Labels: A Further Discussion

People go by labels such as Pagan, Deist, Christian, and Atheist to describe their beliefs in one word. When I used to be a Deist, I wore out that label. Even though I now consider myself a Pagan first and foremost, I still hold some Deist views. I've learned two things when it comes to these labels. The first thing I've learned is that I can't over use these labels as I did before. The second thing I learned is that when you go by one label all the time you may be restricting your beliefs and views without even realizing it. Some people will avoid labeling themselves all together which makes sense. I personally don’t restrict myself to one label, and sometimes I avoid labeling myself all together.

When it comes to a higher power, I keep rotating between calling myself a Pantheist, a Polytheist, and a Deist. I’ll admit, I don’t have clear concept, understanding, nor definition of what a god is (not that I see anything wrong with that). But. When it comes to the existence of deities/entities such as Jesus, Allah, Zeus, or Thor, I'm an Apatheist. In other words, I'm not interested in accepting or denying any claims for the existence of these gods. These are just some examples of labels I may go by. While these are just some of the labels that I may go by, I still have views and beliefs from other religions and philosophies.

Deists believe that God reveals him/her/it self through nature, and not by scriptures. Deists don't believe in prayers, magick, and miracles. I personally believe that God (for lack of a better term) reveals him/her/it self (or their selves) through nature and not by scriptures. I also don't believe in miracles. However, I do believe in Magick and prayers. I believe that Magick doesn't always work and prayers are almost never answered. I also believe that prayers work as a form of meditation. So while I may hold some deist views such as the ones I've mentioned, I'm not a Deist. Just like the Christians, I believe that stealing, killing, and cheating are wrong, but that doesn't mean I'm a Christian. These are just some examples of beliefs and views that I hold that may or may not fit under the labels that I may put on myself.

Rant About My Parents

My parents are hypocritical. They tell me that I can believe in anything I want, but when it comes to me actually expressing my beliefs, they get all holier than though. I didn't tell them I'm a Pagan, but awhile ago I did tell them that I didn't believe in their god. My parents were all like "What did God do to you?" Also, on Christmas Day, my dad was getting all holier than though saying that it's God's birthday. I ask him "which god are we talking about? Jesus, Horus, Dionysus?" Once again, my Dad got on his high-horse and he said to me "This is a catholic house, I will not have you talking about all these gods!"

I know that this looks like a blog entry written by a 12-year-old but to be honest, when it comes to expressing myself and basically thinking for myself, my parents does treat me like a 12-year-old, so I often feel like one. I mean, it's absolutely retarded for my Dad to yell at me and tell me to act my age, and I'm 19-years old. Like I said, I'm moving out of my parents house within the first two months of 2008.

One Retarded Bill

The H.Res. Bill 847 - Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith is a bill that was passed on December 11th, 2007. In short, this bill favours Christianity above all other religions and secular groups in just about every way, shape, and form. But why wouldn't that bill favour Christianity? After all, the majority of Americans managed to convince themselves that the their own country was founded on Christian values, so I guess it must be true, right? Even though I live in Canada, there are three reasons why I'm writing about an issue that affects all non-Christian U.S citizens. The main reason why I'm writing about this issue is simply because I can. The second reason why I'm writing about this bill is because it affects my Pagan friends who live in the U.S. The third reason why I'm writing about a retarded bill that has passed in another country that isn't mine is because I'm all about equal rights. Here's a piece of an article that I found on Pagan Space.

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) recognizes the Christian faith as one of the great religions of the world;
(2) expresses continued support for Christians in the United States and worldwide;
(3) acknowledges the international religious and historical importance of Christmas and the Christian faith;
(4) acknowledges and supports the role played by Christians and Christianity in the founding of the United States and in the formation of the western civilization;
(5) rejects bigotry and persecution directed against Christians, both in the United States and worldwide; and
(6) expresses its deepest respect to American Christians and Christians throughout the world.

My points shall follow:

(1) How can ANY religion be recognized as being a "great religion of the world" when the word "great" itself is determined only by ones own perspective? I for one think that haggis is great, but does that mean that it is a "great food of the world" and should be considered so to the entire planet as dictated by the U.S. Government? Yes, a large portion of Ireland still thinks haggis is great, but Ireland is but a small portion of planet Earth.

(2) How can the House express continued support for Christians when there was no support in the first place? When did the House vote on the initial support of Christians in the United States and worldwide? It didn't happen, because it would be a direct violation of the U.S. Constitution, the First Amendment and Separation of Church and State just as this bill is a violation.

(3) What are the criteria being applied here to the word "religious and historical importance" and who wrote and voted on those those criteria? And what does Christmas have to do with Christians anyhow. Jesus of Nazareth was born in Bethlehem when the shepherds had their flocks in the fields. They would have turned to sheep-sicles in December. Christ was most likely born around April, with September being the last possible month with enough warmth.

(4) How absurd! The US was founded on religious freedom. That doesn't mean religious freedom as long as it is a Christian denomination. It means FREEDOM to choose whatever religious path fits your spiritual needs period.

