11.01.2004
"Christ is my Druid"
I was all set to expound once more at length on the "Episcopagan" scandal until I read the latest posts by Father Jake and Demi at Pilgrim's Progress and find that they did much of my expounding for me.
"...they believe in God. A lot of secular people don't, anymore. The Pagans DO. That in itself is a testament to how strong the hunger for the divine is, because if you heard some of the stories of what has been done to most of the Pagans, by the churches, the real wonder is how they didn't become atheists immediately...They believe with the kind of faith we should all have. It's a strong but simple faith in the essential goodness of life and the divine, and these folks have struggled mightily to find some form of religious expression that is not damaging to their spirits and minds. Just about every neopagan I've ever known was made a neopagan by a church. Clearly, we're doing some things very wrong, because the quarrel is not with Christ, but with a church somewhere that made God out to be a monster, lusting for our destruction. One person who called herself pagan once said to me--and I'll never forget this--"Why should I be afraid of my own Creator??" Why indeed! I have heard stories of spiritual and psychological abuse from Pagans, vileness that was done "in the name of Jesus" that would curl your hair. Done by the churches!" - Demi @ Pilgrim's Progress
"Answer me honestly; if the rites these two priests developed were originally a Jewish rite, or even a Muslim or Buddhist rite, would everyone be so upset? I don't think so. Christians have a built in bias against anything Pagan. And that is what this latest flap is really all about. And even us "liberals" are too cowardly to point this out, including myself. My goodness, even Bishop Bennison alludes to the fact that there is something "wrong" with being Pagan! If we cannot show respect and tolerance for other traditions, we become self-righteous, close minded fanatics, who are part of the problem, and not part of the solution. Most violence in this world is based on religious differences. Shall we contribute to this by claiming our way is the only way, and the rest of you are going to hell? That is what those on the outside hear us saying right now." - Father Jake
I urge everyone to read the entire posts, my quotes don't do them justice.
Oh, and the title quote is from Saint Patrick who ministered to the Irish Pagans by using Pagan concepts. No doubt he would be condemned by conservative Christians who understand the teachings of Jesus far better than he could have. I mean, all he did was convert the entire island to Christianity without bloodshed, I'm sure the witch-hunters could have done better.
I was all set to expound once more at length on the "Episcopagan" scandal until I read the latest posts by Father Jake and Demi at Pilgrim's Progress and find that they did much of my expounding for me.
"...they believe in God. A lot of secular people don't, anymore. The Pagans DO. That in itself is a testament to how strong the hunger for the divine is, because if you heard some of the stories of what has been done to most of the Pagans, by the churches, the real wonder is how they didn't become atheists immediately...They believe with the kind of faith we should all have. It's a strong but simple faith in the essential goodness of life and the divine, and these folks have struggled mightily to find some form of religious expression that is not damaging to their spirits and minds. Just about every neopagan I've ever known was made a neopagan by a church. Clearly, we're doing some things very wrong, because the quarrel is not with Christ, but with a church somewhere that made God out to be a monster, lusting for our destruction. One person who called herself pagan once said to me--and I'll never forget this--"Why should I be afraid of my own Creator??" Why indeed! I have heard stories of spiritual and psychological abuse from Pagans, vileness that was done "in the name of Jesus" that would curl your hair. Done by the churches!" - Demi @ Pilgrim's Progress
"Answer me honestly; if the rites these two priests developed were originally a Jewish rite, or even a Muslim or Buddhist rite, would everyone be so upset? I don't think so. Christians have a built in bias against anything Pagan. And that is what this latest flap is really all about. And even us "liberals" are too cowardly to point this out, including myself. My goodness, even Bishop Bennison alludes to the fact that there is something "wrong" with being Pagan! If we cannot show respect and tolerance for other traditions, we become self-righteous, close minded fanatics, who are part of the problem, and not part of the solution. Most violence in this world is based on religious differences. Shall we contribute to this by claiming our way is the only way, and the rest of you are going to hell? That is what those on the outside hear us saying right now." - Father Jake
I urge everyone to read the entire posts, my quotes don't do them justice.
Oh, and the title quote is from Saint Patrick who ministered to the Irish Pagans by using Pagan concepts. No doubt he would be condemned by conservative Christians who understand the teachings of Jesus far better than he could have. I mean, all he did was convert the entire island to Christianity without bloodshed, I'm sure the witch-hunters could have done better.
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