Neopaganism Is The Worst

[garbon]

I'm not sure what I was supposed to take from that hot mess of formatting in the opening post.

[Valmy]

Since HispsterSpellus started the thread, i might as well get this off my chest.

I hate wiccans. Especially the suburban housewife in their 30-40's with their Earthmother crap.

Any particular religion/lack of religion you do not hate?

[Eddie Teach]

Since HispsterSpellus started the thread, i might as well get this off my chest.

I hate wiccans. Especially the suburban housewife in their 30-40's with their Earthmother crap.

Any particular religion/lack of religion you do not hate?

Baptists.

[Valmy]

Baptists.

He is sort of a grumpy version of Ned Flanders eh?

[Caliga]

But YHWH wasn't real.  Why do you begrudge fools their choice of foolishness?

Spells has been judging religions for us since time immemorial (I.e. 2003). 

[Valmy]

Spells has been judging religions for us since time immemorial (I.e. 2003). 

He taught us all to hate the Gnostics didn't he?  Dirty Gnostics.

[Queequeg]

I'm not sure what I was supposed to take from that hot mess of formatting in the opening post.

Fixed.  Sorry about that.

[Caliga]

His real hate boner is for the Mormons though. 

[garbon]

I'm not sure what I was supposed to take from that hot mess of formatting in the opening post.

Fixed.  Sorry about that.

I still don't see the issue though. If people want to infuse some sort of significance into Halloween - why does that matter to you?

*fixed - I'm not sure why my sentence structure was so bad!

[merithyn]

I still don't see the issue though. If people want to infused some sort of significant into Halloween - why does that matter to you?

More importantly, how is it the worst of them all? I mean, that particular article is fairly benign. No psuedo-anthropology/archeology. No truly "out there" language about the stars, gods, alternate worlds, etc. I mean seriously, if you feel that way, fine, but find something a bit more obtrusive to be hateful about if you're trying to convince others to feel the same.

Since HispsterSpellus started the thread, i might as well get this off my chest.

I hate wiccans. Especially the suburban housewife in their 30-40's with their Earthmother crap.

Just Wiccans, or any of the Neo-Pagan type religions out there? I mean, I'd figure you to be all over the naked druidic types that dance around a fire in their all-together.

[Queequeg]

No psuedo-anthropology/archeology.

Women where at the forefront of the rise of Christianity, because Paganism throughout the entirety of the ancient world was pretty strictly patriarchal, especially those derived  from early Semitic and Indo-European Faiths (read: everywhere outside of the Basque country).  There never were "Goddess religions" anywhere in Europe after the Neolithic, and even that is debatable. 

It's total and complete bullshit, a massive misrepresentation of history.  And it really pisses me off.

[Queequeg]

I'm not sure what I was supposed to take from that hot mess of formatting in the opening post.

Fixed.  Sorry about that.

I still don't see the issue though. If people want to infuse some sort of significance into Halloween - why does that matter to you?

*fixed - I'm not sure why my sentence structure was so bad!

That's not the issue.  Halloween is neat.  The issue is this Goddess bullshit. 

[Valmy]

Women where at the forefront of the rise of Christianity, because Paganism throughout the entirety of the ancient world was pretty strictly patriarchal, especially those derived  from early Semitic and Indo-European Faiths (read: everywhere outside of the Basque country).  There never were "Goddess religions" anywhere in Europe after the Neolithic, and even that is debatable. 

It's total and complete bullshit, a massive misrepresentation of history.  And it really pisses me off.

Well it is not that simple, that women were leaders of Christianity because paganism (whatever that may be) was so very patriarchal, they do sorta go overboard about how Christianity did evil stuff to the ladies.

But that is minor compared to the somewhat hilarious presentation of the 17th century witch trials being persecutions of actual witches.  As if there really was a massive female witch movement going on.

[garbon]

I'm not sure what I was supposed to take from that hot mess of formatting in the opening post.

Fixed.  Sorry about that.

I still don't see the issue though. If people want to infuse some sort of significance into Halloween - why does that matter to you?

*fixed - I'm not sure why my sentence structure was so bad!

That's not the issue.  Halloween is neat.  The issue is this Goddess bullshit. 

I know that you liked to get worked up over stuff but this really seems like you are making a mountain out of a molehill. As long as they aren't hurting people, who cares about such awful prose?

ne wave must collapse for a new wave to form. Dried stalks fall so that later, green shoots will rise. Ossified ideas, brittle systems give way to new visions. The process may be messy, loud and scary-like any birth. Breathe into it. Release the fear,and trust in the great regenerative powers of nature. Form your own vision of the world you want to bring to birth, and let it gestate in the dark. Then labor to bring it into being. The ancestors will aid you: the generations to come will bless you.

[Queequeg]

I know that you liked to get worked up over stuff but this really seems like you are making a mountain out of a molehill. As long as they aren't hurting people, who cares about such awful prose?

I'm actually not angry so much as annoyed that this kind of bullshit is getting published in a well respected newspaper.  The quality of the writing alone would seem to disqualify it.

Well it is not that simple, that women were leaders of Christianity because paganism (whatever that may be) was so very patriarchal, they do sorta go overboard about how Christianity did evil stuff to the ladies.

There's another thing.  Paganism was extremely diffuse-different towns a few hours away would have slightly different pantheons, or at least hold certain Gods or heroes in respect more than others.  The idea that an Irish town and, say, Utica in modern Tunisia practiced the same "Goddess" focused religion is, well, not so much bad archaeology as Book of Mormon style fantasy.