November 2006 - Alternative Faith

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Alternative Faith - November 2006

Great Alternative Videos From You Tube

November 28th 2006 16:20

It’s been a little slow on the actual “news” front in religious town, so I’ve decided to go scouting on the internet for other interesting things. I stumbled across a really cool section of You Tube with some really great videos of all things Pagan and Wiccan. Here are some of the sites: (Be advised there may be brief pictures or paintings of nudity from time to time. They are not my videos.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdFIJk6mIGA
This one showed different groups of Pagans doing various rituals through the year while playing the Witches Chant. I thought it was pretty good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_ijCm0ESakYour text goes here
This one shows how the Goddess is alive in all. Plus they streamed Ancient Pines by Loreena McKennitt, which I love all of her music. This had some really beautiful images.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKVIRIH6j0Y
This one was a longer but it was very informative as you can see by the title: Paganism vs Christianity. Of course there were some fundies on there commenting about how Jesus is the only Lord and how paganism is satanic…blah blah blah. I wish they would come up with something new to say, because I’m growing bored with hearing the same rants.
So enter this guy: Brett Keane. He is a singer for a band and has lots of opinions on different religions…right up my ally. He responded to this video with his own:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWAFjmcumDQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PjvYEZOfA0This was some video taken at Mardi Gras this year. It’s long and weird. I can’t tell if they are protesting or what, and apparently the guy filming it likes girl’s butts. But what’s with the woman with the kazoo? What a way to spend Mardi Gras. But why did the Christians with the signs and loud speaker feel the need to do this during Mardi Gras? See why I’m not Christian? Pushy Pushy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-ydq8RXF10This was interesting. They actually have a Summer Solstice Parade in Santa Barbara CA? Nice to know.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEfa4_eLrQgThis was Pagan Pride day in Central New York this year. It’s long, almost 18 minutes. But if you want to see what happens at a gathering, take a look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM1Yh4vZWwA
This was an interesting compilation of images.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKD9cbUC_iQ
This one has some great clips about witchcraft and it’s “paths”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gPnxneOQJc
Here’s the video where Americans United speak about suing the VA over the wiccan symbol on soldier’s headstones.

Well, that should keep you busy for a little while. Check out some of the other stuff on You Tube, because there was way too much to put it all here.

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Posted By: Miss Faith - Category: General Paganism

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It Took Black Friday to Unite Us

November 25th 2006 03:54

Black Friday Unites us All

Something hit me today. Actually, it was this morning at around 5:15 am, while standing shoulder to shoulder with complete strangers in Circuit City. Yes, it took black Friday to make me see something so apparent. Why is every religion at odds with each other over nothing? And when is it all going to stop so we can just co-exist more peacefully? I think there is enough hatred and war in this world without the pettiness of religious fundies.

The funny thing is that they always seem to come out to the wood work during the holidays, or so it used to be. Now it could be Flag Day and they would be ready to sling hatred and bitch about their “beliefs”. So what brought this to my attention so early on one of the busiest shopping days of the year? Well, picture with me if you will: Here I was waiting in line to pay for the stuff I had drug my butt out of bed to get at 4 in the morning. I had been packed into a store, shoulder to shoulder with strangers, and there was no way possible I was going to find everything I was there to get. So after squirming through the crowd for around 15 – 20 minutes, I grabbed a few things and headed for the line to check out. This was even worse. I literally stood in line for almost an hour and a half, just to pay! So what did I do to pass the time? Here’s where everything starts to come together.

There I was, sandwiched between a gentleman of Indian descent and an older woman from Hong Kong. I’m not sure exactly where the man was from, but he was Indian and had only been in the US for about 2 months. The woman had lived in the US for many years now, but still had her very heavy Japanese accent. During the entire time we were patiently waiting in line to pay for our goods, neither of them ignored me nor was rude. We all 3 stood there and discussed various things, such as how each of them make curry and how different it is to how good coffee and doughnuts sounded. Yes, coffee and doughnuts…how much more “American” could you get, right? And surprisingly it was not me that had brought up that subject.

