Structure

[havenne]

    I suspect that many of us haven't thought to try and separate the forms of belief from the mechanics of human group interaction thus the debate over the degree of 'structure' we need, desire or try to avoid.  How should knowledge be conveyed?  What steps should be involved and are they marked or celebrated in any way?  How formal is the teacher

Comments

[dragonmyass]

It's all ego. I've found far too few people in paganism who just want to explore and work productivly in a group and way too many who want you to believe that they hold the key to some sacred secret that only a few years of your time and a few thousand of your dollars will reveal...and then the big let down - they didn't know squat. They just wanted you to listen to them pontificate and oooohhh and aaaahhhhh over them. They're a bunch of big know-it-alls who can't get over the fact that they're just like the rest of us.

Sorry. The PPD stuff is starting up again and I'm already tired of their BS.

[havenne]

Oh, yes, Pride Day. I wonder if other areas have a 'public' community like our area does, with the rest of us just sort of looking on. I'm not amused and, sometimes, I have evil thoughts on 'human nature.' I would hope that the maturing of the species will mean that we move on from the pontificating, manuvering for status and 'acceptable' level of fraud. Or, at least, we would stop placing value on these things or even tolerating them.
Here's to more 'deconstructed' paganism and less pomp n' glitter.

[dragonmyass]

Well, I just couldn't stop thinking....

I was actually thinking about the Gods and Goddesses today. How they used to have flaws and how the gods of today are so all powerful that they don't have any flaws. Has this point of view distanced us from them. It would seem to me that a god who has flaws - just like me - is more approachable. I don't like the dictator type God who is absolutely perfect - makes me afraid and want to avoid them - kind of like that boss who is never wrong and has the potential to fire you just because they can.

Did those who developed these newer gods and religions purposely want to distance us from our connection with the divine so that we would accept their fear based religions? We still have the desire to belive in something greater than ourselves, but now the believe instills fear which also instills guilt and sin.

[havenne]

I heard Jewel's song yesterday on the radio and I thought of your comments: "what if God were one of us, just a slob like one of us, just trying to make his way back home, like some holy rolling stone."
I think we need more divine spirit and less religion of any kind. It seems that all too often the same old sort of people get ahold of a set of ideas and then create an organization guaranteed to keep them important and the rest of us paying their way. Any situation where you cringe and scrape, trying to curry favor and not attract the wrong kind of attention is psychologically damaging - and the abuse is perpetuated by all who are exposed to it.
It doesn't seem to matter what the original premise of a religion was. You end up with an impenetrable hierarchy, guilt and fear, an intolerant extreme branch to do the dirty work and congregations which exist more for community than for spirituality. They all seem to be like that. I despair of places for us to gather.