I was looking through old blogs this week, thinking about how much my opinions have changed in just the short time I’ve been working on this. I find myself to be less judgmental, and over all more friendly. It is interesting how a little research and much thought can change things so much. Not only have I been researching for the blog, but talking to people on social networking sites to learn about others.
One place where I have really found some friends (yeah I haven’t met them in person, but I would call them friends) is on Twitter. When I first made the Twitter account I made it my goal to talk to all types of people, different religions, different backgrounds. I’ve found the people I get along best with on this site are Atheists… That’s right, Atheists. At first I spent much of my time being offended that a majority of non-theists seemed to consider Christians, and people of other religions stupid, ignorant, hateful…the list of derogatory terms goes on and on.
After a few months I found out that it was all a reaction though. They were all nice to me, well a few weren’t, but a huge majority were. So I figured they were reacting to the way others treated them. It got me thinking, why is this group perceived as an immoral bunch of jerks? I just wasn’t seeing it. I did see debates, some got nasty, a friend of mine was actually called an abomination for being a homosexual. It made me hurt for him, and I could see why they fought back. Religion is dangerous, it’s been used to dominate, hurt, and cause hate throughout history. When done correctly it's not supposed to be like that, compassion is the key. This is not to say that Christians have the monopoly on morality. Morality transcends pretty much everything, religion included. Murderers, pedophiles, and evil people exist outside of religion, location, color, and sexual preference.
The religious people I know, whatever flavor, are usually kind, so I was taken aback by the behavior on the net. Christians calling out Atheists, Muslims, Pagans, and people of all sorts, just because of what? I had no clue why anyone would do that, that’s not really the way to show Christian love and compassion. Don’t get me wrong, I have talked to some awesome Christians on Twitter, but the mean ones are just so vocal, and horribly nasty.
I had assumed that it would be all about what shows people are watching, what they were having for diner, but most of what I see is arguing/debating. I have joined in on a few, trying to be a voice of Christian moderation, but it doesn’t always work. Some Atheists still just don’t like me, and of course that’s their perfect right. After years of being treated badly and told they are going to a Hell they don’t even believe in, they are leery to say the least. The amazing thing is how many people of my own faith tell me I’m not doing things right. They say I'm not right-wing enough, or that it's wrong to hope for marriage equality.
Really the main thought on this is to give people a chance, whatever side you are on. I would like to give props to the people on Twitter who have shown me a new way of looking at things, and who have been kind even when others weren’t. I have been irritated with a few conversations that have started out with people telling me I'm stupid for having faith, or that I don't value science or reality. The other end of that is fundies who butt in on conversations by telling non-believers that they are destined for Hell.
I hope my friends on Twitter keep fighting for compassion and equality. It is sad that it's not just the obvious thing, and it startles me that something as simple as a social site is such a battleground of political and religious opinion. Thank you out there in Twitterland for everything, and I hope to have many civil debates in the future, and conversations about slang in other countries :)
Monday, April 16, 2012
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Why God Why? No seriously, I want an actual answer.
It has been a long time since we have written a blog, it has been a really hard few weeks, and we were very distracted. On March 14th a friend of mine, she was the girlfriend of my youngest brother in law, she died in a car wreck. She had been 18 for a month, upon receiving the news, after the denial, I decided God was a jerk. I know this sounds awful, and I am over feeling like that now, but I'll be honest, I blamed Him. I didn't understand how a beautiful wonderful girl like that could just die. It sounds silly because at my age is should be apparent that sometimes people die, but this one seemed especially brutal. My brother in law has grown into such a wonderful person that I just sort of expected life to come easy for him.
I have never lost a friend, I have had a few be fairly horrifically injured in car wrecks, but in the end they survived. The driver of the car, a girl I didn't know, was badly injured, the other 2 passengers were also injured, one minorly, the other fairly severely, but he is okay. I just keep thinking about this girl, who is barely 16, sitting in a hospital room, blaming herself. I guess I would too, but if we are honest with ourselves we all know that we have done silly things. I've sped, when I was a teenager I went 100 everywhere (not literally, but yeah, my speedometer hit 100 more than twice). I hate to think that this child has to carry this around with her for the rest of her life. I hope and pray that this girl gains some measure of comfort over time, and forgives herself.
