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Intolerance against Paganism and in general ...
After watching the negative reaction of somebody to the rising of Paganism with the new cults and religions, like Wicca, Goth and Neopaganism, I want to know your opinion about it. And furthermore to discuss world Intolerance in general also ....
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Stacey on
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I am new to this site today. I joined because I am eager to learn about the UNIQUE DIFFERENCES between people. It is sad that many have lost site of the fact that there is nothing "sinful" about respecting someone's differing beliefs. It is understandable that they may want to discuss their own belief system in an effort to draw others to SHARE IN their beliefs but one should never shun another for following a path that benefits them spiritually and/or socially, without causing harm to others.
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Permalink Reply by Jade on
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wow, donna! i dont pay attention to politics very much- I KNOW I SHOULD- so i cant comment on the barrack obama bit. i just wanted to say that i live in a town, not as bad as yours but close. here, if you dont go to church- your evil! my house was spray painted here- because i am wiccan and the wrong person found out. i have hardly any friends here and i cant talk about my religion to any of them- so its kind of like im faking. i feel like a fake. i am used to a place where i can practice out in the open and nobody seemed to care. Now its completly different. kind of like a shock to my system. i dont 'know how you feel' but - im close! hang in there! :)
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Permalink Reply by Torey on
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As a Satanist, I have to say that I am disappointed with the intolerance that I have found AMONGST PAGANS towards their own kindred.
I can't even number the amount of times that I have heard WICCANS say things like "evil Satanists" and "we protect Christians against evil Satanists" or "if I met Satan, I'd smite him in the face".
Some Pagans do exactly what they profess to hate Christians doing to them - and I seek to bring all of them down who do it in order to end the hypocrisy and double-standard.
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Permalink Reply by ooooooooooooooooooooo on
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paolo i think it is sad and not right, but it is a simple fact, humans fear what we don't know.so many times we are told this or that is bad or evil without ever being informed about it. curiosity is punished and knowledge is degraded. i think today you have to be brave and strong to find the right path for yourself. on the other hand i believe it is easier today to express yourself then it was 10,15 years ago. i hope for my children's future to be able to live the lifestyle that suits them without fear of reprisals from those who can't or won't understand
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Permalink Reply by Founder on
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Donna & Torey,
Tolerance is generally used by a wise man, intolerance is used by ignorants.
The problem is how and how much tolerance needs to be used in different situations; in my opinion it varies upon circumstances...
In the Obama case that you described, it seems to be just blind intolerance mixed with some racial ingredient! ...
However I don't feel that I will be intolerant, if from a political point of view I will see his presidency as a negative event.
Intolerance is, in my opinion, mainly blind as racism. So that I don't consider people intolerant that can justify their own opinion with rational and consequential thought.
Christian intolerance, racism and arrogance is similar in Judaism and Islam, creating a multifaceted worldwide cancer, that is penetrating in the veins of our society! IT NEEDS TO BE ERADICATED COMPLETELY BEFORE WILL SPREAD OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If there is a "Holy War" it needs to be the one against ignorance and stupidity!!!!!
The Satan problem arises from a negative interpretation of the term, mainly from Christianism...
The real point is that God embeds good and bad, in being the principle originator.... then we can say that Satan, as depicted by Christians ( which is not a correct vision ), is just another part of God. Another problem in the problem is how you represent Satan. For me, from an alchemical perspective, he's connected with the symbol of fire, and represents the "Nigredo" stage of the Great Work. It is also through this fire that you can get enlightenment in Spiritual meditation. It is also evident that a strong fire can burn you ! ...
I will give more hints in a devoted issue on that theme ...
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arleighna said:paolo i think it is sad and not right, but it is a simple fact, humans fear what we don't know.so many times we are told this or that is bad or evil without ever being informed about it. curiosity is punished and knowledge is degraded. i think today you have to be brave and strong to find the right path for yourself. on the other hand i believe it is easier today to express yourself then it was 10,15 years ago. i hope for my children's future to be able to live the lifestyle that suits them without fear of reprisals from those who can't or won't understand
Arleighna,
We need always to express ourself with freedom and without fear!
There is really not good or bad but everything is related to your personal position and perspective...
For example a Sun can give life to our planet Earth which can be seen as a good thing, and vice versa if we put the Earth too close to the Sun it can destroy life with its strong power, which can be seen as a bad thing!
Then you can understand that in this case everything depends on the geographical position of the Earth!
So that good and bad is a relative problem, or secondary, meaning that pertains to the subject.
However, the distinction among good & bad is really a intricate problem that doesn't pertain to the subject of this blog issue ...
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Permalink Reply by sam on
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for the most part in the area im in... i havent really been forced into too many of these sort of predicaments... im happy to say for the most part its safe... i know alot of people here whom ive been very close with in most all of my past lives and we seem too share many of the same beliefs we always have... for the most part we hide so as not to cause trouble, however, ive come to notice many pagans in my area actually use my collage as a safe place to talk about our beliefs...
theres alot of the goddess and god here... though its often really hard to find at first...
ive had a few ciramstances where people turn around and try to convert me... told a guy once i was a shaman and a druid and he cut me off and told me i worship satan apperently... i just laughed and replied something along the lines of "oh me? no thanks" =] ive really just shruged off most of the nasty critisism i get... to be honest out of all the stuff ive always remembered since i was a kid... i cant really complain... O_o ill take a 2 hour attempt at someone trying convert me to burning at the stake any day...
the massachusets- conneticut area though... its nice... you can tell by the storms
this past summer ive seen some of the best charged in a while...
