Some Wisdom

knowing others is intelligence

knowing yourself is true wisdom

mastering others is strength

mastering yourself is true power

if you realize that you have enough

you are truly rich

tao te ching @ mattpaul.org

Armchair Theonomy has a New Home

I've moved this blog to my own server, in order to find new materials, please visit the new home at http://armchair.baedonwebz.com.

Latest Posts:
All Paths are One in the End

Beltane Fire Festival

clipped from intotheduat.com On Beltane night, April 30, thousands of revellers trudge up Calton faerie Hill in the heart of Edinburgh. They wrap up warm and bring their friends. Some paint their faces or wear flowers or ivy bands in their hair. They leave behind the brightly lit city streets and cosy pubs to scale the hill’s steep slopes in all weathers. The end of April can be unforgiving in Scotland as wind, rain and sleet batter the unwary. As the sky darkens the hill fills with bodies - all waiting expectedly for the revealing of the May Queen that marks the beginning of the Beltane Fire Festival. A neidfire is lit. Fire torches burst into flame and a line of drummers and torchbearers form along the high stone steps of Calton Hill’s Acropolis. As the drums thunder to life the May Queen, Green Man, Blue Men and White Women appear in the midst of burning fire sculptures and horn blasts.

more:

‘No person neither man not woman [shall] resort or repair hereafter to the Dragon Hole, as they have done in times bye-gone, namely, in the month of May, nor shall pass thro’ the town with the piping and stirling of drums, as heretofore they have done, under the pain of twenty shillings to the poor... also that they shall make their public repentance upon ane Sabbath day in the presence of the people.’
- Kirk-session Register of Perth, May 2, 1580

Easter and the Egg

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As it is getting close to Easter/Eostra, I thought I'd share this little tidbit I found on the web about Red Eggs.

According to the ancient tradition of the East, Mary Magdalene was a wealthy woman from whom Christ expelled seven "demons." During the three years of Jesus' ministry she helped support him and his other disciples with her money. When almost everyone else fled, she stayed with him at the cross. On Easter morning she was the first to bear witness to his resurrection. She is called "Equal to the Apostles." The Eastern tradition tells us that after the Ascension she journeyed to Rome where she was admitted to the court of Tiberius Caesar because of her high social standing. After describing how poorly Pilate had administered justice at Jesus' trial, she told Caesar that Jesus had risen from the dead. To help explain his resurrection she picked up an egg from the dinner table. Caesar responded that a human being could no more rise from the dead than the egg in her hand turn red. The egg turned red immediately, which is why red eggs have been exchanged at Easter for centuries in the Byzantine East.

Mary traveled the Mediterranean preaching the resurrection. Like Peter and Paul, she died a martyr and she bears witness to the important role women once held in the Church.

This icon (on the front of the card) was commissioned for Grace Cathedral in San Francisco to commemorate the election of Barbara Harris, the first woman bishop in the Anglican communion. As women reclaim their ancient rights in the church, Mary Magdalene challenges all Christians to re-examine their cultural prejudices about gender and leadership.  -- From the back of my Society of Mary Magdalene membership welcome card

The Eastern Orthodox Church, which includes the Russians, is indeed fond of blood red eggs at Easter.  Gold letters are painted onto the red eggs.  They make red eggs every year, no pastels.  You have to start with a brown egg in order to get the rich dark red color.

--Found on the Esoteric Theological Seminary website.

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Fieldguide to Identifiying Neopagans in the Wild

22 descriptions in all. Numbers 14 & 15 I have personally experienced.

clipped from www.theblessedbee.com 1. Bright-Eyed Novice  You just read this cool book about a religion where there's a Goddess and a God, and they meet outside in nature, instead of some scary old building. They think sex is GOOD not evil, and you want to know where to sign up. DISTINGUISHING SIGNS: Mispronounces god/dess names, has to think a moment about which is deosil and which is widdershins.  Has a shiny new athame (rhymes with "A-frame".)  2. Grand Old Wo/Man  Actually remembers Woodstock (the first one.) Will tell you about the time they dropped acid with Kerry Wendell Thornley - or maybe it was Robert Anton Wilson. Anyway, it was somebody with three names. Or was it three people with one name?  DISTINGUISHING SIGNS: Luxuriant gray locks, listens very intently, knows dish about people you've only read about.

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The Root of Our Moral Path and Honoring the Divine

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An' It Harm None, Do What Thou Will.
-- The Wiccan Rede

Judge not, lest ye be judged.
-- Matthew 7:1

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
-- The Golden Rule

...and don't do what you hate...
-- The Gospel of Thomas

What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. This is the law: all the rest is commentary.
-- Talmud, Shabbat 31a

Whatever is disagreeable to yourself do not do unto others.
-- Shayast-na-Shayast 13:29

May I do to others as I would that they should do unto me.
-- Plato

What you would avoid suffering yourself, seek not to impose on ohters.
-- Epictetus

What all these quotes have in common is the basis of the moral code that we live by, no matter what our faith. By examing the teachings of most religions in the world, we see that The Divine has revealed this same truth to all peoples. Can we say that this is not so when the evidence is piled before us in the sacred texts and traditions of the world?

