Not really. Some Pagans are pacifists, others will fight for what they believe to be right.
turtle wrote
that sounds pretty good…are they like quakers…no war
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maia wrote
Not really. Some Pagans are pacifists, others will fight for what they believe to be right.
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turtle wrote
thanks maia…
“Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediment.”–WS
Apologies if I seem disrespectful. I simply don’t see how sympathetic magic, the religion of our distant ancestors, speaks to us today. I do see it in the practices of fundy, Christian churches. In that respect it is religion or infant spirituality. Wicca has given us no prophets such as Jesus, Buddha, Confucius. And. sympathetic magic smacks of self-centered beliefs. It says little of caritas or agape.
Sympathetic magic never Went away, but it was certainly suppressed and anything that smacked of paganism was supressed, until recently in horrible violent ways, now mainly through shaming and social violence. But it was Always present even in Europé, though people had to be careful. Wicca has not had a prophet, sure. Though wicca is a fairly recent reformulation of various pagan ideas and followed by small Groups in predominantly Christian areas. And since proselytizing and saving people is not at all like in Christianity, it is hard to see how they will become huge. But here’s the thing, paganism does not sit well with modern empires - modern meaning going back a thousand years or so. It is more tribal and also tend to be connected to specific pieces of land and nothing as huge as say, France. Jesus’ religion fit very well with the Powers that be. He basically said that the secular Powers, even if they are jerks, should not be challenged, since the real Kingdom is in heaven. That is not the way pagans would view it. Confucious was not a prophet. The Buddha also developed a system that generally fit well with secular Power and the state and despots, etc. The popularity of a prophet does not mean that that prophet is better than Another one. Or Adam Smith and Bill Gates would be the greatest prophets. And the religions that came out of Abrahamic prophets have made it hell on Earth for anyone who did not Believe as they did.
some good ideas Moreno…one thing I wanted to comment on…jesus did go against some group that had power and authority…otherwise he would not have been killed…
I think we all understand that by prophet I meant the voice of the major religions. And I tried to make it clear that religion is immature spirituality. It can lead to something more. So what does paganism lead to? Does it teach us how to love and respect one another? Or is it simply a reaction against the excesses of other religions?
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The Pagan worldview most certainly leads to love and respect for each other. This is not handed down from on high as something you must do, however. It just comes naturally.
“I could never believe in a God that doesn’t know how to dance”
- Nietzsche
I’d almost say magic isn’t complete without the dimension of dance.
Ancient Hebrews worshiped with music and dance.
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As with all magic, its practice is pointless until it isn’t magic to you.
If you want to really dance, learn the real steps.
Which are?
As a good Christian, I am going to advocate that… the blind girl indeed dances… infact, I think she should go out to the Cliffs of Dover and twirl like a Dervish for hours. It will surely have a transcendental outcome… for a few moments, you’ll feel like your flying through the air… and people will be so impressed, they will talk about the blind girl who spun herself dizzy along the cliff, and maybe even put a monument dedicated to you where you left this earthly realm and transcended to the world beyond. Will become a great Wiccan Pilgrimage site… where others can try to rival your spiritual actions, and become one with the inner Goddess.
She cant see that… you gotta include the text outside of the pic for her silly, with a sense of context. Now she has to run to someone and ask them to preform the dance in the picture in disco clothes infront of her so she can feel how lame it really is.
.
On a more serious note, I see all belief systems as ’lame’ including Christianity. The fact that Christianity plundered Pagan mythology for their symbols, auspicious dates, ceremonial rituals and archetypes just shows how ‘lame’ Christianity’ is. But then again, I think all belief systems are lame.
Beliefs are programs. They are mental cages. It doesn’t matter if they’re pagan or philosophical, religious or atheistic systems of beliefs – a cage is a cage is a cage – and cages are not to designed to free the believer but to imprison him.
This I believe.
.
…depends on the dance.
The “Dance of Life” is stated in the first sentence of my signature.
No magic required.