Pagans.net Blogs

Eighth-graders to be charged in classroom sex incident

According to the article, “Eighth-graders to be charged in classroom sex incident|” posted at Failure magazine,

December 11 - A pair of eighth-graders at Warner Robins Middle School in Warner Robins, Georgia, are expected to be charged with indecent exposure after allegedly engaging in oral sex in a classroom while class was in progress, according to school liaison officer, Sgt. Porter Wood.
A male student and a female student allegedly performed the act in the back of the room, while a substitute teacher and other students were present. According to Wood, several students witnessed the incident and alerted a school administrator, but did not bring it to the attention of the teacher at the time. Tabitha Pugh, public information officer for the Warner Robins Police Department, says the teacher’s view was obstructed by the students in front of her.
The incident took place on December 4. The police department is expected to issue a report later today.

(Read More at Failure magazine.)

Pagan Republican Wins in Queens, Thanks Odin.

According to the article, “Pagan Republican Wins in Queens, Thanks Odin.” posted at Reason Magazine,

Republican Dan Halloran (that’s him at right) won the race New York City Council in Queens yesterday, despite a bunch of last minute articles focused on the fact that he practices Theodism, which involves Norse gods like Odin and Freyr. Says Halloran:

It is our hope to reconstruct the pre-Christian religion of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European peoples, within a cultural framework and community environment.

Score one for tolerance. Sure, it’s just the city council. And sure, it’s New York. But this guy is a full-on Pagan, for Odin’s sake, and he just got elected to a pretty important public office. As a Republican.

Sadly, even the blood-sacrificing privacy-loving Queens councilman can’t quite stomach the dirty little atheists of the world:

I don’t think any of this is really relevant to the City Council race. It’s like talking about what church you pray at. That you understand the divine is the most important part.

(Read More at Reason Magazine.)

The First ‘Wicca 101′ Session - A Pagan’s Blog

According to an article, “The First ‘Wicca 101′ Session - A Pagan’s Blog” by Gus diZerega posted at BeliefNet,

We had our first Wicca 101 class last night, on Mabon, the Equinox.  Along with the Priestess who is co-teaching, we had five students: two with previous experience, the others without.  A sixth, also a newbie, will join us at our second meeting.  After that, the class will be closed.  It’s a nice size: big enough to have some coven type experiences later on and small enough for us to attend to every one individually.  Plus we fit comfortably into my living room.

(Read More at BeliefNet.)

Celebrate the autumnal equinox at 2:18 pm today - kgw.com

According to the article, “Celebrate the autumnal equinox at 2:18 pm today - kgw.com” found via Google News Search,

Soft Sailor

Celebrate the autumnal equinox at 2:18 pm todaykgw.com Pagans of the latter-day Roman Empire brought modern Western civilization the traditional harvest festival to celebrate summer's farming bounty and held on … Fall Sets In With The Autumn Equinox On September 22Thaindian.com (blog) Paean to the autumnal equinoxMPNnow.com Autumnal Equinox 2009 is First Day of FallArtuji - Pop Culture News and Internet Buzz all 32 news articles »

(Read More at Google News.)

A history of healing herbs

According to the article, “A history of healing herbs” posted at The Seattle Times,

Even more admirable are the recipes throughout the book that discuss how to harvest and prepare the plants for use as medicine — too many publications lack these important how-to details. For mullein, the instructions include detailed descriptions of how to make dried mullein tea for coughs and colds. It challenges the reader with the more complex recipe of mullein-flower oil as an earache remedy. There’s also a how-to on making and using a mullein poultice to draw out splinters.

(Read More at The Seattle Times.)

Scabby Witches from Glasgow: Strawberry Switchblade

According to the article, “Scabby Witches from Glasgow: Strawberry Switchblade” posted at PopMatters,

For some acts, even the title of “One Hit Wonder” is too extravagant an honor. For self-proclaimed “scabby witches from Glasgow”, Strawberry Switchblade, OHW status can only be claimed in Europe and Japan—in the US, they didn’t even rate as a blip on the radar screen, unless you were a moody teenager who subscribed to Smash Hits and bought creepers and Communards 12” dance singles at import shops with names like the Berlin Wall.

(Read More at PopMatters.)

In response to your anger and self doubt

My impassioned response to this idiot: http://www.americancivilization.net/articles/2006/Marriage_ABCs.htm

In defense of your views that the fragile institution of marriage needs constitutional protection from monogamous homosexuals who share your views on the value of familial commitments, you bring up the point that adultery, incest, homosexuality, and bestiality are punishable offenses in the KJ Bible. While it is true that those acts were punished, it is also true that many many other acts punished in the Bible go unpunished today. Onanism isn’t against the law and is rampant. Where is your outrage? Premarital sex between a man and a woman was punished frequently and harshly, more frequently than homosexuality is even mentioned, in fact. Is there a Defense of Chastity act in the works? Divorce, the commonly accepted true threat to the sanctity of marriage, was illegal in the Bible, yet curiously absent from any proposed constitutional amendments.

