Paganism reconsidered

The BBQ Pit
1

HaarrUMPH!
Seems to me there is a lot of pagan bashing going on here.
Well, let me tell you, I was introduced to paganism by my dignified teacher mother, a slightly lapsed Methodist. Whenever a bureaucratic form asked for religion, back in the days when still asked that stuff, she always wrote down “Druid”.
If challenged, she icily informed the poor slob that the question was rude. It was a formative moment for me.
Okay, I"m not an affiliated or even very informed pagan, but I’ve found it fills many needs:

  1. There are no committees, conclaves, arguing, nitpicking and disapproving of everyone else.
  2. If someone wants to worship the sun, trees, animal spirits or whatever, it’s cool with me. I like that stuff. Fine.
  3. It presents kind opportunities to turn grilling a chicken and popping a good wine into the celebration of life it should be.
  4. If folks thinkthey can cast spells and summon demons, fine with me. Keeps them busy. I prefer poker and Scrabble, but hey, go for it.
  5. I don’t have to worry about the state of other people’s souls. Mine is enough of a challenge.
    Well, it’s a simple faith that serves my simple needs. Don’t like pagans? PTUI, I spit. I’d get upset over it, but enjoying my glass of wine somehow seems more productive.
    {Bronx cheer}
2

Seems to me that the only people who are bashing paganism are the Jesus Crispies like ARG. Everyone else is pretty much with you.

Veni, Vidi, Visa … I came, I saw, I bought.

3

I have bashed Pagans that bash me about UFOs.

…and I’ll continue to do so if needed.

Contestant #3

4

Con, Con, Con…
I have no idea what you think about UFO’s. I have no idea what any UFO’s may think about you.
I don’t WANT to know. It’s none of my business. If you have unresolved issues regarding real or putative aliens, they are your issues. Until you or the aliens have your basic rights to decent treatment infringed upon, I see no cogent reason to walk into what promises to be a spectaularly sterile conflict. You and the aliens will have to solve your differences without me.
(Sheesh! I couldn’t make UP this exchange. More wine, I need more wine…)

5

If your mother is a “slightly” lapsed Methodist, she wouldn’t have anything to do with Paganism. The two couldn’t be further apart.

She obviously doesn’t know the difference between rude and intrusive.

Pagans do not have the exclusive rights to grill a chicken and pop a good wine.

If you’re trying to make a point here, it has escaped me. What the fuck ARE you talking about?

The opposite of courage is not cowardice, but conformity

6

TVeblen spewed:

If you’re actually reading these threads, and your totally incorrect assessment here and later in your post would indicate that you’re either not reading these threads or that you’re a complete dolt, you would see that the only real bashing is the bashing of ignorant Pagans (Neo-pagans, Wiccans, etc…) who don’t know the history or background of their beliefs (sort of like you).
Did you miss that we leave the informed Pagans alone? Or that I’ve even praised them for their knowledge and wisdom?
And if you were paying attention to the board, you would also see we bash ignorant (read fundamentalist) Christians here, too. Or did you miss this point, too? It’s as plain as the one on the top of your pin head.

You mean, you’re admitting up front just how inanely ignorant you are of a subject you feel the need to pontificate on? What a jerk.

You’ve never heard of a witches’ coven? You’ve never seen the Pagans here arguing and nitpicking in various threads? You didn’t see the informed Pagans distance themselves and disapprove of the uninformed ones? Just how far is your head up your ass?

That’s not what all Pagans do.  And I’m glad you like it – remember, approval is a form a judgmentalism.

Are you drunk? Many Christian denominations make a regular habit to celebrate life in both secular and ritualistic forms – including using wine. Jesus was accused of being a drunkard and not fasting enough. Catholics call the act of performing their rituals celebration. Of course, your knowledge of any religion is as piss poor as your knowledge of Paganism.
Oh, by the way, quite a few Pagans are religiously vegetarian. I’d don’t think they’d be grilling chicken. Of course, there are some Pagans who’d chop the head off a chicken and smear its blood all over themselves and the room – but that just shows the dangers of overgeneralization (which happens to be your only thought mode).

You know, for someone who’s defending Paganism, I’d be hard pressed to think of a more demeaning and belittling attitude toward them.

God protects fools and drunks. And God knows you’re safe.
Oh, and if you’re not worried about the state of other people’s souls, then you shouldn’t be posting moralizing messages to them telling them what they should and shouldn’t be doing.

Well, this is your second unnecessary reference to wine and it is a clue that you are a drunk. Plus, I think you’re one of the ignorant Pagans we all dissed here, and you’re back with a new handle trying to pathetically drum up support for the ‘poor oppressed Pagans.’ And since you’re the one calling yourself a simpleton, I’ll leave it go at that.

7

I reserve the right to laugh at and make fun of people that call themselves witches and that act as though they believe in “magick”.

I could care less what your mommy’s hangups were…if she wants to worship trees then keep it to yourself…or…get a therapist…

Contestant #3

8

I’ll tell you one thing:

I’m never gonna climb into the ring with Moriah.

Mo, I see that you don’t take prisoners.

I love that!

The opposite of courage is not cowardice, but conformity

9

Almost forgot.

TVeblen, your condenscending response to C#3 makes me sick.

You’re a poseur and a pedant.

Fuck off and troll somewhere else.

The opposite of courage is not cowardice, but conformity

10

Sigh.

Okay, obviously I didn’t have my tongue poked obviously enough into my cheek. I was aiming for gentle satire and apparantly hit a can of gasoline instead.

Moriah and Wally, I did notice the restraint shown to true believers of all stripes. That’s one of the nicest, and rarest, things about this board.