In these situations why is such a common question, sadly there is NO answer, no one knows, if you are religious you have to believe that God had some motive or reasoning. If you aren't religious I don't know what you do. In my head right now though, there is NO reason, nothing at all can explain to me why things like this happen. Adding to this situation is stress in my home life, money problems, and school. I've gotten to the point where I just don't know what I'm doing anymore.
From anger, to prayer, to anger again, I get no answer. It's frustrating, I am struggling to continue believing that this will somehow work out for the better. One thing has helped me though, it is oddly a quote from Charlotte's Facebook page (the friend who passed away) I don't know where the quote came from, but it goes like this "Everything will be ok in the end, if it isn't ok, it isn't the end." Another quote off her page also struck me as poignant, it seemed oddly fitting in this situation "
I have never lost a friend, I have had a few be fairly horrifically injured in car wrecks, but in the end they survived. The driver of the car, a girl I didn't know, was badly injured, the other 2 passengers were also injured, one minorly, the other fairly severely, but he is okay. I just keep thinking about this girl, who is barely 16, sitting in a hospital room, blaming herself. I guess I would too, but if we are honest with ourselves we all know that we have done silly things. I've sped, when I was a teenager I went 100 everywhere (not literally, but yeah, my speedometer hit 100 more than twice). I hate to think that this child has to carry this around with her for the rest of her life. I hope and pray that this girl gains some measure of comfort over time, and forgives herself.
In these situations why is such a common question, sadly there is NO answer, no one knows, if you are religious you have to believe that God had some motive or reasoning. If you aren't religious I don't know what you do. In my head right now though, there is NO reason, nothing at all can explain to me why things like this happen. Adding to this situation is stress in my home life, money problems, and school. I've gotten to the point where I just don't know what I'm doing anymore.
From anger, to prayer, to anger again, I get no answer. It's frustrating, I am struggling to continue believing that this will somehow work out for the better. One thing has helped me though, it is oddly a quote from Charlotte's Facebook page (the friend who passed away) I don't know where the quote came from, but it goes like this "Everything will be ok in the end, if it isn't ok, it isn't the end." Another quote off her page also struck me as poignant, it seemed oddly fitting in this situation "
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, angels nor demons, neither the present or the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Again I don't know where the original quote came from.
I really do think things will turn out okay, but at the moment I'm not at all enjoying the journey. If nothing else this death is a precautionary tale to show us all that we should let people know how we feel, and that death can happen at any time. Through my life I have frequently struggled with anger at God, my own idea that I am entitled to anything gets in my way. The fact is we are entitled to nothing, not money, not happiness, and not even life. It is all a gift, Atheist, Christian, Wiccan, or Jew, we all have the ability to help out others and make ourselves happy.
I know this blog is pretty scattered, but I am having a hard time organizing my ideas, thanks for staying with me. I hope things get better soon for everyone, I will be praying for it, and doing my best to add action to my prayers...
Thursday, March 1, 2012
The Devil Within, Part One
It starts with a frantic call from a friend. You doubt that it is anything serious, but you grab your Bible just in case. You rush to be with her. As you pull up into the drive way, there is a heaviness in the air that makes all the hairs on your neck stand up. You say a quick prayer, and open the car door. In the back of your mind, there is doubt. This kind of stuff only happens in movies, right? As you approach the house, the air around you grows heavier and heavier, and the need to turn tail and run grows stronger. Instead, up the stairs and to the porch you go, one stair after another. Your feet seem to grow heavier, as if they were slowly turning into concrete. You get to the front door, and peer through the front window. You can see that there is a circle of people gathered around a dear friend. You also hear what sounds like chanting. Maybe they were serious, could this really be happening?
You knock on the front door, and the echo startles you, and you mentally chastise yourself for getting so worked up. A man you barely know opens the door, and lets you in. The scene would be absolutely silly, if the air wasn't so oppressive. The friend who called is crying and praying aloud, which is odd because she never cries, and you have never seen her pray which is unnerving. There are more people sitting around in the circle with Bibles, crosses, and all of them are praying and crying. The reason why they're praying, the woman in the middle, is rocking back and forth with tears streaming down her face. Her skin is shiny with perspiration and the expression on her face is desperate and sad. As you watch, she vomits into a bucket, her back arching with the severity of her heaving.