But anyway, why is it that I could stand there with 2 complete strangers for that long and get along, even though it was hot and everyone was tired? Meanwhile, you can’t get the Christian fundies to get along with the Pagans or the Muslims, or really anyone for that matter. But it’s not just the Christians; it’s also the fundies in Islam, Paganism, and every other religion in between because they all have them. So why can’t we all just respect everyone else and live our own lives? Why can’t we act like we are all packed on this planet and we’re just waiting in line to eventually get somewhere? I don’t get it, and unfortunately it will probably never happen. I think it’s just sad that you have to be sandwiched into a crowded store with a variety of ethnic people in order to have everyone get along. And do you know why that works? Because even though everyone was there “Christmas” shopping or “holiday” shopping, nobody was actually thinking about Jesus or religion. They were all thinking about getting the things they wanted cheap, and getting out as fast as possible.

So I hope you see my point. Apparently we all need to rethink the way we actually think about other people. We need to stop, take a step back, and put ourselves in the “sardine scenario”. Maybe then when we have our own personal religious thoughts, we won’t feel compelled to shove them down the throats of others. All hail the Gods of black Friday, for they are the bringers of brotherhood and peace for a limited time on earth, or the US anyway. Wait, did I just invent a new religion and deity? You’ll be seeing the “new” black Friday cults on the news before you know it! Nah!

Blessed Be

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Posted By: Miss Faith - Category: Holidays

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Are You Going to Eat Yourself Retarded?

November 22nd 2006 15:15

So tomorrow is Thanksgiving. So what does Thanksgiving mean and how do different religions celebrate? Well, Thanksgiving is mainly a US custom, however, there are so many different ethnicities in the US how do they all celebrate? Or do they celebrate at all? And did you know that Canada has a Thanksgiving Day, but it is the 2nd Monday in October?

It is a little difficult to find out how and/or if different cultures celebrate Thanksgiving. According to a blog I did earlier, there are Interfaith celebrations taking place where people of all religions get together and just give thanks for all they have. Isn’t that really what Thanksgiving is about now? But what was Thanksgiving really about originally? Well, the funny thing is that Thanksgiving was really a way of giving “thanks” to God for the harvest…sound familiar? Yes, this is what Samhain partially celebrated, but let’s not back track.

What else was Thanksgiving about? Well according to the History Channel, the way we perceive the Thanksgiving dinner and celebration is not exactly accurate. It is questionable if they actually cooked turkey, but perhaps duck and goose. They probably also had seafood. Mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie? Not likely, especially since they didn’t have an abundance of flour and butter to make the pie crust. What other myths are there to bust about the Thanksgiving tradition? For those of you that did not see the History channel special, let me help you out…it’s rather interesting.

-The first Thanksgiving was in 1621, but was not repeated yearly like it is now, nor was it on the 4th Thursday of November. It was actually sometime between September 21st and November 11th. Also, believe it or not, it was 3 DAYS, not just one. The colonists of Plymouth were very religious so they wanted to give thanks to God for the harvest and really for everything else as well. It was a big celebration with lots of prayers.

-President Roosevelt was the one that officially made Thanksgiving the 4the Thursday of November way back in 1939. Quite a long way from the original Thanksgiving in 1621 huh? Well, you know our government likes to drag their feet on things at times.

-Pilgrims did not always wear only black and white, nor did they wear buckles on their hats.

-So what did they actually eat besides the possible duck or goose? Let’s see: lobster, seal (yes, SEAL), swan, deer, fish, Eagle (so that’s what happened to the Eagle! Ha Ha), clams, eel, possibly wild turkey (no, not the alcohol), Indian corn, radishes, lettuce, pumpkin (just not in pies), peas, beans, onions, carrots, grapes, plums, walnuts, chestnuts, acorns, leeks, parsnips, and wheat flour. They didn’t have a lot of different vegetables available, so it was mostly meat. They didn’t really have sugar and flour, just what they brought with them, so no yummy pies, cakes, or breads.

