*apply label here*
Yesterday I was having conversation around a coffee table, as you do, and it turned to labelling. Well, actually it turned to a certain discussion forum that I'm a member of, and how some of the people on there are into labelling. Specifically, one particular member who told me that I shouldn't call myself pagan, and shouldn't be part of the group because I don't have a relationship with deity and am not working towards having a relationship with deity.
So anyway, I remember this conversation quite well. To be honest, I agree with the guy, because paganism is a religion (or to split hairs, a group of religions), and, well.. I'm not religious. Not even slightly. This doesn't mean that I don't have beliefs that I share with pagans. I just don't consider myself to be one. However, to state that I shouldn't be part of a discussion group because of my lack of belief in deity is two things - one, separatist and two, labelling.
Anyway, the funny part is that another member of the same group does call me pagan, even though I reiterate regularly that I don't consider myself to be. And so do other people who should know better. Heh.
And then later yesterday evening I was part of a discussion about atheism. Here's another label that other people have stuck on me. I don't believe in deity, therefore I must be, right? Well.. possibly? I don't believe in deity as intelligent, self aware and interested in what I'm doing. But considering that the concept of God is 'the unknowable' - then who am I (or you) to decide that we do know and therefore my lack of belief makes me an atheist?
So I posted this on another forum that I belong to that discusses religion, and someone piped up "Oh! You're a Unitarian Universalist!" To which I went *google search* because at the time I didn't even know what that was. Now I do, sort of.
Apparently I'm also agnostic, because I'm prepared to accept evidence for or against the existence of deity as it comes up.
And lately I've been reading a lot about Jesus and what he said and did. I don't believe that Jesus was the son of God, and I've yet to come across anything he said that states that he believed he was the son of God either - in any way except in that he was a human and according to his belief, all humans are sons and daughters of God.
(note here that i haven't read the entire bible and biblical quotes to the contrary are fine but bear in mind before you pull out your bible that i'll probably come across them sooner or later anyway, and alter my view accordingly)
Anyway, I think Jesus was one onto it dude. I believe in a lot of his teachings, wish I'd thought of it myself, and try to live (not always successfully) in accordance with what he taught. Because I think he was mainly about integrity and being honourable and considerate in your dealings with other people. Not so much with the Saviour stuff, but if my calculations are correct, Jesus was about the acceptance of his way of life as opposed to the blathering about being saved. So I guess that makes me Christian too, huh?
Oh, and then there's the bit where I think that pretty much all altruistic behaviour is based in the self - ie, I help you move house. It's a good thing to do for another person. But what is my motivation for doing so? Well - the exercise makes me feel good. The doing nice things for other people makes me feel good, and the other people act positively towards me because I did nice things for them. All selfish reasons. Think it isn't true? How often would you help someone move house if they didn't act positively towards you because of it? So, apparently, my belief that most behaviour in myself and other people is selfishly motivated, makes me a Satanist.
So there you have it people - I'm a pagan atheist unitarian universalist agnostic christian satanist, with a bit of buddhist leaning in there too because I believe that everything's connected.
*please insert another label here and attempt to predict my behaviour by using it, you know i love that stuff*
And then lump me in with a bunch of people that I have some things in common with, and say negative stuff about all of us, because that's human nature. We like to label and categorise. Dewey Is God!
Wouldn't it just be easier to go "Hey, that's Wendy, she believes some pretty strange things" and leave it at that?
Because, you know, what you believe means absolute zip unless you act according to your beliefs. It's called integrity - you know, when what you say and what you do match up? This is a work in progress for me. I like to think I have a lot of integrity. But I catch myself out acting without integrity sometimes, and so it's a constant process of improvement. But for the most part, I think I'm doing ok with it. And I can recognise when someone lacks integrity - when their behaviour does not match their words - and those kind of people are the kind of people I don't want to be around, regardless of how they label themselves.
On an odd note, last night I had a dream in which I was at a Burner type festival, and what people there were calling me was The Healer. And while I usually chafe on labels, for some reason that one was ok. But of course to be integrous (??) about accepting that label, I'd have to actually heal people, right? Funny, in my dream I wasn't doing any woogie woogie, or dishing out any drugs for that matter. I was just going about my business and doing my thing, and people would join me for a while, and leave feeling better. Which ties in very much with my belief that the less you do, the more happens. In my dream, I was acting with integrity to my beliefs, and it was effective.
Maybe there's something in that. Hmm.