The room smells of sweat and fear, you begin to believe that something you don't understand is going on. You approach the young woman and put a hand on her shoulder. She snaps her eyes toward you and gives you a look that makes your skin crawl. In the second that you meet her eyes, you begin to realize that you aren't looking at your friend anymore. There is someone, something, looking back at you. It chills the blood to look at her. The only thing you can think to do is to pull out your Bible, and start reading.
No, this isn't a scene from a low budget horror movie, this is a scene from real life. It may seem crazy to you, but things like this happen all the time. The real question is whether or not this is a possession, or a psychological disorder.
Modern cinema is ripe with movies of haunting and possessions. Many claim to be true stories, but does this claim hold any weight? Due to recent experiences, we have decided that there are things out there that we do not understand, and perhaps we never really will.
Sara: "I don"t believe in ghosts, unlike some people. I believe in demons. I interpret scripture from the Bible to mean that people's souls usually don't hang out on Earth after they die."
Allie: "I am in agreement with Sara on the spirit thing. I don't believe in spirit possession, but I do believe that there are demons among us. I realize that this might make me absolutely insane. There are demons in this world, but if there are such beings, wouldn't that also mean that there are angels and God in this world as well?"
Saturday, February 11, 2012
A rant just for me
As most of my friends and family know, my daughter was baptised last weekend. I was, and am so very proud of her. If you aren't around her often let me tell you a few things about my little girl. She is strong willed, ornery, selfish (she is barely 6 though, so it's pretty normal), and hyper to the point of driving me insane. She is also kind, very funny, so very smart, and beautiful. I love her more than pretty much anything, her and Andrew pretty much tie. Recently when I started going back to church she was all for it. She wanted to hear out of the Bible every night, and shock... she wanted to act better because that is what God would want. Her behavior improved over the next few months, others may not see it, but it makes worlds of difference around here.
This change wasn't all her, since I had been away from the church, not just the church, but ignoring God for so long, my parenting was fairly lacking. I started to change too, no I'm not a great parent now, but I am getting better every day. Kaitlyn and Andrew are such a huge blessing, and I'm just sorry I didn't see Kaitlyn as one right from the beginning. Since she wasn't planned I failed to realize that she was still part of God's will for me, and I thank him every day.
Of course her baptism was marked with some drama. For about 3 days I was very angry about some of the people that didn't come. It amazed me that my newly Muslim friend showed up, it made my day in fact. I had to question though, why some other people weren't there. Kaitlyn asked about a few people, but I just said that they had to work (remember that I may not be specifically talking about you). I realized this was more my hurt feelings than hers though, and that these people didn't even know I was angry, so it was silly, and now forgiven, without them even knowing that there was a problem, and I guess that's best.
Matthew 18:21-22
21Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
22Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
It's funny, in the years of drinking, partying, and not showing up to church at all, no one questioned my faith. In the past 2 months, since I started this blog, my faith has been called into question on an almost daily basis, whether on Twitter, or in real life. I say things that people assume mean that I am not a Christian, well let me tell you, I may not be the same type of Christian as you. As long as I believe in God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit... As long as I believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, and died on the cross for our sins... As long as I believe that he rose again, and that the Holy Spirit lives in me, then how am I doing it wrong. I try to act right too, lets just throw that in there. If you knew me on the same level my friends know me, then you would see it.
This blog started one way, but why can't it change every now and then? Sometimes I can't research, our net has been down for almost a week. Sometimes Allie can't help me, and it's just a ton of work to do with school going on, not to mention having the kiddos :) I will continue to spend my time talking to Atheists on Twitter, not specifically to convert them, but because they give a unique perspective, and have intelligent debates. I hope to show them that most of the Christians I know aren't bigots, they are loving, caring, accepting people (not accepting of sin, but loving the person, and people always come with sin). I will continue to raise my kids to not hate anyone, and I hope they both grow up to be kind, compassionate people, who always do what they can to help others out.
