Randy Cassingham's Blog

Posted by Colin in Jerusalem on August 25, 2007:

Peter in Florida wrote: "BTW, I'd like to see Zach's reference for 'a religion based on human sacrifice and ritualized cannibalism.' That's stretching the scripture a little far."

Even I know that he is referring to the Christian belief that Jesus was sacrificed for their sins and the Catholic belief that wafer and wine are transformed to the body and blood of Christ.

Thus, the basis of human sacrifice and ritualized cannibalism.

Posted by Vern, Gold Coast Australia on August 25, 2007:

I love my 1945 Websters Dictionary which differentiates between catholic and Catholic. The Catholic and all other religions prey on the inherent fear of death by promising an eternal life if the "correct" ideology is obeted. I sometimes wonder what percentage of priests, vicars, bishops, rabbis, mullahs etc. actually believe what they preach. A lot of them don't behave as their followers are asked to do.

Posted by Jennifer, China on August 26, 2007:

EVERYONE is going to have an opinion, especially where religion is involved. have no fear though, when the flying spaghetti monster shows itself, we'll all know where our meatballs belong!

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For those who have no idea what Jennifer is talking about, there is of course a web site for the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. -rc

Posted by Tim, Eastern Canada on August 26, 2007:

What surprises me is that, as late as 1966, a state in a country like Australia saw fit to ban "witchcraft" and "paganism". In most of the western world at that time, legislatures were repealing such 16th century laws still on the books. What punishment does the law provide for offenders, anyway -- burning at the stake or stoning to death? Or is it milder and just requires a turn on the ducking stool?

Have there been many recent convictions?

Posted by Janice in Calgary, Canada on August 27, 2007:

As the mother of a Wiccan priest but also myself a Christian, the ignorance of the general population never ceases to amaze me! The whole point here is about tolerance - everyone is entitled to their own beliefs!!

Thank you for your eternal intent to make us all think!!

Posted by Jennifer, A small town in GA on August 27, 2007:

I am a chaos mage and a Discordian who was raised a Protestant and has Catholic relatives. I am also a history major at my local college.

I became pagan because I found it hard to hold faith in a belief system which is itself a "mishmash" of canon, some of which contradicts itself; in addition to the many versions of the Bible, you've also got the non-canonical books such as the Gnostic Gospels found at Nag Hamadi. My personal experience is that many preachers are dumbfounded when a parishioner approaches the text from a historiographic perspective and attempts to reconcile the inaccuracies by using logic and research. I have felt unwelcome at many a church because I've proposed that it's not that God's word is not necessarily infallible, but that it's imperfect humans with imperfect knowledge who misunderstood what their deity was trying to tell them. It was as though it didn't matter WHY I thought the text was wrong in places; it was the very fact that I was questioning it at all.

As far as the article is concerned, Monsignor Elliot needs to go back to seminary and focus on critical reading, etymology, and biblical history.

FTA: "I think it reflects the collapse of values and sanity in our society that this mishmash of superstition and fraud is to be recognized."

I have in front of me the Harper Collins Study Bible, in the New Revised Standard Version (ed. Wayne Meeks, c. 1993). Exodus 20:2-3 reads:

"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me."

Critical reading time: If there is, in fact, only one deity in the entire universe, why would this deity acknowledge the presence of others by instructing His chosen people to not worship them? Why not instead inform them that the reason Pharaoh's gods were ineffective was because they did not exist?

The footnote for Ex 20:2 refers one to another footnote for Ex 12:12 (emphasis mine):

"By causing so severe a catastrophe in Egypt [the death of the Firstborn], the Lord, who has sought acknowledgment among the Egyptians, defeats Egypt's gods, who, like Pharaoh's magicians, prove powerless. Deities other than the Lord are assumed to exist, even if they are ineffectual. . ."

If someone chooses to worship one of these "lesser" gods, that's their business. It doesn't make one any more superstitious than someone who worships the Abrahamic god, and according to the Abrahamic god's own words, nor does it constitute fraud to do so. For my own part, I acknowledge the presence of all deities (including the Flying Spaghetti Monster!) and while I worship none of them, I do invite them around for scones and tea every so often. If I had a time machine, one of the first people I'd visit would be Jesus of Nazareth; in addition to being a historically intriguing figure, I imagine it'd be a great time to sit and have a drink with him while shooting the breeze. Of course, I'd have to find a copy of "Aramaic for Morons" so we could communicate properly . . . *grin*

As for the "collapse of values", I live in a predominantly Christian town and I am the only one I know here who brings a loaf of bread and jars of peanut butter and jelly to work so as to distribute food to the homeless and hungry who come in begging for something to eat. When I go on holiday I hand out blankets and food to the homeless each time I stop along the interstate. When someone needs a friendly ear, I listen. I play with babies, I pet kittens, and I render first aid to injured people. My refusal to follow the tenets of Hypochristianity does not make me a bad person. It's too bad that some people like the Monsignor are so invested in the garnish instead of the meat & potatoes, because they're missing out on a lot of good stuff.

Posted by Tim, Georgia on August 28, 2007:

I love studying religions, and I love Wiccans. Their beliefs are peace-loving and they tend to be pretty fun to be around, but it's always a personal annoyance that so many Wiccans equate themselves with primeval paganism. Wicca is a baby religion invented in the same century as Scientology. Sure it may incorporate elements of ancient paganism, but it, like many religions, is a decidedly modern mish-mash of beliefs, not an ancient mystery. Churches are ridiculous for equating Wicca with witchcraft, but the occasional Wiccan can be just as ridiculous for equating themselves with witchcraft and even older pagan tradition.

Posted by Laurence, Sussex, England on August 28, 2007:

I am a practising Christian and former Catholic. I also have great respect for Wicca, which is not incompatible with Christianity in may ways.

I feel the Monsignor should look at his own house before criticising others. It was precisely intolerant attitudes like that that kept me away from faith in Jesus for thirty years.

Posted by John, Michigan on August 28, 2007:

I find that when it comes to religion (and many other things as well) there are two kinds of folks:

Folks who are strong in their faith, Will very likely enjoy the joke

Folks who are weak in the faith will be insulted.

It's all the mind of the reader. I've not seen anything you posted that I'd object to. Though I've sure had trouble staying in my chair a few times.

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No objections to anything?! Huh. I'll have to try harder. -rc

Posted by Mike, Upstate New York on August 29, 2007:

Until I read Tim-from-Georgia's comment about Wicca, I thought it was just a New Age name for witchcraft. So I went looking: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicca tells us that it is and it isn't. The name was apparently popularized in 1954 by a man who claimed spiritual ancestry in the ancient practice of witchcraft. I wonder how many who call themselves Wiccans know this history? I wonder if it matters to them, or to us?

"If Christ were here now there is one thing he would not be -- a Christian." (Mark Twain / 1835-1910 / Notebook)