Category Archives: Religion

Paganism, Religion, Society

Uptight people amuse me some days

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Last night, I went to the weekly Pagan Meet and Greet over at Jitter’s Cafe. By the time I arrived there, Belinda and Karen were already there. So I got my drink and ordered a wrap for dinner before taking my seat with them. I don’t recall much about what we talked about while there. That’s probably because I was too busy daydreaming and watching the rather good looking kid who was playing pool at the time.

Eventually two people, who I will call V and P since I’d rather not use their names without their permission, stopped in at eight. V and P are husband and wife, and Belinda and I had met them while at the naturist festival. We originally met them when they came to the Thursday night seance and kept bumping into them for the remainder of the festival. When we found out V and P were also from the Rochester Area, we told them about the meet and greets, because they seemed really interested in getting to know more about us and learning what we believed and practiced.

This means that V and P love to ask lots of questions, and the three of us (Belinda probably carried the conversation while Karen and I each chimed in when appropriate) spent at least an hour happily answering each query. We covered topics ranging from the meaning(s) of the pentagram to psychism and psychic development to totem animals, and everything in between. V also asked about the local Spiritualist church and how they compared to us. We gave the best answer we could give, having never been to the local Spiritualist church. When V asked if I’d recommend them, I told him that I wouldn’t make a recommendation for against something I have no personal knowledge of. However, I also pointed out to him that in general, I’m inclined that just about any experience is a positive experience, even if that experience leads someone to say, “This really isn’t for me.”

I found out later that our conversation had apparently upset another customer at the coffee shop. According to Belinda (I was too engrossed in conversation at the time to notice), a man sitting about twenty feet from us got fed up during the part of the conversation when we were discussing Wicca, witchcraft, and the pentagram. In fact, we apparently offended his sensibilities so much that he eventually stood up, walked back out to the front room of the coffee shop, and glared at us as he passed our table on the way. When Belinda told me about this, I just smiled in amusement and made a rather unapologetic comment.

About a half hour after V and P left, our original trio decided it was time to leave as well. After all, the coffee shop was closing in five minutes, and we try to make sure the owner doesn’t have to kick us out. As is our usual custom, the three of us stood by our cars gabbing for a while longer. As the coffee shop closed, a car drove buy us and the driver glared at the three of us. I glanced at Belinda and she confirmed (at least as well as she could be certain) that it was the same gentleman who stormed by us earlier in the evening due to our conversation.

At this point, I was amused beyond maturity and admit (though unrepentantly) to making a rather juvenile comment at this point. The idea that our conversation upset him so much that he was still stewing over it after walking away almost an hour previously simply astounded me. I cannot imagine letting someone else’s actions have that much control over my moods — especially for such a prolonged time.

I am assuming — and maybe incorrectly, though I doubt it — that this man was a fundamentalist Christian. I can’t think of any other group of people who would be so offended by our conversation, to be frank. And this experience just reminds me how completely worked up some fundamentalist Christians get over such topics. I just don’t get it.

He was not a part of our conversation. We did not direct our conversation towards him. And while I admit that it would’ve been rather difficult for someone in the back room of the coffee shop to overhear at least parts of our conversation (we’re a lively bunch, after all), I’d argue that’s merely the nature of such venues. It’s still no big deal. And if you don’t like what you overhear, you try your best to ignore it or move where you’re less likely to overhear without acting all uppity about it.

I’d certainly understand his reaction a bit better if we had been discussing Christianity negatively. But we weren’t. In fact, we barely discussed Christianity at all. The only time the topic came up at all was (1) when V mentioned his upbringing in the Catholic church briefly and (2) when I commented that Spiritualists often tend to get into some of the same practices some Pagans do (e.g. mediumship, healing work, trance channeling) but tend to do so from a more Christian frame of reference.

Now, to the man’s credit, I’ll admit his reaction could’ve been much worse. He could’ve become confrontational and openly hostile towards us. Or he could’ve made a complaint to the owner of the coffee shop (though I doubt it would’ve done him much good, as said owner seems to have an affinity for our merry band of gabbers). Instead, he chose to just keep his anger to himself. But even that seemed to be a bit of an overreaction.

