http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/paganism/ en-us Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:52:41 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2389248/posts Ever wonder about the final straw that will bring down western civilization? A British judge may have created it. On November 3rd, Mr Justice Michael Burton, the same judge that allowed continued showing of An Inconvenient Truth to children in British schools even while recognizing it to be a dishonest political propaganda film decided that: "A belief in man-made climate change, and the alleged resulting moral imperatives, is capable if genuinely held, of being a philosophical belief for the purpose of the 2003 Religion and Belief Regulations." The ruling means that an employment tribunal will decide whether Al Gore should... MensNewsDaily.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2389248/posts#comment Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:52:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2375002/posts The New York Times has an interesting article today. Apparently, Paganism is growing, and that's just fine, at least according to the NYT. Paganism has always been seen as the "alright religion" by the left. It's hip, cool, different. Not at all like those stuffy christians. "In several ways, though, Paganism was waiting for modernity to catch up with it. The emphasis on the worship of nature in virtually all variations of Pagan faith, and the embrace of a female divinity in many, situated the religion to mesh with the environmental and feminist movements that swept through the United States... Unspun America http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2375002/posts#comment Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:18:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2371422/posts Last Halloween, Gina Uberti took vacation days to celebrate the Wiccan new year in Salem, Massachusetts, the town infamously known for the witch trials of 1692 that ended with the hanging of 14 women. Less than a month after Uberti took part in the festivities of Samhain, one of the holiest days in the Wiccan calendar, she was fired from her job as a district sales manager for Bath & Body Works. Workforce Management http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2371422/posts#comment Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:35:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2271835/posts Mankind has really been put in its place over the past 500 years. Why only the other day, back in 1400, the sun orbited the earth; man was God's consummate work of art; humans were masters of themselves and the domain God provided for them. Our secular fall from grace began with Copernicus, who dislodged the world from its celestial catbird seat. Later, Darwin established that man, far from being the animal kingdom's pièce de résistance, was a bit like a baboon in... --snip-- One activist author posits that the planet can support only one billion people -- a number... Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2271835/posts#comment Mon, 15 Jun 2009 02:33:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2271187/posts In his commencement address to the University of Notre Dame’s 2009 graduating class last month, President Obama recognized an obvious truth with his statement that pro and anti abortion advocates have certain irreconcilable differences. Those differences were obvious when Obama’s invitation to Notre Dame was subject to controversy and pronounced public disagreement. It was obvious again during the President’s commencement address when anti-abortion advocates vocally challenged the President and were, in turn, vocally challenged by others in the audience. What might not be so obvious, however, is that one of the differences between the two sides of this issue, whether... Daily Sound http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2271187/posts#comment Sat, 13 Jun 2009 19:18:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2269560/posts James Von Brunn’s writings don’t sound very “right-wing.” On June 10, the nation tragically witnessed a memorial dedicated to commemorating an atrocity become the site of yet more death. Just before 1 p.m., longtime neo-Nazi James Wenneker Von Brunn entered the Holocaust Museum on the National Mall and opened fire in an attempt to complete the Final Solution his hero had left tentative, an omission Von Brunn dubbed “Hitler’s biggest mistake.” As former Defense Secretary Bill Cohen wandered the museum grounds, Von Brunn killed Stephen T. Johns, a black security officer, then was shot himself. As of this writing, the... FrontPage Magazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2269560/posts#comment Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:59:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2264615/posts During the 17th century in England, someone urinated in a jar, added nail clippings, hair and pins, and buried it upside-down in Greenwich, where it was recently unearthed and identified by scientists as being the world's most complete known "witch bottle." This spell device, often meant to attract and trap negative energy, was particularly common from the 16th to the 17th centuries, so the discovery provides a unique insight into witchcraft beliefs of that period, according to a report published in the latest British Archaeology. Discovery News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2264615/posts#comment Thu, 4 Jun 2009 14:37:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2207921/posts It seems to me that many on the cultural left are, while secular when it comes to conventional religion, very much believers in something that might be called secular religions—the religion of global warming, the religion of embryonic stem-cell research.My Creators Syndicate column discusses the Obama budget and how it caters to the religion of global warming by imposing huge costs on what now is an ailing economy in order to fight disasters which we are told will strike us—we area told that there can be no argument—you must have faith!