What is happening in the Middle East, and in other Muslim countries around the world, is the perfect example of a religion that has slowly evolved away from the purity that was its beginning. It is also the perfect example of why I do not like organized religion. Any organized religion ! You see once you become organized then you have to have a religious dogma, and a sort of constitution of agreed upon ideas and ideals to move foward. Then you have to elect, or train, leaders and that my friends is when the corruption of the pure religion begins. Leaders then begin to interpret what was really meant in the scripture, and bend it to, and around, their own objectives. The religion is now corrupted and a sect, or if you prefer a denomination is formed. Conflict is inevitable between the sects because each now believes that the other has corrupted the true meaning of their same religion, and that the other must be either converted or destroyed. The leaders of these sects then begin to speak more of their rivals instead of their God or Gods, and words of hate like : " They must be stopped at any cost ", or in extreme cases that their "God or Gods give them the right to kill others in Their name". These are some of the symptoms of obsession and religious psychosis that I see from the Monotheistic religions right now.
These leaders, or priests, teach this form of hatred from the time their folk first enter the temple, church, or mosque, and it eventually becomes a part of who, and what they are. All other realities, or choices are slowly worn away, and only the words they were taught then matter. They have become controlled almost like a robot by those who have trained them to do and say what they have taught is good and right. And for the few who may want to step back to a different reality there is only ridicule, exclusion, or even in extreme cases violence. The leaders of course don't see it as hatred or distorting the word of their God or Gods. Why would they ? They were trained by like minded people who have helped to evolve the religion away from the pure form it once was and into the form that now in some ways would be barely recognizable to the original founders.
This is why I speak so often that the only pure " Religion " is the one on one relationship we have with our Gods and Goddesses. Everything else is secondary in importance ! If you don't think this has already creeped into our Pagan religions then you need to look around and think again my friends. Prejudice, racism, the honoring of Jotuns, and Loki's children, all are having an impact on our religion which is barely, ( In its secondary form ) 40 years old. I will always be a lone practitioner because NO other human being can bring me closer to my Gods than me ! And No one will ever tell me what the Eddas and Sagas mean, or how I should practice my / our religion. These are my choices based on what the Gods and Goddesses have shown me, and NOT what some fellow human tells me that they mean !
Glenn Bergen
Go with Odin's wisdom, Freyja's love, and Thor's protection !
These leaders, or priests, teach this form of hatred from the time their folk first enter the temple, church, or mosque, and it eventually becomes a part of who, and what they are. All other realities, or choices are slowly worn away, and only the words they were taught then matter. They have become controlled almost like a robot by those who have trained them to do and say what they have taught is good and right. And for the few who may want to step back to a different reality there is only ridicule, exclusion, or even in extreme cases violence. The leaders of course don't see it as hatred or distorting the word of their God or Gods. Why would they ? They were trained by like minded people who have helped to evolve the religion away from the pure form it once was and into the form that now in some ways would be barely recognizable to the original founders.
This is why I speak so often that the only pure " Religion " is the one on one relationship we have with our Gods and Goddesses. Everything else is secondary in importance ! If you don't think this has already creeped into our Pagan religions then you need to look around and think again my friends. Prejudice, racism, the honoring of Jotuns, and Loki's children, all are having an impact on our religion which is barely, ( In its secondary form ) 40 years old. I will always be a lone practitioner because NO other human being can bring me closer to my Gods than me ! And No one will ever tell me what the Eddas and Sagas mean, or how I should practice my / our religion. These are my choices based on what the Gods and Goddesses have shown me, and NOT what some fellow human tells me that they mean !
Glenn Bergen
Go with Odin's wisdom, Freyja's love, and Thor's protection !
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