Thanks again to everyone who came to the Baptism, and to everyone who couldn't make it, thank you for your prayers and the help you have given along the way <3
Psalms 8:2
Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger
I struggled with the choice of letting Kaitlyn get baptised at such a young age, but she showed me that it was the right thing to do. She prays a lot, during the summer I told her that God answers prayers, I failed to mention that you don't always get what you want. My then 5 year old decided to dig up some grub worms one night, gross I know, it gets worse. She proceeded to take a bath with them that night, and all of her worms died. Kaitlyn cried, oh how she cried, then she prayed. I was about to go in to her room when I heard her say "Dear God can I please have some more grubbies". So I ended up digging up grub worms outside with my phone is a flashlight. In 30 minutes I had just found two, but that would have to do. I took them in to Kaitlyn, and she said "Wow, God works fast". To be honest I pulled a Moses, in my head I thought, hey, I got those worms, then she climbed down her bunk bed ladder and hugged me and said "God made you get me grubbies". Silly children and their ways of making you see things...
Sara Hatfield
This change wasn't all her, since I had been away from the church, not just the church, but ignoring God for so long, my parenting was fairly lacking. I started to change too, no I'm not a great parent now, but I am getting better every day. Kaitlyn and Andrew are such a huge blessing, and I'm just sorry I didn't see Kaitlyn as one right from the beginning. Since she wasn't planned I failed to realize that she was still part of God's will for me, and I thank him every day.
Of course her baptism was marked with some drama. For about 3 days I was very angry about some of the people that didn't come. It amazed me that my newly Muslim friend showed up, it made my day in fact. I had to question though, why some other people weren't there. Kaitlyn asked about a few people, but I just said that they had to work (remember that I may not be specifically talking about you). I realized this was more my hurt feelings than hers though, and that these people didn't even know I was angry, so it was silly, and now forgiven, without them even knowing that there was a problem, and I guess that's best.
Matthew 18:21-22
21Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
22Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
It's funny, in the years of drinking, partying, and not showing up to church at all, no one questioned my faith. In the past 2 months, since I started this blog, my faith has been called into question on an almost daily basis, whether on Twitter, or in real life. I say things that people assume mean that I am not a Christian, well let me tell you, I may not be the same type of Christian as you. As long as I believe in God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit... As long as I believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, and died on the cross for our sins... As long as I believe that he rose again, and that the Holy Spirit lives in me, then how am I doing it wrong. I try to act right too, lets just throw that in there. If you knew me on the same level my friends know me, then you would see it.
This blog started one way, but why can't it change every now and then? Sometimes I can't research, our net has been down for almost a week. Sometimes Allie can't help me, and it's just a ton of work to do with school going on, not to mention having the kiddos :) I will continue to spend my time talking to Atheists on Twitter, not specifically to convert them, but because they give a unique perspective, and have intelligent debates. I hope to show them that most of the Christians I know aren't bigots, they are loving, caring, accepting people (not accepting of sin, but loving the person, and people always come with sin). I will continue to raise my kids to not hate anyone, and I hope they both grow up to be kind, compassionate people, who always do what they can to help others out.
Thanks again to everyone who came to the Baptism, and to everyone who couldn't make it, thank you for your prayers and the help you have given along the way <3
Psalms 8:2
Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger
I struggled with the choice of letting Kaitlyn get baptised at such a young age, but she showed me that it was the right thing to do. She prays a lot, during the summer I told her that God answers prayers, I failed to mention that you don't always get what you want. My then 5 year old decided to dig up some grub worms one night, gross I know, it gets worse. She proceeded to take a bath with them that night, and all of her worms died. Kaitlyn cried, oh how she cried, then she prayed. I was about to go in to her room when I heard her say "Dear God can I please have some more grubbies". So I ended up digging up grub worms outside with my phone is a flashlight. In 30 minutes I had just found two, but that would have to do. I took them in to Kaitlyn, and she said "Wow, God works fast". To be honest I pulled a Moses, in my head I thought, hey, I got those worms, then she climbed down her bunk bed ladder and hugged me and said "God made you get me grubbies". Silly children and their ways of making you see things...
Sara Hatfield
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Fundamentalism is a four letter word.
