Lunar Threads

All pagans post here! This is for talking about ceremonies, the mistakes of the gods, or your own foolishness.

If you don't know who I am by now, you need to leave the order.

.... ...If God created everything, who created God?

Recently I took this actually pretty accurate Religion test online. Now I would swear by it's results, but it told me the religion my beliefs were most affiliated with was paganism. Now my question is...who would you considers a pagan?

I have a feeling your idea of "pagan" is the Hollywood version. The many gods, the ritual sacrifice, yadda, yadda, yadda. And honey I think you'll be hard pressed to find someone doing rituals for Eastre any longer.

OR DO WE?!?!?!

P.S. Funny fact: Pagan is actually derived from a word in Latin (I think?) that basically means "country hick."

no. No sacrifices.

Etherest wrote:.... ...If God created everything, who created God?

George Lucas, with help from Industrial Light and Magic, Skywalker Sound, and Lucasfilm.

Or, alternatively, Noriyuki Iwadare. There're no other adequete explanations that I can see.

MiaOne wrote:Recently I took this actually pretty accurate Religion test online. Now I would swear by it's results, but it told me the religion my beliefs were most affiliated with was paganism. Now my question is...who would you considers a pagan?

I have a feeling your idea of "pagan" is the Hollywood version. The many gods, the ritual sacrifice, yadda, yadda, yadda. And honey I think you'll be hard pressed to find someone doing rituals for Eastre any longer.

OR DO WE?!?!?!

P.S. Funny fact: Pagan is actually derived from a word in Latin (I think?) that basically means "country hick."

Pagan is an all inclusive term for any religion besides any variation of the Big Three, excepting agnostic.

Julie where did you take the test? I'm curious, I once took a test that told me I was an Ortodox Quaker @_o;;; and more recently I took one that said I was Agnostic, and under that Satanist @_____@;;; lol XD anyway ;P Where'd you take that test?

Ozone wrote:Pagan is an all inclusive term for any religion besides any variation of the Big Three, excepting agnostic.

In other words, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism are all pagan?

I think that's a very Euro-centric definition of paganism. Well, on top of that, an isolated Euro-centric definition of paganism. I really don't see how any stretch of the imagination could label Sikhism and Buddhism as pagan religions. Hinduism and Jainism I can see, although the label would be offensive (hence its inaccuracy).

Paganism in the US is usually associated with a wide range of supernatural beliefs, from wicca, astrology, tarot cards, old and new variants of Celtic religions, etc. Any polytheistic beliefs can usually be traced back to old European mythology (Celtic, Scandinavian, Greco-Roman, etc.). KF

Coley Lou wrote:Julie where did you take the test? I'm curious, I once took a test that told me I was an Ortodox Quaker @_o;;; and more recently I took one that said I was Agnostic, and under that Satanist @_____@;;; lol XD anyway ;P Where'd you take that test?

Har... these things are never accurate, I have been told everything from Satanist, to agnostic(close but no cigar), to some that I have never even heard of... It is very entertaining when I get results that say that I am methodist, mormon or quaker though xD

Keeper of Knowledge wrote:In other words, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism are all pagan?

I think that's a very Euro-centric definition of paganism. Well, on top of that, an isolated Euro-centric definition of paganism. I really don't see how any stretch of the imagination could label Sikhism and Buddhism as pagan religions. Hinduism and Jainism I can see, although the label would be offensive (hence its inaccuracy).

Paganism in the US is usually associated with a wide range of supernatural beliefs, from wicca, astrology, tarot cards, old and new variants of Celtic religions, etc. Any polytheistic beliefs can usually be traced back to old European mythology (Celtic, Scandinavian, Greco-Roman, etc.). KF

Kiz, saying that the definition of the word pagan is eurocentric is like saying that an elephant is big, it's obvious, it originated in western europe, of course it is eurocentric.

Anyway, that is the definition that I have gotten when asking religion teachers. Paganism was originally used to remove every other religion except most anything that was based off of Judaism, or so I'm told. I'm actually rather surprised that Islam would be included in the non-heathen category since it is a eurocentric definition.

Personally I don't care for religious categories and think that no matter what you believe in you shouldn't rely on a category and you should decide for yourself what you believe and not base it off of what others have taught and told you. I could go on forever about my opinions on this, but I don't want to bore everyone.

