LJ Idol - Topic 5 - Old Timey Religion

[aggienaut]

   "Let's get back to the city, the religious nuts out here kind of freak me out" says the girl, grasping the boy's arm.

   "Oh, they're just, you know, old timey" reassures the lad, as if this explains it. "They mean well, really"

   "They're so damn conservative though, lord knows what I might accidentally do and have them accusing me of sorcery." Coming upon the edge of town she was relieved to look up and see the city itself not too far off.

   "Haha no one's going to be burning anyone at the stake" says the lad, giving her a playful bump sideways as they walked, "they're just, you know, farmers, and things are slow to change out here."

   "Just as long as the religious nuts don't get control of the government again!" exclaims the girl, feeling more at ease to speak freely now that they were away from the nearest houses.

   "I don't think that could happen again," speculates the lad, recalling a recent leader who had started an unsuccessful war in the Middle East.. and died there. "Valentinian's got a handle on things, I don't think it will ever happen again" notes the boy.

   "Damn pagans," grumbles the girl, adjusting her tunic. "How much further to Rome?"

---

   I don't understand people who call themselves "Pagans." The word "pagan" comes from latin "pagus," meaning literally "peasants." The modern day "pagans" wouldn't be the new agey hippies of Santa Cruz with their vague supplications to "the Goddess," it would be the "rednecks" and "hillbillies" of the deep Christian backwaters. "Pagan" means simply "the religion of the backwaters."

   Or at best, it is not a specific religion. Saying you're "a pagan" is like a Christian describing himself as an infidel because that's what an intolerant Muslim might call him.

   Yet still you see people, including many here in LJ Idol (at least last year) who will go on seriously about how their religion is "Pagan." THIS IS NOT A RELIGION. You can be wiccan or norse or believe in Celtic or Gaulish druidism, or one of hundreds of other things that have been called pagan throughout history, or you can be something new agey you're making up as you go along based on whims as they come to you, but I feel like if you call yourself Pagan you are probably keeping alive an insult that the original believers of the religion you're trying to follow would not have appreciated at all.


   In other news, a few years after the above narrative takes place, Valentinian ("the Last Great Roman Emperor") dies and his son Valentinian II has his power usurped by a "pagan" chief of the military. And around it goes.


Picture of the Day

Winged Athena
Roman ruins of Ephesus, near Selcuk, Turkey

And here's a kitten

(and in a continuing series of animals in ruins, a (emo?) snail, a (electric!) hornet, and a zombie.)

***EDIT: NOW WITH A SEQUEL!

Comments

[agirlnamedluna.livejournal.com]

I think it's like "Geus" ("Geuzen") - originally yes, an insult, but recuperated by the group and then becoming a proud name to wear. Meanings of words change. I call myself Heathen, or Païenne in French, because it's a broad name covering many religions, one of which I belong to. It's like any of the monotheist religions really - there's many different denominations under one broad umbrella term. More accepted though because it's mainstream :)

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

but the mainstream religions by and large call themselves something of their own invention that more or less describes something about their religion (you know, like presbyterians, who, I'd imagine, worship the holy presbyt).

Except the Catholics who stole the word for "everything," which conveniently ties into a bible verse about how there should be "one, catholic, church" (oops!). And then some christians refer to "christians and catholics" as if the latter isn't part of the former. Ahh religion.

[agirlnamedluna.livejournal.com]

Absolutely - that's why I'm Asatrúar, which is a form of modern day Heathenism. Just like my mother is Catholic, a form of modern day Christianity. That's the way I see it at least.

By the way, Geuze is also a very nice beer which stole its name from aforementioned group of 'peasants', so it's not only religion doing it ;)

I think you could probably justify about everything with the right Bible quotes so their argument is probably very valid, yet not. LOL

Igtheism

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

I think I've heard of this "Geuze" beer. And I totally understand naming a religion after a particularly good beer ;D


As to the bible quotes thing, there's actually a word for it and I forget what it is, but a word specifically for the theory that because people can and do completely pick and choose what from the bible they want to believe, they can essentially make it mean absolutely whatever they want it to, it therefore is entirely meaningless. Igtheism!

Re: Igtheism

[agirlnamedluna.livejournal.com]

You might have heard of it from me. There's a bar in Oostende called 'De Zeegeuzen' (sea 'geuzen') which serves a special, secret cocktail of liquor to go with their Geuze beer. It's awesome and knocks you out and it really saddens me I can't drink any more because if one alcoholic beverage was worth it, it was a Zeegeuze.

Geuzen. Interesting article because the family de la Marck also owned the castle of Sédan I visited this summer so I'll have to look into the relationship =D

I never heard of Ightheism - but that's an interesting theory. I think it's probably true of any sacred text.

Re: Igtheism

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

I definitely need to visit some time ;D

Re: Igtheism

[agirlnamedluna.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes you do. Sédan and Bouillon have their own beers too. Actually I think just about every town here used to have its beer, even though most of them are mass produced now!

Re: Igtheism

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

I think a visit in that direction is definitely somewhere in my future (:

Re: Igtheism

[agirlnamedluna.livejournal.com]

Also, I think perhaps the Goddess in the picture is Victoria, as she has attributes I'd identify with Athena Nike. But I could be totally wrong of course ;)

Re: Igtheism

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Yeah I was thinking it was probably something like that, and that fits with what I vaguely vaguely recall reading while at the site. Greek/Roman gods are not actually my area though.

Though I think now the OCD in me is going to go trawl wiki for clues :D

Victory!

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

bam I just googled "athena ephesus" and the first link that came up was "winged athena, ephesus" with a picture of the bust

Re: Victory!

[agirlnamedluna.livejournal.com]

Yay!