association of gods and goddesses with a supreme god is associated with worship of the House of Satan, the House of El, consisting of Satan and his other fallen angles. Hanegraaff (1998, pp. 23 - 44) refers to the phenomenon of “channelling”, or the use of psychic mediums to convey information from sources other than their normal self, in relation to the New Age spirituality. The sources that these psychic mediums try to access are ‘entities’ living on a higher plane of being who take control of a medium in a state of trance to speak through the medium’s vocal organs. The medium experiences a partial or complete disassociation with reality when in a trance and it is difficult to decide whether mediums are play-acting or contacting spiritual beings in their trance. Mediums refer to “Ramtha, the Enlightened One”, “John” and “Anonymous Masters” who speak to mediums spread around the world about the coming of a New Age and the New Age religious doctrine. One wonders about the nature of these sources that speak to people through mediums. Are these spirit beings or are they fallen angles and minions of Satan who want to convey the New Age doctrine to create a following in the world? The important point to note is that there is a plurality of “Masters” and “Enlightened Ones” talking about the coming of the New Age through mediums. However, according to Isaac (2002, pp. 41 – 44), a single God appears directly to Mosses to communicate to Mosses his message, while in Islam Mohammad receives revelations through the angel Gabriel. Thus, it is difficult to decide about just who the “Masters” and “Enlightened Ones” are when they appear in plurality rather than as a single entity to mediums around the world to give news about the coming of a New Age. Are these demons, minions of Satan or other spirit beings trying to lead astray humanity? Because the New Age spirituality presents a mix of Paganism with science, occult and pickings from other ancient religions, it is difficult to present specific examples of rites for this spirituality. However, Wiccan rites of passage described previously in Tryskelian (2012, “A Wiccan Funeral Ritual”) present an invoking of gods and goddesses with references to a “Horned One” from whom the followers of Wiccan religious doctrine have come and this runs contrary to the monotheistic doctrine as stated earlier. It is important to remember that the New Age spirituality is not science, although followers of the New Age do try to capitalise in crude ways on scientific discoveries that emerge from rigorous observation of working of nature. Perhaps, the New Age spirituality too is an attempt by the House of El, Baal the fallen angle of Satan and other minions of Satan to gather a following on earth in an on-going struggle. Ryan (2003) states that according to the Vatican, it is not possible to isolate some elements of the New Age religiosity as acceptable to Christians while rejecting others because the Gnostic nature of this movement calls on Christians to judge it in its entirety. Karen (2005, pp. 7 – 8), states that although it is difficult to define Gnosticism precisely because this religiosity consists of a variety of belief doctrines, it is a kind of false prophesy that seduces Christians to idolatry. Clearly, idolatry and worship of a godhead that consists of a number of gods is an anathema to the monotheistic doctrine. The University of Virginia Religious Movement Homepage Project, University of Virginia (2012), suggests that although the New Age concept is now in decline, the community that this concept helped to bring together continues to grow as an important minority religious community. Dinges (2004, pp. 283 – 284) supports this notion to state that New Age ideas become obsolete with advances in science or become a part of commoditised life-style options. The Difference between Paganism, Neo-Paganism and the New Age Religion It is probably right to suggest that the Neo-Pagan movement parallels the New Age movement in some ways, but differs sharply in others while overlapping in minor ways (Hanegraaff, 1998, pp. 78 – 79). Whereas the Neo-Pagans try to resuscitate ancient pagan traditions of worship of pagan godhead, the New Age movement tries to grab at everything that appeals to the curiosity of its followers to present a complex mix of science, occult, pagan worship, love for nature, etc. The practice of all types of magic in the present day and age