But I guess what really gets me is when I ask myself who this man’s reaction will ultimately affect. If he gets angry so easily over such things — and he’s bound to come into contact with such conversations more than this one time — it’s not the people he’s mad at who will eventually develop ulcers and other problems.

Religion, Society

Thoughts on Justice

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Recently, I joined Circle and Cross Talk, an email discussion list dedicated to dialogue between Christians and Pagans. The other day, one of the list members posted an article, The Just World Theory. I posted my own thoughts to the list and thought it appropriate to post them to my blog as well.

Hello all.

After giving some thought to the topic (as well as what I want to say about it), I’ve decided to weigh in on the “Just World” hypothesis. Unfortunately, I’m at work and thus have access to neither the article nor the excellent thoughts everyone else has already shared. So please forgive me if my thoughts are rambling and don’t stay quite on target. Of course, in fairness, my thoughts would probably stray even if I *did* have access to the discussion so far. 😉

I honestly can’t say that I’m surprised by the article’s suggestion that most people operate under the philosophy that we live in a “just world,” and that therefore we are inclined to think that people have somehow brought their fate upon themselves. And to some degree, I don’t think that this is an entirely bad thing. While I cringe in horror and disgust at the suggestion that a rape or murder victim did something to deserve such brutal treatment, I also cannot deny that some people find themselves in situations of their own making due to the choices they have made. For example, the person who gives into our society’s consumer mentality and consistently spends money in excess of their income will need to recognize the part they played in creating their situation when they eventually find themselves crushed under insurmountable debt. Until they do so, and correct their spending habits sufficiently, they will continue to find themselves in that situation. (Indeed, many people who do not learn this lesson before making use of consolidation loans and other tools for making one’s debt more manageable simply spend their way back into a worse situation than the one they were trying to escape.) After all, there are those situations in which the concept of personal responsibility does apply.

However, there is a huge difference between such a scenario and a situation where someone is victimized by another person (or a case where someone who finds themselves in debt due to the high costs associated with an unexpected medical emergency, to offer my own counter-example) is unthinkable. A victim has been clearly wronged by someone acting in a reprehensible manner. There are no factors that nullify that or even mitigate that fact. And to suggest that a victim “had it coming” for any reason is unthinkable and, in my opinion less, morrally reprehensible. In short, comparing the two scenarios is like comparing apples and bicycle tires.

What bothers me even more deeply about the whole concept of the “just world” hypothesis, though, is the implications of how we as a society understand justice. It suggests a paradigm in which justice is nothing more than the process of punishing wrongs and rewarding right behavior. To my mind, this understanding of justice is incomplete, poorly devised, and practically useless.

To me, justice is about maintaining and restoring the right order in all situations. To again draw back to the example of someone being raped, punishing the rapist alone is not justice. A victim has been traumatized and seriously wronged, and true justice must address that and rectify these wrongs as much as possible. This means helping the victim to heal from this ordeal, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It means helping the victim to put their life back in order as best as anyone can accomplish. In this sense, I sometimes think that the civil law system offers more true justice than the criminal justice system in the fact that it enables victims (and their families) of violent criminals to sue those who wronged them, as they can then use that money for expenses that reasult as a part of the healing process.

To go back to my own example, justice is not served if we simply determine that someone is in debt due to their own poor financial choices, either. Even if said person is in that situation due to his own choices, he doesn’t deserve to be left there. In that instance, justice is served by not only helping him get out of debt, but gently pointing out his own part in getting there and showing him how to make better choices in the future so that he can avoid returning to the same situation down the road.

I’m convinced that the belief that the world is a just world is a false one, no matter how appealing the idea is to all of us. But I think that part of the reason it’s false is that the underlying premise of what justice actually entails is flawed. True justice requires action, and we are the actors.

My apologies for being so long-winded.

Regards,
— Jarred.

Memes, Paganism, Religion

Meme: Joys and Sorrows

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Eirsinitiate created a fun little meme which I found interesting. I decided that rather than waiting to be tagged (and hoping it eventually happened), I’m going to be naughty and self-infect. (There’s probably some meme etiquette agaisnt it, but I’ve never claimed to have stellar social graces anyway.)

