{"id":12236,"date":"2021-05-22T10:02:22","date_gmt":"2021-05-22T16:02:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=12236"},"modified":"2021-05-22T16:53:06","modified_gmt":"2021-05-22T22:53:06","slug":"goodbye-jesus-writers-sought-for-anthology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=12236","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Goodbye Jesus&#8221; \u2014 Writers Sought for Anthology"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>News release from Oberon Zell:<\/em><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Soliciting essays for &#8220;Goodbye Jesus&#8221; book<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><em>Goodbye Jesus; I&#8217;ve gone Home to Mother!<\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_12237\" style=\"width: 210px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12237\" class=\"wp-image-12237 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.chasclifton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Millennial_Gaia_Earth_Mother_Statue_by_Oberon_Zell-200x267-1.jpg?resize=200%2C267&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"267\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.chasclifton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Millennial_Gaia_Earth_Mother_Statue_by_Oberon_Zell-200x267-1.jpg?w=200&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.chasclifton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Millennial_Gaia_Earth_Mother_Statue_by_Oberon_Zell-200x267-1.jpg?resize=112%2C150&amp;ssl=1 112w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-12237\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oberon Zell&#8217;s well-known &#8220;Milennial Gaia&#8221; statue.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>This is the title of an anthology for which I&#8217;ve been gathering essays over the past couple of decades. These are accounts of their journeys from former Christians\u2014especially Clergy\u2014who have left their churches and come over to Paganism and the Goddess.<\/p>\n<p>This whole idea began in a hot tub over 20 years ago, after a CUUPS conference, where we were all sharing our stories of how we found (or were found by) the Goddess. A couple of us were former Christian Clergy, and I found their journeys fascinating, and thought they should be published. I have a couple dozen submissions now on-file, but other things came up over the following years, and I just had to set the whole project aside \u2018til later. This is later.<\/p>\n<p>I believe these stories are important to the world and should be told, so if you used to be Clergy in a Christian Church (any denomination), and now serve the Goddess, I&#8217;d like to know your story, and potentially include it in this collection. And even if you weren\u2019t actually Clergy, if you were particularly devout as a Christian and then came over to the Goddess, I invite you to tell about your journey.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some things you could address in your personal account:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Tell about your religious upbringing. What was it like for you? Was your family devout? What church did they (and you) attend? How deeply were you immersed in the church, its activities and teachings? Did you take Confirmation or other serious religious education?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>As you came of age, did you experience conflict with your church\u2019s teachings on moral issues and strictures, such as dancing, music, sex, birth control, abortion, sin, etc.?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>If you were Christian Clergy, tell about your Calling. What made you decide to become Clergy? Did you attend seminary? How did you feel upon ordination?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>How was it for you serving as Clergy? Did you experience challenges to your faith? Disillusionment? A \u201cCrisis of Faith\u201d?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>And most important\u2014how and when did you discover The Goddess? What was that like for you? How did your family and friends react when you told them?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>What was your experience coming into the Pagan community? When was that? How did you feel? Was it with an individual, a small circle, a large gathering? Did you join a particular Tradition or group? And how has it been since?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>How do you feel about Jesus now? Do you still hold him in high regard and reverence? Do you feel that you may have left the church, but not necessarily Jesus? Talk about this.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Tell about your present life in Paganism. How are you currently involved? Have you become a Priest or Priestess? How is that for you? Would you ever consider going back to your former church? Why or why not?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>And finally, what message would you like to convey to other Christians (Clergy or otherwise) who are still in the Church?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There is no word limit, but essays will be subject to editing as may be needed. I will, of course, need your permission to publish your account, so please provide your contact info, and I\u2019ll send you a permission form to be filled out.<\/p>\n<p>While I would like to use real names, if you don&#8217;t want your name printed, no problem; just give me a pseudonym you&#8217;d like us to use. Also, readers would love to see your face, if that\u2019s OK with you. If so, please include a 300 dpi jpeg portrait photo to print with your story.<\/p>\n<p>Please submit your essay (and photo, if you wish) to: <a href=\"mailto:GoodbyeJesusSubmissions@gmail.com\">GoodbyeJesusSubmissions@gmail.com<\/a>. I look forward to reading your story!