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Holly Pettit

Holly Pettit

In the literal and figurative footsteps of Ralph Waldo Emerson
Writer and spiritual guide exploring faith beyond dogma. With an M.Div. in world religions and contemplative practice, I help Nones, mystics and progressive seekers cultivate a spirituality rooted in ancient wisdom and engaged with today’s world.
17
Mar
A middle-aged blonde woman in heavy makeup squints at the foreground -- presumably at an audience.

When The Witch Hunters Use Witchcraft

The New Apostolic Reformation wages holy war against occultists — while practicing prophecy, ritual exorcism, and magical geography themselves. A closer look at the hypocrisy powering Christian nationalism's rise.
6 min read
11
Mar
Saint Thekla reliquary, German, late 15th to early 16th century, wood with polychromy - Princeton University Art Museum. Public Domain.

Paul's Teaching on Sex Liberated Thekla. For the Rest of Us, It's More Complicated.

My women's group read The Acts of Paul and Thekla aloud. My margin notes said "Sex? No sex? WTF?????" This essay is about what happens when a woman with a complicated past finally reckons with Paul.
7 min read
05
Mar
A man with white hair and late-Victorian style hair and clothes gazes to the left, his face in profile.

The Rapture Was Invented in the 1830s. Now It's Reached the Pentagon

The prophetic system now being invoked by some commanders took shape in the nineteenth century. The earliest Christian theologians would not have recognized this framework. Their debates about the end of history looked very different.
6 min read
26
Feb
Bright sun shines on a red sandstone church of the late 19th or early 20th century. Green grass and shade trees adorn the front lawn.

Can Progressive Christianity Speak with Conviction?

Progressive Christianity stands at a threshold. Its future will depend not on rejecting the past, but on articulating its convictions with clarity and formed depth.
6 min read
11
Feb
Why Conservative Church Plants Grow Faster — and What Progressive Churches Can Learn

Why Conservative Church Plants Grow Faster — and What Progressive Churches Can Learn

Many progressive pastors quietly wonder why the conservative church plant across town is growing faster. The difference isn’t stricter doctrine — it’s visible structure, staged pathways, and meaning clarity. Here’s what progressive churches can improve without compromising their theology.
5 min read
02
Feb
A screen shows the word "Jesus" in letters four-feet tall, while a band performs onstage and the audience cheers and raises their hands.

Salvation Isn’t About What You Believe — It’s About What You Become

Most forms of Christianity in the U.S. today revolve around a single question: Are you saved? But what if salvation was never meant to be a moment of belief — but a lifelong process of becoming?
5 min read
26
Jan
A jar lies on its side as a young woman falls to her knees. roses are at her feet. Jesus, on a chair, leans down to reach out a hand to her.

The Gospel of Mary and the Practice of Peace

Peace isn’t moral perfection or emotional escape. It’s an inner stability you can feel in a room — and learn to cultivate. The Gospel of Mary offers a surprisingly modern vision of how that kind of peace is formed.
6 min read
23
Jan
A terracotta image of a woman with long hair, suckling two infants at her breasts. She gazes into the foreground, thoughtfully.

The Men Who Silenced Asherah Still Silence Women Today

When they rewrote the stories, making her into a foreign invader, they didn’t just erase a goddess. They erased what it meant to have a woman at the center of holiness and of power.
6 min read
23
Jan
An ancient image of Yahweh and Asherah as cattle-headed deities is superimposed over a Renaissance image of white-bearded father God gazing down from clouds.

When Yahweh Had a Bull’s Head

Ancient biblical laws emerged from a symbolic world very different from ours, yet we imagine Abraham, Moses, and Yahweh through Renaissance images that distort their original meaning.
4 min read
22
Jan
A bronze figure of a god wearing a tall, bowling-pin-shaped headdress, and holding aloft his right hand where a spear or tool existed at one time.

Creole Religion: How Ancient Gods Shaped Christianity and Judaism

Ancient gods didn’t stay in their lanes. From Baal and Asherah to Qetesh and Hathor, this essay explores how blended religions shaped Judaism and Christianity.
9 min read