So, we keep this as the root of our moral values that we will respect all others in the same manner that we hope to be respected by others. By following this simmple guidleline in all we do, we will be at peace with the world and The Divine.

The Outline and Free Will

We are children of the Divine and as such, we are part of a Divine plan. This is only a basic outline that we can affect with our free will. For everythingwe do, we affect that outline and alter it's path through our own energy. With this, comes the belief of what we do will come back to us. Keeping this in mind, we should work at ensuring that our lives have a possitive afect on the overall tapestry of life.

Honor, respect, and commune with God, Goddess, and the One.

When we honor the Divine, through rituals, rites, ceremonies, prayers and spells, we should spill no blood, animal nor human. The Divine does not require this of us, for it would be a violation of the basis of our moral code. The time for blood sacrifice is long past and it is no onger needed to honor the Divine.

Following our beliefs, we will not harm oursleves or others, this is the heart of our moral existance and the best way of honoring the Divine who gave us life.

Looking for Contributers

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I seem to be running into a brick wall when it comes to coming up with ideas that are outside my area of knowledge when it comes to Christian Paganism. So, I am putting out a call to others who are interested in joining this blog as contributors.

My focus will be on Christian Wicca, as this is what I know the most about. I'll try to throw other Christian Neo-Pagan paths into the mix, but I don't want to misrepresent them.

Here is a list of what I am looking for in a contributor:
- Persons with a background in any branch of Christina Neo-Paganism.
- Persons willing to contribute at least one article a month to the blog.
- Persons that can view other types of Christian Neo-Paganism as equals and not put down practitioners of other forms.

If interested, please contact me via e-mail: baedon AT gmail DOT com. Those interested will receive an e-mail with a few follow up questions before being added to the staff of this blog.

I hope there will be a few of you out there that will be willing to rise to the challenge.

Thank you.

Some Basic Concepts

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Here are some basic principles to keep in mind when formulating your path. Remember, you don't need to encompass all these ideas, but this is a good outline of what most who walk the Christian Pagan path believe.

• The One is the creator of the Universe.


• Nature (which includes humans and therefore Jesus) is the manifestation of The One in physical form.


• The Holy Spirit is felt as feminine and the energy of this Spirit is possessed by all.


• The One is both male and female, yet genderless. Goddess and God are but reflections of The One.


• Good and evil exist, but these are our interpretations of given situations. The One exists in this Duality and keeps it in check.


• The One is above the world and in the world; can be found in nature, yet is above nature. We exist as part of The One and The One exists in us.


• Belief in unseen Spiritual beings that can aid and assist us. These beings appear as appropriate to those who call upon them.


• Each day is Holy. Certain days are set aside for higher regard and celebration such as: Sabbats, Holidays, Esabats, and other days set aside for worship.


• Ritual practices are as unique as the individual and can contain a mix and match from all walks of faith, so long as those who are participating are comfortable.


• Worshiping and praying are not the same thing. Worship is honoring The One through the Goddess and God. Prayer is requesting assistance in some matter.


• Daily private prayer, meditation, and devotions are encouraged. Sacred Rituals in private or small groups is also desirable. When possible, experiencing the Sabbats and Esabats with a small group or family is preferred.


• Prayer is magic without the props.


• Acknowledge that The One has loosely set the pattern for our lives and through our own free will, we can affect this pattern. Use the gift of free will wisely and learn to accept Karma's lessons.


• Belief that what ever you sow, you reap. If you send out positive energy, you will get it back. The same goes for negative energy.


• Sacrifices occur naturally as a result of making decisions that are essential for spiritual growth and learning. Giving up something that is physical or mental can help you become more aware of your own spirituality, but it won't bring you closer to The One. Only love can do that.


• Belief in life after death and that we may return to the mortal world through anther body. We do this to so that we can continue to learn lessons on earth. We can do this as many times as we choose. Then, when satisfied, we judge ourselves according to our understanding of The One, whom we are a part of. Heaven and Hell are of our own making.

These are but concepts and should not be taken as a creed. Most but not all I personally believe in. Remember, it is your walk with The One. No one can tell you what path to take.

(Most if not all these concepts were adapted from an article found on the MSN Christian Craft E-Group. As MSN is abandoning it's E-Group program, any infomation on who I can credit as a source of thise article will be greatly appreciated.)

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Answers to some Questions found on Yahoo!

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How does God choose which prayers to say yes to? And does god ever pray to someone?

I think the Divine, if it was within the limits of power, would say yes to everything. But, there are some things we really don't need even if we think it would help us. A pastor once told me, God has a few answers for prayer:

1. Yes
2. No
3. Maybe
4. Not now/When the time is right.

As far as the yes, I'll stick to, if it will help us, then the answer will be yes.

Does God ever pray to someone? Well, when you have two others to talk to, I don't think you need prayer. It's a group decision.

If God is omnipotent, all-compassionate and all loving, why does he allow wars and hatred?

