Path: typhoon.sonic.net!not-for-mail Newsgroups: alt.pagan,alt.pagan.magick,alt.religion.pagan.texas Subject: Neopagans and Satan (was All this Satan talk??) References: From: lorax666 Reply-To: spam@luckymojo.com User-Agent: nn/6.6.0 Lines: 59 Message-ID: Date: Sun, 10 Nov 2002 05:23:04 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 208.201.242.18 X-Complaints-To: abuse@sonic.net X-Trace: typhoon.sonic.net 1036905784 208.201.242.18 (Sat, 09 Nov 2002 21:23:04 PST) NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 09 Nov 2002 21:23:04 PST Xref: typhoon.sonic.net alt.pagan:308655 alt.pagan.magick:34696 alt.religion.pagan.texas:680 50021109 VII om Hail Satan! somebody: >> You do all realize, that a True Pagan has nothing to do with >> Satan. this means that there's such a thing as a "True Pagan". I got the impression that folks wanted some, yes. it seems to be a part of many Western religions, maybe Eastern too: "True X" is something for which one qualifies, and either we will dictate what that is or you will have to prove yourself to us to earn our respect as such. thus if you have anything to do with Satan, you must be a Christian, and as everyone knows, Christianity and Paganism are opposed to one another. ;> >> All this talk I am seeing on this group is about Satan and >> 666's. Sorry. Us REAL pagans dont even talk about Satan. >> Cause, guys, He doesnt exist. aww. the facile Neopagan response undercutting the very diversity of religion so many Neopagans hope to preserve. paulhume@lan2wan.com (Paul Hume): > Why do so many Neopagans recognize every other "trickster" > Deity in different pantheons, recognize destructive Deities > in different pantheons, even whitewash and refurbish > destructive trickster Deities (Eris and Loki come to mind), > but do this "Satan doesn't exist" thing? because that brand of "Paganism" is warmed-over Christianity and its outright rejection. having to decide on the character and existence of other people's gods is what they've learned and they'll do it for a while longer with Christian gods so as to say "I'm not them!" until they convince themselves of it. > It is no more necessary to worship Satan than any other God/dess, > demon, or demigod, but it always strikes me oddly to see the > insistence that Satan doesn't exist as opposed to being a Being > one doesn't worship or of whom one takes no particular cognizance. I think the real objection is of the cosmology presupposed by the notion of any kind of 'Satan' usually presumed by Christians. it is the cosmology being grappled-with, not necessarily the gods. 'The Devil' or 'Satan' kinda goes into presupposing a Grand Wrestling Match between the Creator-god of the Christians and the Devil/Satan which their god is supposed to have made. if this is presupposed (many Neopagans haven't understood that this step is not at all necessary), then saying "I don't believe that" makes some sense, but only as a limited display of opposition rather than a support of diversity in worship. the clever Neopagan doesn't bother to attempt to refute the existence of any god, we just say "worship as you will" and many of us: "we will oppose you if you are coercive". :> blessed beast! lorax666 nagasiva@luckymojo.com