Paganism

rosewhite where on earth did that utter hatred come from?

Paganism derives from the same word as peasant: it was the belief system of countryfolk when Christianity came along, and was demonised in order to convert these 'pagans'.

It was never based on satanism - that was simply part of the conversion to christianity propaganda.

It is clear to me though, that worshiping ANY deity or imaginary sky friend can sometimes (though not always of course) result in hateful ideas and rhetoric.

?

Worshipping anthing but Jehovah JHVH GOD will surely result in your total destruction either during Armageddon or certainly when Jesus comes again.

Paganism is based on Satanism.

@hidajenniJ - 'All that nature provides...' Does that mean they end up worshipping (such a craven word for 'sucking up to') botulism, ebola, Mamba venom - all those other less charming aspects of 'nature'? Or is it more likely they stick to the 'nice' bits...

Pagans, Christians, Muslims, Man United supporter, I suppose most people want to believe in and be a member of something.

I am a witch and a pagan and very proud of it!!!

My DD studied Anthropology at University. She became interested in Paganism through her studies. She is bringing her children up as Pagans. They celebrate the changing of the seasons, midsummer and samhain being the most important to her. I think it's a good way to live, celebrating all that nature provides, and revering all living things.

I have just come back from spAIn and was amazed at semana santa processions. Even though I am not a catholic you can see why people stuck to it just for the pomp and circumstance + a lot of it is more goddess Mary (pagan) worship. I feel more pagan than any other religion and fought against my C of E ideas on what happens after death and the whole miserable religion of Protestantism. The only respect I have is the Quaker beliefs.

We have gone away from paganism, and I dont understand what is classed as derailment on this site.
I presume it is all right to continue this conversation as it stands?

I dont think we can ever achieve perfect love, but I most certainly think humans love. And love that is not just sympathy and empathy.
I for one am not remotely interested in my gene pool. I am not a person who wants to trace my long lost ancestors for example.

I think that love comes from God[not going to bang on about that one on this thread, as it is not appropriate].

No what I meant was that if you can't believe in love what you feel for your nearest and dearest whatever it is based on amounts to the same thing as loving them i.e. you would still fight to the death for your children, you care for them 24/7 and so on and on until you die.

I will go and do something useful.

No! It doesn't. We are kidding ourselves if we think, for example, that we love the elderly lady helping her, also elderly, friend to choose a suitable pair of slippers. (For example) In fact, we are just empathising. I don't think, as humans, we can achieve love.

It amounts to the same thing though.

I'm not sure I believe in 'love' as such. I think there is always another reason behind that feeling, ie. Sympathy or empathy. Even the 'love' we feel for our own is probably natural desire to continue ourselves, via the gene pool.

A lot of hate is based on fear. A lot of fear is of the unknown, the different. We think - the people of that other tribe could be a threat to us, so lets get them before they get us. If we meet them and find that although they may have different ways of doing things, at heart they are just like us, they stop being a threat so we don't fear them, so we don't hate them.

Societies which try to keep their members away from other "contaminating" influences (other religions, no religion, democracy, communism, banned foods, skimpy clothes, equality of women, pop music) keep those other influences as threats in the eyes of their people, so they fear them, hate them, want to destroy them.

Even the most traditional societies have rules and almost certainly ones we would recognize.

Don't agree about gene pool - I think that humans are capable of showing great love for other humans regardless of shared genes

We have rules, and laws, because our society has grown up. It hasn't happened yet with some other societies.

We are only "programmed" to love the ones who share our own gene pool!

So hate comes in, and rules.
So why doesnt hate overcome everything? Because it could?

I wasnt sure where I was going with this conversation, but I can see that I am going towards the love debate, and why we are programmed to love.

That happens when the other tribe is perceived as "not like us" so it is not included in the prohibition against killing. The same happens when someone transgresses against the group rules - they have put themselves outside the community so the others no longer have to use the group rules with them. Hence the death penalty.

Mankind has always lived in groups, and for that you have to have evolved some form of acceptable behaviour

It is perfectly easy for someone to kill all the members of say a tribe. And that mentality to be reproduced all over the planet.
[I am forgetting my own point by the way]

I meant Hawking. Apologies.

I think right began to win out over wrong (where it has) when society as a whole became more educated. Education gives more power to the ordinary people.

Bags who is Stephen Hawkins? Should I know?

Too many commas. Soz.