Paganism, Eschatology, Faith, and Playing Dress-up
Something from the X-files
I’m on X. It’s an interesting environment, and if you want breaking news, it’s the place to be. But there’s some other interesting stuff there too. Yesterday, I came across this post.
For the record, I don’t get offended when people have incorrect/innacurate ideas about paganism. That’s like getting angry at the weather.
The post continues….
There were a few people who jumped on the bandwagon and made some dumb or snarky remarks, but mostly the discussion was polite. This person simply has no idea what she’s talking about and doesn’t know what she doesn’t know.
That’s why we talk to eachother. She got a great deal of thoughful correction. So did some other people on the thread.
I’ll break this down here.
1) ‘viking religion’ isn’t an accurate term. Nothern religions went from modern-day Norway down through Germany. While the viking raids are familiar, [and fearsome] they weren’t how those people’s ran thier lives-day-to day.
2) Just because you haven’t met any pagans who talk about theology, doesn’t mean we don’t exist. Maybe define what you mean by ‘do theology’? [She states later in the thread that these were very off-the-cuff thoughts. She really didn’t expect the response she got.]
3) Yes, pagans beleive our gods exist. But we don’t worry about whether we all experience them in the same way. Yes, we do talk about it, but please note that since there are way fewer of us, those discussions aren’t going to make it into the main stream.
3) Do you beleive in the literal truth of every word in the Bible? Mythology, including the biblical corpus, is there to tell us how to live our lives and give us insights on how to deal with other humans. Without having meditated on it [I’m not a Heathen] I could come up with several thoughts on the meaning of ‘the giant snake’ eating the world.
4) All religion is performative. However once you’ve gone through the motions a certain number of times, the feeling of distance vanishes. Your religion feels real to you. Well, we feel the same. But more to the point, if you don’t have a religious practice, it’s hard to just pick it up. Feeling fake is natural for a while. The feeling of divine connection doesn’t necessarily come naturally, especially for a culture that spend so much time in our heads and disconnected from the natural world.
5) Yes. We dress up for ritual. It puts us in the right headspace. And Christians put on their best clothes for church. What’s your point?
That’s the beauty of a platform like Substack or X. People can talk to eachother. Yes, sometimes it gets frustrating and I have to walk away. But this discussion was good.
I’m not asking for paid subscribers but if you like this then perhaps you could…
Or have a look at the books I write under pen name Sabrina Rosen [On Amazon] or subscribe to my fiction blog.
I had an opportunity to answer genuine questions about how paganism worked and how it affected my life.
If you’re on X, come find me and say hi.
If you’re curious about Paganism/Heathenism/Wicca/Druidry, please feel free to message me and I’ll be happy to answer questions.
Selina Rifkin, M.S. [Nutrition], LMT, has been Pagan since she was 14 [which was a long time ago] and been to Hades in a handbasket. More than once. This has given her some opinions. She has direct communication with her gods and they’ve always given her answers when she asks. [One does have to ask.] Like most of her generation [X] she’s okay with snark. Most days she tries for good writing. But the snark, and side comments creep in. Be warned.
Pagan Organizations
A maypole!