Re: My Final Word
Jenny
 
Tue Apr 20 10:15:37 1999
Taliesin_2 wrote,*p*: I admit I most likely am prejudiced against the *br*: Christian Church, but aren't we all in one manner or *br*: another? *p*No, I don't believe everyone is.  *p*And even if we all are, that doesn't mean it isn't something we ought to work on.  Sexism, homophobia, racism, and anti-Semitism are every bit as "universal" as religious intolerance.  That's not an excuse to toss our hands up in the air and say it's hopeless.  It's an indication of how important it is to fight this prejudice -- because it colors so much of our lives.*p*: I just feel that we must understand the true Celtic *br*: flavor before we taste the flavor of the hybrid. Yet, (IMO *br*: alone) we seem unwilling to do this. *p*Not unwilling.  Unable.*p*What you're describing is impossible.  The Celts left us no Pagan writings.  We have NOTHING that is not at least partially Christo-Pagan.  We have NOTHING that does not bear Christianity's mark.*p*It takes a great deal of research, study, and care to try to establish what parts of this material is probably Pagan, which parts are Christian.  Sometimes it's obvious ("Hmm... Cesar is Noah's grand-daughter?")  Other times it's not.  For instance, the "Celtic pantheon" that Neo-Pagans are so fond of is probably a Christian by-product.  Archeological and literary evidence suggests that Celtic tribes generally focused on a couple of deities, particularly a goddess that protected them.  The concept of a Pan-Irish pantheon (Dagda, Brigit, Morrigan, Diancecht, etc.) only appears in the writings of Christian synthesists, who were attempting to weave tons of disparate lore into one coherant story.*p*As I said before, most people aren't really interested in learning what is and is not Pagan.  They go to this material, pick out the parts they like, and label them "Pagan".  And they somehow think that they've done themselves and their ancestors a favor by doing this...*p*I don't mean to be inflammatory, but consider the two examples you "re-Paganized".  Do you have any evidence that these sayings were originally Pagan?  Can you trace them back to medieval times?  Or are they just sayings that you like, and so you'd like them to be Pagan?*p*Let me give you one of the more ridiculous examples I've run into.  I knew a guy who proudly announced that he was "reclaiming" Christmas carols.  Christmas was originally Yule, therefore all Christmas carols were originally Pagan, and he was restoring their Pagan lyrics.  I pointed out that most Christmas carols we sing are Victorian, not pre-Christian.  But he ignored me.*p*Then he produced his coup de grace:  a "re-Paganization" of Silver Bells, called "Solstice Bells".  Now, I was a little vague about the history of the song, but I was pretty sure it was written in the 1950s, in America.  It's definitely NOT a pre-Christian relic.  But you know, I couldn't convince this guy?  We argued for a half hour, and he still kept insisting that ALL Christmas songs were originally Pagan.  Christians have been celebrating this holiday for 1500 years, but they apparently never once wrote an original thing about it...*p*Again, if he were "filking", I wouldn't have a problem with what he did.  I like the myriad versions of "Old Time Religion" that float about.  *p*But that's not what he's doing.  What he's doing is destroying Pagan history.  He invents something.  Presents it as genuinely Pagan.  And misleads anyone foolish enough to believe him.  In this particular case, I don't think anyone was quite that numb. <g>  But Neo-Paganism is FULL of people doing exactly this.  They make something up or "re-Paganize" it.  They present it as bona fide Celtic Paganism.  And real Celtic Paganism gets ignored, as people are bedazzled by this new, charming innovation.*p*Jenny*br*
My Final Word
Taliesin_2
427
Sun Apr 18 00:53:55 1999