Rules

  1. You have to use your own belief system for the meme. No fair using someone else?s to make a joke or satire. Being humorous about your own religion is encouraged!
  2. You have to have at least one joy and one trial. More are encouraged. And no, they don?t have to be equal in length, but please be honest.
  3. You have to tag at least one other person. More are appreciated!
  4. Please post these rules!

Joys

  1. Knowing that every act of love and joy is a sacred act and being free to celebrate life religiously
  2. Having gods who not only care deeply about me, but wish to work in partnership with me for both our benefits.
  3. The knowledge that while I certainly can and should grow and improve as a person, this is possible due to my inherent worth and capacity to do so.

Trials

  1. Knowing there are no easy answers and no easy sources for answers.
  2. Dealing with friends and family who care deeply, but struggle with understanding my faith.
  3. Being the devotee of a goddess who is all about passion and being single.

Infecting Others

I’ve decided to spread this over various faith groups. It seemed appropriate, given the diverse nature of my readers.

Christian
Marisa
Lauren: Posted
Pisco: Posted

Pagan
Tracie: Posted
Cosette: Posted
Phoenix: Posted

Hindu
Artharaja: Posted

Paganism, Religion, Religious Discrimination, Society

Investigating a Disturbance at Maine Pagan Pride Day

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Earlier today, I ran across the CCL of Maine’s statement that they were removed from Main Pagan Pride Day this past Sunday. The CCL’s comments included accusations of censorship:

League Executive Director Michael Heath remarked, “These same pagans who cling to the First Amendment for their freedom of religion, trample upon it by rejecting freedom of the press. Their audacity and hypocrisy is at the same time stunning and pathetic.”

Jason Pitzl-Waters addresses these claims quite well with a brief civics lesson:

The First Amendment right concerning Free Speech, and a Free Press, doesn’t mean that a (perhaps hostile) reporter can’t be ejected from private property, even if an event on private property is a “public” one. Freedom of the Press was enshrined to prevent governmental censorship or reprisal.

Being curious about the incident and concerned about the possible misrepresentation of the situation on the part of the CCL of Maine, I contacted the coordinators of MPPD. Richard Vinton was kind enough to respond to my inquiry. He assured me that despite my own doubts about that aspect of the CCL’s claims, MPPD made no attempt to restrict what photographs could be taken. Indeed, Richard included in his email the same disclaimer that the CCL displays on their site, verifying it’s legitimacy.

However, Richard went on to explain that Mr. Hein was asked to leave for taking pictures:

He [w]as asked to leave because he was causing a
disturbance. He entered a workshop that was already in session and began
taking photos of the class members and interrupting the instructor. He
misrepresented himself as a member of the press but holds no press
credentials and it became very clear the he intended to continue being a
disturbance.

Given the CCL’s documented past of encouraging harassment and resorting to misrepresentation, it is not hard to believe Richard’s indication that Mr. Hein was activel creating a disturbance. It is perfectly reasonable that the MPPD organizers and security would choose to eject someone for such inappropriate and rude actions.

Richard also speaks highly of how well the situation was actually handled:

What should be noted is the fast and professional response
by our team of Guardians. This entire incident lasted no longer then 10
minutes and very few people in attendance had any idea it took place
before the misleading story on the CCL web page.

I’m inclined to consider this excellent news indeed.

Magic/Magick, Paganism, Personal Development, Religion, Vacation

Post-Festival Review: Seances

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I’ve been meaning to write more about the festival I attended last week, but simply haven’t found or made the time. And when I’ve had the time to blog, there’s just been other things I also wanted to write about. But I think I can make enough time to talk about the three seances Michele and Belinda held while we were there.

As I mentioned in the last post about the festival, I had never been to a seance before. In some ways, I suppose that’s strange. I’m friends with a number of mediums and I regularly hang out at a store that has about one seance a month. But to be honest, they don’t hold a great deal of interest for me. In fact, I had originally only planned on attending the first seance at the festival: the one held on Tuesday night.

That was a pleasant seance, as it was early enough in the festival that a relatively small number of people came to it. After all, not many people had arrived at the festival itself yet, either. I actually learned something about seances I didn’t know before that night, too. You see, like most people, I had this idea that seances were about contacting the dead. And while the spirits of those departed do show up, they’re not the only ones who stop in. For the first time, I discovered that seances involved contact with spirits in general, and that can include spirit guides (or even deities) as well as spirits of passed loved ones.