When we started this blog the goal was to show all different faiths in a (mostly) unbiased way. We have found that nearly impossible. Both of us identify as Christian, and it's very hard to separate that from what we read and see. Another thing we have found is that it is hard to write about something you aren't interested in, some religions are just more colorful than others. The last thing we discovered, and I guess we were fairly naive about it, is that Atheists and Fundamental Christians are fighting a very angry, and mostly pointless battle on the Internet. I have been following a diverse set of people on Twitter, I'm fairly new to it, but I wanted to see what kind of people were out there. I followed Atheists, LGBT activates, Fundamentalists, Muslims, Jews, and all sorts of other people. (Sara7133, if you want to follow mine). The fighting is fairly nasty, the folks from the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) tweet up a storm, and their tweets are as nasty as their signs. Tweets like this are very common from that set
Fred Phelps Quotes @FredPhelpsQuote
Now the sodomites have taken over America. There isn’t 1 politician that doesn’t jump every time a fag squeals. Maybe it's too late for USA.
Jonathan Phelps @GodShakes
More @US Army song: Hating God, cowards hearts, ziplock bags for body parts, and your Army goes marching to hell.
That isn't even scraping the surface of their insanity. Here is one from Godswordislaw, another evil person who has decided to embarrass Christianity.
Dr. Keith Roberts @GodsWordIsLaw
Christians are the founders of America and WE determine who gets rights in this country - and pervert homosexuals should not get any.
The other side isn't much better, it seems there are Atheist fundamentalists, and they are also pretty mean. The common belief among Atheists seems to be that Christians are stupid. It's just not true, just because the loudest Christians are ofter ignorant doesn't mean the rest of us are. I find it a little offensive, but the only way to prove it wrong is to calmly show them over time that you aren't dumb, and it does seem to take a lot of time.
Another atheist @kaimatai
Creationism died as a biological model 150 yrs ago, yet its brainless-tail keeps twitching today #atheist #atheism
Monica @Monicks
To be able to cling to your religious beliefs, you have to ignore science & facts—that's when you come across as an idiot. #atheism #atheist
The fact is that these fundamental Christians are scaring people away from Jesus. Muslim fundamentalists scare Americans, they make all Muslims look bad, but from personal experience I know that most Muslims aren't scary people. Once again though, the loudest are the scariest. Religion has a very dark side, Christians need to work as a group to dispel these attitudes, only when we start speaking kindly to those who believe differently will people see that fundamentalist are the exception, not the rule. People who are part of the LGBTQIA set seem to be common in the Atheist community, and are sometimes pretty angry. Of course they are, they are treated terribly, what do we expect? I might be angry if all through my life I had been considered a second class citizen, shoot, I'm still a little angry at how the Bible talks about women, but that's something I have been trying to sort out for years. Just because I don't like it, doesn't mean I don't believe it :)
Atheists, Muslims, Jews, Pagans, and Christians are all just people. We should all take them on a case by case basis, not as a whole. Twitter, Facebook, Google +, these seem to be the new battleground of faith. The problem is that you can't really get a good feel of how people are in real life on these sites. How can I tell sarcasm from sincere belief, unless you put the word in the message? People are also more bold online, it's easy to be loud when you remain in relative anonymity. The sad fact is that the rudeness and hate on these social forums won't end anytime soon, or ever...
Fred Phelps Quotes @FredPhelpsQuote
Now the sodomites have taken over America. There isn’t 1 politician that doesn’t jump every time a fag squeals. Maybe it's too late for USA.
Jonathan Phelps @GodShakes
More @US Army song: Hating God, cowards hearts, ziplock bags for body parts, and your Army goes marching to hell.
That isn't even scraping the surface of their insanity. Here is one from Godswordislaw, another evil person who has decided to embarrass Christianity.
Dr. Keith Roberts @GodsWordIsLaw
Christians are the founders of America and WE determine who gets rights in this country - and pervert homosexuals should not get any.
The other side isn't much better, it seems there are Atheist fundamentalists, and they are also pretty mean. The common belief among Atheists seems to be that Christians are stupid. It's just not true, just because the loudest Christians are ofter ignorant doesn't mean the rest of us are. I find it a little offensive, but the only way to prove it wrong is to calmly show them over time that you aren't dumb, and it does seem to take a lot of time.
