Why are you pagans?

Heron, I guess you would say that i do not "worship" any god. I consider myself an extension of the force of love. I consider love to be all that differentiates us from a binary machine. To me god and love are synonyms. I believe that we are all cocreators of what we call reality. Reality is created by perception. As perceivers, we are all aspects of the godhead. In ritual, i consider gods and goddesses as archetypes. They are symbols that i use to focus intent. Whether or not they exist as sentient beings is not relevant to my practice. Transformational magic is first and foremost about self transformation. To that end, the "true" nature of any god is unimportant. The symbol is all i have to identify with.

Jim

 

I believe in one god that has taken many forms. It is just divine energy that lives in everything, but can take form, genderless, but can be refered to as mother or father. I see god mainly in nature and I feel whole and complete in nature. As far as afterlife goes I think its either reincarnation into oneself, or a paradise, I am still not sure on that matter.

But as far as why I am pagan. I never felt comfortable going in a church, and I dont believe petty dogma should keep one from enjoying a pleasant afterlife. I just feel the conection to the nature aspects of some paganism, like Gaian Paganism. I feel god in the trees and rivers and the fields, not sitting on a pew having a person dictate to me what I should believe. I dont claim to have full knowledge of all pagan paths, I am still a student learning the beauty of them all.

 

I see, alot of you wrote "it feels logical, natural/ makes sence" so I was wondering, in which way?

 

Well I did my dangdest to explain in which way my beliefs are most logical to me. Still don't understand why so many folks are so quick to make that theological leap to reduce all thgings back to one single godhead, but that aside, why do you believe as you do? What do you find attractive about Islam?

 

Yes I know, I read it and I hope you didnt feel I neglected you in anyway but I still dont understand how this "unbelief" you mentioned resulted in paganism.

This would rather belong at the islam forum, otherwise wel be starting a debate and frankly I was interested in a dialouge rather than a debate. I can admit that I know basicly nothing of the different paganstic based faiths and ive tried reading some texts from it but ended up in different websites where (no offence at all) paintings of green/blue ladies (naked) were widespread and that sort of things quite frankly put me off.

In short terms I may say that I find islam logical and it shows a way not just on an individual level but also builds up the framework for a whole society on the grounds of justice.

I can for instance, never seem to understand how people become buddhists for the sake of finding something suitable when they know that its based on an innovation by a human being like them self (some christians, jews etc atleast hold it as truth). Im keen to find and live by the truth rather than what may seem fitting.

 

the answers simple, it makes sense and I believe in life that when something clicks for me like that I just have to go for it!
S

 

Twas not the loss that mattered, brother. The battle was the thing. Two thousand years later, I took a name that means peace.

I have read many, many of your posts and know you to be a devout Muslim and a man of peace. So I turn it upon you, cabdirazzaq: Why are you a Muslim? In your answer you will find ours.

 

well ive never seemed to understand y i must explain myself to ne one, i think that wat one beleives should be personal if they want it to be, because i do have such a problem with wat i am, i dont like saying nething, because, well figure it out for urself, but i have never felt the need to explain nethingi do to neone else, thats all, jeez

 

There isnt a need to explain, its not required to prove a "validity" as you
seem to think.

He was asking for personal testemony.

I think thats an admirable question, he just wants to know
why we grew the way we did.

But you don't have to answer, just dont make it sound
like he was being invasive.

 

ye i guess so i was just tryiong to make a point, the truth is, its hard to explain y i am the way i am, ill have to try and fit it into words

 

Part of what you seem to be missing is probably more complex on from the outside than the inside but I can't help but notice you have a hard time relating to Paganism as a group of valid religions, belief systems and worldviews. You asked if we were just in it for the lifestyle (trust me, we don't all share the same lifestyle; we run the gammit from those of us who could make a whore blush to the poster child of the GOP).

And I explained plainly how my "unbelief" led me here. Paganism is not in conflict with my experiences of the world the way some other religions were.

I am glad you are trying to understand us. That's good. But you seem to be missing the point that for many of us ours is a coherent, meaningful religion that fits somewhere under the umbrella term Pagan and others are equally content to sit under the umbrella and not bother with anymore lables for themselves than that.

