gdp's Comments

The Wild Hunt : Pagan Community Notes: Pagan Relief Services Coalition, Alexei Kondratiev, Brendan Myers, and More!

Tue, 5 Apr 2011 22:25:45 +0000

Hey, no problem!

The Wild Hunt : Pagan Community Notes: Pagan Relief Services Coalition, Alexei Kondratiev, Brendan Myers, and More!

Tue, 5 Apr 2011 21:55:55 +0000

Didn't the Myers essay come out weeks ago? So why the coverage now?

The Wild Hunt : A Few Quick Notes and a Quick Holiday

Fri, 1 Apr 2011 22:13:27 +0000

I wrote on the history of April Fool's Day (and many pagans hypocritical stance toward the day) -- here: http://greattininess.wordpress.com/2011/04/01/mor...

The Wild Hunt : Did Missionaries Trigger the Witch-Hunts?

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 20:04:45 +0000

Apuleius, if you've convinced yourself that WWII in Japan had nothing to do with religion, then there's nothing I can do to convince you otherwise -- though maybe you should read a book like "Zen At War." Really, the reason you're impossible to convince of anything is that your categories of investigation are ever-shifty. I ask for a group of people who have lived in harmony -- you say Japan -- I say that that's obviously not true -- you say "Well, that doesn't have to do with religion!" That's not the point. Neither is the fact that the Japanese regime was anti-Christian for political reasons which, sure, is true. First off, that doesn't change anything, because the same sort of argument can be made for any sort of takeover, just like that of the "New World." (They did it for the territory! Or whatever.) Secondly, it's not like they tortured the Christians and then let anybody go their own way after that -- nope, they imposed state Buddhism. And let's not forget that "modern phenomenon" still occurred in history -- just more recently. You're pulling this conversation in circles and, as always, it's gotten to the point where I have to decide whether to keep wasting my time with you or to stop here -- in which case you'll post something offensive and misguided, and I'll have to live with having let you get "the last word." And I hate that place.

The Wild Hunt : Did Missionaries Trigger the Witch-Hunts?

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 19:20:14 +0000

thehouseofvines, I agree with you that it's not "an immutable law of nature that when one culture takes over another it must necessarily eradicate any trace of the other. " In fact, I might go so far as to say that it's really exactly the opposite of that, that invading cultures never eradicate the last trace of those whom they've invaded. That's not what I was getting at in my argument with Apuleius. And while I appreciate that Hellenistic Egypt can be seen as a relatively peaceful place internally, I'd point out that they were still "waging campaigns" -- that's code for killing people -- over a treasury. That's not harmony, not on the edges where one government met up with another government. (Insert anarchist rant about governments.)

The Wild Hunt : Did Missionaries Trigger the Witch-Hunts?

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 19:16:35 +0000

Wait, we're talking about the same Japan that was involved in World War II? The same Korea that's split down the middle with a giant fence? The India that was partitioned because of tension between Muslims and Hindus? Come on, man. You seem to live in a world where centuries are pretty short. And speaking of Japan, I seem to recall Christianity being outlawed by the Tokugawa Buddhist regime and Christians being forced to apostatize on pain of torture and death. Something about folks being hung upside down in pits until they bled to death. Does that answer your extirpation question?

The Wild Hunt : Did Missionaries Trigger the Witch-Hunts?

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 01:23:23 +0000

I'll do so as soon as you find me any group of people, anywhere, who have lived "in harmony side-by-side" with other people "for centuries." Assuming that you won't be able to, since none exists, I'll take that as proof that your warrants are in error. Further, I'll take it as proof that while, yes, Christians have done terribly bloodthirsty things, in as much as any community is capable of making amends (which you seem to assume), Christians must also be theoretically capable of making amends. There is no "long gone" here, unless there's "long gone" everywhere.

The Wild Hunt : Did Missionaries Trigger the Witch-Hunts?

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 20:55:35 +0000

Jason, let me just say that I too was struck by how level-headed this response is, and that I hope your coverage of this topic becomes food for thought for a lot of pagans (including myself!). I especially appreciate this line: "That root is the anti-pluralistic and exclusionary theologies favored by SOME strains of the dominant monotheisms." Emphasis on the SOME. On my own blog I've started a series where I am attempting to highlight the pro-pluralism, inclusive stands of SOME Christian groups -- this definitely adds a LOT to that conversation. Thanks.

The Wild Hunt : Did Missionaries Trigger the Witch-Hunts?

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 20:37:35 +0000

Yet notice that Jason's post is in direct contradistinction to the point of view you've just (badly) caricatured. After all, the scholars are in fact blaming themselves.

