I started this site when I was a theology student on the island of Malta, over 15 years ago - at the time I was obsessed with religious history and mythology. I no longer stand behind all of the articles found here. Although all opinions are my own, and I'm passionate about these topics, I believe everyone has the right to choose beliefs that give life meaning and purpose. These days, I blog over at www.creativindie.com, ...
Xmen are antichrists, fighting against God’s apocalypse
My thesis is about revolution, even (and/or especially) when it's revolution against God (as in Milton's Paradise Lost.) So I was interested in Xmen Apocalypse, because it deals very specifically with themes I've written about before. Specifically, if God comes to end the world, as he's promised to in Revelations, and someone stands up against him to save mankind, as the antichrist is supposed to, the antichrist will be heroic. According to Christianity, the antichrist will fail, but ...
Damien TV series review – is the antichrist a hero?
I was kind of excited to see the new TV series called Damien, which chronicles the rise of the antichrist. It's fun to see how they can keep the plot interesting, while hiding the crucial and key fact that the antichrist is God's puppet (so he is either a devout follower who willingly does God's work, or he forced to do it against his will, or he is manipulated into doing what he thinks is ...
A new show starring Lucifer: finally, the devil portrayed as hero on TV!
I'm sensitive when talking about my PhD research, because I know most people aren't ready to seriously engage with the idea that Satan is the hero of Paradise Lost (even though debate has been raging for about 300 years... and it's a stupid debate too, because the evidence is so clear, and academics spin circles to try and invent crazy arguments to refute the obvious). I've wondered whether "America" would ever be able to stomach a ...
Are angels real? The Messengers – a new supernatural TV show wants you to believe in the Devil
At the end of a hard day's work, I like to unwind with whatever TV show I can find. I tend to like supernatural drama series, but not really shitty high school drama ones. The latest series that has caught my attention is CW's "The Messengers" - which is, basically, the Book of Revelations but on TV. As someone who understands the Apocalypse Story as a vindictive minority group's wish-fulfillment future where all their enemies get ...
What’s wrong with Andrew Pyper’s novel “The Demonologist.”
On a train from Toulouse to Barcelona this week I found myself without internet and searching my iPhone for something to read. I discovered Andrew Pyper's "The Demonologist" which I'd bought months before and quickly became enthralled. Like me, the main character (David) is an academic studying Paradise Lost, and reading Satan as the obvious hero of the story: a story about freedom, revolution, the right to self govern, and the tyrannical, irrational ruler he cannot escape. This ...
The Daily Show talks about Islam Heretics
Criticism of Islam can result in very nasty and very personal backlashes, as Sam Harris continues to notice, but I was a little surprised to watch John Stewart grill Ayaan Hirsi Ali on the Daily show on the March 23, 2015 episode. John often meets with authors promoting their books, and mostly laughs, pitches them softball questions and tells people to go buy the book. With Ayaan, who was there to promote her book "Heretic," he ...
Santa, Satan, St. Nick and Krampus (the moral fluctuation of holiday heroes and villains)
The holidays are always a strange time. The Winter Solstice has been celebrated for thousands of years - it can be argued that astrological events led to the creation of religious practice - but different cultures celebrate in unique fashions. But modern Western culture embraces such a confusing hodgepodge it's bound to cause discord. One baptist minister for example is drawing heat for a church sign that reads "Santa is Satan." He's not the first Christian to complain ...
I.Origins – Does faith pervert science?
It's a classic love story. Boy meets girl. Girl is wistful and spiritual, boy is scientific and needs facts and data. (Spoiler Alert!) Girl gets cut in half when elevator fails. Besides having the most gruesomely tragic death scene I've ever witnessed - something out of a Final Destination movie - I.Origins starring Brit Marling, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey and Michael Pitt is an interesting, in-depth look at God, faith, spirituality and the space between. In the metaphor that frames the storyline, worms have no ...
Crossbones TV Series: Pirates and the Devil Continued
In the PhD Thesis I'll finish one day, I make the connection between the rise of pirates, libertarianism and democracy with sacrilege and devil worship - not "real" devil worship of course, simply people who openly rebelled against the idea of God and aligned themselves openly with the politics of Satan. So I've been pleased to watch the sudden increase in pirate fascination... which I thought was running dry after the Pirates of the Caribbean movies ...
8 more shocking things you didn’t know about the Biblical Noah’s Ark story (that the movie totally got wrong)
I was less than impressed with the 2014 remake of the biblical story of Noah and the Ark, featuring Russell Crowe. While some of the thematic and symbolistic changes they made were interesting (I'll discuss those below), the controversy itself offers much for discussion. People are angry because it "wasn't true to the Bible." But the truth is most Christians don't realize the version they learned in Sunday School isn't in the Bible either - ...
St. Valentine is a lie – and why that means you should question everything.
It's Valentine's Day again, which means we'll all be buying cards, chocolates and flowers for our significant other (or ridiculing the holiday for its commercial vapidness). Since Valentine's Day is one of the major holidays of the western world, you've probably heard the history: We celebrate Valentine's day in honor of St. Valentinus, who was martyred a long time ago around February 14th - the "romance" part is because he continued to marry soldiers during wartime; ...
If you're interested in religious mythology, astrological symbolism, or supernatural folklore, grab my book Gods of Myth and Man. You can 
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