On the other side of your duplicitous coin, in the Bible we have acts that go unpunished — or were minimally addressed with relative wrist slappings such as rape and the maiming or murder of a servant — that today are deserving targets of moral outrage: revenge killings, murder in the name of God, violent sexual agression, pedophilia, slavery, prostitution, polygamy, and treachery against ones own government. Shall we repeal laws for things the Bible didn’t see fit to punish us for? Why conservatives have jumped on the homosexual threat to the “sanctity of marriage” as the target of their righteous indignation when there are so many other, more offensive biblical evils eludes me.

In your article, you ask for solid arguments from liberals challenging your views, yet you offer no evidence that your views are correct. It’s hard to challenge an unsupported view. That’s why most Christians argue their faith rather than their beliefs. By definition, faith defies reason and is therefore above challenge. Furthermore, many Christians will make biblical arguments for their views, but when challenged on the accuracy, veracity, or consistency of the Bible, they have little to offer except their faith that it is the word of God.

Your apparent argument is that homosexual unions will harm the sanctity of marriage. Where is your proof? Do you have statistics that show a decline in loyalty between married men and women who live in a state where homosexual marriage is legally recognized? I truly doubt it.

Now, there is nothing wrong with faith, but any serious discourse on a controversial subject should be had without the hindrance of one or both sides challenging the others’ faith. But absent such arguments, your point of view falls on its knees.

Therefore, I would like to propose that perhaps the problem you have with homosexuality is deeper and more complex than simply your faith in the teachings of the Bible and your belief that legislation should be built upon it. Could it be that you yourself are finding it hard to resist your homosexual tendencies and assume that all of us share your need for government controls in order to overcome the temptations you are having such a problem with?

Your unfounded fears that homosexual unions are a threat to the institution of marriage could likely be a misinterpretation of a more sensible fear: that the security you find in identifying with the mainstream and being a part of the majority will be shaken if you are free to explore a part of yourself that you don’t fully understand, especially something as stunted and vulnerable as your repressed sexuality.

So I’ll now attempt to ease your mind regarding just a couple of the many worries our society has thrust upon your fragile belief structure. First, let me assure you that men and women will always be in the majority of married couples. No matter how free homosexual couples are to express their love, devotion, and affection for one another, men will always be interested in women and vice versa.

Second, same sex marriage will always be frowned upon by certain churches and other open membership religious organizations and the term Holy Matrimony will always have its stalwarts who will allow it to be applied only to the unions of which they approve. People love their dogma and self-righteous disgust with others’ freedoms and will always find a way to hold their self-opinion high at the expense of others.

Finally, Mr. Bowden, with that understanding, face your fear. Explore your sexuality with impunity. Of course, be safe. Wear a condom if you find yourself in a passionately charged embrace with a man called “Bear”. But I recommend you take it slowly. Don’t hit the leather bars on your first night. Stick to social gatherings with people you know. Attend a gay book club. Smile at pretty boys. Wink, even.

Survey Profiles Nonreligious Americans

Christianpost.com: “The Non-Religious Identification Survey, completed by more than 5,000 nonreligious individuals, is said to be the first study of its type with a full range of questions directed to the ‘nones,’ or nonreligious population, who make up around 16 percent of Americans.

The survey found the population to be less homogeneous than previous studies have typically portrayed them to be. Forty-eight percent described themselves as atheist, 12 percent identified themselves as agnostic, 22 percent chose the label humanist, 7 percent called themselves spiritual, and 5 percent chose other.

When given the option to choose multiple terms to describe themselves, 77 percent checked ‘atheist,’ 63 percent marked ‘humanist,’ 29 percent reported ‘agnostic,’ and 3 percent checked ’spiritual.’ But when forced to choose only one label among the four, far fewer individuals identified themselves as humanist (24 percent). Meanwhile, 57 percent preferred the label ‘atheist.’”

(Read More at The Christian Post.)

Paganism and America’s Future, Part II: The Divine Feminine - A Pagan’s Blog

Paganism and America’s Future, Part II: The Divine Feminine - A Pagan’s Blog: “But an alternative form of feminism also began to grow in importance, as women asked ‘Why should women have to be like men to be accorded the same respect as men?  What’s wrong with being like women?’  This current marked the entry of Cultural Feminism into our culture, and inaugurated a rethinking of the role feminine values play in all levels of our society.”

(Read more at Beliefnet.com.)

Watch as witch becomes wicker woman

Watch as witch becomes wicker woman: “Meet the late 16th century gaoler as he prepares a witch for her execution at a re-enactment this Saturday [18 July] at 11am, 12noon, 2pm and 3pm at The Tolbooth Museum, Castle Street, Aberdeen.

Meet local woman Janet Walker as she waits to be burned at the stake in 1597 after being convicted of being a witch. Her daughter Isobel and Mistress Kerr - one of Janet’s accusers will also be at the museum.

Burnings for witchcraft were comparatively rare in Aberdeen apart from one particular year, 1597. Encouraged by King James VI there was a wave of persecutions against so called witches throughout Scotland during that year with over 20 people executed in Aberdeen.

“

(Via AberdeenCity.gov.uk.)