I won't lie, one of the reason I left Christianity was because of the fundamentalism in the religion. I didn't like the idea of everyone claiming that they are the only ones who was correctly worshiping the White Christ, and everyone else was going to Hell. However, I've seen the same fundamentalism in Paganism, especially when it comes to Reconstructionism. The popular war cry for the Recons is the “scholar” argument.
Every ritual, every holiday, everything that has to do with lore has to be based on a scholarly article or works. If it's not backed by lore or scholarly work, then it's denounced at Wiccatru, or Wicca. Which brings up another negative point about the sickening infestation of Fundamentalism in Paganism. The division between the people.
It's no secret that Recons do think less of Wiccans. I'm sure there are some Recons and Wiccans that are friends, but by and large there is that division between the two groups. The fact that being called Wiccan is seen as some kind of insult really just boggles the mind. So a group of people don't follow the “Source?” way of thinking, who cares, and I've never heard of any Wiccans who tried to pass their religion off as anything even close to what the Recons are doing.
It's not that I have a problem with Recons, I just have a problem with the fact that they are bringing Christian Fundamentalism into Paganism and re-branding it as Authentic Paganism. It's remarkably similar to the whole “My grandma was a witch” thing that Wiccan use to try to give their practices some legitimacy. Who cares if you're first generation or second? Who cares that it's something the ancient would've or wouldn't have done. In case you haven't noticed the ancients are dead.
Now I do agree that one should do their homework when it comes to the gods and lore, so that you can properly worship the gods, you should get familiar with all aspect of the gods you call to your ritual space, otherwise you're just going to piss them off and insult them. However, I do believe there is room for UPG (Unverified Personal Gnostic) and for bringing in new ritual ideas or new ideas to worship the gods.
Fundamentalist Pagans also seem to forget that in ancient times, there was no universally set ways of doing things like today. Rituals, holidays, Hel even name of the gods varied from tribe to tribe. Hel even the Lore will be forever incomplete, and Hel even the “holy” Lore was (and is) a UPG.
My point is this, stop taking yourself so seriously and have fun with it, I mean c'mon, you're sitting around a fire and drinking Ale.
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Greetings Wilgrove,
ReplyDeleteNow, I'm not a recon (OMG, Sumerian Recon would be hell in a modern society; IDK how some do it.), but I do dislike Wicca. My problems with Wicca are the "plug and play" philosophy that alot of Wiccans have. I've seen rituals where the HP just inserts and deity they feel like, and watch to see what happens. And then, I think a huge part of Wicca's negative conception (unfair, I know)is that every fluffbunny on the face of the planet calls themselves a wiccan, which leads to the conception that all wiccans are fluffbunnies. My biggest personal problem with Wicca is mainly the theological problem of the nature of the gods. I think the idea of just one god and one goddess being real and all the others just being reflections of said deities as insulting to the gods (hard polytheist here). Just my 2 cents. =)
Greater Tezdrian\Julian
Hell, even within Wicca there are fundie Gardnerians, etc.
ReplyDeleteI remember, from my days as a Wiccan, a guy who said that Scott Cunningham (!) was a fluffy, probably for even acknowledging the existence of solitary and/or eclectic Wiccans.
I was a solitary eclectic but rejected Ravenwolf-style fluffyism, and it bothers me when people conflate the two. You can be a legit SE or a fluffy in a coven.
God, this takes me back...
I should remind people that I am a hard polytheist myself, I do believe that the gods have their own autonomy that we must respect. Julian, I do agree with you that the "Plug and Play" attitude that some Wiccans use is sickening, it's an insult to the gods.
ReplyDeleteThe fluffybunny is also a problem, but a problem that can be fixed by either ignoring them (they'll move onto the next "fad" sooner or later), or by helping them to become more developed. It really depends on the person. Some "FB" can be helped, and others can't.
I actually straddle the line between Recon and Eclectic Paganism. I do study the lore and the gods I worship, I also study the history of my religion. However I do come up with my own rituals based on the lore and history. Religion must move forward if it's to stay relevant, because stagnation could kill any religion.
If people really want to do what the ancients did, then simply talk to the gods, spend some time out in nature, write down things you feel are inspired by your gods in a UPG journal. Remember, the Ancients didn't have "scholarly" works, they had nature, their gods and inspiration to guide them.