Anyway, now my brain is tired. I'm going to go for a walk in the country, in the sunshine. Then I'm going to go dancing. It'll be fun. You should come. ;-)
I guess the bottom line is that people will attempt to label you no matter what you do, or not. But it's their label based on their beliefs, and they do it to make their life simpler. And that's not really harming me, is it?
So anyway, I remember this conversation quite well. To be honest, I agree with the guy, because paganism is a religion (or to split hairs, a group of religions), and, well.. I'm not religious. Not even slightly. This doesn't mean that I don't have beliefs that I share with pagans. I just don't consider myself to be one. However, to state that I shouldn't be part of a discussion group because of my lack of belief in deity is two things - one, separatist and two, labelling.
Anyway, the funny part is that another member of the same group does call me pagan, even though I reiterate regularly that I don't consider myself to be. And so do other people who should know better. Heh.
And then later yesterday evening I was part of a discussion about atheism. Here's another label that other people have stuck on me. I don't believe in deity, therefore I must be, right? Well.. possibly? I don't believe in deity as intelligent, self aware and interested in what I'm doing. But considering that the concept of God is 'the unknowable' - then who am I (or you) to decide that we do know and therefore my lack of belief makes me an atheist?
So I posted this on another forum that I belong to that discusses religion, and someone piped up "Oh! You're a Unitarian Universalist!" To which I went *google search* because at the time I didn't even know what that was. Now I do, sort of.
Apparently I'm also agnostic, because I'm prepared to accept evidence for or against the existence of deity as it comes up.
And lately I've been reading a lot about Jesus and what he said and did. I don't believe that Jesus was the son of God, and I've yet to come across anything he said that states that he believed he was the son of God either - in any way except in that he was a human and according to his belief, all humans are sons and daughters of God.
(note here that i haven't read the entire bible and biblical quotes to the contrary are fine but bear in mind before you pull out your bible that i'll probably come across them sooner or later anyway, and alter my view accordingly)
Anyway, I think Jesus was one onto it dude. I believe in a lot of his teachings, wish I'd thought of it myself, and try to live (not always successfully) in accordance with what he taught. Because I think he was mainly about integrity and being honourable and considerate in your dealings with other people. Not so much with the Saviour stuff, but if my calculations are correct, Jesus was about the acceptance of his way of life as opposed to the blathering about being saved. So I guess that makes me Christian too, huh?
Oh, and then there's the bit where I think that pretty much all altruistic behaviour is based in the self - ie, I help you move house. It's a good thing to do for another person. But what is my motivation for doing so? Well - the exercise makes me feel good. The doing nice things for other people makes me feel good, and the other people act positively towards me because I did nice things for them. All selfish reasons. Think it isn't true? How often would you help someone move house if they didn't act positively towards you because of it? So, apparently, my belief that most behaviour in myself and other people is selfishly motivated, makes me a Satanist.
So there you have it people - I'm a pagan atheist unitarian universalist agnostic christian satanist, with a bit of buddhist leaning in there too because I believe that everything's connected.
*please insert another label here and attempt to predict my behaviour by using it, you know i love that stuff*
And then lump me in with a bunch of people that I have some things in common with, and say negative stuff about all of us, because that's human nature. We like to label and categorise. Dewey Is God!
Wouldn't it just be easier to go "Hey, that's Wendy, she believes some pretty strange things" and leave it at that?
Because, you know, what you believe means absolute zip unless you act according to your beliefs. It's called integrity - you know, when what you say and what you do match up? This is a work in progress for me. I like to think I have a lot of integrity. But I catch myself out acting without integrity sometimes, and so it's a constant process of improvement. But for the most part, I think I'm doing ok with it. And I can recognise when someone lacks integrity - when their behaviour does not match their words - and those kind of people are the kind of people I don't want to be around, regardless of how they label themselves.
On an odd note, last night I had a dream in which I was at a Burner type festival, and what people there were calling me was The Healer. And while I usually chafe on labels, for some reason that one was ok. But of course to be integrous (??) about accepting that label, I'd have to actually heal people, right? Funny, in my dream I wasn't doing any woogie woogie, or dishing out any drugs for that matter. I was just going about my business and doing my thing, and people would join me for a while, and leave feeling better. Which ties in very much with my belief that the less you do, the more happens. In my dream, I was acting with integrity to my beliefs, and it was effective.
Maybe there's something in that. Hmm.
Anyway, now my brain is tired. I'm going to go for a walk in the country, in the sunshine. Then I'm going to go dancing. It'll be fun. You should come. ;-)
I guess the bottom line is that people will attempt to label you no matter what you do, or not. But it's their label based on their beliefs, and they do it to make their life simpler. And that's not really harming me, is it?