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One thing which appeals to me about neo-pagan faiths is generally they don't have a book of rules. They have generalities, but the focus is that those are tools and not necessities. I've met christans who deal largely in spirituality and get along fine with them. One woman had come to find her inspiration in the ancient chants because it was just spirituality. She was looking for work as a social worker with a christian agency, but was having trouble since she didn't fit their brand.
I'd like to think that pagan/nature based/traditional faith, if they were the mainstream would not be stuck in their own boxes and arguing every word, but then I wonder if when you are the 'unofficall official' one maybe it comes with the territory.
One difference with the faiths encompassed in this sub forum is people generally come to it on their own and are pretty secure about it. Some christans also have, but many are just because it was how they were raised.
I was raised in a more traditional/conservative form of Christianity and rejected it as an adult. How/why I came back to Christianity is a journey I'll spare you, but it's very different from what I was raised in. The "rule book" is a tool, not the object of worship it is with some sects. Emphasis is on one's own spiritual journey coupled with obligations to social justice. (And the bizarre rituals I love so much.)
On another forum, I once had a long dialogue with a serious practicing pagan. She had been where I once was--in a Christian church feeling nothing, but she had a spiritual experience she relayed to me that was very profound and moving and sent her on her path. I loved her way of celebrating the Winter Solstice. She and her husband would have friends over and on pieces of paper they would write down things from the past year that they don't want to bring into the new light. Everyone would read theirs and then toss them into the bonfire they had in their backyard, and then afterward there was a potluck supper with candles lit everywhere and they stayed up until dawn.
I was raised in a more traditional/conservative form of Christianity and rejected it as an adult. How/why I came back to Christianity is a journey I'll spare you, but it's very different from what I was raised in. The "rule book" is a tool, not the object of worship it is with some sects. Emphasis is on one's own spiritual journey coupled with obligations to social justice. (And the bizarre rituals I love so much.)
On another forum, I once had a long dialogue with a serious practicing pagan. She had been where I once was--in a Christian church feeling nothing, but she had a spiritual experience she relayed to me that was very profound and moving and sent her on her path. I loved her way of celebrating the Winter Solstice. She and her husband would have friends over and on pieces of paper they would write down things from the past year that they don't want to bring into the new light. Everyone would read theirs and then toss them into the bonfire they had in their backyard, and then afterward there was a potluck supper with candles lit everywhere and they stayed up until dawn.
Wow, that is awesome. It's also a new year dawning so quite proper. I do a candle lit ceremony, a candle each for yesterday, today and tomorrow. What you learned from yesterday, what needs to change today, and what you seek tomorrow. When you blow out the candles, you release the energy to do its work. I love Yule/Solstice since its a time to end old baggage and start anewy.
Back when I still was marginally Episcopal, someone who was fundamentalist told me I wasn't a 'true' believer since they didn't approve of the Episcoal church. Yep, a single blanket word is meaningless.
And if you do, realize that comment sections on websites are like a drain trap. No one will stop you from looking, but don't expect to find much more than greasy scum.
I dunno. I usually scroll through the music vids for the translations or lyrics users provide if not posted elsewhere. A good percentage of what I listen to is not in English or German, so it is helpful.
Probably the genres I listen to, but Christian spam is rare to find on any vids. If there is garbage, it is almost always political.
Wow, that is awesome. It's also a new year dawning so quite proper. I do a candle lit ceremony, a candle each for yesterday, today and tomorrow. What you learned from yesterday, what needs to change today, and what you seek tomorrow. When you blow out the candles, you release the energy to do its work. I love Yule/Solstice since its a time to end old baggage and start anewy.
Back when I still was marginally Episcopal, someone who was fundamentalist told me I wasn't a 'true' believer since they didn't approve of the Episcoal church. Yep, a single blanket word is meaningless.
I'm Episcopalian. Yes, my born-again uncle has warned me that my church isn't really Christian, as have a number of people on the CD Christianity forum.
The problem is that our most basic belief is that Christ said to love God and love your neighbor and everything else can pretty much be hooked to that. So, there's no worship of the bible as equal to God (though we study it, but not as some infallible thing) and we allow women and gay people to be clergy. We believe in social justice and separation of church and state--not always popular stances.
Even within the Episcopal church, there are variations of division over these things.
I'm Episcopalian. Yes, my born-again uncle has warned me that my church isn't really Christian, as have a number of people on the CD Christianity forum.
The problem is that our most basic belief is that Christ said to love God and love your neighbor and everything else can pretty much be hooked to that. So, there's no worship of the bible as equal to God (though we study it, but not as some infallible thing) and we allow women and gay people to be clergy. We believe in social justice and separation of church and state--not always popular stances.
Even within the Episcopal church, there are variations of division over these things.
I remember once when I was going to church as an older kid, the minester was talking about the bible in terms of its time. He used the great flood as an example. His thought was that as it was credited to people who lived at the juncture of two large rivers who flooded often and sometimes catastrophically, and who likely saw 'the world' as the places they had been, a hundred year flood could easily have been seen as the end of the world. This helped form my way of thinking when people talk about ideas of people past and how bad/good/realistic/imaginary their concepts are. Always look at where it comes from and how they would have seen their world and how big it was.
The school I went to for the first three grades who actually taught the students to read was a church school, and we celebrated May day like they did across the pond, even with the maypole. Chapple was optional. But my first grade teacher was a retired English teacher who I remember saying 'pants' were something a dog did, not something you wore. But you learned to read in her class.
I hope people do read the comment I left on this one filk video. Its at a convention party, and the singer is named Frank Gasparic. He had his faults, but was a friend. He was never commercially recorded, but within our little community everyone knew his music. The really neat thing, for me, is that I was at that party, and know most of the people you see in the room.
Now my memories of him are the kinds of things I do read comments to find. RIP, Frank
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonnenwende
I dunno. I usually scroll through the music vids for the translations or lyrics users provide if not posted elsewhere. A good percentage of what I listen to is not in English or German, so it is helpful.
Probably the genres I listen to, but Christian spam is rare to find on any vids. If there is garbage, it is almost always political.
I was being tongue-in-cheek, there can be valuable comments, but I once found my 8 year old nephew looking at a quite innocent child oriented video and took a look at the comments... Why would someone feel the need to write n****r and f****t in the comments on a child's video? Sick and twisted some people are.
I was being tongue-in-cheek, there can be valuable comments, but I once found my 8 year old nephew looking at a quite innocent child oriented video and took a look at the comments... Why would someone feel the need to write n****r and f****t in the comments on a child's video? Sick and twisted some people are.
Hard to tell from your post because you did have a real point. Most comments on YT are very much
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