Paganism is the title that was given to the various religions and practices that prevailed over Briton, France, and other parts of Europe during the Roman invasion of Northern Europe (meaning North of Italy). The religions there were mostly naturalistic and polytheistic. At the time the Romans called these "infidels" or "barabarians" "pagans" because its term in Latin meant something to the effect of "country bumpkin." Which made sense since a lot of these people worshiped nature and appeared rough and unsofisitcated. I've never heard of any Eastern (non "Big Three") religion, such as Buddism, being labeled as a "pagan" religion. I know what I'm talking about That's all I've been reading about this summer.

Oh and Coley, I'll IM you the link to that test. It had some pretty good questions on it, which is the only reason why I give it credit. Ozone is right though, most of those tests are a joke and this one is just slightly better I wouldn't say its determinative.

Originally the Greeks & Romans used the word Pagan (or heathen) to call someone a 'hick' or 'redneck'. Basically someone who wasn't sophisticated or educated enough to know who the real gods were. Pagan now, according to a lot of old Catholic writings I've seen does actually refer to any belief system outside of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. However, even my own religion professor had a different definition, as do others. It really all depends on who you're asking, because there's more than one definition for a pagan depending on the religion (or lack thereof) giving the definition. Infidel's are usually Christians calling Muslims infidels or Muslims calling Christian's infidels. Again, point of view, and even that defintion can be skewed depending on who you ask. There's no clear cut definition for either term IMO as they've changed over the course of 2500 years and also take on different meanings in different parts of the world and in different religions.

Personally, I always thought of Paganism as something outside of many of the main religions (including Buddhism) and generally counted things like tarot cards, ouija boards, and more specific religious practices like Voodoo, or in more ancient forms, Babylonian religions, the mystery religions such as that, etc.

Ozone wrote:Kiz, saying that the definition of the word pagan is eurocentric is like saying that an elephant is big, it's obvious, it originated in western europe, of course it is eurocentric.

My point was that it was an antiquated definition. Most folks consider paganism as something non-mainstream; since Sikhism and Buddhism both have more followers than, say, Judaism, it's hard to argue then that the current, most mainstream definition of pagan applies to all non-Abrahamic faiths.

Most mainstream meaning the most widely accepted usage of the word. Paganism when applied to major religions is usually meant as a derogatory word, a claim of falsehood; but that's not as common use (and one intentionally meant to change the meaning of another religion's label to equate it with paganism). KF

M.......A.......G.......I.......C!!!!!!!

MAGICMAGICMAGICMAGICMAGIC!!! NO SACRIFICES, NO RITUAL KILLINGS, YES, WE SUMMON, AND NO, WE DON'T HURT PEOPLE!!
That is my summing of my religion.

Sonic#1's completely correct.

Nah, I'd say John Truitt. Haven't you ever seen Ten Commandments? Dude, God so had to have had a good voice actor teacher to pull off those scenes at Mt. Sinai. Had to have been John Truitt.

Althena's_Courtier wrote:M.......A.......G.......I.......C!!!!!!!

MAGICMAGICMAGICMAGICMAGIC!!! NO SACRIFICES, NO RITUAL KILLINGS, YES, WE SUMMON, AND NO, WE DON'T HURT PEOPLE!!
That is my summing of my religion.

Magic? What kind of magic? And what or whom have you summoned?

I thought you said earlier you were married? Hm...I think you just ruined your crediability for that truth, if you haven't already

OMG I CAST TEH ULTIMA ON YOU LIKE SEHPIROTH!!!!11111

Personally, I always thought of Paganism as something outside of many of the main religions (including Buddhism) and generally counted things like tarot cards, ouija boards, and more specific religious practices like Voodoo, or in more ancient forms, Babylonian religions, the mystery religions such as that, etc.

You left out D&D players, G1, mwahahahahaha

GhaleonOne wrote:OMG I CAST TEH ULTIMA ON YOU LIKE SEHPIROTH!!!!11111

G1, you're my hero.

Does anyone want to join my religion? I am starting one which may revolutionize religions. We dont kill people, but we worship the sweetest and tastiest beverages which has ever graced mankind. I am indeed talking about the beverage made of wheat, hops, and barley and fermented to perfection before being placed in bottles or cans. Our place of worship will not be in a church, but in places where this heavenly beverage is served. We will not have one set place of worship, but we will change from day to day based on which establishment has the best "drink specials". All are welcome, but I get to wear the pumba hat.

You may call me crazy, but I prefer the term revolutionary