Parents allow their children to have their spats over trivial things only intervening when things get too intense. Parents allow these incidents to occur to teach the children, among other things, that they will not always be around to pull them out of bad situations and the children have to learn to fend for themselves. And in this, parents are not being dispassionate, but nurturing. God allows the inhabitants of this world to have War and Hate so that they will learn from and outgrow these childish behaviors.

So far, we haven't done so, but we still have time.

Please tell me, is there such thing as a witch?

Witches do exist in to today's world, but not in the fantastical ways that are depicted in classical literature. Today's witch, more oft than not, is trying to seek a closer path to the Divine than can be found in organized religion by turning back to the primitive respect for nature found in neo-paganism.

What's the difference between worshiping and "being a fan of something"?

Worshiping something is when you let that object become the center of your universe and you can't function without daily thought of it. Whereas, being a friend reflects that you really enjoy something without letting it take over your world.

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What is Christian Paganism

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Simply put, Christian Paganism is a blending of two openly opposing faiths into one creed. Sounds rather straight forward, but therein lies the rub. No two walks of faith could be more different from each other.

In order to understand what these two spheres combined would be like, we need to understand what each half brings to the equation. Let us begin by looking at the basic tenants of Christianity.

1. Belief in on God, having three aspects, yet are one in thought and deed. This entity is sometimes called the Godhead and is comprised of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Bear in mind that not all Christians believe in this Trinity in the same way, but it is a basic in most walks of that faith.
2. Belief that God was made flesh in the personification of Jesus the Christ¹.
3. The belief that through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, the sentence of eternal death is overturned, and is replaced with eternal life.

These are the three major beliefs of Christianity, all the rest is built on top of these concepts. Now, let's see how Pagans differ on these same three points².

1. Belief in many deities, although some Paths sum the idea up as: Goddess, God, and the One (who is the sum of both the Female and the Male deities).
2. Belief that we all are parts of the One, incarnate upon this Earth, to tend and care for it.
3. Belief that, like the Moon, our lives follow a pattern of Birth, A Lifetime, and Death, then we repeat this cycle many times.

These are three of the basic principles that are a part of many Pagan beliefs system. As you can see, there is a tiny bit of similarity in the two. Now, taking the same three areas, let us look at how we can combine the two hemispheres into one cohesive sphere.

1. Belief in a Trinity composed of God manifesting through Jesus and the Heavenly Mother. By following the life of Jesus, as we can explore it in the Scriptures³, we can see how to live a life that is more like that of The One. And,when Jesus left this plane of existence, he asked our Heavenly Mother to comfort and guide us on our Path in this life.
2. Jesus is our example of what we can accomplish in this lifetime. We are all Divine creatures and through discipline in our words and actions, we can reflect that Divine light that is within all of us. And, again, by examining what Scripture has to say about his life, we can be more like our Heavenly Mother and Father.
3. Belief that we are not limited to just one life on the Earth. We have experienced many lifetimes and will continue to do so until we have learned all we need to know for what will become of us in the Next Life.

As you can see, both belief can be intermingled. In some areas it is easier than others. Christian Paganism is a very young movement and not all the concepts I think of hold for all those who claim to be on this Path. The thoughts presented here are merely a springing board. Please feel free to leave comments about you feel this Path is about. This blog has been planned to always be a two way street, your comments will help us understand more about the concept we are trying to bring forth in becoming Christian Pagans.

Notes

1. Jesus the Christ. I use this phrasing because most people forget that Christ is only a title, meaning the Anointed One, and not part of Jesus' name. If you want to get right down to it, Jesus would have been called "Joshua Son of Joseph", but we're not splitting hairs here.
2. There are in Paganism, as in Christianity, as many different forms of the practice as there are people who observe it. Not all share the same main points that I used in this illustration. Here I used what I am most familiar with, and that is Wicca, and even there, not all Wiccans agree with these statements. Isn't it nice to know that we are all unique in this world?
3. When I refer to Scripture, I am referring to all that springs forth from the Divine and has been recorded in words through the ages. This includes, but is not limited to, the Bible, Koran, and Torah. To me, all writings from all faiths are worth of consideration and to be called Scripture.

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Last modified: 12 Jan 2009, 13:47

Welcome

Welcome to what I hope will be an exciting experience for everyone who comes here. To begin with, this blog will be updated weekly. As interest gains, as I hope it will, it may be published more often then that.

In the first few posts, it is my hope to explain the basics of what is thought of as Christian Paganism. One thing needs to be kept in mind: the concept cannot be defined precisely, because that would create the impression of someting set, regid, and established. But this is not the case, as with every other faith, each who practices Christo-Paganism will have their own ideas of what should or should not be done.

On the lefthand side of the blog I have included some links to websites that share other people's experiences in the walking between the two worlds of Christianity and Neo-Paganism. Please feel free to e-mail me more links if you know of them.

With that, let's establish the next few posts....

1) What the heck is Christian Paganism?


2) Some Needed Concepts.


3) Frequently Asked Questions Answered!

Again, welcome. It is my hope that this blog will enlighten and help you in your understanding of what Christian Paganism has come to be. I encourage you to comment often on these posts; all comments will be read and responded to.

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