Another atheist @kaimatai
Creationism died as a biological model 150 yrs ago, yet its brainless-tail keeps twitching today #atheist #atheism
Monica @Monicks
To be able to cling to your religious beliefs, you have to ignore science & facts—that's when you come across as an idiot. #atheism #atheist
The fact is that these fundamental Christians are scaring people away from Jesus. Muslim fundamentalists scare Americans, they make all Muslims look bad, but from personal experience I know that most Muslims aren't scary people. Once again though, the loudest are the scariest. Religion has a very dark side, Christians need to work as a group to dispel these attitudes, only when we start speaking kindly to those who believe differently will people see that fundamentalist are the exception, not the rule. People who are part of the LGBTQIA set seem to be common in the Atheist community, and are sometimes pretty angry. Of course they are, they are treated terribly, what do we expect? I might be angry if all through my life I had been considered a second class citizen, shoot, I'm still a little angry at how the Bible talks about women, but that's something I have been trying to sort out for years. Just because I don't like it, doesn't mean I don't believe it :)
Atheists, Muslims, Jews, Pagans, and Christians are all just people. We should all take them on a case by case basis, not as a whole. Twitter, Facebook, Google +, these seem to be the new battleground of faith. The problem is that you can't really get a good feel of how people are in real life on these sites. How can I tell sarcasm from sincere belief, unless you put the word in the message? People are also more bold online, it's easy to be loud when you remain in relative anonymity. The sad fact is that the rudeness and hate on these social forums won't end anytime soon, or ever...
What level Druid are you?
Druidry, or Druidism, is another form of Paganism. It is a nature based faith that is becoming fairly popular. I feel that in these times when the health of our home is in question, people are turning to faiths that show a reverence for nature. Pagan religions are perfect for this, especially Druidry. Druids can be monotheistic, polytheistic, or anything in between, they can also choose to not believe in any sort of Deity. Druidry is very old compared to some other Pagan beliefs, it started in Europe over 25000 years ago. Many Druids of the past were converted to Christianity. Their history is somewhat shady, not too much is known of them.
Christianity and Druidism are compatible, as it can be a philosophy as opposed to a faith. Some Pagans also combine it with Wicca, Buddhism, or Hinduism. Some monotheistic Druids worship the Christian God, thankful that he made animals, plants, and the wonders of nature.
There are many myths about Druids, like they have ritual killings. Many historians believe they actually practiced human sacrifice. It seems however that a prejudiced Julius Caesar recorded these stories, so this isn't believed to be accurate, however some sources would disagree. Other people through history have recorded the Druids sacrificing humans, they were burned to the deities on a wooden figure called a Wicker Man (now a terrible movie). Archaeological evidence has shown mass graves that where filled with human sacrifices. Recent findings show that old school Celtic Druids may have even practiced Cannibalism. Stonehenge is also believed to have been created by Druids. Stonehenge however is shown to be older than the beginning of Druidism, many rituals have been practiced there however.
It is hard to sort out the difference between Celtic Druidism, which is generally polytheistic, and the modern form of Druidry that can be Atheistic. Most sources don't really differentiate. They are both nature-centric, but the practice of all druids can vary greatly. Modern Druidry has some Gods, or personifications of nature, that are commonly believed in. The Green man is the God of, or personification of plants. The red man is the personification of, or God of, animals. Since modern Pagans are offshoots from Celtic paganism the history is the same.
This is the best link that someone sent to us for more information on Druidry.- http://druidry.org/
Christianity and Druidism are compatible, as it can be a philosophy as opposed to a faith. Some Pagans also combine it with Wicca, Buddhism, or Hinduism. Some monotheistic Druids worship the Christian God, thankful that he made animals, plants, and the wonders of nature.
There are many myths about Druids, like they have ritual killings. Many historians believe they actually practiced human sacrifice. It seems however that a prejudiced Julius Caesar recorded these stories, so this isn't believed to be accurate, however some sources would disagree. Other people through history have recorded the Druids sacrificing humans, they were burned to the deities on a wooden figure called a Wicker Man (now a terrible movie). Archaeological evidence has shown mass graves that where filled with human sacrifices. Recent findings show that old school Celtic Druids may have even practiced Cannibalism. Stonehenge is also believed to have been created by Druids. Stonehenge however is shown to be older than the beginning of Druidism, many rituals have been practiced there however.
