Another thing- the Bible doesn’t explain mammoths, dinosaurs, etc. How could something that important be left out of the Bible? If someone was there to record the earth’s creation (firsthand, secondhand, Christians accept the information, so I don’t think they think it’s all a lie) then why is there no mention of great beasts with scaly skin, teeth six inches long an tusks bigger then any seen before?

I’m not challenging your beliefs or those of anyone else- the above is what I think. You can think whatever you want to, and I suppose we’ll find out what’s really ‘right’ when we die.

I cannot allow that amount of quoted material. Sorry. You can link it and I will allow it.

thanks

The “wrongs” may not have involved other people, and they may not have even involved reality in the true sense – it’s simply their perceptions that led them down that road. A person may leave a religion because they felt that their God(s) abandoned them in a time of need. They may have left because they were physically abused by a parent, teacher, friend, pastor, etc who was involved with the church.

Logic dictates that since the Abrahamic Faiths have the most believers, that most people will be raised in those Faiths. With the exception of Atheism, there aren’t very many non-Pagan religions that a person can turn to

How can I say this? As the Owner of the Pagan Forums (http://www.paganforum.com) I meet my share of Pagans, Wiccans, Heathens, and “other”. On *and* offline…and these are people with real lives who live in the real world. Take it for what it’s worth – most Pagans had a bad experience with Christianity…which is why they left Christianity in the first place.

Thank you, Edie. Always interested in feedback.

Question.

I am assuming you are currently a Wiccan. If this is not a true assumption, I beg your forgiveness.

But if this is a true assumption … were you once a Christian? If so, why did you switch over? Assuming it was not reasons 1-4, what were they ? I spoke according to my own observations, but I’m always on the lookout for more data.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

I totally disagree with 1)2)3) and 4) of your arguments. Wicca (true Wicca) holds many who have never been abused, never were Christian, and never suffered at all. I could write a long essay here but instead I will suggest that perhaps you are talking to “online Wiccans” , rather than persons in a Coven in real life.

If you dig deep you will find many Christian Traditions stem from Pagan traditions, and while all Pagans are not Wiccan, all Wiccans are Pagan…..

Wicca is only about 60 years old.

Yep. You might look at Jack Chick’s treatment of witchcraft, for example. The kind of Christianity he speaks for is no small thing, especially in the South.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

I dunno. I’d be far more moved by someone offering to pray for me than at all worried about someone in a wizard get-up threatening to curse me. Of course, I’ve had the benefit of hearing as a kid all the Celtic Christian saint stories where various magicians and druids can’t do squat against Patrick, Bridgit, et al. and the Torah alone is full of stories showing the power of magicians is nothing God can’t control. The story of Balaam setting out to curse, but instead having to bless, the Israelites just rolled around again last week: no one can curse what God has decided to bless.

I suppose I am out of touch with the segment of Christianity that freaks about magic. I know medieval Christians and Salem Puritans were pretty spooked by the idea of witches (well before Hollywood), but I had thought we had grown out of that as a faith. Are large segments of Christianity still as superstitious and spooked by curses as medieval peasants?

I do NOT believe you err in calling HP “Science fiction”.

Both fantasy and SF are part of the larger family of speculative fiction, and as such are often interchangeable.

For example! HP gets his power from magic. Suppose we changed the origin of the story so that instead he’s a mutant with certain inborn powers in a school with other mutants.

Congratulations. It’s no longer HP — it’s now Marvel’s X-men, with Xavier’s academy for mutants.

Or suppose we say that he gets his power from enhanced mental ability, enhanced by surgery, DNA alteration, and technological devices. Now it’s an SF story.

Any SF story can be turned into a fantasy story with a few strokes of the pen. An energy rifle becomes a wand of fireballs. The jump drive becomes the teleportation spell. The wizard becomes the mad scientist.

Likewise, any fantasy story can be changed into an SF story.

And some stories are not clearcut fantasy or SF. Example: Look at George Lucas. He has lasers and spaceships, but a) there is no scientific reality behind these devices and B) he has dark lords and swords, and people born with special powers and mystical sages.

Thus, I think it fair to describe “Star Wars” not as SF but as a fantasy set in space.

All the really good SF writers (Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov) are or were ALSO really good fantasy writers. Likewise, really good fantasy authors (C.S. Lewis, Norton, Diane Duane,
Terry Pratchett, whoever wrote ‘A Wrinkle In Time’) write really good SF.

Why? Because a real speculative fiction story is about human beings. Get the human characters right, the “fantastic worlds” aspect fades into the background. Notice that lots of people are more interested in Harry and Hermione or whether so-and-so will betray so-and-so, or Dumbledore’s Heroic death, and few people care about the “magic” as such. That’s the mark of good speculative fiction. The characters … the human story, the myth … come to the fore. The technology … or magic, or whatever else it is that makes this world different from “real life” … becomes less important, fading into background.

So .. yes. HP, if it isn’t SF as such, is it’s first cousin.

Respectfully,

Brian P.