hides behind the mask of the New Age religiosity. However, because New Age presents a great diversity and its followers present an interest in Paganism, it will be right to suggest that Neo-Paganism is a part of the New Age religiosity in a general sense. According to Hanegraaff (1998), Celtic myths, stone circles, world music and drumming, equinox, spirit communications through mediums, occult and other difficult to explain phenomenon present sources of interest for the New Age religiosity, but Neo-Pagan religiosity leans towards worship of godheads while trying to live in harmony with nature (Partridge, 2006, pp. 66 – 68). Neo-Paganism appears far more earth-centred than the diversity of the New Age religiosity, but both of these spiritualties entice their followers to part ways with the core of monotheistic doctrines. The New Age thinking is transcendent and utopian compared to the Neo-Pagan thinking. The New Age thinking presents a leaning towards spirituality involving healing, philosophy, occult phenomenon and universality while Pagan beliefs involve following godheads other than the monotheistic God. Because New Age is about mixing the ancient with the new for creating a utopian future, it appears to be in greater demand than Paganism. Higginbotham and Higginbotham (2002, pp. 10 – 15) state that New Age rituals that include spirit channelling, contacting the dead, investigating past lives, mental telepathy, consulting fortune-tellers and astrologers, crystal gazing, use of tarot cards and use of mind power for healing present concerns for the self, while Pagan religiosity emphasises worship of godheads and nature living. Conclusion Based on the discussion presented in this essay, it is possible to conclude that the New Age spirituality and all forms of Paganism present delusions for humanity about creating a better world by abandoning monotheistic doctrines. These spiritual doctrines play on the dissatisfaction of individuals with their existence in a world in which a monotheistic God appears insensitive to suffering. Paganism is about worshipping godheads while trying to live in harmony with nature, but the New Age grabs at everything that presents a promise for enhancing the self to present a dangerous mix similar to Gnosticism. (This page intentionally left blank) REFERENCES Armstrong, Karen., 2011. History of God, Random House Publishing Group. Australian Aboriginal., 2012. Australian Aboriginal - Initiation and Mourning Rites of Passage, University of Idaho, USA. Available at: http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~rfrey/220aboriginal_passage.htm [Accessed: May 16, 2012] Baal.com., 2012. The site to The Ineffable Baal, one of the great ancient gods, Baal.com. Available at: http://www.baal.com/ [Accessed: May 15, 2012] BBC, British Broadcasting Corporation., 2002. Paganism, BBC, British Broadcasting Corporation. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/paganism/ [Accessed: May 16, 2012] Bianchi, Ugo., 1975. History of Religions, Brill Academic Publishers. Bushby, Tony., 2012. Just Who Were the Parents of Jesus? The Pacific Blue Group Inc. Available at: http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/biblianazar/esp_biblianazar_7.htm [Accessed: May 16, 2012] Catholic Encyclopaedia., 2012. Baal, Baalim. Catholic Encyclopaedia. Available at: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02175a.htm [Accessed: May 15, 2012] Clifton, Chas S., 2003. Smokey and the Sacred: Nature Religion, Civil Religion and American Paganism, Ecotheology, 8.1, (2003), pp. 50 – 60. Available through: EBSCO [Accessed: May 13, 2012] Cauldron Living., 2012. Cauldron Living Website, Cauldron Living. Available at: http://www.cauldronliving.com/altar-tools-ritual/7334-pagan-rites-passage.html [Accessed: May 16, 2012] Cox, Laurance., 2009. Current debates: new religion(s) in Ireland 'Alternative spiritualities, new religious movements and the New Age in Ireland' conference report, NUI IMaynooth, 30-31 October 2009. Irish Journal of Sociology, November 2009, pp. 100 – 111. Available through: EBSCO [Accessed: May 13, 2012] Crone, Patricia., 2010. The Religion of the Qurʾānic Pagans: God and the Lesser Deities, Arabica 57 (2010) 151-200. Available through: EBSCO [Accessed: May 13, 2012] Davy, Barbara Jane., 1997. Death of God and the Recovery of Meaning, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. Available