The discussion group on Modern Day Satanism started today. Already, an interesting question has been posed by the same person who started the thread on the differences between Satanism and Paganism on the Challenge and Critique board on Beliefnet. This time, this person asked what could be done about the 'Pagan Fundamentalists' who seem to be as closed minded ~ or worse ~ as Christian ones. The point in the post was that Pagans seem to be in the same boat as the Satanists (that is, condemned for what is thought is being practiced ~ not the actuality) and some sort of bridge should be built between the two.
My question is: when did I get so cynical? Here is my answer to the post, so far. I haven't posted it yet...it's one of those I want to sit on and think about before I do!
Hello Sinisterminister ~
I joined this group after your thread in Challenge and Critique piqued my interest, particularly when the 'challenge and critique' seemingly began because of the title ~ no matter what was written within. I believe you could have said that 'fluffy little purple bunnies mate freely here!' and they would have still decried it as bad and wrong. No doubt, the charge would have been led by a certain person who, with an ironic twist on his namesake, seemed to be chained to the rock of his own self-importance. In contrast, I thought you handled yourself pretty well in the face of all that.
As one who is hardly traditional in anything in my own path, I have sometimes found myself at odds with the Pagan Fundamentalists. However it has also been my experience that no matter what path one walks, you always drag in mental or emotional baggage that you must learn to either deal with or end up being dragged by it. It seems to me that the most rabid fundamentalists are being dragged either by their fear of the unknown (especially if it's something that someone else has told them is :::in my best Grandpa Simpson voice::: 'EEEeeeEEEeeevvviillllll!') or by their ego that tells them that they are doing whatever lord and/or lady's work and therefore can do no wrong. In either case, they seem to be unwilling to look beyond the surface of those lines of thinking. Perhaps I've grown cynical but I honestly feel that the greatest fear that a majority of people have is that they may have an original thought in their heads!
In the end, all I can say is this: One cannot change another's opinions if they are not willing to change. That is also true, no matter what path one walks. If the fundamentalists are so threatened by the fact that there is someone out there who has a different path and is truly unshakable from it, what can I do other than to be an example by walking on the rocksolid foundation of my own path while they stand by the wayside, rooted in their fear? After all, the one person I am truly responsible for is myself.
Many Smiles ~
Firewolf
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