The Different Faith

I've been MIA from my cherished laptop for a few days -- busy with the tasks of leaving work for the summer, running my boys to and from their many activities, getting the garden in working order and keeping up with the housework [which also includes the exterior now that Father Winter has finally decided to kick up his feet for a rest-bit].  Finding myself with a rare, quiet moment last night I popped onto Facebook to check out the happenings with some of my favorite Pagan bloggers. 

Much to the dismay of my tired eyes [it was afterall that moment when you allow yourself to finally sit after running about all the long day -- that moment when the last ounce of energy drains from your every pore into the comfy cushion of choice]-- so, much to the dismay of said tired eyes, drama was in full encore in Paganville.  There were those [as there always are] who made claim that Paganism, being a "different faith", was a "wrong faith"--

                                      "Different faith is wrong faith. You have a right to believe it, but believing it doesn't make it "right," It makes you lost and without salvation."  {Darlene S, Time Warp Wife}

Many of us were very excited to see how well Mrs.B and other known Pagan bloggers are faring in a Top-25 Faith Blogs contest over at Circle of Moms.  A very self-righteous few, however, were less than thrilled to see that Pagan blogs could be considered for this online event.  Or that [gasp!] we are even mothers at all!!  While claiming to be good, loving women of faith, this vicious handful set out to attack and belittle those that are different [ie, Pagan].  The most significant Offensive came courtesy of Darlene Schacht, author of the Time Warp Wife blog ["A Return to Biblical Womanhood"]. 

Darlene's blog post, All Roads Do NOT Lead to Rome, was one of the most judgmental and disrespectful pieces I've encountered by an author claiming to encompass "Good values" as "threads that weave into the fabric of friendship."  Her words, laced with Snarkiness [note the capital S], sought to depreciate others, mock their family life and spread feelings of hate and fear-- 

    

     "Evil will and does present itself as beautiful, harmless, and alluring--even moreso than it did 100 years ago. Instead of black hats and bad teeth we see blondes with great smiles and white teeth convincing us all they're the "good witch," ready to dispel any preconceived notions you might have.

The lines between good and evil are so blurred that even witchcraft itself is accepted as "norm" in many Christian families today. If we want our children to have a healthy understanding of who Jesus is and His purposeful death on the cross, we need to see the weight of sin for what it really is. Scripture clearly makes a stand against witchcraft."

I come from a Catholic background.  I have studied the Christian faith.  I have read the bible.  All that I have learned derives a conclusion that Jesus Christ, were he walking this earth today, would be utterly disgusted by the expressions of people acting in His name.

Just as Pagans have nothing at all to do with the Christian entity of Satan, our faith is also not the "witchcraft" described in scripture.  Even a Christian man offered the following explanation [via his Pagan wife's blog, The Pagan Mom]--

     "While many of you of a Neo-Pagan or Wiccan faith path claim to be witches and practice witchcraft, I have yet to find one who can cast a curse that causes harm as the term is used in the Old testament and surely don’t want to meet the one who uses poisons to kill as the term is used in the New Testament."   

While all roads do not indeed lead to Rome, there are a good many that do.  And just like the construction we see on our highways today, the paths to Divinity are ever-changing [minus the orange cones of course].  It is your right to believe as you will.  I have the same right.  Religions grow and evolve just as we as human beings grow and evolve.  There was civilization before the biblical Word of God.  Does the Creator just ignore this?  How were those souls accepted into a Kingdom of Heaven?  People find their own avenues to "Rome", just as they have before we arrived and just as they will after we are gone. 

Rather than argue over the road map, why not just enjoy the ride [and maybe even wave to the other drivers as you pass them by].  We could do so much good "travelling" together.  Already we send out similar prayers & blessings. We support many of the same charities when disaster strikes the people of this earth.  We have empathy & compassion for the plights of others.  We treasure our friends.  We care for our homes.  We are women.  We are moms.  Why the line in the sand?  Why the separation simply because of the different names we give our greater source? 

I end today with a fitting quote--

     "People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost."
~ Dalai Lama