at: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp04/mq22071.pdf [Accessed: May 13, 2012] Dawson, Lorne L., 1998. Anti-Modernism, Modernism and Post-Modernism: Struggling with the Cultural Significance of New Religious Movements, Sociology of Religion, 1998: 59:2, pp. 131 – 156. Available through: EBSCO [Accessed: May 13, 2012] Dinges, William D., 2004. The New (Old) Age Movement: Assessing a Vatican Assessment, Journal of Contemporary Religion, Vol. 19, No. 3, 2004, pp. 273 – 288. Available through: EBSCO [Accessed: May 13, 2012] Esolen, Anthony., 2010. All Things New: Pagan Despair Ends with the Hope & Charity of God in Christ, Touchstone, November / December 2010, pp. 20 – 24. Available through: EBSCO [Accessed: May 13, 2012] Fahlbusch, Edwin., Lochman, Jan Milic and Mbiti, John (Editors)., 2005. The Encyclopedia of Christianity, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. Filotas, Bernadette., 2000. Pagan sunrivals, superstition and popular cultures in early medieval pastoral literature (500 - 1000), University of Montreal, Canada. Available at: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp05/NQ61389.pdf [Accessed: May 16, 2012] Flere, Sergej and Kirbis, Andrej., 2009. New Age is Not Inimical to Religion and Traditionalism, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Volume 48, Issue 1, pages 179–184, March 2009. Available through: EBSCO [Accessed: May 13, 2012] Foster, Stuart J. 2010, The Missiology of Old Testament Covenant, International Bulletin of Missionary Research, Vol. 34, No. 4, pp. 205 – 208. Available through: EBSCO [Accessed: May 13, 2012] Hampton, Linda Edith., 2008. A Community of Mystics: New Zealand New Agers’ Identity, Relationship with the Community and Connection with the Divine, University of Canterbury. Available at: http://ir.canterbury.ac.nz/bitstream/10092/1825/1/thesis_fulltext.pdf [Accessed: May 13, 2012] Hanegraaff, Wouter J., 1998. New Age Religion and Western Culture: Esotericism in the Mirror of Secular Thought, State University of New York Press. Heelas, Paul Et al., 2005. The Spiritual Revolution: Why Religion is Giving Way to Spirituality, Wiley-Blackwell. Hefner, Alan G., 2004. Baal. Encyclopedia Mythica. Available at: http://www.pantheon.org/articles/b/baal.html [Accessed: May 15, 2012] Higginbotham, River and Higginbotham, Joyce., 2002. Paganism: An Introduction to Earth-centered Religions, Llewellyn Publications. Holland, Glenn S., 2009. Gods in the Desert: Religions of the Ancient Near East, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Hollinger, Franz., Does the Counter-Cultural Character of New Age Persist? Investigating Social and Political Attitudes of New Age Followers, Journal of Contemporary Religion, Vol. 19, No. 3, 2004, pp. 289-309. Available through: EBSCO [Accessed: May 13, 2012] Huss, Boaz., 2007. The New Age of Kabbalah: Contemporary Kabbalah, the New Age and postmodern spirituality, Journal of Modern Jewish Studies Vol. 6, No. 2 July 2007, pp. 107–125. Available through: EBSCO [Accessed: May 13, 2012] Isaac, Shirley., 2002. Allah & Elohim: Are They the Same God? AuthorHouse. Kemp, Daren., 2002. The Christaquarians? A Sociology of Christians in the New Age, Studies in World Christianity, 2002, pp. 95 – 110. Available through: EBSCO [Accessed: May 13, 2012] Khan, Muhsin M., 2012. English translation of Holy Hadith (Shahih Bukhari), University of Southern California. Available at: http://www.cmje.org/religious-texts/hadith/ [Accessed: May 14, 2012] King, Karen L., 2005. What Is Gnosticism? Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. Kuhling, Carmen L., 1998. The New Age Ethic and the Spirit of Postmodernity, York University, Ontario, Canada. Available at: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape11/PQDD_0004/NQ40493.pdf [Accessed: May 13, 2012] Lawrence, Emily., 2012. New Age Religion (Shirley Maclaine and Marianne Williamson), Grove City College, USA. Available at: http://science.gcc.edu/reli/kemeny/StudentBibliography/NewAge.htm [Accessed: May 17, 2012] Letcher, Andy., 2003. ‘Gaia Told Me To Do It’: Resistance and the Idea of Nature within the Contemporary British Eco-Paganism, Ecotheology, 8.1, (2003), pp. 61 – 84. Available through: EBSCO [Accessed: May 13, 2012] Lewis, James R. Et al, (Editors)., 2007. Handbook of New Age, Brill Academic Publishers. Lewis, James R., 2003. The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements, Oxford University Press. Manning, Lydia K., 