<\/p>\n<p>Thanks, and Bright Blessings,<\/p>\n<p>Oberon Zell<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>News release from Oberon Zell: Soliciting essays for &#8220;Goodbye Jesus&#8221; book Goodbye Jesus; I&#8217;ve gone Home to Mother! This is the title of an anthology for which I&#8217;ve been gathering essays over the past couple of decades. These are accounts of their journeys from former Christians\u2014especially Clergy\u2014who have left their churches and come over to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[10,24,5,12],"class_list":["post-12236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-american-religion","tag-christianity","tag-paganism","tag-writing"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6xQTg-3bm","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4105,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=4105","url_meta":{"origin":12236,"position":0},"title":"An Anthology on Priestesses","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"April 19, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Announcement It is with great enthusiasm that we announce a new anthology to be published by Goddess Ink. This anthology comprises works of, about and by priestesses, and will be edited by Dr. Candace Kant and Dr. Anne Key. As priestesses and scholars, we endeavor to create an anthology that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Paganism\"","block_context":{"text":"Paganism","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=paganism"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1058,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=1058","url_meta":{"origin":12236,"position":1},"title":"Review: Written in Wine","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"September 5, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Dionysos, writes Sannion of the Library of Neos Alexandria, \"is a maddeningly complex god to figure out.\" And so he gets an anthology: poetry, fiction, hymns, essays, ritual from a group of Hellenic revivalist Pagans: Written in Wine: A Devotional Anthology for DionysosI like that approach for several reasons.For one,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Paganism\"","block_context":{"text":"Paganism","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=paganism"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1068,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=1068","url_meta":{"origin":12236,"position":2},"title":"Green Egg Omelette Available for Pre-order","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"October 8, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Green Egg Omelette: An Anthology of Art and Articles from the Legendary Pagan Journal will be shipping soon and can be pre-ordered from Amazon with the link above or from the publisher.Oberon Zell did the heavy lifting: tracking down long-lost contributors, making editorial decisions, and laying out the pages. I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Paganism\"","block_context":{"text":"Paganism","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=paganism"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=chascli-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1601630468","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1099,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=1099","url_meta":{"origin":12236,"position":3},"title":"Gallimaufry and an Omelette","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"December 18, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00b6 Twitter, It\u2019s the CB radio of the 2000\u2019s. That's funny if you remember the CB radio craze of the 1970s. \u00b6 Green Egg Omelette: An Anthology of Art and Articles from the Legendary Pagan Journal is shipping now -- my contributor copy just arrived. Oberon Zell's layout suggests the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"blogging\"","block_context":{"text":"blogging","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=blogging"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8543,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=8543","url_meta":{"origin":12236,"position":4},"title":"I Lived in Magic: A Video Biography of Oberon Zell","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"May 3, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Produced and directed by Danny Yourd (Animal Studio), this meditative interview with Oberon Zell (co-founder of the Church of All Worlds and the man who put \"Neo-Pagan\" into the American religious vocabulary in the 1970s) is a valuable piece of American Pagan history. (It can also be viewed at the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"American religion\"","block_context":{"text":"American religion","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=american-religion"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=soutrocknatub-20&l=am2&o=1&a=0738714828","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7724,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=7724","url_meta":{"origin":12236,"position":5},"title":"Core Books in Pagan Studies","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"February 4, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I recently completed an article on contempoary Paganism for the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion, so when it appears, I can at least say that I have been published by Oxford UP. Yay me. But is there still a market for academic encyclopedias in this day when undergrads must be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"academia\"","block_context":{"text":"academia","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=academia"},"img":{"alt_text":"magical religion","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.chasclifton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/magical-religion.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12236"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12242,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12236\/revisions\/12242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}