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Permalink Reply by Panthera Sky on
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I have a respect for all people of all faiths. However, it really unnerves me when people, usually Christians or Jehovah's witnesses, show up at my door shoving THEIR beliefs in my face fully expecting me to "see it their way". And what is worse is that it is absolutely tolerated and accepted throughout the small podoke community in which I live. I think they have things backwards when it comes to pagans, witches, satanists, etc... the "mainstream religions" are the ones who, to me, seem to be the great cults, attempting to brainwash all those who dont see things as they do and drag them into their highly organized worshipping. If I were to go door to door in my community and hand out flyers with a pentagram or triple moon on front asking others if they have "heard the word of the Lord...and Lady today" my family would be ran out of town if not worse! YET they believe WE are the ones who are bad and evil and cause unjust harm! To those people, it seems as if religion has no true value or meaning other than a way to be accepted by society as a whole. Just look at how commercialized Christianity is...I've seen "WWJD" on everything from bracelets to Tshirts to coffee mugs, and then there's televized christian worshipping! My family, including my husband, are self-proclaimed Christians. None of them ever attend church, not many pray to my knowledge, all of them are guilty of some "sin", BUT yet they cringe when I even mention being a Wiccan or that I practice Witchcraft. Not one of them ask anything about my beliefs or why I believe what I believe or what it means to me. They are scared of knowledge and change beyond what they already know to be... I am Taboo among my own family as we (neopagans) are among society. That is why there is a majority of our nation is in an uproar about Barack Obama becoming our next president. He is Taboo and over the next few years I forsee less fear and more change with more knowledge of the unknown and misunderstood.
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Christians like better Atheists cause they fear to remember what they did with Paganism during the ages....
One of the best things that Pagans can do is to show to these people ( Christians, Jews, Islam, etc...) that our roots are the same, so that the wiser among Christians & co. will start in realizing that we are part of the same family.
Also it is of major importance to show that Paganism is not just a series of secret cults but also contains many of the most brilliant thinkers ever, as the Greco-Roman philosophers were.
In other words we need good propaganda for our new Neopagan World!!!
The problem that we have is that Paganism embeds so many different beliefs from Angelic Magic to the Lucifer friends so that people see us with caution and fear!
But we know that in all families there are "good" and "bad" boys, more calm or more agitated souls ( if we like to call them this way !..) and so on....
That's why I'm here to fight with you. We don't need to fight with guns or knives, but with historical proofs that can punch the face of fanatics better than uppercuts!!
Then the first thing to do is to re-enter the path with the Pagan tradition, especially the Egyptian-Greco–Roman one, that created and shaped the new religions as they are today.
I will disclose more on neopagan.com, I ask for a little bit of patience...
For now just tell them to re-study history.
I will give you next practical details where to go to check in the web.
Finally treat them ( I mean those religious fanatics or ignorants ..) as brothers that are confused.
But, don't give to them your other cheek, just send them to my site neopagan.com !!!
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Donna & Panthera,
since God is just one and don't belong to anybody as exclusive privilege then we don't have to care about Jehovah's witnesses & co. Also if Jehovah is God, and God is one by any means, needs to be evidently the One in which I believe under a different name!!... So that these people, whether Jehovah's witnesses, Muslim fanatic followers or the elected Jewish so called "Chosen people" ( obviously I don't include the wise and good willed ones among them ), or other kind of intolerant, don't have any monopoly or special rights on God, neither a priority status. LET'S JUST IGNORE THEM AS WE START TO RE-CONNECT WITH OUR "ERASED" PAST!!!!!
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thank you so much panthera sky- you said EXACTLY what i have been thinking. i notice all the time, in Walmart, Hastings,etc, clothes racks and sections full of clothing, jewelry, hats, coffee mugs with verses from the bible and wonder- Why is thier not a wiccan section, or buddist, or muslium or jewish??? why only christian?! this makes no sence. people think that there is a freedom of religion in this country, but thier wrong. it is not equal at all! my family is the same way as yours with the exception of my husband. he is also wiccan and supports me fully. but my family and friends are all christian that tell me all about thier Christmas- but never ask what Yule is. it is very frustrating sometimes. But there is hope. i dont know if you have noticed lately, but it is getting better. more and more people and places are accepting us. and while its not like it should be- it is alot better than it was a couple hundred years ago. we just have to do our best to wear our pentacles proudly and explain honeslty to the people who are willing to ask questions.
Goddess Bless
Jade
Panthera Sky said:I have a respect for all people of all faiths. However, it really unnerves me when people, usually Christians or Jehovah's witnesses, show up at my door shoving THEIR beliefs in my face fully expecting me to "see it their way". And what is worse is that it is absolutely tolerated and accepted throughout the small podoke community in which I live. I think they have things backwards when it comes to pagans, witches, satanists, etc... the "mainstream religions" are the ones who, to me, seem to be the great cults, attempting to brainwash all those who dont see things as they do and drag them into their highly organized worshipping. If I were to go door to door in my community and hand out flyers with a pentagram or triple moon on front asking others if they have "heard the word of the Lord...and Lady today" my family would be ran out of town if not worse! YET they believe WE are the ones who are bad and evil and cause unjust harm! To those people, it seems as if religion has no true value or meaning other than a way to be accepted by society as a whole. Just look at how commercialized Christianity is...I've seen "WWJD" on everything from bracelets to Tshirts to coffee mugs, and then there's televized christian worshipping! My family, including my husband, are self-proclaimed Christians. None of them ever attend church, not many pray to my knowledge, all of them are guilty of some "sin", BUT yet they cringe when I even mention being a Wiccan or that I practice Witchcraft. Not one of them ask anything about my beliefs or why I believe what I believe or what it means to me. They are scared of knowledge and change beyond what they already know to be... I am Taboo among my own family as we (neopagans) are among society. That is why there is a majority of our nation is in an uproar about Barack Obama becoming our next president. He is Taboo and over the next few years I forsee less fear and more change with more knowledge of the unknown and misunderstood.
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