Don’t you love when you see things people post that make a broad statement about “everyone?” Today I get home and peruse through status and see this one from Pagan Coalition:
A Pagan is a person who believes that everything has a soul or spirit. This is called Animism, and all Pagan religions share this common belief.Sun,Moon,Stars,Planets,
Really. So, let me see if I can decipher this mess. ALL pagans believe everything has soul or spirit. ALL pagans are Animists. ALL pagans believe in the universe as a whole, sun, moon, trees, rocks, etc. Christians believe ONLY humans have souls.
So, let’s go through these shall we? Do ALL pagans believe everything has a soul or spirit? It depends on one’s definition of the word “pagan” I think, but quite a few of us do. But there are many that are Pantheistic(which is similar) , and some are totemic. So to lump us all under ONE definition is to my personal opinion, assuming way to much.
On to the next little jewel that ALL pagans believe in the universal of sun, moon, trees, et al. No. We don’t. Some of us do not even involve nature at all into our path. Some do not abide by timing of the moon, sun or any other planetary bodies. We don’t all go out and commune with nature, hugging trees, picking flowers, collecting rocks and twigs. I might have a few elements of nature in my path because of the herbs, elements and timing, but saying that ALL of us believe that way ….I call bullshit!
Last but certainly not least is the “Christians believe only humans have souls or spirits”. Now soul and spirit are often used interchangeably by many. But in certain faiths, it is applied to the incorporeal essence of a person. Many secular faiths believe it to contain the real essence of that person, as in the case of one “going to heaven” . But Christians are not alone in their belief that humans alone possess a soul. In fact, Judaism, B’hai faith, Orthodox churches also believe that way. Buddhists believe in a transient state..We are always in a state of flux. Taoism says humans have two souls, hun and po, yin and yang…So to specifically state and imply that Christians alone believe that humans have soul is again a crock of shit.
So why post an all encompassing one size fits all, everyone is alike kind of definition? It makes no sense. Confuses the hell out of the little fluffmuffins wandering around trying to find their “truth” and destination. Why not tell them the truth? Tell them that we don’t all believe the same. some of us have a traditional path that has a set dogma and structure, while others have a combination of UPG and knowledge gained through study and exploration. We are Not all the same, nor do we believe that way. the main reason many of us walk a pagan path is that we hate structure and rules. The secular faiths did nothing for us so we came seeking something that speaks to us personally. We don’t all fit into the same hole. so personally, I want pagan groups in general to stop trying to speak for one and all because we are all diverse, coming at this from our own perspective, and while some generalities might be true, as a whole, it does not fit. So stop with all the bullshit and try a little truth for a change. Who knows? You might actually like that view in the mirror for a change.
DEUCES
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