The first night, I received a message, this one relayed by Rich. I got a brief lecture on the fact that I need to let the mask down and let people know the real me. This didn’t surprise me, as I’ve received this message before. I think, however, that the fact that it came from Rich — someone who had just met me six hours earlier and knew nothing about me — really increased the impact this time, however.

The second seance was Thursday night. Right up until an hour before the seance, I was convinced I wasn’t going. I had decided that I had already been to one that week. While it was an enjoyable experience, I didn’t see a great need to attend another one. To be honest, I’m not even sure what reason changed my mind. But when the time came, I rode down to the Khaki Shack in Michele’s golf cart. When we got there, we were quite shocked. I’d estimate that about thirty people were packed into the small building (far more than it can comfortably accomodate).

While I can’t say a reason for my change of mind, it became obvious why I had come along after all. In addition to the fact that there was such a large crowd, many who had come that night had been drinking. In fact, a number had cans of beer with them!

Now, for those of my readers who may not know this, you do not come to a seance or seek out a psychic reader while intoxicated. It does strange things to your energy and those around you. The net result is that you end up with very sick psychics and mediums. In fact, Michele and Rich each prepared to ask those who had been drinking to leave, but were stopped by their own guides. So we went forward.

That seance was a dreadful experience, however. All of the mediums had difficulty getting messages, and even some of their guides were noticeable affected by the situation. After about an hour, Michele’s guide called a halt to the whole process, promising to hold a third seance the next night. A handful of us stayed there for the next twenty minutes (after most everyone had left), mainly because the three mediums were feeling quite unwell. Arlene was kind enough to help pull away the stomach problems Michele and Rich were both feeling, and I helped to ground Rich. After a while, we were all able to leave. And everyone’s guides were kind enough to make sure everyone felt better by the next morning.

With the help of Tim, Michele tried to find a location to hold the unplanned seance Friday night. After a few failed attempts, our quartet agreed to hold the seance in the trailer we were renting for the week. We also insisted that everyone signed up ahead of time this time so that we could determine if we needed to break the group up and do two separate seances. Fortunately, only about ten or twelve people signed up (and counting those of us who had to be there, we number around sixteen or seventeen), so we held only one seance.

I want to mention one incident at the third seance simply because of how peculiar it was. At one point, Michele’s guide commented that there was a little boy in the room associated with one of the women there. (Her husband was also there.) Her guide went on to explain that the little boy identified himself as Anthony and said that he was trying to enter the world as the woman’s son. There was more to the message, but I don’t recall it.

What makes this particular message so remarkable is that Amy had a conversation with the woman and her husband after the seance. Apparently, they’ve been trying to have a child for many years. Even more, because of a tradition in the woman’s family, the couple had already planned on naming any boy they had Anthony. Needless to say, this made this seance a particularly amazing experience for this couple — particularly the husband, who was quite the skeptic and primarily came to humor his wife.

The last seance was probably the best. This was partly because of the smaller number of people who came — not to mention that the people who came weren’t there expecting some sort of “show,” but had realistic expectations for a seance. Of course, it also helped that it was the only seance held in our living space, which by that time had been thoroughly infused with our own energy and presence. This made it much more cozy than the more public and chaotic space of the Khaki Shack.

Gender and Sexuality, Rants, Religion, Society

Hatemonger number one comes to my neighborhood

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This afternoon, when I checked my email, I found a missive from the GAGV. It started out with the following words:

It has been brought to our attention that Fred Phelps, who is known for picketing funerals of victims of AIDS, is planning a ?God Hates Fags? protest here in our community today at the memorial service for the five Cheerleaders from Fairport High School that were killed recently.

Of course, my perverse sense of humor immediately cackled with glee at the thought that my area (Fairport is just to the east of Rochester) has somehow earned the attention and protests of Fred Phelps and his merry band of hatemongers. Phelps and those like him amuse me to no end, and part of me would love to check out the protest tonight just for the sake of satisfying my morbid curiosity.

But on the other hand, I can’t help but feel bad for the friends and families of these girls. I can only imagine what it must be like to have such hatemongers intrude upon what is already a sacred time of expressing the pains of grief and loss.