It is hard to sort out the difference between Celtic Druidism, which is generally polytheistic, and the modern form of Druidry that can be Atheistic. Most sources don't really differentiate. They are both nature-centric, but the practice of all druids can vary greatly. Modern Druidry has some Gods, or personifications of nature, that are commonly believed in. The Green man is the God of, or personification of plants. The red man is the personification of, or God of, animals. Since modern Pagans are offshoots from Celtic paganism the history is the same.
This is the best link that someone sent to us for more information on Druidry.- http://druidry.org/
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Something Wiccan this way comes.
I guess we are going to start on a sort of series on paganism. Since I grew up in the Baptist church I was taught that witchcraft is possible one of the worst sins you could commit, that scared me away from Wicca, and other 'magic' practicing belief structures. This is all new to me, so bear with me. Allie has more experience in this area, so hopefully she can fill me in.
I guess we will start with Wicca since it's the most common. Let me start by saying that Wiccans aren't Satanists, as if this needs to be said anymore, but just to be sure (and Satanists don't worship Satan). Wiccans honor the Earth, and everything on it, their Holy days are in-line with nature. Wiccans do, however, practice a form of magic. The creation of Wicca is fairly new, the various branches of Wicca can be traced back to Gardnerian Witchcraft which was founded in the U.K. in the 1940's. Here are some basic beliefs.
Everyone has the divine (or goddess) within.
One should develop natural gifts for divination or occult magic (often spelled 'magick' by occultists.)
Divine forces or nature spirits are invoked in rituals.
The Goddess, as either a symbol or a real entity, is the focus of worship.
Nature and the earth are sacred manifestations of the Goddess.
Everyone has his or her own spiritual path to follow.
Rituals and celebrations are linked to the seasons and moon phases.
Meditation, visualization, invocation (calling on forces or gods/goddesses), chanting, burning candles and special rituals trigger a sense of the mystical, thus reinforcing the core belief system.
These seem to be accurate, but my research was done on the Internet, so I'm sure it is flawed :). There are many forms of Wicca, some choose to believe in one God/Goddess, both, or they can be polytheistic. Wicca can also be Atheistic, as in they believe that the Gods/Goddesses are symbolic of nature. As I see it one of the most misunderstood things about Wicca is the Pentagram symbol. When I was a child I noticed that it is was also the symbol for the Eastern Star portion of Masonry (I will study this further, but I just wanted to point it out). However in that form the star is upside down. I remember my childhood friends being terrified of this symbol. At a young age I read a book my Dad had on religion and realized that it was a symbol of blessing, when I tried to convince my Christian friends that it was not evil, they got angry at me. The Pentagram or Pentacle is also a symbol of protection, and can be carried much like Christian would carry a cross or rosary.
One of the issues with Paganism as a whole, and specifically Wicca, is that it was a 'flavor of the month' religion through much of the 90's. Teenage girls did it to piss of Daddy, people thought it made them enlightened or spiritual. When asked about their religion though, they had little knowledge. Me and Allie believe this belittled the religion as a whole, and it is still recovering from the image of being a passing craze.
One of the things we can all enjoy about Wiccans is their stance on the Golden Rule. http://www.wicca.com/celtic/wicca/rede.htm here is a website for the full Wiccan Rede. It states that you should harm no one, live and let live, and give back what you take. These are great principles for anyone.
As opposed to other religons Wicca seems to be fairly innocuous, which is always a good thing. They celebrate gender equality. Some feel homosexuality is an affront to the God/Goddess, although many others disagree. They don't have a book that is like the Bible to them, they have a few instructional books, but no main doctrine. They don't have a unified view on the after life, generally they believe in an after life... reincarnation, a Heaven type plain called the Summerland. Before they can go to the Summerland however they go to a purgatory like place, where their Karmic slate is wiped clean, then they can choose to enter Heaven, or be reincarnated (the Celtic tradition of Wicca). They are generally left wing affiliated. Like most things in the Wiccan faith, Abortion is pretty up in the air. Their believes are so varied from one type to the other, that it is hard to have any definitive answers.