Con, my response to you about UFOs was actually honest. I experienced a moment of pure gogglement over the idea of anyone ever dragging extraterrestrials into a religious argument.

The point I was trying to make–ineptly, it turns out–is that most of us hold a mixture of beliefs. The wine was an apparantly ill chosen metaphor for carpe diem: life is too short to waste the pleasures we’ve been given, hassling others over intangibles.

I will mar this mild apology with a spirited defense of my mother. She was, if there is such a thing, a fiercely tolerant woman.She held stong personal convictions, but loathed proselytizing. She held that asking someone’s religion was fully as rude as asking how much they earned or their sexual habits.So on that one point, I must stand firm.

Well, I learned from this that one doesn’t walk in the BBQ pit without asbestos underwear.

11

Hey, wow… a new guy who knows about grammar, punctuation, spelling, tolerance… is this love?

Veni, Vidi, Visa … I came, I saw, I bought.

12

TV, I think your apology is sincere.

I don’t agree that you need asbestos underwear to post here. You can say whatever you like. But sometimes a tongue-in-cheek posting is diffuclt to spot, particularly by someone new.

We have no way of knowing if you’re serious, and if there’s an air of smugness or pomposity in the post, some people will call you on it.

I’m one of those people. I hope you are, too.

Hope you stick around.

If you’re an optimist, you haven’t been paying attention.

13

Tveblen– thank you for putting paragraph breaks into your later post in this thread. I was gonna slam you for that but I can’t now.

Anyone asks me on any form for my sex I say other
My religion I say other
Basically, it’s none of their fucking business. I don’t give a rats ass about polls, health shit or other. I feel the same way about my race. Yeah, I know, those out here can quote chapter and verse why this is so important but personally, fuck off! Get your data elsewhere. I’m no one’s blip on a computer data base. I know that you data collectors have a hard time with this but that is NOT my problem. I’m taking about me and my opinion. Don’t like it? Post your own.

I do not care how ANY of you see Pagans, Christians, Born agains, or whatever. I know how I see them and am okay with that. You do not like them, have a problem, can point out inconsistencies until the cows come home; go to town my friend. I don’t post my personal beliefs out here mainly because I’m okay with them and don’t need your approval or disapproval.

You don’t like someone because of ____________ (fill in the blank). Okay, that’s YOUR issue, not theirs. Your religious convictions are _____________ (fill in the blank) that’s great! I support you.

Do you see what I mean? I know what I think. Maybe I’m being too much a hardass in saying that I don’t care what you think. That’s not really true. I think it’s better to say, “I know what I think, tell me what you think.” No, you probably won’t change my mind, but I’m interested in what you have to say. If you are just going to trash someone, then, no, I don’t want to hear it. I’m very tolerant and don’t care to get bogged down in a lot of personal shit. If you have a good point (as above) then make it and move on. If you just want to rehash shit from your fucked up childhood then fuck off.

EVERYONE, no matter how silly, lame or outright stupid (according to me or you) is entitled to their opinion. Even the ultimate wackos who are Pro-life and kill other people. No, what they do (Action) is not right, but they are entitled to believe (in the sanctity of life even though they promote the killing of others.). No, I don’t understand that but they have the right to believe it even if you and I and everyone else sees the fallacy in it. Shit, am I making any sense or just farting off here? My goal is not to piss off but to promote a deeper level of tolerance.

Okay, let the fun flames begin!

14

Brithael, when Byz finds out that you used her name in the above post, she’ll kick your ass so hard you’ll think it was Thursday.

If you’re an optimist, you haven’t been paying attention.

15

WallyM7–Brithael, when Byz finds out that you used her name in the above post, she’ll kick your ass so hard you’ll think it was Thursday.

Okay, are you making a stab at humor or are you just fucking with me? Because if you are FUCKING with me you are gonna get hurt, and bad. And not just by me.

If you are making a stab at funny I don’t get it. My post was coherent, spelled correctly and basically intact as it stands. So you must be FUCKING with ME. You will die a very painful, slow and public death if that is what you are doing. I’ve proved it else where, and you have said it yourself; fuck with me and I will chew you up and spit you out.

Others will follow suit. You want to take me on? ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THAT? Really, I think you should think about it. If you want to get into this post that is one thing but if you have some masochistic desire to fuck with me on a personal level, than I’m going to give you the option of re-considering. I will DESTROY you. Think, choose wisely, my friend.

16

It was a joke. Nothing more.

17

C3…as the perfect neutral party on this, I have to come to the defense of the self-described magic(k) users.

Old World witches purportedly turned princes into frogs, etc. This was all legend.

In the New World, however, they’ve learned to reverse the process, and this was well documented some years ago when they turned a Newt into Speaker of the House.

18

:::shrug:::

The satire in TV’s post was obvious and funny. I guess some failed to catch it, huh?

>^,^<
KITTEN
Coffee, chocolate, men . . . Some things are just better rich.

19

Yep.

Mea culpa.

Sorry, TV.

If you’re an optimist, you haven’t been paying attention.

20

[[Basically, it’s none of their fucking business. I don’t give a rats ass about polls, health shit or other. I feel the same way about my race. Yeah, I know, those out here can quote chapter and verse why this is so important but personally, fuck off! Get your data elsewhere. I’m no one’s blip on a computer data base. I know that you data collectors have a hard time with this but that is NOT my problem.]]

Not the problem of us “data collectors” either. Just the problem of people and organizations who are trying to decide what kinds of public programs are needed, and who/what is in need of funds. So I’d say that could be your problem at some point in the future, if it isn’t now.