Can you do Pagan Rituals and not be Pagan ?

Even though they may look like there not seeing any view but there own. You must understand for them to be offended they did see another view. That little seedling that we plant with love will grow and vice versa..

[onetruebeliever]

Originally Posted by Occultist

Even though they may look like there not seeing any view but there own. You must understand for them to be offended they did see another view. That little seedling that we plant with love will grow and vice versa..

Yep, that's very true.

Originally Posted by Animus27

Occultist, that above sentence is exactly why "witches" and "pagans" have such a hard time being taken seriously.

How about you cast away your presumptions about religion and history and pick up some history books, written by people who know what they're talking about, instead of linking an asinine picture about the "Burning Times" which is considered modern nonsense, perpetuated by glittery websites created by people with silly made up names. I'm not denying the fact that the Church did atrocious things - but the whole idea of some mass murdering of sooper sekret witch parade, isn't anywhere as factual as some teenage polemics suggest.

Again, it seems you ignore all of my posts and parrot your information, even though I've shown it to be questionable.

I feel sorry for you if you've studied for 20 years and still spout such misinformation and half-informed ideas. Maybe you should pick up the spoon and eat at the wealth of knowledge and study available.

Arnaud (or Arnau) Amalric (died 1225) was a Cistercian church leader who took a prominent role in the Albigensian Crusade. He is remembered for allegedly giving advice to a soldier wondering how to distinguish the Catholic friendlies from the Cathar enemies to just "Kill them all. For the Lord knows them that are His."
As for the wheel of the year, perhaps the name is modern, but unless stone henge is modern I think that you may well be misinformed.

Wow!

I think it is time for everybody to take a breath and consider that it may be best to just accept that opinions are like navels (everyone has one) and we are all entitled to our own.

I believe that there is more than sufficeint evidence to support the BurningTimes and it is just adding insult to injury when we try to dismiss it as nonsense.

The Maleus Maleficarum would be the place to begin your research. It was penned by two German ArchBishops by the names of Sprenger and Krammer and it caused the death of untold numbers of people--beginning on the European Continent and extending to the Americas.

I think this thread is an excellent representation of what occurs when we insist on advancing our own ideas as the ultimate truth--then begin to demonize and degrade the ideals of others.

There is room at the table for us all and we should (perhaps) consider the wisdom of agreeing to disagree.

Peace and Love on the path of your choice...

Blessed be...

[norseman]

LadyT, there is a need to be careful over the Burning Times - there is major doubt cast by the stats that came out of a small German city [Ulm, I think]. It is said that the Bishop there massaged the figures. Burnings did occur [Spanish auto de fe ! - the question is, though, who was burnt. The answer to that seems to be mainly heretics i.e. christians including priests.]

Originally Posted by norseman

LadyT, there is a need to be careful over the Burning Times - there is major doubt cast by the stats that came out of a small German city [Ulm, I think]. It is said that the Bishop there massaged the figures. Burnings did occur [Spanish auto de fe ! - the question is, though, who was burnt. The answer to that seems to be mainly heretics i.e. christians including priests.]

I am trying very hard not to become angry here. The original poster, was asking about Pagan rituals being practiced by a christian. By definition then that would make her a heretic, and would of subjugated her to the inquisitors. Though I try very hard to be tolerant of other religions, in the case of christianity, I have a lot of trouble. I see christianity as a form of cultural contamination. It is an alien religion, belonging to a middle-eastern group. In many cases the indigenous religions were forcefully suppressed, that is why we practice a reconstructed form of those religions. I grant though, that were it not for the writings of early christian monks, we would have nothing to go by, also, though were it not for them the old religions would still have been practiced, and we would not need anything to go by. My wife is a christian, though not a revisionist, in that she doesn't try to deny the volume of blood on the hands of the church as some do.

Okay I am sorry Wicker why are you even getting mad? Or what are you getting mad about Norse? Or do you think Norse is a christian? I agree with your statements on your last post Wicker I just dont understand the mad part. I dont see anything Norse said to be trolling or could possibly light someones fuse.
He is stating history.<scratches head>..

Originally Posted by Occultist

Okay I am sorry Wicker why are you even getting mad? Or what are you getting mad about Norse? Or do you think Norse is a christian? I agree with your statements on your last post Wicker I just dont understand the mad part. I dont see anything Norse said to be trolling or could possibly light someones fuse.
He is stating history.<scratches head>..

You misunderstand me, I was not getting mad at Norse, just the discussion in general. It was more an explanation of my previous post than a new declaration. I quoted the last post in the thread, that was my mistake, and that lead to a lack of clarity on my part. I get a little hot when people in general try and deny things that happened in the past, certainly things in history get exaggerated, battle field body counts among them. No I am not mad at Norse, really I am not mad at anyone. I just don't see why folks need to deny something, it happened in the past, they were not a part of it, and the church that did it isn't the same today as it was then.

[norseman]

Wickerman, there is a certain amount of legend mixed with the facts of the "Burning Times". The German Bishop [apparently] used the number of burnings in his small city [Ulm ?] and then just scaled the number up to the whole of Europe.
To the best of my knowledge, there were no burnings at all in Britain. The most well-known Witch Trial was the Pendle Witches who were subject to hanging. I do not know about Salem.
Sadly, Wiccans often continue the myths of Burning which, as I said, was mostly burnings of people who did not go along with the edicts of Rome - Albigensians, Cathars, etc.

So, yes it is history, but if we don't learn from history we are bound to repeat it - not Burnings but in general bigotry and persecution which still goes on today. Mankind is a very slow learner.

I understand Wicker that the church isnt the same as it was. But the Bible is the same KJV. The understanding that if you dont believe this way you will burn in hell is still the same. Many Christians prolly even on this board would say I was going to hell cause I am a Witch.
Not all but prolly more then enough also many people in general still believe Witches worship Satan and have orgys and call upon demons. these are the things I dont like. But you cannot deny them and you cannot say that way of thinking doesnt exist today because it does. Just because I dont get put on a post and set a flame I get gossiped about behind my back and many people fear me in this small one horse town.