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For me it is hope. Hope for the world when Jesus returns and I will see all of the people I love that have passed away before then.
And also that I can be a moral, caring and forgiving person, or aspire to be anyway.
Schaz.... are all pagan rituals the same? I mean were pagan rituals determined by the area that one was located? Do you combine paths/rituals from various areas or just one? I have stacks of questions... Are you raising your kids pagan? (none of these are meant to mock, just me being nosey and curious, like you I love exploring other religions)
Tracey - Loved your description of Balianese Hindu.
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pagan rituals can vary dramatically from my experience.
I used to celbrate on the Southern Hemisphere wheel of the year, and depending on the lunar cycle. If there was a full moon within a couple of days of the date, I'd wait until then. For Samhain, I'd normally wait for the waning moon since it was a celebration of friends, family who'd passed on.
Samhain is probably the one I still hold pretty close to my heart even though I'd no longer call myself pagan.
Last edited by Pandora; July 18th, 2007 at 03:46 PM.
Isn't it funny, that's what All Saints Day is supposed to be about but it has turned into this silly 'holiday' about dressing up and getting treats.
Do the any of the other religions have a similar feast? (I know Judaism does)
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What do I value as a Christian?
That I have purpose, that I have a role model who has broken through "tolerance" and embraced real love. And that I don't have to "do" anything to earn salvation.... there's no six steps to heaven. Grace is free
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I follow southern hemisphere dates, my heritage is Zulu, so I follow more a tribal ancestral direction to my workings. I don't follow any celtic type rituals as I have no celtic ancestry. I don't do many formal rituals but I do observe certain "holidays" - yule, beltane, samhain. I lay out in the moonlight on the night of a full moon, just watching her and drinking in her energy.
I will be raising my children pagan to a point, they will know about other religions as well, they may even go to a church school.
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Ok so here is a question for ALL of us weather we be muslim, jewish, christian, hindi, budist, shinto, wiccan, atheist, agnostic or ANY OTHER .... what is the one thing you value most about your religion/faith?
Kerry when we are in Bali & there is a Ceremony, the whole village stops, people put their faith/belief first. So your work knows you arent showing up as there's a Ceremony, you dont attend school, nothing needs to be done, other than preparing offerings for the Gods, the whole family/village is happy, excited & everyone comes together, there's praying, singing, music, dancing & everyone shares food, drink etc!
Ceremonies hapopen extremely regularly, but life stops for the Temple & for the gods!
I like that & enjoy it's simplicity!!!!
I don't view my faith as external to me, something i "do" or am "in", it's just part of the way i work. But i suppose acceptance is the most valuable tool i have. You can do whatever you want to Bec but you can't tell her how to feel about it.Ok so here is a question for ALL of us weather we be muslim, jewish, christian, hindi, budist, shinto, wiccan, atheist, agnostic or ANY OTHER .... what is the one thing you value most about your religion/faith?
B
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My fave thing about wiccan is the feeling of inner power and the bonding within my coven.
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I hope no one minds if i go bumpity bump...I was really enjoying this thread...
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I like the fact that it connects me to other ppl around the world (not just from my faith, but those that have faith).
And that it gives me someone to thank for my beautiful daughter.
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Oh I was just thinking about it too. Why have we stopped?I hope no one minds if i go bumpity bump...
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LOL I stopped because I kinda felt I might have been dominating the thread with my ideas... i was wanting to read the ideas of others instead
I'll get really excited if i check my inbox and it says "you have received a reply to Religion..." from someone new!
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What attracted me back to religion was the eternal judgement and damnation for sinners like other people. What attracted me to Christianity is the peace and forgiveness for sinners like me. I'm an Anglican because I love the old hymns and the ritual - for me it is never second nature, the words are so beautiful and really make you think about all God has done for us.
What keeps me a Christian is the peace I have inside now. The ability to draw strengthand compassion from one who is so greater than me, but who still loves me and died for me.
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what I like about my path, is the linkage with my ancestors, the feeling of energy from everything, knowing that I both give and get energy from the universe and the god/dess(s)
I remember one ritual with my old coven and my guides/ancestors from both sides of my family (zulu from mum - my great-great grandmother was a zulu princess; mongolian from dad but very faint ) came out and totally floored our High Priest, he had dealings with the my Zulu boys but since we were doing an ancestor ritual the Mongolian boys came to play as well.
I'm a staunch non-believer and can't see how religion can offer anything to me, or my kids, other than an alternative - but unsubstantiated - view of the world. The stories of the christians (or any religion you care to name) are marvelously constructed and fantastically rich but are merely stories none the less.
Whilst I am sure that these fabulous tales contain some facts they are sparsely interwoven amongst the bulk of the fictional prose.
Everyone is entitled to their view and beliefs but keep in mind that the religious extremists, which *all* religions have, have been responsible for more deaths than anything/anyone else in history. Whilst Islam gets a pretty bad rap take at look at one of the most abhorrent texts ever written (the Old Testament) and you will realize that not all is as it seems.
Lucy in the sky with diamonds.
Yeah, cool Patch - but that's not really what is going on in here.
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Lulu is right. This discussion has been about what people believe and where those beliefs come from, not whether they're right or wrong. Let's leave that up to g/God/s!
Things done in the name of religion do not always reflect the teachings of that religion.
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