The day the righteous took over the PC(USA)
Of course if one is truly interested in Wicca, a novel idea might be to talk to Wiccans. You can even find information about Wicca on the internet, like this site: wicca.com. This site has some helpful FAQs.
"Of course if one is truly interested in Wicca, a novel idea might be to talk to Wiccans"
ReplyDeleteThat's just crazy talk, John.
Are we going to read the Book of Wicca cover to cover in 2010?
ReplyDeleteSnad, now what good would that do, when we have such experts at our disposal?
ReplyDeleteIf you want to know whether or not someone is a "neo-pagan", don't take the time to ask them and find out. Just take some phrases out of something they wrote out of context and assume the worst. Or if you want to know what Muslims think, ask an atheist. Or if you want to know what someone thinks about natural law, just take some phrases out of something they wrote out of context and assume the worst. Or if you want to know about the "gay agenda" or the "homosexual lifestyle", just ask some old straight guy. Or if you're going to spend time blasting something in the new FOG, don't spend the time to find out if the identical phrase you're taking out of context has been in the current Book of Order for years.
And that's just in the last week.
Instead of spending time finding out the ... you know ... FACTS ... which would take so much time, you've got plenty of time to write a week's worth of blog posts full of crap.
Fact checking? These people don't have that kind of time, Snad. Why do you think I call them busybodies?
Alan,
ReplyDeleteDoes it give you no solace that you're being prayed for?
For me, FOG means Fiber Optic Gyro. Just as controversial though...
ReplyDeleteAnd Wicca means Worst Case Circuit Analysis. We spell it WCCA.
Bewitching just the same.
But I saw a new term hadn't heard before: "Gay Newspaper". I didn't know that newspapers had genders and that depending on what other newspapers they got in bed with they might actually be gay.
But its cool. I'm a liberal. I suppose Fox News would be viewed as a male news outlet. So would the Layman, for that matter. Even says so in the name. But if they got in bed with each other and shared bodily news articles, the Layman would now be the Gayman.
Think about it.
Yes, we will be keeping Alan and Jodie in our prayers. Now that you, Kattie, have posted here, I am afraid we will need to add you to the prayer list as well.
ReplyDeleteOh no!
ReplyDeleteIt's the kiss of death!
BTW, Viola didn't post my response to her where I asked her if she prayed for me also and what she prayed for Alan and Jodie. I guess that was too offensive for her, but I thought it was a fair question. I also pointed out to her that she seemed to miss the point of my prior comment. It's hard to know what she is going to censor these days.
John, since you chose to write a blog article about something Viola wrote, I think it's only fair that we ask you to email her to check up on your facts.
OK. Let's make it a group effort. What should I say in the email?
ReplyDeleteI think I've missed something.
ReplyDeleteAt Kattie's urging, I put the following post on Viola's blog:
ReplyDeleteDear Viola,
Since I linked to your post on my blog, one of the commenters thought I should email you to check the facts. So...
Why are you making a series of posts on Wiccans?
Are you a Wiccan?
Do you want people to become Wiccan?
Why don't you direct them to a Wiccan website so folks can learn about Wicca from Wiccans?
Blessed Be.
Oh, I finally saw the first link on your post. It's like you actually want me to read Viola's blog and learn all about Wicca from her. Wouldn't that be like learning about music from Marlee Matlin or something?
ReplyDeleteI think it would be good to learn about Wicca from Wiccans. Are we having fun yet?
ReplyDeleteJohn,
ReplyDeleteI noticed Viola posted you comment. Has she replied to you yet? I actually think she will in one way or another. It will be interesting to see how.
Kattie wrote, "It's hard to know what she is going to censor these days."
ReplyDeleteDisagreement.
Kattie also wrote, "Does it give you no solace that you're being prayed for?"
Oh, I'm always glad to hear people are praying for me. (Though generally when someone says it like that, it sounds more like what they mean is, "I'll be praying *against* you"; putting the ol' evil eye on me. Placing a curse seems a rather un-Reformed notion of prayer. Perhaps even, dare I say, neo-pagan?) It does lead one to wonder what they're praying for, and whether or not I should be praying against their prayers as some sort of prayer shielding.
Since I don't know what they're praying, I wonder if their prayers about me are ever answered. I'd surely like to know that, but alas, they never let me know.
But, if their prayers about me are never answered then perhaps they should reconsider the topic of their prayers if God routinely refuses to answer them.
So I'm glad to hear I'm being prayed for. Prayers are good. I'd also be glad to hear that they've stopped being busybodies, fusspots. tattletales, and scolds.
I'll pray for them.
(BTW, I thought she was doing a series on Wicca because she thinks Michael Adee is a neo-pagan, and that Amendment B is leading us all down the path to neo-paganism. You know, all that stuff is linked together obviously, and if you don't get the link that's because you're not looking hard enough.)
BTW, Jodie, there are indeed gay newspapers. They're the newspapers that are better dressed than the other newspapers. ;)
ReplyDeleteI have always been suspicious of the Layman, BTW. Just the other day as I was taking out the recycling, I saw my copy of it lying right on top of a copy of The Advocate.
Coincidence? I don't think so.
All these years I've misunderstood the meaning of the word "lay".
ReplyDeleteIt all makes sense now. Dang! How could I have missed that!
Back to Viola's blog, I can tell you from my missionary kid's upbringing that it's a waste of time to try to educate somebody about "those heathen" in order to tear them down. I mean, that is the very definition of straw man tactics: To build someone up in order to tear them down.
ReplyDeleteBut since I was a kid I have seen this style of preaching in Fundamentalist circles. The preacher goes on and on about some "other" out there, "educating" his (it usually is a him doing the preaching) audience about "them", and then making "us" feel good about being "us" and not "them".
Who does that build up? Who does that evangelize? It's a form of bullying, to preach to the choir and to build yourself up by tearing others down. As an evangelization method it is completely ineffective, and as a discipling method it only teaches arrogance and self-righteousness.
When engaging people of other religions one needs to remember two things in order to be effective.
1) It is the Holy Spirit that evangelizes, we are but the conduits.
2) You must make yourself as vulnerable to conversion to their religion as you want them to be vulnerable to yours. You must let the other take your own soul hostage if you will, and if the Holy Spirit wants to rescue you, the price of that rescue is to bring the other person along.
"Greater love hath no man..."
It's an all or nothing proposition every time, based not on fear, not on rhetoric or doctrine, but on the same kind of courageous self sacrificing love that Jesus showed in giving his own life to save yours. Every conversion is a case of you giving your life to save the other's. Your whole >>eternal<< life.
That is the real meaning of being an Evangelical. Not this religious propaganda crap.
**You must make yourself as vulnerable to conversion to their religion as you want them to be vulnerable to yours. You must let the other take your own soul hostage if you will, and if the Holy Spirit wants to rescue you, the price of that rescue is to bring the other person along.**
ReplyDeleteJodie,
I appreciated very much that comment. I have thought it as the Christ in me discovering the Christ in you.
You put it very well.