The Wild Hunt : Did Missionaries Trigger the Witch-Hunts?

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 20:29:30 +0000

See here's the thing. All pedophile priests are in the wrong, necessarily by virtue of being pedophiles. Christians are *not* all in the wrong necessarily by virtue of being Christians. Across the board condemnation of pedophiles is perfectly "thoughtful and measured" -- they're *pedophiles.* "Thoughtful and measured" regarding Christianity requires taking into account as many Christian points of view as there are Christians, and that's what Jason has left room for.

The Wild Hunt : Guest Post: Patrick McCollum on his Thailand Trip

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 21:26:20 +0000

I'd really like to know what "Pagan practices" he's exporting, exactly. And his sermon about the magic violin is nice and everything (though does it need to take up a good half of his account?), but he does seem to parade himself around like he's some authorized representative of AN American religion called "Paganism" -- which he isn't, since no such unified religion exists.

The Wild Hunt : A Quick Word About St. Patrick's Day

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 18:46:01 +0000

I agree, Cat; I think your approach to the holiday is wonderful. You take it and run with it. I think Jason is really just trying to make a point to those who still feel the need to go on long screeds about the snakes representing pagans, and then equating that non-historical happening to the very historical happening of the genocide of American Indians, say. THAT poses a problem, not good-hearted approaches to the holiday that are aware of both history AND myth.

The Wild Hunt : World Congress of Ethnic Religions Begins in Italy

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 00:47:27 +0000

"...modern North American Paganism can, *in most cases, claim only to be inspired by the ethnic religions of the Old World* (and, in some instances, the New)." I think our roots go much more firmly and deeply into the soil of the heretical philosophy ("occult science") of the Renaissance, and subsequent revivals of that tradition, than into 'ethnic' (by which you mean non-Abrahamic) religions. All I'm saying I'm afraid of letting ALL of paganism become seen as 'ethnic' somehow, riding on the coat-tails of movements like Romuva that I do think have legitimate claims in this arena. Again, Wicca and all of genero-paganism affected by Wiccanate theology and practice cannot (along with other things like Ceremonial Magic and Chaos Magic, all very much practiced within pagan circles) be seen as 'ethnic' merely because they are haphazardly collected together with other things (Heathenism, etc.) that *might* rightfully be called such.

The Wild Hunt : World Congress of Ethnic Religions Begins in Italy

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 03:18:04 +0000

The thing that really bugs me about this article is the prospect that paganism (whatever that is) will be included whole cloth amongst "Ethnic" religions of Europe. Is Wicca, "Pagan" religion par excellence, an ethnic religion? Certainly not. At least, Wicca is about as ethnically European as the Roman Catholic Church. And, for that matter, do we even want to get ourselves (pagans) caught up in discussions of ethnicity and race? If that happens, we'll have to figure out exactly whose ethnicity we're talking about; I think such a discussion would become a debate that was both offensive and unproductive.

The Wild Hunt : World Congress of Ethnic Religions Begins in Italy

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 03:01:10 +0000

I disagree. The reason "the Pagan community" *seems* to be "gaining adherents" is because, in my opinion, there are no bounds that define what paganism is. In other words, anyone at any time can become pagan simply by referring to themselves as such, despite what they might believe or do, with no necessary repercussions on his or her life at all. I have to ask the question, what exactly are all of these new converts "adhering" to? Nothing. And so it is as easy for paganism to seem to grow as it is for the Universal Life Church to gain pastors. As long as "Paganism" continues to conduct itself as the proverbial "other," we can feel free to include anyone and everyone among our ranks. Since there is no consensus regarding what we mean when we say "Pagan," statistics regarding the growth of "Paganism" are all meaningless.

The Wild Hunt : Tributes to Isaac Bonewits

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 22:22:40 +0000

Additionally, Bonewitz was eulogized by Margot Adler on NPR today during "All Things Considered." http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?stor...

The Wild Hunt : Prothero's Polytheism

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 22:03:56 +0000

Actually, Prothero goes into great detail about exactly what he means by the "great religions," and no, Christianity is not "the greatest"--that designation goes to Islam. The author speaks of those religions that have the greatest global impact -today- in terms of numbers of adherents but also in terms of influence on world governments, the history of thought, and large group identity formation (among other things). Therefore, the book is neither "Christian-centric" nor Europe-centric: Note that religious traditions spoken of in the book also come from Asia (Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism) and Africa (Yoruba traditions), not to mention from the Middle East. In as much as the work may seem Abrahamically-oriented, please let us simply remember our World History.