{"href":"http://player.captivate.fm/services/oembed?url=http%3A%2F%2Fplayer.captivate.fm%2Fepisode%2F2f3bea79-6461-4ff0-85c9-5ab1d4e64308","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Captivate.FM","provider_url":"https://www.captivate.fm","width":600,"height":200,"type":"rich","html":"","title":"Being Spiritually-Facing Men | BEN HOWES, Oaks and Oaths","description":"Ben Howes runs the popular Instagram account Oaks and Oaths, and the podcast of the same name. Though born a Christian, his disillusionment with the faith and its faithful led him to abandon that path and discover Norse and Germanic Paganism. Now he leads and instructs others down that ancient road.\nDue to time constraints we had a shorter conversation than my recent episodes, but we think it\u2019s just the first of many. We discussed:\u00a0\nSelf-actualization, aesthetics, and masculinity.\nWhy men need to reject consumerism.\nThe pagan notion of \"frith\", and how it plays into the larger functional worldview of paganism.\nHow hierarchy gives men a goal to strive for, a ladder to climb, and something to aspire towards. \nHow a trip to Peru and an experience with psychedelics led him to discover the faith of paganism. \nI originally reached out to Ben because I feel that it\u2019s time that, despite their historical differences, Christians and Pagans (and all spiritually-facing men) need to learn to come together it the face of a third thing, an anti-spirit that\u2019s flooding across the globe.\nIt\u2019s time to start building bridges, and I think we made a good start of it.\nTo follow Oaks and Oaths, click here\nListen to the Oaks and Oaths podcast on Apple \u2014 Spotify \u2014 Google\nTo read Neil Gaiman\u2019s \u201cNorse Mythology\u201d click here\nTo read Brett McKay\u2019s \u201cMuscular Christianity\u201d click here\nCheck out my new website at https://renofmen.com\nConnect with us on Instagram and Twitter","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/077d5416-18ed-4332-a23d-bbdca2b970df/j_NeNa4rnItxJ1OYds7sRGv3.jpg"}