(5) So we Pagan and other non-abrahamaic folks can continue to be attacked by bigots and persecuted for our beliefs, but the House will defend any Christian from bigotry and persecution. What a wonderful bill and resolution this is.

(6) American Christians and Christians throughout the world are deserving of the House's deepest respect, BUT THE REST OF US AREN'T?! I will be back shortly to finish this article. I think I smell smoke, probably from the hordes burning down my house! The one I own and pay taxes on! How can the House not equally extend respect to all religious preferences?

Click here to read the full article.

Okay, now here are my points that I would like to make regarding this retarded and illegal bill:

(1) Just because a religion has more followers than other religions doesn't make it great.

(2) If this bill is going to support one religion, it should support all religions and secular groups.

(3) If this bill is going to acknowledge "the international religious and historical importance of Christmas and the Christian faith" then it should also acknowledge the international religious and historical importance of all religious holidays and all faiths. For example, that bill should acknowledge the international religious and historical importance of the Winter Solstice and the Wiccan faith.

(4) As already stated in the above article, the U.S was founded on religious freedom. Most of the founding fathers of the U.S were either Atheists or Deists. However, maybe one or two of them were Christians. There were plenty of non-Christians that played a role in the foundation of the U.S and the formation of western civilization. Of course, when I say western civilization, I'm talking about all of North America, Europe, and any other continent and piece of land that's considered to be apart of western civilization.

(5) This bill will protect Christians (and maybe Jews and Muslims) from discrimination and yet, the fact that this bill is favouriting one religion over all others is DISCRIMINATING!! Talk about irony!!

(6) People of all religions and secular deserve equal respect.

Labels; My Current Beliefs

Here's the funny thing about labels. One may consider him or herself one thing but everyone else may consider that person something else. I personally consider myself a Neo-Pagan based on my beliefs while others may consider me to be a Deist or something like that. Okay, first off, if you don't have an understand of what Paganism/Neo-Paganism is then click here. If you wish, come back here to read what my current beliefs are. Okay if you're still reading this then here's the deal. Just for fun, I'll write down some of my current beliefs and you decided whether if I'm a Neo-Pagan or not.

First off, I believe in a higher power that’s either one with the universe or at least apart of it. This higher power does not interfere with human affairs, nor reveal itself through holy scriptures. I also believe that any god that has human or animal characteristics is made up for one reason or another. However, I could be wrong about that one. The next thing that I’m going to talk about is the afterlife.

When it comes to the afterlife I'm opened to the possibility that there is an afterlife and I'm opened to the possibility that there isn't one. Some concepts of the afterlife makes sense to me, but most don't. One concept of the afterlife that does make sense to me is that souls go to another dimension after the human body dies. But sometimes, souls may be stuck between this world and the "otherworld" for various reasons such as punishment or unfinished business. Another concept of the afterlife that makes sense to me is the concept of the Summerland, which is the belief is that after one experiences life to its fullest and comes to know and understand every aspect and emotion of life after many reincarnations, their deity will let them into the Summerland. The Summerland also functions as a place of rest between incarnations. One concept of the afterlife that I strongly disbelieve in is the belief of souls burning and being tortured for all eternity. The soul is another concept that I want to write about.

While I believe in a soul, I DON’T believe that the soul is a little ghost that lives inside of us and takes up the form of the human self and wears clothes once the human body dies. I believe that there’s something more natural that you can consider a soul such as the human conscience. The last few things that I want to talk about are magick, Karma, and the threefold law.

Many people who practice magick believes that it can interfere with free-will but I don't see how it can. I will also like the point out that very few people believe that magick can break the laws of nature.

Many Wiccans and other Neo-Pagans believe in the threefold law which is whatever energy people sends out into the world (or Universe) will come back to them three times, this also goes for magick. I personally don't believe in the three fold law because it doesn't create a sense of balance in the universe. What I believe in is that what goes around comes around once and once only. I guess you can call it karma, although I'm not real clear of what karma is. I will admit, sometimes what appears to be "karma" (for lack of a better word) could be a coincidence. For example, If I punch you in the face and then I fall down and sprain my ankle, that's most likely a coincidence.

I will most likely write another blog entry about my beliefs.

Blessed be.

Introduction

Welcome my blog of Shadows and Mirrors. For my first entry, I'm going to give you a little taste of what you can expect in the near future

• Some of my entries will be taken from my personal book of shadows and from my personal book or mirrors.
• I will write about my experiences as a Pagan.
• I will sometimes talk about my beliefs
• Entries will be posted once or twice a week.
• I will talk about the different Neo-pagan religions such as Neo-Druidism and Hellenism
• Sometimes I talk write about spirituality is a general sense.
• Sometimes I talk write about other stuff.

That's all for now. I'll post my next entry sometime next week. I will either talk about my beliefs or talk about how I became a Pagan.

My name is Justin, (Ultimo J) Blessed be.