Paganism Rant

[moon_ferret]

One the message boards I am on is populated by some wild and woolly Pagans. There are a couple in particular that are quite a bit older than me and have been around the Pagan community for thirty plus years. One has the screen name of Daimon and is one of the ones that I always know I want to read his posts. This one was one of my favorites and

Comments

[ravendreamer]

I second that! How aptly said!

Re: That's an affirmative, Sir!

[moon_ferret]

I think that the reason that people with alternate lifestyles gravitate towards the pantheon of pagan religions is because the vast majority of pagans are so open-minded and really don't give a damn what you do, as long as you don't shove it off on them or their personal morals.

I very much agree. That has been said several ways in this thread and I must say that this is a point that I think some people miss. While I am not against any of these behaviors per se, I am not sure how they can be "linked" to Paganism in general.

[lilairen]

Heh. Every so often someone will post to polyamory or some similar community, "Do I have to be pagan if I'm poly?" Which is a massive "Gbuh?" for me.

My one major nitpick -- okay, my two major nitpicks, the first one being "I despise the phrase 'alternative lifestyles', not least because it's usually used to describe things that aren't actually lifestyles" -- is that it's possible to read the paragraph as suggesting that non-mainstream lifechoices require some sort of justification, though paganism is not an appropriate one to use for that purpose.

My minor nitpick is that there are people whose religious beliefs and life practices grow from the same root; their whatever is not paganism-in-general, but their whatever is part of their paganism. It's possible to read the last sentence of the large paragraph as saying that those people either don't exist or should be closeted about the interrelationships within their beliefs.

[moon_ferret]

My one major nitpick -- okay, my two major nitpicks

I went back and read it again. I can see that. You are right in saying that "lifestyles" should not have to excuse themselves for the most part. I personally just have a problem with people that use Paganism as an explanation for some of these things.

It's possible to read the last sentence of the large paragraph as saying that those people either don't exist or should be closeted about the interrelationships within their beliefs.That is also a very good point. The DH and I do not actually agree on this subject and I think you hit it right on the head there. I go back to the point that I don't think that these things should be used as a part of a religion. I do, however, see what you are saying. I just have a problem with people that think that these are run of the mill actions for ALL Pagans. On the teen board I help corral, one of the things that we beat into the teens is that not all of the Christians that do the drive-by "You are all going to hell" posts are not the

[lilairen]

I think it makes sense, yes.

I think that there needs to be a certain amount of happy medium -- I also think it's hard to find it in a lot of cases, just because the pagan communties are so incredibly diverse.

I suspect that the happy medium is in recognising that these things, whatever they are, are not necessarily related, while also recognising that there exist people for which they are related -- both with one causing the other, or both rooting in something deeper in the person with the practices

[moon_ferret]

think that there needs to be a certain amount of happy medium -- I also think it's hard to find it in a lot of cases, just because the pagan communties are so incredibly diverse.

Very good point. I think it also one of the reasons that I was drawn to Paganism in the first place. I am not herd minded and most of the Pagans I know aren't either.

I think it's an important thing to recognise that many people integrate things in their lives in ways that other people may not recognise. I also think it's important that people remember that the way they integrate is not necessarily a meaningful integration for anyone else. My gut feeling is "these things should not be a part of a religion" is as questionable as "these things are an inherent part of a religion".

That made me think. I guess that what I think is that it is not a part of MY religion. Paganism is such a broad term that it gets fuzzy around the edges when you try to say what it is and what it isn't. But that is a whole 'nother thread...

I've encountered someone who

Um, Ferret?

[appleblossomtru]

As an aside, Daimon is in college. He's about 21 years old. :) The kid is just *that* brilliant.

[moon_ferret]

My face is red. I thought he was the same age as Lud or Morr. He certainly sounds like them from time to time. I stand corrected!

[moon_ferret]

All I could think when I read this was that you would have to shave me to find out. And then I realized what that sounded like. So just take my word for it that I am blushing. Again...

[achbarr]

Sweet! I got in trouble with some people for sayying the same things that you have written here.

Achbar