questions?

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I posted this before, but I think it got lost in the shuffle.
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reborn_pagan:
*i chose wicca as my relgion just because it felt right for me, i’ve expiermented with other relgions but none of them stuck to me as much as wicca.

and in my opinion the people you mentioned jst take wicca as veinly as possible thinking that it is jst a game and not a serious relgious path

i woship the goddess danu, but i also worship dagda becaues in my opinion half is good, but whole is better…

does this answer your question?*
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I’m not sure what you mean by people taking 'wicca as veinly [sic] as possible". I assure you, the people I know who are into wicca are very serious about it. It is their chosen path, not a game. They are indeed searching for a connection to the Creator, however they like the idea of not having that Creator make any demands on them. They can worship as they please, IF they please, and it matters not to their chosen gods.

What is your perception of worship? Do your gods care if you worship them or not? Is there a proscribed form of worship? What does your worship entail? Historically, worship has included sacrifice. What type of sacrifice do your gods deem acceptable, if any?

Thanks for taking the time to answer these and the others’ questions!
 
I’ve always been curious about this.

As a Pagan, do you believe that the God from Catholicism/Christianity, exists?
If so, how do you reconcile with your own beliefs the Catholic/Christian belief in only Catholicism/Christianity and in no other deities or ethical code?

Do you think that Catholics misrepresent our God, and that He never really said there were no other deities or that specifically Catholic/Christian ethics are universal? Or what…? I’m genuinely curious about this, and maybe you can only give me your personal view since Paganism and Wicca don’t necessarily have one set dogma aside from the rede.

I ask it because you obviously can’t believe that everything we believe about God is true, as that would render your own beliefs impossible…so I’d like to know what you do believe. 🙂

Thanks for your time and answers!
 
TOP said:
Hi Reborn,
I wanted to ask, since wiccans believe in multiple deities, do they believe that there is a God of Israel as discribed in the torah and christen bible? Thanks, Tim
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Any answer?
 
Okay guys I’m gonnna take a day or two off from here, i got alot of stuff on my mind and its giving me a migrane the size of Russia.

Kittychorus, if you wanna help out feel free
 
mark_a said:
Correct. And how does paganism win out over the incarnation?
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I have never met any Pagan who claimed that Paganism, or their devision of it was superior to any other religion. I think the point is, they are not claiming that it is superior, just different.
 
rayne100 said:
I have never met any Pagan who claimed that Paganism, or their devision of it was superior to any other religion. I think the point is, they are not claiming that it is superior, just different.
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I will have to disagree with you on this one. I cannot speak for Wiccans, but I can speak for myself as an Hellenic polytheist, which falls under the general umbrella term of Pagan or Neopagan. The issue is multifaceted. The first question to ask is “superior in what way, by what measure?”

By the very fact that I say that I believe polytheism is a more accurate representation of the spiritual reality that I experience, I am saying that I believe it is therefore superior to monotheism, as I believe that accuracy is inherently superior to inaccuracy.

Honestly, if I did not believe that my religion was the most accurate reflection of spiritual reality, then why would I want to follow it? Why would I expect anyone to respect such a hypocritical stance?

So yes, I believe that polytheistic religions, in general, are superior to monotheistic religions in accurately describing the spiritual reality that I perceive. This is only an issue because of the exclusive nature of monotheism. In order for the monotheist to believe that his God is what He says He is, then the monotheist is required to believe that no other Gods can possibly exist.

This is not an issue when looking at various polytheistic religions, as polytheism is not exclusive. In order for my Gods to exist, I don’t have to prove or believe that no other Gods exist, just that I do not have a relationship with those other Gods, so they are not really relevant to my life. Even henotheists are not in a bind on this one, as they are willing to admit that other Gods exist even if they are only called to follow one.

Now do I then claim that my religion is superior (either to monotheistic religions or to other polytheistic ones) in producing followers who are good, moral people or capable of doing things of great benefit to the world? No. I can plainly see evidence to the contrary, so to claim otherwise would be dishonest.

Do I claim that my religion is superior (either to monotheism or other polytheistic beliefs) in terms of followers who are sincere in their belief that their religion is the most accurate (superior) representation of the spiritual reality that they perceive? No, misguided perhaps, according to the way I see the world, and a bit puzzling that they do not share my perception since it seems obvious to me, but not insincere. Indeed, I would believe that they were hypocritical if they followed a religion that they did not believe was the most accurate representation of their experience of spiritual reality.

In actuality, I see the fact that so many do sincerely believe such disparate religions(including such disparate monotheistic ones) accurately reflect their individual experiences of spiritual reality is a strong argument for polytheism. If these believers are indeed encountering actual different Gods, then their different experiences are not at all hard to explain. It is only when one tries to explain all their experiences as the same experience, when such is plainly not the case, that it becomes convoluted.

Do I claim that my particular form of polytheism is the only way or that my Gods are the only true Gods for every individual? No, that would be foolish.

As to a monotheistic God, I would have, in the end, to say that yes, I am willing to believe that there is a God of the Jews and a God of the Christians and a God of Islam, that this God may or may not be the same in these three instances, and that He may claim or believe Himself to be the only God. I also believe, however, that He is either inaccurate, or perhaps that his followers are not accurate in their interpretation of what they believe He claims based on the fact that a singular, omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent monotheistic God is at odds with the reality of my experiences and perceptions of the world.
 