These are just the basics, there are many facets of this religion, and in one Blog page it would be impossible to describe them all accurately.
Here are a few links
http://paganmurmur.blogspot.com/2011/11/10-things-about-wicca-that-wiccans.html
http://www.controverscial.com/The%2013%20Principles%20of%20Wiccan%20Belief.htm
http://www.wiccanbookofshadows.50megs.com/
I guess we will start with Wicca since it's the most common. Let me start by saying that Wiccans aren't Satanists, as if this needs to be said anymore, but just to be sure (and Satanists don't worship Satan). Wiccans honor the Earth, and everything on it, their Holy days are in-line with nature. Wiccans do, however, practice a form of magic. The creation of Wicca is fairly new, the various branches of Wicca can be traced back to Gardnerian Witchcraft which was founded in the U.K. in the 1940's. Here are some basic beliefs.
Everyone has the divine (or goddess) within.
One should develop natural gifts for divination or occult magic (often spelled 'magick' by occultists.)
Divine forces or nature spirits are invoked in rituals.
The Goddess, as either a symbol or a real entity, is the focus of worship.
Nature and the earth are sacred manifestations of the Goddess.
Everyone has his or her own spiritual path to follow.
Rituals and celebrations are linked to the seasons and moon phases.
Meditation, visualization, invocation (calling on forces or gods/goddesses), chanting, burning candles and special rituals trigger a sense of the mystical, thus reinforcing the core belief system.
These seem to be accurate, but my research was done on the Internet, so I'm sure it is flawed :). There are many forms of Wicca, some choose to believe in one God/Goddess, both, or they can be polytheistic. Wicca can also be Atheistic, as in they believe that the Gods/Goddesses are symbolic of nature. As I see it one of the most misunderstood things about Wicca is the Pentagram symbol. When I was a child I noticed that it is was also the symbol for the Eastern Star portion of Masonry (I will study this further, but I just wanted to point it out). However in that form the star is upside down. I remember my childhood friends being terrified of this symbol. At a young age I read a book my Dad had on religion and realized that it was a symbol of blessing, when I tried to convince my Christian friends that it was not evil, they got angry at me. The Pentagram or Pentacle is also a symbol of protection, and can be carried much like Christian would carry a cross or rosary.
One of the issues with Paganism as a whole, and specifically Wicca, is that it was a 'flavor of the month' religion through much of the 90's. Teenage girls did it to piss of Daddy, people thought it made them enlightened or spiritual. When asked about their religion though, they had little knowledge. Me and Allie believe this belittled the religion as a whole, and it is still recovering from the image of being a passing craze.
One of the things we can all enjoy about Wiccans is their stance on the Golden Rule. http://www.wicca.com/celtic/wicca/rede.htm here is a website for the full Wiccan Rede. It states that you should harm no one, live and let live, and give back what you take. These are great principles for anyone.
As opposed to other religons Wicca seems to be fairly innocuous, which is always a good thing. They celebrate gender equality. Some feel homosexuality is an affront to the God/Goddess, although many others disagree. They don't have a book that is like the Bible to them, they have a few instructional books, but no main doctrine. They don't have a unified view on the after life, generally they believe in an after life... reincarnation, a Heaven type plain called the Summerland. Before they can go to the Summerland however they go to a purgatory like place, where their Karmic slate is wiped clean, then they can choose to enter Heaven, or be reincarnated (the Celtic tradition of Wicca). They are generally left wing affiliated. Like most things in the Wiccan faith, Abortion is pretty up in the air. Their believes are so varied from one type to the other, that it is hard to have any definitive answers.
These are just the basics, there are many facets of this religion, and in one Blog page it would be impossible to describe them all accurately.
Here are a few links
http://paganmurmur.blogspot.com/2011/11/10-things-about-wicca-that-wiccans.html
http://www.controverscial.com/The%2013%20Principles%20of%20Wiccan%20Belief.htm
http://www.wiccanbookofshadows.50megs.com/
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