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I've often thought about this subject, as it comes up again and again. I've been told that not agreeing with those who believe that Christians can combine Christ with Wicca, and call it Christian Wicca, is intolerant. Not surprisingly, I don't see it as intolerance. I see it as proper use of language and terminology.
The concept of a "Christ," in and of itself, is problematic. The idea that a man, born of a woman, can be the only conduit to a nice afterlife, is just something that doesn't map to a religion that feels that each has a not only a personal connection, but also is a part of Deity itself. The overlying concept surrounding Christ is that he died for our "sins" and is therefore the sole way, the sole light, and no one gets "through" except by believing in him. Wiccans do not accept a "gatekeeper" type paradigm. Wiccans do not accept that all humans are born "sinful" and are in need of something to save them. Without even surveying where Christian doctrine would exclude Wicca, we can see issues arising with calling belief in a Christ contrary to Wiccan belief.
This Christ's teachings have also been interpreted to exclude women as much as possible, thus negating the Wiccan cornerstone of duality in Deity. While some might argue that Jesus encompassed both the masculine and feminine, the biblical accounts just don't bear that out. So again, a major tenet of Wiccan faith is not possible to reconcile with Christianity.
There is obviously a lot more, but the point is not that there are differences in doctrine that are seemingly impossible to reconcile. Nor is the point my opinion that any attempts to combine the two are being disingenuous to both religions. To me, the point is that picking and choosing combinations of doctrine that you wish to follow must be based on an intimate knowledge of those doctrine. It must be done from a highly informed position, with clear reasons for each choice. And once that is closely examined, and completed, THEN one chooses a label that FITS to describe what they have chosen.
If it's not about duality of Deity, and it's about salvation through a Christ, it's NOT Wicca. Calling it such, to me, is ignorance of both paths, and a credit to neither.
Over 30,000 people dead so far. Death toll expected to rise. It's just SO BIG that the mind is boggled. Of course, the US media is filled with how Americans are affected, but that's not the story. The story is that a 9.0 rated earthquake has devastated 8 countries, killed thousands, thousands more missing, and thousands more injured and/or in danger of death due to contamination that always occurs when drinking water is poisoned by things that just should not be in it.
So what can we do? I found myself looking at the TV and thinking that nothing I did could possibly make a dent in the nightmare being suffered by fellow human beings. And I found myself feeling very small and very helpless; a tiny speck on the side of a massive gaping flaming hole called "need." But it's not true. We CAN do something. As each of us is a Star, each of us holds that power within them. We have the power to make it better. We can light candles to guide the lost souls who may not realize they have passed. We can send healing energies to those who are left behind, and those who are seeking the missing. Those who are able can send money to agencies like Unicef and Care. And yes, we can make a difference.
Those evil nasty drug companies are already donating millions of dollars worth of medicine and supplies that are being shipped out. US relief agencies are on the way. Governments around the world are donating money and supplies. Those who are able, are building coffins, large and small. Every little piece of the puzzle is greatly needed, and useful.
So please, don't feel that you're too small to make a difference. Our spiritual energies are a formidable force. Let's collect it in the same way we collect money and supplies, and let's send it to those in need.
Don't we just love the way that the administration finds ways of punishing people that dare attempt to assert their rights.
The Social Security Administration is rejecting the marriage
certificates of heterosexual couples who happened to live in the
same towns that issued some certificates to homosexual couples
earlier in the year...
You may recall that earlier in the year, a number of small towns
in New York state issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Now that action has resulted in an unforseen consequence:
retaliation against everyone from them by the Social
Security... [Morons Dot Org]
All it takes is just a second or two in time, and everything can change. Every choice we make, conscious or unconscious, can have the most profound effect on our lives and those of our loved ones. We hear this all the time, but it's strange that the only time it really sinks in is when something actually happens to someone we know and love.
I suppose that is for the best. After all, if we take the time to evaluate the cosmic consequences of every step we take in life, we might become frozen in uncertainty. After all, would going to the post office right NOW avert an accident, or cause one? Will ordering that item from a home based business give them enough money to buy life saving medications for a sick child? Will telling your child they must go to school even when faking sick cause them to be involved in a bus accident? Or will the person you don't say hello to on the street retaliate by shooting you in the head three times and ending your life?
That's essentially what happened to my housekeeper's cousin. I walked into the kitchen this morning and she was on the phone dissolved in tears. She isn't prone to tears. Through the 13 years she's worked for me, there haven't been many instances of this. When I asked her what was wrong, she told me her cousin in Columbia was killed last night. He was shot in the head three times.
I don't know the circumstances of his death. I have no idea why anyone would want to shoot him, what he might have done or not done, where he was, whether he should have been there or not, or what his life would have been had this not happened. None of that truly matters. The fact is, a life was ended in violence, due to the choices that were made by shooter and victim. In the time it takes to squeeze a trigger three times, the fabric of the universe changed, albeit far more profoundly for some than for others.
The idea that the Gods understand these changes of a single thread in this immense and eternally complicated pattern is mind boggling. But, of course, Deity is supposed to be far too complicated and mind boggling for us to have any type of true understanding. It's more than enough for us to try to understand what's going on in our own lives. Unfortunately, we don't have the luxury of taking inordinate amounts of time to over evaluate every move we make. Even if we did, we would likely drive ourselves insane, and miss some of the cosmic lessons our Gods have in store for us for this life, painful as they may be.
Just an instant is all it takes.
Color me clueless, but why would a person purchase a home in the woods, and then become confused because deer are in their yard? We live in a suburb of DC that is known for its large wooded lots (perhaps not for much longer since they're allowing so many damn McMansions to be built 2 to an acre...), horse pastures, wildlife, and Great Falls National Park. It is nice here, where you can hear the birds chirping, see an occasional fox on the hunt, raccoons come to visit, some nice possums, and, of course, deer.