KarenNC said:
I will have to disagree with you on this one. I cannot speak for Wiccans, but I can speak for myself as an Hellenic polytheist, which falls under the general umbrella term of Pagan or Neopagan. The issue is multifaceted. The first question to ask is “superior in what way, by what measure?”
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Do you believe Jupiter is the supreme god?
 
KarenNC said:
I will have to disagree with you on this one. I cannot speak for Wiccans, but I can speak for myself as an Hellenic polytheist, which falls under the general umbrella term of Pagan or Neopagan. The issue is multifaceted. The first question to ask is “superior in what way, by what measure?”
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Hey, thanks for the post, it was interesting to see your point of view. In regards to the above statement though, my comment was about my particular experience. I was not speakign for all of Paganism. I have many friends that are Pagan and I can honestly say that they have never told me or anyone around me that their religion was superior to Christianity.
 
rayne100 said:
I have never met any Pagan who claimed that Paganism, or their devision of it was superior to any other religion. I think the point is, they are not claiming that it is superior, just different.
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Tell me about the moral teachings of the paganism you are familiar with.

You know, after giving this more thought, I don’t think I know what paganism is.
 
mark_a said:
Tell me about the moral teachings of the paganism you are familiar with.

You know, after giving this more thought, I don’t think I know what paganism is.
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I would be happy to, however I am not Pagan, I am Catholic.
I can tell you from discussions what my friends and Fiance have discussed with me, however, I woul dnot say that they speak for anyone else but themselves.

Reborn Pagan, KittyChorus and Karen NC are all different denominations of Pagan and have done alot to share what their beliefs are.
If you have specific moral questions, I think that you should those questions directly to them. (if I’ve missed anyone else, forgive me). 😉

I suspect that you will find that all three have a very defined set of moral values.
 
KarenNC:

Excellent post!

I have a question - I have met some Wiccans and Neopagans that believe that there is a single “source” of Divinity in the universe.

Do you have the same understanding?

This is not intended to be a leading question - I think that the idea of a single source of Divinity fits nicely with some of the things you posted above.

It also raises some interesting questions like, “Are we all looking at the same thing? Like three blind men examining an elephant, are we all looking at different aspects of the same Divinity?”
 
rayne100 said:
Reborn Pagan, KittyChorus and Karen NC are all different denominations of Pagan and have done alot to share what their beliefs are.
If you have specific moral questions, I think that you should those questions directly to them. (if I’ve missed anyone else, forgive me). 😉
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Technically, no, they’re not. They’re not pagans, they’re neopagans. If you want to know what real paganism is like, as practiced by an advanced civilization, you have to find it in, say, Japan or rural Korea. With all respect, Reborn et al are neopagans. They do not hold the same values as historical pagans, or currently existing societies with analogous values that, for the sake of political correctness, we don’t call pagan although they substantially are.

Simple test, Reborn, KittyChorus, Karen:
Would you gut yourself or cut your throat for your honor?

All historical pagans would. Read Roman or Greek history.

Neo-pagans are analogous, mutatis mutandem, to the modernist strain of Christianity. They may be legitimate religions, but they are no longer the thing whose name they bear. They have adopted a different system of ethics–specifically, in the case of neo-pagans, the rights-ethics of the Enlightenment. Such ethics would be utterly foreign to all historical pagans, all of whom used Natural Law.
 
cheese_sdc said:
KarenNC:

Excellent post!

I have a question - I have met some Wiccans and Neopagans that believe that there is a single “source” of Divinity in the universe.

Do you have the same understanding?

This is not intended to be a leading question - I think that the idea of a single source of Divinity fits nicely with some of the things you posted above.

It also raises some interesting questions like, “Are we all looking at the same thing? Like three blind men examining an elephant, are we all looking at different aspects of the same Divinity?”
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I know that this post is for Karen but wanted to let you know that KittyChorus has that belief. She is Pagan, however she is monotheistic.
 
rayne100 said:
Hey, thanks for the post, it was interesting to see your point of view. In regards to the above statement though, my comment was about my particular experience. I was not speakign for all of Paganism. I have many friends that are Pagan and I can honestly say that they have never told me or anyone around me that their religion was superior to Christianity.
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Fair enough. Honestly all any of us can do in this is speak from our own experience.
 
Is the individual who commits an act ALSO the judge of whether that act is harmful?

Are all individuals EQUALLY able to determine whether their acts have a harmful impact?

Does the impacted person have any voice?

In the event of a conflict of interpretations, whose determination is the authoritative one. . . the affected person or the acting person?

Is there any idea of group morality or a group obligation to do good that is important and binding, beyond any individual sense of obligation?

Do individuals have a duty to help others, beyond any possible sense of good intention or goodwill that they may have toward others?

Is there one overall purpose behind all these various interactions of these gods and godlettes? Or are their actions just another layer of humanlike confusion in the world?
 
cheese_sdc said:
I have a question - I have met some Wiccans and Neopagans that believe that there is a single “source” of Divinity in the universe.

Do you have the same understanding?

This is not intended to be a leading question - I think that the idea of a single source of Divinity fits nicely with some of the things you posted above.

It also raises some interesting questions like, “Are we all looking at the same thing? Like three blind men examining an elephant, are we all looking at different aspects of the same Divinity?”
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I think it is possible to theorize that there might be at root an underlying “ground of being” for all existence (including that of the Gods) but that if so it is so far removed from our experience as to be irrelevant to that experience.
 
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