In recent years we have seen increasingly strident, polarized, and factually false narratives emerge and circulate in our society and political life. This situation is confusing, and fractures our society and politics. We wonder how this all came about, and what we can do about it. In this series of posts on myth in contemporary society, I argue that this situation is most fundamentally  understood by viewing it in mythological terms. We must recognize that myth is alive and well in modern society. Understanding how myths arise and function will better enable us to address this probl ..read more

Myths are often regarded as simple falsehoods, as being about people or gods that have never existed or events that never happened. But regardless of their historicity, the important part about myths is the fundamental truths that they convey to a community, then and even now. This is especially true for Biblical myths, including stories about Jesus. Our American community is still largely Judeo-Christian, and even if one is not Christian or Jewish, all of us still grow up in our largely Judeo-Christian culture and are influenced by it, whether we are fully aware of this or not. Therefore, it ..read more

Boo! Earlier this week I did an interview with Esoteric Thoughts about the mythology underlying Halloween, which the interviewer just posted on his YouTube channel. Hope you enjoy it, and Happy Halloween. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0MMRsUmDTQ&t=595s ..read more

In recent years we have seen increasingly strident, polarized, and factually false narratives emerge and circulate in our society and political life. This situation is confusing, and fractures our society and politics. We wonder how this all came about, and what we can do about it. In this series of posts on myth in contemporary society and politics, I argue that this situation is most fundamentally understood by viewing it in mythological terms. We must recognize that myth is alive and well in modern society. Understanding how myths arise and function will better enable us to address thi ..read more

The YouTube channel Esoteric Thoughts just posted its interview with me about the mythology underlying the New Year’s holiday, which was based on my book, The Mythology of America’s Seasonal Holidays: The Dance of the Horae. You can watch it here. Enjoy. (Sorry about the poor lighting conditions ..read more

I just gave an interview about the mythology of Christmas on the YouTube Channel called Esoteric Thoughts, which was posted on December 21, the occasion of the Winter Solstice. You can watch it here. I should also mention that exactly a year ago I gave a longer lecture on the mythology of Christmas (on Zoom, in my Covid haircut) at the Krotona Institute in Ojai, California, which is also on YouTube here. Please enjoy ..read more

The Westar Institute just published my newest article in the November-December issue of its journal, The 4th R, pp. 3-7, 24. It is entitled “Christmas, Easter, Myth, and Depth Psychology.” Based on the Easter and Christmas chapters of my recent book, “The Mythology of America’s Seasonal Holidays,” it explores the mythological and depth psychological underpinnings of these holidays. The Westar Institute is an organization of secular biblical scholars dedicated to furthering religious literacy. 4th-r-34-6Download ..read more

Hello wine and mythology enthusiasts! On October 16 in Oak Park, California, I’ll be giving a talk on wine mythology in the ancient world and early Christian Europe. It is hosted by an 80-member group of winemakers from the congregation of The Church of the Epiphany in Oak Park. They have a vineyard on the church property and make the wine right in the church! Needless to say, wine will be flowing at the event! If you would like to attend, please RSVP per the announcement below ..read more

A central aspect of the New Testament gospels is the miraculous healings that Jesus reportedly performed. Indeed, these healings constitute a large majority of his miracles, so they must have been especially important to the authors of the gospels. As we shall see, the healing stories were meant to make theological points. But more broadly they help paint a picture of what a person’s spiritual life should be like, and how a society made up of such people would look. Futher, the principles involved intersect nicely with modern depth psychology and the spiritual principles associated with it. Ap ..read more

Speaking at upcoming Mythologium Conference I’ll be speaking at the Mythologium mythology conference in late July, where the main theme will be mythology and healing. I’ll be talking about the many dimensions of the healings of Jesus as told in the gospels, from a mythological and depth psychological perspective. This conference is always great and I encourage anyone interested in attending to register, in the attached link. This year the conference will be on Zoom due to continuing Covid precautions ..read more