Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - We're all neck-deep in Christianity...

ravenradiodj · 11-10-2004, 07:12 PM

Christianity IS everywhere, even in some places it shouldn't be. I graduated from a public state university in 1989, and our commencement ceremonies began with a prayer from a Protestant minister. Given that separation of church and state is supposed to be the law of the land, this shouldn't have happened, but, as a non-Christian, I see this sort of thing all the time. It's unconscious, I'm sure, but it's about as enlightened and correct as the old "flesh" colored crayons they had when I was a kid, which were, of course, Caucasian skin color. I am a Pagan minister, and trust me when I say that there are as many different kinds of Pagans as there are Christians - maybe more (after all, we were here first, lol). My personal belief system tells me that everything I do will come back to me - as most people say, "what goes around, comes around", or "you reap what you sow". So I work very hard at not negatively stereotyping Christians. I have many family members and friends whom I love dearly who are devout Christians, and I'd defend their right to their beliefs as much as I'd defend my own. I think what's needed here, and what's supposed to be the spirit of the law in this country, is tolerance. Monotheistic belief systems have a tendency to create this feeling of "we're right, everyone else is wrong" that I think followers of the Abrahamic religions (Christians, Jews, Muslims) should be on guard against. Ultimately, we all have to go on what our hearts, minds, and spirits tell us is the right path, and I believe that path is different for everyone. And yes, too many people criticize Christianity without reading the Bible. I would ask, too, how many Christians have studied the Qabbalah, LaVey, Crowley, Gardiner, the Koran, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Tao Te Ching, and any of the numerous contemporary Wiccan and Pagan authors before they adopted the commonplace beliefs that negatively stereotype all of us as either cartoonish idiots or dangerous evildoers.
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Gimme That Old Time Religion - PAGAN FOR LIFE!

11-10-2004, 07:12 PM	#50 (permalink)
ravenradiodj Crazy	Christianity IS everywhere, even in some places it shouldn't be. I graduated from a public state university in 1989, and our commencement ceremonies began with a prayer from a Protestant minister. Given that separation of church and state is supposed to be the law of the land, this shouldn't have happened, but, as a non-Christian, I see this sort of thing all the time. It's unconscious, I'm sure, but it's about as enlightened and correct as the old "flesh" colored crayons they had when I was a kid, which were, of course, Caucasian skin color. I am a Pagan minister, and trust me when I say that there are as many different kinds of Pagans as there are Christians - maybe more (after all, we were here first, lol). My personal belief system tells me that everything I do will come back to me - as most people say, "what goes around, comes around", or "you reap what you sow". So I work very hard at not negatively stereotyping Christians. I have many family members and friends whom I love dearly who are devout Christians, and I'd defend their right to their beliefs as much as I'd defend my own. I think what's needed here, and what's supposed to be the spirit of the law in this country, is tolerance. Monotheistic belief systems have a tendency to create this feeling of "we're right, everyone else is wrong" that I think followers of the Abrahamic religions (Christians, Jews, Muslims) should be on guard against. Ultimately, we all have to go on what our hearts, minds, and spirits tell us is the right path, and I believe that path is different for everyone. And yes, too many people criticize Christianity without reading the Bible. I would ask, too, how many Christians have studied the Qabbalah, LaVey, Crowley, Gardiner, the Koran, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Tao Te Ching, and any of the numerous contemporary Wiccan and Pagan authors before they adopted the commonplace beliefs that negatively stereotype all of us as either cartoonish idiots or dangerous evildoers. ________________________________________________________________________ Gimme That Old Time Religion - PAGAN FOR LIFE!