'Wicca, the pagan temptation for youth'

[Jameta]

[ Message temporarily off-line ]  

[Winter Black]

Wow, ok, first of all, that kind of makes it sound like Wiccan's (and Pagan's in general) are a bunch of Nymphomaniacs, when most of us aren't. (Although its true I do have sex with my fiancee. But he's my fiancee.)

He also makes it sound like we're Thelemite's in some way. I, personally, do not even really agree with Thelema... >_<;; "Do what thy wilt shall be the whole of the law"? Sure, when I really understand that sentence, I might either be repulsed or attracted. Until then, I don't like it.

And while he's right about Gerald Gardener being the "father of Wicca", he also lost all respect for me when he said "Wicca advocates moral autonomy as opposed to accountability to the God". That makes it sound like Wiccan's are all immoral little punks, in a way. Wicca's whole law is "and it harm none, do what thy wilt." Basically, Wicca is a totally peace-based, Goddess worship Religion. And there are a lot of Adult Wiccan's, so its not just Teen's.
Secondly, Wicca and Paganism are largely about acceptance, love, and being who you are (who the God's made you, essentially, in order to honor them(if I'm not mistaken)). Christianity and Catholicism, where I grew up, were largely about fitting in, and being a drone.

As well, the Bible was written by Man. People who claim God wrote it through them. Now, is that really very credible? No. It's not. It's actually very ridiculous. Especially considering that Man is incredibly fallible. It's ridiculous to believe that one being was able to create all that we thrive on, and even us.
(Personally, I believe that the Gods collaborated, and certain ones got a little greedy for the credit.)

He also forgot to mention that the origin of the word Wicca itself is something that no two parties can agree on.
Some think Wicca and Witch are the same thing, which it wrong.
Some think that they derived from the same word, which can also mean 'wicker'.
I've seen in some places that it derives from an Anglo-Saxon word, witega.
But no one really knows where it came from.

Anyways, I think I'm done ranting now... ^^;;  

[WebenBanu]

Wow, I'm amazed that they've managed to come up with yet another possible interpretation for the word "wicca"- I've heard several possible etymologies from wise women to willow trees.^_^' I didn't bother to read the rest of the article, but I'm pretty sure that I know what it says. I usually don't waste my time on stuff like this- too much pure hostility and paranoia, not enough common sense.

Now, Jack Chick comics, those are the real thing.^_~ I've learned all sorts of things from Jack Chick comics- like how Druids carried staves topped with ankhs. It was in a Jack Chick comic- it must be true!^_^ Or how ouija boards can turn innocent young pig-tailed souls into snarling she-demons. It's incredible, the sheer amount of menace Jack Chick can put into a person's facial expression if they're not Christian.^_^'  

[Kabuki Doll]

I like how the article says that Wicca is "Unholy". Honestly stare

I just LOVE how Christianity disregards everything we think is divine. Who the hell are they to tell pagans/wiccans that their spirituality is wrong according to the morals of a christian association? Just because we don't follow their impossible morals doesn't mean we're a group of people forever banished to limbo. Which still bothers me when they tell us that while we won't suffer in hell, we're still in hell for disobeying god. HOW CAN WE BE IN HELL WHEN WE NEITHER BELIEVE IN GOD, SATAN, HEAVEN, NOR HELL? Dear ******** lord, I absolutely despise christian radicals. And having hard back bibles chucked at my face four times this summer was just enough. I'm so tired of people believing that their way of life is the only right way of abidance. I can't understand why people are so oblivious to everything around them.

Okay. I'm done ranting.  

[The Bookwyrm]

A friend of mine takes no greater pleasure in life than passing along articles like this to watch me get my rant on. But as inaccurate many of the points are in this article, they do havea good point that there are many youths dabbling (and I mean that most sincerely) in Wicca. And why not? The author is again right, partially, that young people are drawn to Wicca because it is not as fundamentally strict as the more main stream religions they've been brought up in, provides a healthier view on sexuality, and they don't feel like they're being talked down to. Plus, thanks to the dabblers, they think it's cool and rebellious. What's even more regreatable is that there aren't enough people out there trying to educate, with an emphasis on these young people.

I've seen it on other boards: The new Pagans come in positively screaming "I'M A WITCH AND I'M PROUD AND I GET OPPRESSED BECAUSE I'M OPEN ABOUT IT!" You'll have one or two people, generally, who are more established in their path attmept to reason with these kids, and then they give up. The rest of the forum community finds it easier ti ridicule than educate, or simply pretend that these people don't exsist. Sacred Sources is, in fact, the first where I haven't seen it happen, or seen the term "fluff bunny" brandished around liberally.

Religious groups like Christians forget very quickly what it is like to be prosecuted, and for some reason feel justified in doing it to any group that doesn't fit their image. It's wrong, but we don't have to take it. There have been many communities that have been able to successfully establish relationships between covens and some, if not all, of the local churches. It's again a matter of having the determination and dedication to a cause which is often more frustreating than getting the pre-teen Super Witches to calm themselves down. Articles like this show that the religious fundamentalists are losing ground, and quickly, if they aren't outright calling us Satan worshippers any more.  

[WebenBanu]

Gypsy Blue

Articles like this show that the religious fundamentalists are losing ground, and quickly, if they aren't outright calling us Satan worshippers any more.

Good points all around- and especially this last. Positive representation in our communities at large is absolutely essential. Screaming like a banshee about how persecuted we are is a great way of making sure that others don't view us as "people," because "people" are reasonable and dignified, and can be spoken with (please note that being bludgeoned over the head with every point doesn't count as conversation^_^'). If we do not portray ourselves as "people," then it's much easier to demonize us and our culture- just as is frequently done in other political/cultural conflicts.

Being calm and polite, and living our lives as a part of everyone's community- not just the "magical" people's- is the best way to take the wind out of that kind of argument. Then, when these sorts of papers are written, more and more they will have to address us as people- because that is how the rest of society is coming to see us. And the more they have to address us as people, the more ridiculous they look and the less effective their arguments become.  

[Starlock]

Hah. Yeah, I saw this article on WitchVox. Not all that surprising. All the comments on that site have said everything I could possibly say on the issue. But one comment from the site that I particularily liked...

* It will not get better. There will always be Christians who act like this because there will always be Christians that believe they are 100% right and you are 100% wrong. Heck, nevermind Christians, there will always be people in GENERAL who are like that. *

The important thing to remember is not ALL people, nor all Christians, are so intolerant.  

[Keistera]

Correction: It isn't Christianity that's the problem, it's the followers. smile The fundamentalists twist things quite a bit. They feel they are doing the right thing, but they really aren't. Quite a few of these people, from my experience, follow the extremely flawed King James Translation. O.o

I saw the article, I laughed, and thought nothing more of it. Is it really all that new? There will always be fundies, and the fact is -- no matter how many facts you throw at them, they won't change! They may eventually die out, but... meh. I don't advertise myself, I just am. I ran out of things to say, I'm done. O.o

EDIT: Yes, I realize Christianity has its flaws -- all religions do. It's the followers that magnify them and make them worse.  

[Shani05]

What I really don't like is how most Christians feel like because they are Christian, they have the right to judge everyone else. Even though it says in the bible not to judge others, because only God can do that; still they feel like its ok for them to judge people. stressed  

[Nihilistic Seraph]

Spiritual accountability of ones own actions. Because damned if I'm gonna be responsible for the bad things I do, and can't blame it on an unlikely all-evil entity.

Okay, that's pretty much it. Everyone else has done a nice enough job tearing it apart.