Scott Blunt
During the course of writing this book, I’ve made many wonderful new friends. I’m now going to introduce you to someone Maxine Sanders suggested I talk to, because he had a rather intense Christian background, yet ended up becoming a High Priest of the Alexandrian Tradition. His temple is know as the Temple of Stella Maris and has initiated many over the course of its life. He is also now training for the Priesthood within a Gnostic/Esoteric Tradition of the Liberal Catholic Church.
MT: Scott, it’s a pleasure to be able to interview you here. Perhaps I first ought to ask you to explain why you left the Church originally. After all, it was a very big part of your life.
SB: Why did I leave the Church? This is very complicated and involves other people, but there were a number of reasons. I began to have serious doubts about the theology and practice that has grown out of the Charismatic Renewal. I was also working as a Pastoral Lay Assistant and I was just burnt out. A serious situation arose involving the parish priest (not child abuse!), and I saw such wicked and nasty behavior from prominent members of the church who were so power hungry it was unreal! I found I could no longer pray or worship at Mass, and after a while I lost my faith completely.
MT: Well, later on we’ll return to this theme and talk about your current training for the Liberal Catholic Priesthood. But first I want to talk to you about the person of Jesus. Was he part of your upbringing as a child?
SB: Yes. Until the age of four, my mother was a member of the Assemblies of God church.
MT: Does the figure of Jesus feel important to you, even if you don’t know why?
SB: Yes.
MT: In what ways?
SB: I found myself back in the Christian world as a near-teenage boy and I “gave my heart” to Jesus when I was eleven, a decision that took me on a spiritual journey that is still going on to this day. He gets under your skin [laughs]. Although I’m an Alexandrian Witch, Jesus has always been at the back of my mind. Jesus is important to me; his life, his teachings are amazing. I’m not sure I “feel” but I believe he is important for me on my particular spiritual path; I’m still working all this out.
MT: So do you see Jesus as a historical person? And if yes, how is or isn’t his spirit reflected in the modern-day Church?
SB: Yes, of course he existed! And I think that the Church can get bogged down with sex. But I do think the Church reflects the “spirit” of Jesus in the way it upholds the dignity and sacredness of the unborn child and the “weak” in society, which is a good thing.
MT: What feelings or thoughts does the Christmas story conjure up in you?
SB: It is not that important to me and my spiritual path. However, I understand why Catholic Christians are anti-abortion, as the Christmas story tells of God entering our human experience in the Incarnation and thus sanctifying the human being from conception to death.
MT: And the same with regard to Easter?
SB: This I find a challenge, as a Witch! The Resurrection cannot be easily dismissed! When I was a practicing Catholic, the Easter Triduum was filled with sorrow, gratefulness, and joy.
MT: So who was or is Jesus to you, Scott?
SB: Jesus, for me, is a manifestation of the Divine. A healer and a teacher. His message is still relevant today for those who seek to work in the Sphere of Tipareth.
MT: And what lesson do you feel the modern-day Church needs to hear from him?
SB: It depends on your definition of “Church”! I think that the Church needs to rediscover that God is love—that’s why He sent Jesus … to show His love. I don’t mean that in a “fluffy bunny” sort of way but as a revealing of His nature to humans.
MT: I know you’re training to be a Christian Priest, but is it really possible to be both Christian and Pagan?
SB: Again, it depends on your definition of “Pagan”! I think that from an occult point of view, we can experience and acknowledge both Sun and Moon, God and Goddess. “All Gods are one God and all Goddesses are one Goddess.”
MT: What, if anything, can modern-day Pagans learn from the message/person of Jesus?
SB: I think Pagans can learn the lesson of sacrifice from Jesus’s teachings. Many Pagans believe in self, which can lead to selfish attitudes of “I cannot give to others because I need my ‘self time.’” Whereas Jesus taught sacrificial love/giving and reaching out to others no matter what the cost to self! Many Christians need to learn this lesson also!
MT: And what, if anything, can Christians learn from modern-day
Paganism?
SB: Peace and acceptance of the human experience.
MT: I can see the love and devotion you still hold for Jesus. Before we close this interview, can you now briefly explain what led you to the Liberal Catholic Church and why you’re now training for its priesthood?
SB: I started reading Science of the Sacraments by Bishop Leadbeater as I was beginning to “work” with the Ray Stones in my Temple. I was amazed by the mix of Catholic Christianity, Angelic ministry, and occult leanings within the book. I began to look for a Liberal Catholic Church, found many and visited one, but didn’t go back. When I was a teenager I felt a very strong call to priesthood, but as I am gay, this wasn’t possible, even in the ’80s. As I read this book, that feeling of being called came back.
When the calling came back, it was stronger and stronger. I then met you through Maxine Sanders, and you put me in touch with an Independent Liberal Catholic Church. I liked it very much and started going to Mass. I felt the same inner connections there that I have in my own temple. I discussed my thoughts about priesthood with my bishop and after a while, he discerned that I did have a vocation. I have been ordained in the Minor Orders and will be ordained as a Deacon very soon. This decision has been a difficult one, as many Witches do not, or will not, try to understand this deep connection I have with Jesus and the Catholic faith. I have not stopped being a Witch; I still run my coven. There has been a wonderful acceptance of me and the Craft within the Church, which is so refreshing.
MT: Scott, it’s been wonderful talking with you. You’ve been on such a wonderful adventure that I believe will continue. I’m sure your ability to hold two traditions in harmony will be an inspiration to many.
About the Author
Scott Blunt is an Initiated and Consecrated Witch and High Priest within the Alexandrian Tradition. He was a Catholic for many years before that, thinking that when he was first initiated in 1995, that was it! He now sees the spiritual journey like the Spiral Dance, where initiates weave in and out, back and forth. As Scott told me, “When the Spiral Dance is danced, the Magic comes full circle—I found Jesus again. I had missed this man in my life for so long … I love the Goddess and our Horned God, but I have Jesus now, too. However, the Dance continues and the Magic leads us on!”