Of course, Phelps and his group really give no strong explanation of why they chose this funeral to picket. Indeed, their only comment (other than to rattle off a long and nasty sounding Bible passage) about this stop in their picket schedule is to decry the girls who died as “raised-for-the-Devil, American whores.” Personally, I find these inflammatory and awful words, and words that I find hard to believe Phelps has any basis for using. After all, he doesn’t know these girls personally.

Personally, I suspect that Phelps simply chose this funeral to picket on the grounds that it’s the day before another scheduled protest that will take place approximately two hours from the Rochester area. As such, it strikes me as (1) a protest of convenience and (2) nothing more than another opportunity to toot his own self-righteous horn. (I cannot fathom a more despicable violation of a funeral than that.)

In the end, I think that the Fairport High School are right in their assessment that Phelps is simply looking for more intention and their subsequent request that those attending the memorial service ignore him to the best of their abilities. However, I hope that those in attendance at least shoot him a consterning look that communicates the shame he should feel.

Paganism, Religion, Society, Tarot, Witchcraft

Exploring mixed feelings

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While checking out The Wild Hunt today, I ran across Jason’s post where he talks about an attempt to get a fortune telling law overturned in Casper, Wyoming.

Let me first state that I wish Ms. Forest the best of luck. I am a strong believer that such laws should be removed. Having had readings from a handful of professional tarot readers, I believe that they offer an excellent service. And while I might understand the city’s desire to prevent potential con artists from defrauding people through tarot readings and other psychic readings, I do not think that such a blanket prohibitiion is the way to go about it. (Truth be told, it’s my experience that the psychic community does a fairly good job of policing itself.) I also think that such a blanket prohibition singles out Pagans and is unethical until governments also look to address the practice of prophecies and words of knowledge that goes on in many charismatic and Pentecostal churches, churches which often turn around and ask for donations. (I even attended one such church that brought in a “professional prophet” for one service and took a special offering that went to said prophet for her ministry.)

That being said, I do find myself bothered by one part of Ms. Forest’s argument. I’m not at all comfortable with the following statement:

It keeps her from charging for tarot card readings, a key aspect of Wiccan religion, she said.

While I certainly think that tarot readings are a handy tool for Witches and Pagans alike, I am not at all comfortable the suggestion that it qualifies as a “key aspect” of our practice. And I certainly would not consider the kind of readings professional readers offer client for monetary compensation specifically essential. (After all, there is a difference between what is essential or key and even that which is highly beneficial.) To present these readings as so key suggests to me that Ms. Forest and I practice rather different religions. (Of course, this is not entirely surprising, as I don’t consider myself Wiccan.)

Of course, it is entirely possible that Ms. Forest is making this claim simply for the sake of political expediency. And I can certainly see the appeal in such an approach. After all, a claim of religious freedom is probably the best argument against this law. But again, I’m not sure that claiming it as a key practice is entirely necessary to make that argument.

Of course, ultimately, I don’t know whether Ms. Forest made her claim out of sincere belief or in the name of political expediency. I cannot and will not judge her motives. But in either case, the idea just leaves me somewhat uncomfortable, despite the fact that I agree with her goal to get this law removed.

Religion

First Unitarian, Take Two

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Last week, I attended the First Unitarian Church of Rochester for the first time. This week, I decided to make my second visit there, despite arriving home late from a party and getting to bed at 3am. Somehow, I managed to get up in plenty of time to get a shower, get dressed, and arrive more than fifteen minutes before the start of the service. It was well worth it.

Today’s sermon was on improvisation. Pastor Jen opened her sermon by pointing out that she would not be improvising her sermon, as she was not very good at that. So instead, she offered an excellent prepared sermon about improvising life. In it, she discussed how the principles of improvisational theater could be applied to a spiritual life.

I think that the principle or rule that resonated with me most was “start anywhere.” I think this is because I’ve often found that starting something is always one of the hardest parts of any endeavor. (In fact, it was the subject of my first blog post here. This principle reminds us that the first step simply needs to be made.

Of course, the other rule or principle that resonated with me was “don’t worry about making mistakes.” I think the two are related. I think the fear of making a mistake is what makes the first step in any venture so hard. So we allow that fear to stop us. These rules together remind us that making the first step at all is more important than making it the “right” one.