 

I was led to where I am by reverance and pride for my ancestrial lineage.
It was the want to recapture the religion and worldview of my past.

My people have only been Christian for about 1000 years, for the 40,000 before
that, they had the religion that I have today. I cant say that I do it exactly how
they did, but they didnt do it exactly how their ancestors did either.

All i do is honor and worship my ancestors and gods, my Great Mother, and the spirits around me, in the way I understand them in my world. That is exactly what they did.

 

For those easily offended by naked blue or green people may I suggest for mpre info:
http://www.ecauldron.com/articlelibrary.php

 

Ooh wow, thanks for that

Those look great, I've been trying to find some decent stuff on asatru for ages (as research, not planning to take it up myself)

See you just never stop learning.

 

Paganism speaks to what my heart tells me. It feels like coming home.

 

Why am I pagan?
Lets start with a dictionary's definition:

pagan n. & adj.
n. a person not subscribing to any of the main religions of the world, esp. formerly regarded by Christians as unenlightened or heathen.
adj.
1 a of or relating to or associated with pagans. b irreligious.
2 identifying divinity or spirituality in nature; pantheistic.

Firstly, my whole life I have questioned the existance of god/allah/powerful force etc. I have never felt that there is someone or something watching us and this is why I've never subscribed to the world's main religions (no matter how much my father tried!).
There are many paths within paganism, and some are more involved than others. I have looked into and read about the different paths of many religions and beliefs, and while I'm not about to discredit anybody's faith I can't say that any of them actually apply to me.

Simply put, I believe in Nature. I believe it because I can see it.
I can see and feel each season as it passes by, new life following an old death. To which point I also believe in reincarnation. Old into new, life recycling itself, it seems logical. Perhaps I have a more scientific approach to it…?

I admire my celtic ancestry, not for their beliefs in gods and goddesses, but rather in how they lived their lives. Nature played a huge part in their existence. Somewhere along the line society lost that, and instead of appreciating nature, we got preoccupied in stories. (see my sig lol!)


Oh I do go on, sorry bout that!

 

Well, I don't actually consider myself "pagan"(for reasons I won't address here due to thread drift), but I think most would place me under that umbrella term. So, here goes.
I spent a long time looking at other religions, from Christian to Judaism to Islam to Buhddism to Wicca, you name it. I never found truth in them. The fit was never quite complete.
Eventually, I stopped looking outside of myself, and began to listen to what my soul was saying. I found myself drawn to the faith of my ancestors, to the way of life they lived, the interactions with nature and the spirits of the land. In the words of my Gods, I find truth that enveloped my soul, and made me whole again. I am reconnected with my family line, and their luck. I now have the comfort of knowing that my ancestors watch over me.
Also, the moralistic teachings of my faith helped reinforce that I have found the right path. My entire life, I have seen folks do whatever they like during the week, then go to church and be "forgiven". That never rang true for me. The blood in my veins cries out for honor and truth. Sure, there are people who claim to be Tru and are not, just as Christianity has it's weekend worshippers. But not as many. Because we are few, and we tread a rocky path, the spiritually weak tend to fall by the wayside. In an increasingly hostile world, I find value in a faith which came about in a time when men struggled with the elements and each other. There is comfort in an uncompromising set of values, in this age of moral relativity.
The blood of my ancestors called out, and found the Gods of my heritage. With luck, I will bring fame and glory to the line of my people once more.

Cattle die and kinsmen die,
thyself too soon must die,
but one thing never, I ween, will die,
fair fame of one who has earned.
-Havamal 75


For , who wished to know more of Asatru, these links may be of help to you.
Havamal
Asatru Lore-a rough crowd, but full of information for those hardy enough
Beliefnet- good folk here, a little less hard on newcomers.

You'll find me at both forums, as Fjolnirsson at the second link, and Odinsson at the third.

 

well said Fjolnirsson! I always admire you when you post.
Couldnt have said it better myself.

 

Thanks, Heron! It's mutual.