Well duh! Deer live in the woods. We have woods. Deer have been kicked out of just about every other place in the area because of overbuilding so the deer have nowhere to go. If you're thinking of buying a house in Great Falls, perhaps each sales contract should contain a big red "Warning - Deer Live Here." And when deer get hungry, just like any other creature, they look for something to eat. If you have planted a virtual buffet of wonderful looking, smelling, and tasting plants in your back yard, guess what they'll eat first?
Most of the people who live here who want to have nice gardens and yards plant things that deer don't really like to eat. My landscaping is set up in just that way. The deer don't like to eat those things, but they have plenty of other food in the woods. Or, they can just go to my neighbor's house.
My neighbors, it seems, were unaware that they were moving to a home in the woods. They didn't see the forest OR the trees. So imagine their surprise when large brown creatures munched through their hostas and other tasty plants. So what did they do? They installed the super mega deluxe anti-deer fence - a strange green contraption that makes it look as if they are Taliban prisoners at Gitmo. As they cower behind this mess, that likely cost them at least 5K from the size and breadth of it, I have to wonder why they ever chose to purchase a home in this high priced suburb. Most people do it because of the trees and animals. These guys seem to be doing it despite the trees and animals. Much confusion.
In any case, it just about made my day to watch a young hungry doe leap effortlessly over the contraption and start to munch out on the neighbor's hostas. Strange that she had more difficulty getting out than in, however.
United States: The loony fundies are rampant in Texas again. This time they're throwing a hissy fit over textbooks and, surprisingly enough, winning the fight to force their narrow minded, bigotted beliefs on the rest of the country.
Christian Conservatives on the Texas state Board of Education are rewriting textbooks to bring them in line with their neo-conservative social agenda. These are the same kinds of people who have been insisting for years thatthe liberalsare driving theiragendain schools... but that seems to have been a case of Freudian Projection all along.
Where a textbook says something that doesn't agree with their warped take on reality, these people simply change the textbook. Here are some examples of changes proposed and changes in the past:
Unfortunately, because textbook publishers don't want to create separate editions of their books for the red states versus the blue states, large red states like Texas often end up getting their way, and religious and conservative convictions become hardwired into textbooks to promote a Conservative Correctness agenda in our public schools.
- References to
marriagemust be defined asa lifelong union between a husband and a wife(not between two people, because that would imply that gays and lesbians married in Massachusetts, Canada or many parts of Western Europe actually exist).- References to
partnersbecomehusbands and wives.- Adolescence brings about an
attraction to the opposite sex" notattraction to others(even though adolescence plainly does bring about attraction to others of the same sex for gay youths, it isn't part of the universe that these conservatives accept, therefore it must be written out of the book.)- The last ice age took place
in the distant pastnotmillions of years ago(because the earth is only 6000 years old).
Revision Marches to Social Agenda - Los Angeles Times, 22th November 2004 (via Morons.org).
[The Pagan Prattle Online]United Kingdom: Seven hundred years after they were denounced as heretics and condemned to torture and death, the Knights Templar are calling for a public apology from the Roman Catholic Church.
The secretive organisation which was formed at the time of the Crusades has written to Pope John Paul II requesting that the Vatican officially atone for the persecution of the order.[The Pagan Prattle Online]
The formal request for reconciliation to the Vatican has come from an English-based sept and is signed by theCouncil of Chaplains, for and on behalf of the acting Grand Master. The letter asks foran apology from the Vatican for the persecution of our brothers of the Knights Templar and the torture and murder of our leadership, under Pope Clement V during the 14th century AD.
Going to church could seriously damage your health, according to researchers at Maastricht University. The air inside a church contains high levels of carcinogens and up to 20 times the European limit of PM10s.
The researchers analysed the particulate matter concentration found in the air of a small chapel and a large basilica in Maastricht following lengthy use of candles or a simulated service in which incense was burned.
Fine particulate matter is a major ingredient in air pollution. Consisting of solid particles with a diameter of 10 microns or less, it contains different types of toxic chemicals, including soot, metals and various carcinogenic molecules.
The particles can penetrate very deep into the lungs and trigger various lung and heart conditions.
The researchers found that, after nine hours of candle-burning, the church air had PM10 levels of 600 to 1000 micrograms per cubic metre - more than four times higher than before the start of the first morning mass.
This represents 12 to 20 times the European allowed average concentration over 24 hours.
The study also found very high concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, also known to be carcinogenic.
Will the Irish government use EU legislation to ban incense in churches (which are, after all, a workplace) the same way it's banned smoking in pubs? Will wayside pulpits be replaced with health warnings, and will churches which advertised without mentioning the dangers be liable for damages?
Church air is 'threat to health' - BBC News, 20th November 2004 (thanks to Novice Nun the Wiser).
[The Pagan Prattle Online]Pretty interesting to believe that a Supreme Court Justice can't interpret such a simple body of law as that separating church and state.
Further evidence that Scalia doesn't really favor a strict
interpretation of the Constitution is comments he made
suggesting that state-mandated religion should be fine...
Here's a quick refresher course for Supreme Court Justice
Antonin Scalia in First Amendment law:
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging
the freedom... [Morons Dot Org]
Not only do they think God put Bush in office, they believe God
will become quite irate if their religious agenda isn't acted
upon...
"I believe Our Lord elected our president and I believe he put
him in office and it is my prayer that he will sustain him in
office."
That's what one fundamentalist told ABC News. I must have
somehow missed the section in the Constitution that... [Morons Dot Org]