Topic : 11/01 Is This Normal?

 To say that I am upset at Shelita's comment about essentially calling my religious beliefs is puss is an understatment.  She as a Christian in my opinion does not follw  the ways of the Christ. I grew up Catholic and had a wonderful experience but in the end it was not the belief system for me. I have come to know and love the Wiccan way of life and celebrate the ideals they profess. In escence it does share with Christianity some basic human beliefs, it's just done from a different point of view.

Growing up I was taught that Jesus Christ was a loving and giving person who accepted people no matter their status and (or) beliefs. To think that he would judge me as unacceptable or less than human seems foreign to me. The Wiccan tradition that I was taught in saw Jesus as a great teacher like Buddah who was on his last lifetime before going to the next level of excistence. Because of this he wanted to share what he learned to everyone. Through his great sacrifice and return as a being of light and spirit, he achieved this transofrmation and was his final lesson in belief.

Yes many of the holidays we celebrate have pagan origions. The fact of the matter is that these beliefs and traditions come from somewhere. They are not made out of thin air. The Sun God was born on Yule, a few days before Christmas. It was done on the darkest day of the year when the people could celebrate that the light of the sun was now going to come back in longer days. It was a time when family's would gather around and be grateful for what they had and in each other. Constatine simply took this and made it his own because even he found them acceptable.

I for one as a Wicaan mother do celebrate Christmas also because of the joy it brings to my kids. Making cookies for Santa, writing letters to him and Christmas morning. There is magic in the holiday, no one can dispute that. The spirit of this holiday is about giving, sharing and being with the ones I love the most. Who wouldn't want to live for a moment in that world? 

History reinvents itself all the time to conform with the beliefs of the day. Some choose to live with the old beliefs and others choose create or incorporate new ones. There is nothing wrong with that. That is simply life.

 If Shelita chooses not to celebrate, that is her choice, but to choose to look at others, point fingers and call their system of Beliefs "Puss'. Well that's not very Christian, is it?

You know what the problem is here? Jesus is the problem. You see we can talk all day about  god and no one gets offended because people worship their own gods and allow others to worship their own god even if it is the God of the Universe. However, Jesus, made himself the offense when He said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me." Those of us who put our trust in Him know that He is the salvation all of us need, but He also commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves even if our neighbor is our enemy. These teachings of Jesus are not easy, but they are exactly why Christians should not be hateful or mean to people who don't believe.  But, the truth remains that Jesus came and died for our sins and not believing that doesn't exempt you from it. I can jump off the top of a tall building and scream all the way down "I don't believe in gravity!" but I will still splat on the ground. Now about Christmas . . . by the word itself Christmas has to be a "religious" holiday. I'm not against gift-giving and family traditions, but they should not be the main focus. I had a great-uncle who dressed as Santa and delivered presents to children in orphanages and hospitals in the 1940's and 1950's (kind of an early version of Toys for Tots, Dr. Phil). His last stop of the evening was at my grandmother's house. I have some wonderful, fond memories of his visits, but I never thought it was the reason we celebrated. It wasn't until many years later that I found out it was Uncle Frank. I love the images of Santa kneeling at the manger worshiping the newborn King because Uncle Frank was a devout believer and often prayed, That image puts the emphasis in the right place.

Merry Christmas! I hope no one is offended, but I do celebrate Christmas.