A dark and dangerous path.

This would be the continuing saga known as my life. More particularly the situation with my telling my parents that I'm Pagan. Picture this: Sunday afternoon. A bright and sunny day with a gentle breeze. The air is quite warm but tolerable, and the kids are only slightly misbehaving. I stand in my parents kitchen and once again my Mother asks me "Where do you practice this Pagan thing?" I reply "I practice in my home." "Well is it something on the computer?" she asks. Only slightly horrified "No." Then my Father chimes in next to me "Well I think you've started down a dark and dangerous path."

Rubbish.

It's as if they think I'm worshipping the Devil. In fact that's precisely what they think I'm doing. What I can't understand is why after I revealed my religious and spiritual affiliations to them did they not bother to either a) look into this faith further, or b) ask me better questions. If houses were built on ignorance then the Christian faith would have built an entire cities worth. My parents (blessing upon them) have disappointed me in this. Mind you it's exactly what I expected since I never really counted on them exploring other religions. They believe they're right, and that's all that matters to them. They believe I'm wrong, or rather KNOW I'm wrong and shake their heads thinking 'tut tut what a wayward son we have'. So I believe in a faith that encompasses the natural world, and the teachings that it contains. So I have an alternate viewpoint on the nature of humanity, and the social workings that tie us together. So my God might have horns, and my Goddess more wonderful than anything the Christian faith has.

A dark and dangerous path indeed. Christian philosophy has changed so much through time that it makes me wonder how it ever survived. No wonder it needed to force people to convert during the early days, since it seemed to have nothing wonderful about it in this world. Fear mongering and political power were the only two things about it. Priests could excommunicate you if they saw fit, women were burned at the stake if need be, and you had to be a good Christian if you were to make it through the pearly gates. If being a good Christian means following a faith with such a tainted heritage, then no thank you. I don't ask others to be a part of my faith. I don't claim that I'm right and they are wrong. I certainly don't think that they're fools for following the Christian faith. I do know that I am right for ME. I've seen the hypocrisy that has been a part of the church for a very long time and it makes me ill. I've seen a potentially pure spiritual form twisted for personal/political gains, and have seen it turn men into zealots, which is the last thing any religion needs.

I worship no Devil. Brigid has been a deity related to wisdom and healing. She's been linked to nurturing and creativity. She is in my opinion a wonderful Goddess, who helps me to cope with the stresses of the day-to-day world by allowing me the chance to ponder simpler things. According to Christian myth the Devil is the ultimate purveyor of sin and pain, lust and greed, and all the other negative things that we do. That's quite the out when you can kill your family and say that 'the Devil made me do it'. I for one say that man is responsible for the problems we create, not the Devil. Do I believe that there is a God and a Devil? Yes.

Wait a second... But you said you're Pagan? Yes I am. I worship Pagan Deities, and conduct personal rituals to honour them. But how can I say that the Christian God and Devil do not exist? The fact that in the ten commandments He states that "you shall have no other Gods before me." As well "You shall not make for yourself any carved image..." leading to the quote "...for I am a jealous God...". Well now, jealous of what? Apparently of other Gods, or as the statement is usually made 'False Gods'. How are my Gods an lesser than the Christian God? I'll tell you how: because He said so!

Farcical! Bollocks! If all roads lead to Rome, then why worry if I attempt to go to Athens? Apparently I'll just end up in Rome anyways. So if God is the ultimate God, the top cat, the big cheese, and my Gods and Goddesses are lower on the food chain, then what in the world has He got to be Jealous about? It sounds like a child having a tantrum, and I don't need to worship a snotty nosed celestial omnipotent Deity. What I need is blue skies, a gentle breeze rustling the leaves on the trees and nice pint of ale to celebrate my relationship with my Goddess and the world around me.