I'm Pagan all the way. Years and years ago I was at Pyramid Point in northern Michigan. Sitting away from the path in dew soaked foliage and looking out over Lake Michigan. At that point I was agnostic, a sort of spiritual journey that I accidently started upon - it was at that instant when I realized that god isn't some dude in the clouds judging us. It was nature. Humans aren't exalted beings, were just another animal and that the cycle of life and death, static and chaos and everything that creates nature is part of the divine plan. I also feel more comfortable with the idea of a divine feminine than a white dude from Iraq
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I'm all about self exploration. Not in the way that is frowned upon by the Catholic Church. I firmly believe that humans are taught to ignore thier senses and instincts. Instincts including things like what is referred to as "psychic phenomonon". Hell I'm very interested in what the paranormal I've seen some things that have convinced me that maybe I'm on to something
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Rant...
I don't want to offend anyone. So please, if you get angry just remember I'm some chubby dude in his parents basement
Christanity, Judism, Catholism, Islam...have all out grown thier intentions. Every one of those religions began (alledgedly) with the intention to spread peace and prosperity and it did. But man, is a corrupting force thats utterly relentless. And zeal is the most destructive force on the planet.
Christianity for instance. Waltzed through primitive England with the message of saving people through the glory of Jesus Christ. Nothing wrong with that. But they diluted thier religion with pagan symbology. They intergrated so many diffrent folk traditions into that original Christianity isn't what it was. Their no longer missionaries thier salesmen.
So fast forward many years. After genocides, and religious cleansings. They get a hold on Europe and deem witches who are; herbalists, and spiritual mediums and shamanstic folk and innocent girls evil. Then hang them or burn them. These are heinous acts of supreme vicreal violence. There's a fraction in the church now. A telling one I must say. You have fundamentalists and you have...rational folk. The rational folk are meek voices in the back of the congregation that when someone stands and says "She's a witch! Lets burn her!" they say "Hey wait a minute..." but the Fundamentalists are...louder than they are...and lets face in this world leaders are few and followers are many. So when the louder Fundamentalists are lighting torches and building a bon fire the followers are going to side with them. Almost by instinct.
Modern day. I'll watch the 700 Club, or I listen to people talk, and I hear things like "God fearing" and "sinning" and "hellfire" and I can only see the exploited husks of long dead intentions. Now its the pedistal for demagogues, fearmongers and most recently politians wanting votes. The Church demands bits of your paycheck while the pastors speed around town in expensive Itallian Sports cars. They build giant glittering, uber-churches with Starbucks, and Plasma TV's and laser shows and meanwhile farmers struggling to get by show up each week and throw money in the tray. In that light its hard not to see Christianity as just a business with faith and all that crap as a distant after thought.
Now everyone who finds peace in Jesus, great! Our grasp of spirituality will never be accurate. You just go with what feels right and we'll all chill out in the greater beyond in a few dozen years. I think its fortunate that you can find faith in something that comforts you and gives you a peace of mind. But it seems like the church uses guilt as a weapon to keep its numbers. As they lock people into thier faith by promises of damnation if they falter - even MORE even men take up the sword of Christianity and wield that as a weapon in a war comprised of underhanded smear campagins, back stabbing and controlling what everyone precieves as "The Moral High" ground.
Religion like governments, like tribes, like any other large organization of people contains a sort of maximum population before corruption implodes it and mutates it into something dangerous. In this country (the US) we see a definate; Christanity = good. Muslims = bad. They spout 9/11 rhetoric to get people angry and scared. They paint muslims as shrouded men with assault rifles and exploding vests. But...aren't there crazy Christian fundamentalists in the hills of Montana? Just look at Warren Jeffs, David Koresh, Jim Jones, Marshal Applewhite, Pat Robertson (I figure he's nuts)... thier all bat freakin' crazy! And you can't tell me that guys like Jim Jones weren't using religion as a platform to further thier own goals.
And thats all I've got to say about that
Wash: Little River just gets more colorful by the moment. What'll she do next?
Zoë: Either blow us all up or rub soup in her hair. It's a toss-up.
Wash: I hope she does the soup thing. It's always a hoot, and we don't all die from it.