2004. A Conscious Evolution: Older Women Embracing the Divine Feminine, Miami University. Available at: http://etd.ohiolink.edu/send-pdf.cgi/Manning%20Lydia%20K.pdf?miami1091025339&dl=y [Accessed: May 13, 2012] Nanda. Meera., 2004. Eco-Spirituality, Neo-Paganism and the Hindu Right, Women and Environments, Fall / Winter 2004 / 2005, pp. 19 – 22. Available through: EBSCO [Accessed: May 13, 2012] Newton, John., 1875. Ancient Pagan and Modern Christian Symbolism, with an Essay on Baal Worship on the Assyrian “Sacred” Grove and Other Allied Symbols, J.W.Bouton Publishers. Preserved at the University of Toronto. Available at: http://ia600201.us.archive.org/18/items/ancientpagan00imnauoft/ancientpagan00imnauoft.pdf [Accessed: May 19, 2012] Oddenino, Kathy., 1999. The Journey Home: Our Evolving Consciousness, Joy Publications. Palmer, James., 2007. Defining paganism in the Carolingian world, Early Medieval Europe, 2007, 15 (4), pp. 402 – 425. Available through: EBSCO [Accessed: May 13, 2012] Partridge, Christopher., 2006. Re-Enchantment of the West, Vol. 2: Alternative Spiritualities, Sacralization, Popular Culture and Occulture, T&T Clark Int'l. Paterson, Andrea C., 2004. An Analysis and Brief History of the Three Great Monotheistic Faiths Judaism, Christianity, Islam. Xulon Press Pearson, Joanne., 1998. Nature Religion Today: Paganism in the Modern World, Edinburgh University Press. Philips, Julia., 1995. Paganism, Past and Present, Social Alternatives, Vol14 No 4 October 1995, pp. 16 - 19. Available through: EBSCO [Accessed: May 13, 2012] Pizza, Murphy., Lewis, James R., 2009. Handbook of Contemporary Paganism, Brill Academic Publishers. Redden, Guy., 2005. The New Age: Towards a Market Model, Journal of Contemporary Religion, Vol. 20, No. 2, 2005, pp. 231–246. Available through: EBSCO [Accessed: May 13, 2012] Reidinger, Zsuzsana., 2002. Spirituality: True Odysseys, iUniverse. Rose, Stuart., 2001. New Age Women: Spearheading the Movement? Women's Studies, Vol. 30, pp. 329-350. Available through: EBSCO [Accessed: May 13, 2012] Ryan, Thomas., 2003. Christ and / or Aquarius? A New Vatican Document Reflects on the New Age, America, March 24, 2003. Available through: EBSCO [Accessed: May 13, 2012] Stark, Rodney., 2001. One True God: Historical Consequences of Monotheism, Princeton University Press. Strmiska, Michael., 2005. Modern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives, ABC-CLIO. Sutcliffe, Steven., 1995. The Authority of the Self in New Age religiosity: the example of the Findhorn Community, DISKUS Vol.3 No.2 (1995), pp.23-42. Available at: http://www.basr.ac.uk/diskus/diskus1-6/SUTCLIFF.TXT [Accessed: May 13, 2012] Sutcliffe, Steven., 2003. Children of the New Age: A History of Spiritual Practices, Routledge. Thompson, Rabbi Samuel., 2012. When is Rosh Chodesh (New Moon / Month), Your Arms to Israel. Available at: http://yourarmstoisrael.org/Articles_new/articles/PDFs/When%20is%20Rosh%20Chodesh.pdf [Accessed: May 19, 2012] Tryskelion, A Pagan Resource Center., 2012. Tryskelion - A Pagan Resource Center Website, Tryskelion, A Pagan Resource Center. Available at: http://www.tryskelion.com/zikula/index.php?module=Content&func=view&pid=5 [Accessed: May 16, 2012] University of Virginia., 2012. The Religious Movements Homepage Project @The University of Virginia – New Age, University of Virginia. Available at: http://web.archive.org/web/20060828130904/http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/newage.html [Accessed: May 18, 2012] Uric, Steve., 2009. Signs of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the End of the World, AuthorHouse. Van Ess, Josef., 2006. The Flowering of Muslim Theology, Harvard University Press. Wallis, Robert J. & Blain, Jenny., 2003. Sites, Sacredness, and Stories: Interactions of Archaeology and Contemporary Paganism, Folklore 114 (2003):307–321. Available through: EBSCO [Accessed: May 13, 2012] Welch, Christina., 2002. Appropriating the Didjeridu and the Sweat Lodge: New Age Baddies and Indigenous Victims? Journal of Contemporary Religion, Vol. 17, No. 1, 2002. Available through: EBSCO [Accessed: May 13, 2012] York, Michael., 2005. Pagan Theology: Paganism as a World Religion, NYU Press. York, Michael., 2005. Wanting to Have Your New Age Cake and Eat It Too, Journal of Alternative Spritualities and New Age Studies, 2005 1 pp.15 – 34. Available at: http://www.asanas.org.uk/files/001York.pdf [Accessed: May 13, 2012] Read More