—40 or 50 years from now.As for embryonic stem-cell research,... US News and World Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2207921/posts#comment Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:34:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2205872/posts The obvious problem arising out of the Golden Calf is how could the Jewish people, fresh from the miracles of Egypt, Sea of Reeds, manna and the revelation at Sinai revert to paganism and to the worship of a man-made deity. What possessed them to be so blind as to their own recent experiences and to their stated destiny? Of course, this incident is the ultimate proof of the allowance for free will in human affairs, even for the most destructive form of free will. And, yet, it is most troubling to realize how seriously error prone the Jewish people... Jewish World Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2205872/posts#comment Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:32:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2184626/posts A Tennessee historian and author best known for his searches for the Ark of the Covenant – the box containing the Ten Commandments – is now challenging much of modern Christianity, claiming the traditional version of the faith has more in common with ancient paganism than actual biblical content. "Today, it is amazing what is being presented as Christianity," says Richard Rives of Lewisburg, Tenn., who has just released a book and DVD collection titled, "Time is the Ally of Deceit." "First century believers would have never accepted [today's practices]," the 56-year-old ark hunter told WND. "We must earnestly contend... World Net Daily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2184626/posts#comment Fri, 13 Feb 2009 04:40:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2166648/posts In a bizarre ritual, two minor girls, both seven, from the remote Pallipudupet village in Tamil Nadu's Villupuram district were married off to frogs on Friday night. The ceremony, an annual feature during the Pongal (harvest) festival, is conducted "to prevent the outbreak of mysterious diseases in the village''. The girls, Vigneswari and Masiakanni, dressed up in traditional bridal finery -- gilded sarees and gold jewellery -- married the frog 'princes' in separate, elaborate ceremonies at two different temples in the presence of hundreds of villagers. Amidst chanting of vedic hymns, the temple priests garlanded the brides and tied the... The Times of India http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2166648/posts#comment Sun, 18 Jan 2009 00:52:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2154067/posts America has an ever-growing belief that "Christmas" should be taken out of...well, Christmas! We are inundated with stories about the "indignity" visited upon others by simply wising them a "Merry Christmas." At what point does this censorship of the season's greeting cross the line from mere annoyance to utter madness? Read today's "Geeks On Caffeine" and find out for yourself! NOTE: The author of this comic requests that you visit his web site and please refrain from copying it within this thread. Thank you very much! Geeks On Caffeine - Cartoons done just RIGHT! http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2154067/posts#comment Thu, 25 Dec 2008 04:24:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2133583/posts For a blind watchmaker, Evolution is quite the seer. Science articles often personify Evolution into a wizard and worker of miracles. This is odd, considering that evolution is supposed to be an aimless, purposeless process of chance and necessity with no goals in mind. Evolution, the Learner: Evolution learns from past environments, we are told by Science Daily. Scientists at the Weizmann Institute believe that evolution learns its lessons so well it can parry them into inventions by digging into its bag of mistakes. The article states nonchalantly, “evolution can learn the rules of the environment and develop organisms that... CEH http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2133583/posts#comment Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:49:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2120856/posts Are witches real? Of course they are. Are they skinny old women with green skin, pointy chins and warts on their noses, who cackle over cauldrons? Of course not. Do they attend an academy called “Hogwarts,” play a form of hockey on their broomsticks and battle mythical beasts? Is “Samantha,” a pretty middle-class suburban wife with magical powers and a gaggle of kooky and spooky family members, a witch? Of course not. All of that is an attempt to make us believe that there are not really such things as witches. National Catholic Register http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2120856/posts#comment Fri, 31 Oct 2008 16:54:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2082140/posts The Pagans for Obama Group is planning a magickal working tomorrow (FRIDAY) night. We're going to perform a "Rolling Circle" Healing Ceremony for the election. That means that are sisters and brothers in the East will begin and then those in each successive time zone will join half an hour later. This ceremony was the result of a discussion among us about Palin's authorization of aerial hunting of wolves and bears and the horrendous lies and distortions being propelled from the campaign in order to damage Barack. After much discussion and wise counsel, we are united in creating this ceremony... Pagans for Obama http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2082140/posts#comment Sun, 14 Sep 2008 14:12:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2014629/posts Prison bosses have been instructed to let pagan inmates keep twigs in their cells...to use as wands. Officers have been told to allow prisoners to collect and decorate the twigs which they need for their rituals. It is the latest in a series of rulings to protect convicts' rights and ensure equality among different faiths. Followers of other faiths are allowed items such as a prayer mat to allow them to worship. The policy regarding pagans was announced by Justice Reform Minister Maria Eagle in a parliamentary answer. She said: "Prison service policy is to enable prisoners of different faith... the Daily Mail http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2014629/posts#comment Mon, 12 May 2008 02:49:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2008099/posts You couldn't have missed it, if you tried. There were TV specials on National Geographic, CNN, the History Channel and the Discovery Channel, among many others. Oprah commemorated the event and every newscast seemingly reminded viewers of the day's significance. It was Earth Day, a holiday meant to celebrate the Earth, but something just didn't feel right about it. Perhaps it's because Earth Day seems to be transforming into ... RFFM.