Book Review

This is a very good book for anyone who is just ‘starting out ‘and feeling their way through the initial discovery that they perhaps have Pagan tendencies. It is also interesting from the perspective of someone questioning the whole ‘Churchianity’ of Christianity, with, in this particular case, quite devastating results.

Mark Townsend is/was an ordained Church of England priest, who found increasingly that he could not accept the idea of a wrathful and vengeful God and found himself drawn inexorably to Nature, coupled with the gospel of love that was the life of Jesus Christ.

He shows that it is possibly to marry beliefs – indeed that is one of the main facets of Paganism – in his particular case he became a Druid whilst still holding his Christian beliefs. Although those beliefs ultimately led to his constructive dismissal/resignation as a Priest. As with so many people, his path was not an easy one and after time spent wandering in the wilderness, surrounded by bewildering thoughts and feelings, he found himself at an event in Glastonbury town hall, surrounded by Pagans and immediately felt, like so many, that he had finally ‘come home’.

He also includes testimonials from people from all walks of life who have had similar feelings and so I would recommend this book to anyone who is also struggling with apparently conflicting beliefs. The enduring message is that we have to be true to ourselves and no one else, no matter what pressure they may exert, has any right to dictate to us our beliefs.