Not really, I didn't understand Cold Fusion before I had to research about it and have it explained to me. Now I understand the basics of it. I'm sure there are some things in the Universe that my limited mind cannot comprehend, but maybe with sufficient enough time and explanation we could.
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Christian is a religion, being a pagan is not a religion as far as I know but what you call someone that is not of the major religions such as Muslim, Christian and Jewish. Pagan could include all the "little" religions but I have never seen it be a specific religion.
while it isnt a specific religion it is way more to it then that. there are lots of religions besides those three that arnt classified as pagan. Hell judiasm isnt even anywhere near as numerous in folowers as some religion that you don't conisder main ones
the classification of "religion" has little to do with the number of its followers
Da Pittman is likely referring to the fact that there are few, if any, common beliefs/rituals/practices between different pagan belief systems and that more specific terms, like Norse, Druid, or Wiccan, more aptly describe those things.
It would be like calling "monotheism" a religion, imho
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Pagan really refers to someone that doesn't believe in your religion, but some definitions of pagan most of the time refers to someone that doesn't believe in the god of the "Big 3". So if you are into Wicca then everyone else is a pagan and the reverse is true.
look at how previously pejorative terms like black and gay have been used by those communities as a form of self identification.
I imagine something similar with pagan, though I might argue how pejorative the term was, rather than a statement about personal morality. Though, I'm sure that changed as well
I believe Pagan as a definetion is "country dweller" in some interpertations.
And was considered a rather crude term for a very long time.
It basicly described numerous religous practices.
Most notably one's that honor nature.
In "The Religion Book", Author Jim Willis writes that their is no sinlge Pagan religion,and is the reason for their not being one Pagan calendear.
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Last edited by mr.smiley on Mar 30th, 2009 at 07:01 PM
Paganism is definetly being taken back (or at least their trying). I assume most neo-pagans know the name of the local traditions but likely use pagan because it's easier to identify than, say, "Asatru".
The word literally means something like "of the country" or "from the rural areas", it's the same root as the word peasant.
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Last edited by Symmetric Chaos on Mar 30th, 2009 at 07:05 PM
pagan –noun
1. one of a people or community observing a polytheistic religion, as the ancient Romans and Greeks.
2. a person who is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim.
3. an irreligious or hedonistic person.
people dont use it to refer to that any more. becuse of wide spread knowledge of other religions. now it mostly refers to wicca, druidism, shamanism, asatru, kemetic othodox. etc
so, in other words, you are reclaiming a previously negative word for self identification so that people in society can get a feel for who you are and what you believe?
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Mar 30th, 2009 02:51 AM