I’m reminded of another comment I’ve heard, though I don’t remember the source. At one point, I remember someone saying that a change in direction is easier to make than a change in inertia. So by this theory, getting the ball rolling is important even if it starts rolling in the wrong direction. After all, you can use the new momentum to help effect the course correction over time.

Like I said, the sermon was fascinating.

After the service, Rick and I hung out for a while. He wanted to learn a bit more about what I believed and what I mean when I say that I’m a witch. The conversation lasted for about an hour. I’m not sure how much I really told him, as the conversation actually meandered across a wide range of topics. But hopefully, it was a start to satisfying his curiosity. If nothing else, he’s gotten a better glimpse into my mind in general. Hopefully, he didn’t find it too frightening. *g*

In and Around Rochester, Religion

First Unitarian

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I decided to get up this morning and attend the 10am service at the First Unitarian Church of Rochester NY. I had heard of it back when I first came to the Rochester area and had even learned approximately where it was. However, I had originally decided not to check it out.

That was largely due to my experiences at the UUA church back in Big Flats. Those experiences weren’t negative in any sense. The people were friendly enough, as was the pastor. I got no sense that the leadership was abusive (spiritually or otherwise). In fact, I would be hard pressed to say anything disparaging about the church there. I’d even encourage those who are interested in that church to check it out for themselves.

So why did I quit going? It simply wasn’t right for me. I have an idea of the kind of spirituality I’m looking for, and I didn’t find it there. Instead, I found a number of services that included what were (in my opinion, at least) exercises in hyper-intellectualism. As I was looking for something more down-to-earth and applicable to real life, I just decided the services weren’t for me.

In many ways, that was too bad. I actually liked the people there and would have considered socializing with them and building friendships. (Indeed, had I attended that church now, I might be willing to give it more time than I did back then for that very reason.) But spirituality-wise, I didn’t find a good fit. And since that’s what I was looking for at the time, I moved on.

To be honest (and I hope Tracie and any other UU readers won’t hold this against me), that’s generally been my impression of the UUA in general. UU’s are great people, and I’d gladly have lengthy conversations with them, go on picnics with them, and generally just hang out. But as a rule, I just think that the UU is too loose and unfocused for the kind of worship I appreciate and look for.

However, when I was once again reminded of First Unitarian here in Rochester last week, I decided I might as well give it another try. After all, this is a different church. And I have grown as a person. So I convinced myself to set aside my skepticism and prejudices and have a go. I’m glad I did.

Let me just say that this morning’s sermon did not suffer from the hyper-intellectualism I had experienced in Big Flats. In fact, I found this morning’s sermon, which focused on “The path of non-effort” and learning to be the one being helped rather than the one helping to be entirely applicable to my life. Indeed, it fit well into many of the lessons I’m going through on my own right now.

The rest of the service was quite nice as well. It had a time for prayer and meditation, some group hymns, and some readings from various sources. I also liked how everyone was encouraged to stay after the service for coffee to talk and learn about the various programs the church is offering.

I suspect I’ll go back again soon, possibly as early as next week. In fact, if today’s service is representative, I could find myself becoming a regular attender. Mind you, I don’t think I will ever make Unitarian Universalism my primary spiritual identity. Nor do I think it will become my primary form of worship. I prefer too much focus and tradition for that. Besides, I’m a witch through and through. But I could certainly see myself as going to First Unitarian as a secondary form of corporate worship. It would give me a chance to be around other open-minded people too, which is always a plus.

Paganism, Politics, Religion, Religious Discrimination, Society

People in glass houses?

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Jason Pitzl-Waters made his readers aware the Maine Christian Civics League’s attempts to shame Kennebec County Democrat Chair Rita Moran for being Pagan. Indeed they seem to be quite outraged by the idea that a Pagan hold’s such a position, and go through a great deal of effort to make it sound like a horrific thing.

Of course, from my perspective, I don’t see how anyone can find it all that horrific. Indeed, my reading of the CCL’s diatribe struck me as an attempt to make something out of nothing. They even go so far as to try to make it sound like Ms. Moran has something to hide by referring to her involvement in “underground” pagan worship circles. Indeed, one wonders at the use of the word “underground” to describe Immanent Grove, which is well advertised.