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2008099/posts#comment Mon, 28 Apr 2008 16:25:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1982582/posts March 7, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - This past Monday Oprah Winfrey, considered by many to be the world's most influential woman, began a ten-week long online course on the best-selling book, "A New Earth," by New Age guru, Eckhart Tolle. "A New Earth" has already sold some 3.5 million copies worldwide, thanks largely to the publicity given to it by Oprah. According to Oprah, 500,000 people from across the world signed on to the first segment of the online course, to spend an hour and a half listening to Ekhart and Oprah talking about chapter 1 of the book, and taking calls... Life Site http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1982582/posts#comment Sat, 8 Mar 2008 20:38:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1977038/posts I used to be a pagan. Not a neo-pagan with phony stilted semi-Tolkienesque speech (“Bright blessings! Merry meet!” “An it harme noone do as thou wilt”). Nor was I an adherent of some recently minted group of Gaia-worshippers playing dress-up in their Society for Creative Anachronism costumes and pretending they are living by Ye Olde Religion like somebody from The Da Vinci Code’s central casting department.No. I was a real pagan, which is to say, I was like jillions of other kids raised in American suburbia in the 1960s and ’70s, so remote from God that I didn’t even know... NCR http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1977038/posts#comment Wed, 27 Feb 2008 14:17:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1961375/posts Yoga Cred by: Deborah Lambert, January 29, 2008 Although students at Needham (Mass) High School may have felt a lot less stressed after principal Paul Richards stopped publishing the list of honor roll recipients last year, it seems the relaxation guru was just getting started, according to Michelle Malkin, who noted that his latest idea was for the school to sponsor “in-school yoga classes.” “It’s not that I’m trying to turn the culture upside down,” Richards told the New York Times, explaining that his goal was simply to bring “the culture to a healthier place.” These health concerns not only... Campus Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1961375/posts#comment Tue, 29 Jan 2008 16:00:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1954691/posts In 2000, when scientists declared that the Earth's temperature was rising, much anxiety ensued, even though the increase was only half of a degree over sixty years. In just the past year, however, the Earth's temperature has reversed, yielding back one-half of that increase. Last month, I wrote that the past month's (November's) global oceanic data from the National Climatic Data Center was .2548 degrees warmer than the 1880-2007 average. That was down from .5250 last year and .5597 roughly a decade ago. Well, they have dropped even further. This past month's average reading, .2493 degrees above average, is the... from data from the National Climactic Data Center. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1954691/posts#comment Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:59:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1942001/posts Former Episcopal Priest Explores Christianity and Druidry in New Novel http://www.bloggernews.net/112455 December 17th, 2007 by suzanne evans On March 22nd 2005, The Rev Walter William Melnyk was forced out of the priesthood of the US Episcopal Church after facing charges of “holding private opinions inconsistent with the teachings of the Church.” This allegation, effectively a heresy charge, ended his 23 year-strong vocation as a priest, even though his only transgression was to look into Celtic Christianity and its connection with pre-Christian Druidry. Now, Walter William Melnyk has delved further into those links in a new novel written with Druid priestess... Blogger News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1942001/posts#comment Thu, 20 Dec 2007 00:27:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1909910/posts Green MartyrdomSeveral months ago I heard a provocative description of martyrdom from Fr. Robert Cook, President of the new Wyoming Catholic College. His idea was that martyrdom in the modern age is not necessarily one of bloody (red) martyrs who die violently for the Faith. Neither is it the daily, silent and sacrificial (white) martyrdom of humble believers. He says that modern martyrs will manifest their heroic courage economically; that is, we will be called to pay dearly for our principles, not necessarily at the cost of lives, but at the cost of dollars. This is “green” martyrdom, and it... Spirit and Life http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1909910/posts#comment Thu, 11 Oct 2007 20:47:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1911610/posts DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama said Sunday that his religious beliefs influence his plans for how to protect the environment. Speaking before religious leaders and others at what he called an "interfaith forum on climate change," the Illinois senator said God has entrusted humans with the responsibility of caring for the earth, and "we are not acting as good stewards of God's earth when our bottom line puts the size of our profits before the future of our planet." "It is our responsibility to ensure that this planet remains clean and safe and livable for... Breitbart http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1911610/posts#comment Mon, 15 Oct 2007 22:09:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1896016/posts David W. Oliveira/Standard-Times special Participants do the sprial dance , symbolizing the journey to inner discovery, part of the Pagan Pride Festival in Lakeville. LAKEVILLE — Drums pounded, witches danced and smudge wands wafted the aroma of burning sage and lavender on the afternoon breeze. It was Pagan Pride Day on Sunday and the gathering drew a diverse crowd that included musicians, spiritual practitioners, herbalists, crafters and the simply curious to Ted Williams camp. Admission to the all-day event was free but all who attended were asked to contribute a non-perishable food item for local food pantries. "It's been a... South Coast Today http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1896016/posts#comment Thu, 13 Sep 2007 19:14:04 GMT