-So what did they not have that we do have? Ham (they had pigs, but there is no evidence of eating them for Thanksgiving), potatoes and sweet potatoes, corn on the cob (it was dried and made into Indian corn instead), cranberry sauce (they had cranberries, just no sugar), pumpkin pie (instead they had stewed pumpkin), eggs (they had chickens, but nobody knows how many were left by then so they probably didn’t have many eggs, if any), milk (yah right. They couldn’t bring cows with them on the Mayflower. It was the Ark! They had to use goats for any milk or cheese.)

-What about the Indians? No, they did not sit at a big table like everyone thinks. Nobody can say for sure that they were actually invited in the first place. Some think the Indians just showed up. And they vastly outnumber the pilgrims.

So where does that leave us today? Today I think Thanksgiving is about a couple of things, and no the harvest is not one of them. Thanksgiving is about being thankful for where you live, who you are, your family, and what you have. Thanksgiving is also about parades, getting ready for black Friday, eating until you can’t move and you fall into a tryptophan coma, and watching sports. Speaking of the tryptophan coma, here is a funny fact: with all of the yummy food for Thanksgiving, did you know that the average person will eat OVER 4500 calories in just ONE meal? Yikes.

So, I generally go with the “regular” Thanksgiving celebration. Family and friends, lots of food, the kids running amuck, watching the Macy’s parade, looking through the tons of ads in the newspaper, and planning on not sleeping that night in order to get up and go shopping the next morning. But what about people that have come to the US from different countries or are from a different heritage? How do they celebrate? Hopefully, in the least they do it by giving thanks for what they have, such as their freedom, and they spend the day like the rest of us.

So here’s your chance. If you are from a different country or heritage and celebrate Thanksgiving differently, what do you do? Or, do you even celebrate at all? Let’s all have a big Thanksgiving and share in the celebration together by sharing how we celebrate. Just ad your comment and let your voice be heard!

Happy Thanksgiving, and try not to eat yourself retarded. I know, for some the retarded factor is already present, but let’s try.

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Posted By: Miss Faith - Category: Holidays

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Widow Receives Plaque in Time for Anniversary

November 21st 2006 15:27

Finally, over the weekend, the memorial plaque was installed for Sgt. Stewart. His widow, Roberta Stewart, was notified Monday at around 10:30, to which she automatically went out to see it for herself. The plaque is as promised and shows the Wiccan symbol, the pentacle or 5 pointed star. She was very relieved to see that the state of Nevada had followed through with their promise. What is really cool about when they installed this is that their wedding anniversary is on Wednesday. So, what a great anniversary present this must be for Roberta Stewart. This is also memorable in another way. This is the FIRST time a pentacle has EVER been placed in a Veteran’s cemetery in the entire history of the United States. So we are taking steps forward, even though they are baby steps, they are steps none the less.
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Posted By: Miss Faith - Category: Wicca

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We CAN All Get Along!

November 20th 2006 21:04

It's a Miracle!

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Posted By: Miss Faith - Category: News

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Walmart Loses Their Sanity

November 20th 2006 20:30

Walmart Brings Back Christmas, then Loses More to No Layaway.

Will Walmart End Up Here?

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Posted By: Miss Faith - Category: News

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Talking Jesus Gets the Boot

November 15th 2006 02:59

Holy Talking Jesus Batman!

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Posted By: Miss Faith - Category: Holidays

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"Postal" Postal Workers

November 14th 2006 16:40

Postal Workers Permitted to Discriminate?

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Posted By: Miss Faith - Category: News

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Putting Christ back in Christmas...you can relax now.

November 13th 2006 20:10

Happy Pagan Interlude?

Happy Yule

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Posted By: Miss Faith - Category: Holidays

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VA to Get Sued Over Burial Rights

November 13th 2006 01:47

According to the Air Force Times, a group named Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed a lawsuit yesterday against the VA for the use of the Wiccan symbol on grave markers. Well it's about time someone was able to start the ball rolling on this! I honestly don't see why it had to come to this point, but it has. Hopefully this will get someone at the VA moving finally after 9 years of petitioning.

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Posted By: Miss Faith - Category: Wicca

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