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Holly Pettit: Power, Belief, and the Inner Life
Essays and teachings on power, belief, ancient texts, and the inner life — with seminars, devotionals, and guided study for thoughtful readers.

Featured articles

Ancient Christian Wisdom for When Life Feels Unbearable

Ancient Christian Wisdom for When Life Feels Unbearable

Latest

14
Jan
A young woman with long wavy hair that covers her shoulders holds a skull to her chest. Her left hand is on her cheek and she is staring off into the foreground as if in deep contemplation.

Why Jesus Said “There Is No Such Thing as Sin”

When Jesus says “There is no such thing as sin” in the Gospel of Mary, he isn’t denying harm—he’s naming it differently. This essay explores sin as misalignment, original goodness, and the forgotten self within.
4 min read
14
Jan
A long woman gazes over her right shoulder at Golgotha and the empty cross. A tear rolls down her cheek. She holds back her hair with her left hand.

Heaven Is Not Waiting: The Gospel of Mary on the Afterlife

It wasn’t until I read Mary that I truly understood Matthew. In both, Jesus wasn't making a statement. He was giving directions — pointing us inward, to the place where God is speaking.
8 min read
14
Jan
Patti Smith on stage, with eyes closed, singing with arms outstretched as if in prayer.

Jesus Didn't Die for Your Sin (or Mine)

A reflection on why fear-based atonement never made sense to me, and how allegory, love, and trust offer a deeper way to understand Jesus’s death.
3 min read
13
Jan
We see the back of the head of a man as he walks by a painting of Mary, Queen of Heaven with a halo of stars circling her head. She seems to meet the man's gaze.

Mary and the Ancient Goddesses of Death and Rebirth

Across cultures, divine mothers govern life, death, and rebirth. Placing Mary alongside figures like Isis, Demeter, and Kali reveals her as part of an ancient spiritual pattern—the mother who transforms grief into resurrection.
5 min read
13
Jan
How Yahweh Became God: From Canaanite Deity to World Faith

How Yahweh Became God: From Canaanite Deity to World Faith

Yahweh did not begin as the one God of heaven and earth. He began as a local deity among many—and survived war, exile, and empire to become the God of three world religions. This essay explores what that transformation reveals about faith, power, and our evolving understanding of the divine.
6 min read
08
Jan
A mature man with long gray beard and simple white robes and a concerned, compassionate expression, reaches his right hand out to those who have gathered in front of him.

Ancient Christian Wisdom for When Life Feels Unbearable

Early Christian writers knew the inner terrain of sadness and endurance. They offer no slogans or quick fixes—only hard-won perspective shaped by long familiarity with suffering, speaking to the heart without trying to conquer it.
5 min read
22
Oct
Poll: Do You Still Follow the Faith You Grew Up With?

Poll: Do You Still Follow the Faith You Grew Up With?

Please take a couple seconds to help this writer out. Thanks!
1 min read
19
Oct
How Reviving the Ancient God Dis Pater Can Transform Your Spiritual Practice

How Reviving the Ancient God Dis Pater Can Transform Your Spiritual Practice

We could all use some lessons on death, rebirth, and renewal
5 min read
10
Oct
When this Progressive Christian Whips Out the Old Testament, You Know Shit's Getting Real

When this Progressive Christian Whips Out the Old Testament, You Know Shit's Getting Real

Fear Not
5 min read
25
Sep
Why I’m Rethinking My Vote: Church, State, and the Line Politicians Shouldn’t Cross

Why I’m Rethinking My Vote: Church, State, and the Line Politicians Shouldn’t Cross

As a veteran, protecting the boundary between church and state matters more to me than nostalgia
3 min read