Stranger still is the fact that they report that Moran supports the “Pagan Preserves Project,” a fundraising program designed to finance a long-term goal of purchasing property in Maine for Pagan religious use. Why this is more scary than Christians raising money for a new church building escapes me.

The CCL goes on to reveal their most disturbing bit of news about Moran, and that’s “the involvement of Moran’s Apple Valley Books store in promoting her pagan-worshipping beliefs to Maine’s children.” This kicker is no doubt intended to conjure images of Moran handing out copies of Satanic literature to impressionable young minds directly. However, CCL’s own clarification ruins that image. Instead we are dealing with a bookstore that is listed on the Pagans’n’Parenting website. The CCL describes this website as “a pagan resource for parents to involve their children in pagan worship.” So instead of an unethical figure who targets children behind their parents’ backs, the CCL is criticizing a woman who simply offers resources to parents already interested in teaching their children about Paganism. I find it hard to imagine how any rational person — even one who disagrees with Pagan theology — can find that particularly alarming, let alone sinister.

Originally, I intended to limit this posting to a mockery of the CCL’s “alarming” revelation. To be honest, I still find it entirely laughable and the sign of truly paranoid people who will try to create alarm out of nothing. Unfortunately, an update to Jason’s original post includes and email from Ms. Moran that has given me pause to reconsider. It would appear that as laughable as I find the CCL’s post, it has become a source of actual concern to Ms. Moran and those who would support her. According to her, even worse and potentially more damaging rumors have begun to circulate about her as a result of this “revelation.”

What I find particular sad are the allegations that the organizers of the Maine CCL have been “investigating” some people who have left comments on their site in support of Ms. Moran in order to post additional information about them. If this is true, the only conceivable reason to do so is to encourage their supporters to harass these people in addition to Ms. Moran herself. Quite frankly, this strikes me as entirely unethical behavior, and certainly not behavior that those who are calling other people’s character into question should be doing.

But in the end, one must wonder. Do those involved with the CCL truly have so little faith in their own religion and the victories it promises that they have to resort to such tactics? Is such behavior the best that the CCL has to offer the world? If so, then the CCL and those associated with it are truly empty and devoid of any real spiritual value.

In which case, one must wonder if their criticisms of Ms. Moran is anything more than simple projection.

UPDATE: My friend Lauren left a comment on the CCL site. They decimated the original post and added the links to her MySpace and StumbleUpon pages. They also included her email address in the comment text. (She provided the email address when filling out the comment form as it is required, but did not expect it to be published.)

The full text of Lauren’s unedited comment (with the exception of the last part, which she had to retype from memory due to last minute editing) is as follows:

I’m sorry, what?

As a conservative Christian, I am offended at the picture you attempt to paint of this woman– quite the fanfare for something hardly scandalous.

It is to my knowledge that her supposed “underground” pagan worship circles are actually well advertised.

It is hardly a crime to have a book store where proceeds go to something you support; that is the beauty of our country, and it is her business what she supports, especially when it is concerning what is done on PRIVATE land.

I applaud her for offering literature to Pagan parents. But that’s not the real issue here; since when do Democrats actually allow parents to raise their own children in whichever way they would like? (I digress!!)

I understand what you are trying to do here, and I understand that you wish to allow Christians safe alternatives through education. I also understand you wish to foster Christian values in all areas of life. I understand because I am a firm believer in Christ and I wish to know what I am partaking in, where my money is going, and what I am supporting, in hopes of honouring God. However, it saddens me that this woman is shown as a monster for doing nothing illegal, and nothing but using her own earned money, private property, and supporting parents who have already chosen to raise their children in Pagan ways. These are things she is doing on her own private time.

I presume you know your organisation wields power. The potential for rumours and character destroying information being passed along is very high and that fact is frightening. Perhaps it would have been more effective to show awareness through her organisation or her bookstore rather than through her personal name, that is if I am right, and it is educating you seek to do.

[There is a passage in Galatians where Paul refers to freedom in Christ (chapter 5), which is the freedom to do what is good, what is right, and what is honourable. It is contrasted to the “old man”– a slavery to sin and to the law (chapter 3). It strikes me as fruitless to fight against slavery when one can instead fight for freedom.]

In Christ,

Lauren

As you can see, they did a significant amount of editing.