(January 19, 2023 at 2:19 am)The Grand Nudger Wrote: Neo-pagans have a similar issue. As their new age religions cannot genuinely lay claim to a traditional grounding, and seeing as how the few traditional groundings credibly available are often unsuitable due to the modern adherent's contemporary moral views, appeals to some so-called original message are counterproductive, and worst of all, inaccurate.
I don't think there's any way to avoid messing with peoples belief systems if we pursue the question of what is and is not permissible, really. We'll inevitably decide that something sacred is not permissible. Our Guy in question could be doing his sacred duty - but we're already flirting with impermissibility in his case. Who is he, what gives him warrant? His god, and that gods deep spiritual wisdom that's been meditated on at length.
1) As someone who knows a little about ancient cultures, I understand the romantic ideas of neo-pagans, but there is a well-known phenomenon in anthropology that tells us that different era usually means different perceptions, different psychology and different understanding. So it’s their call. I don’t believe they are really reviving something. I think they are creating something completely new
2) You must have heard of the Russian Patriarch Kiril calling the Russian war in Ukraine “A holy war against evil forces” What is your position on that?
Another example: You must have hear about the mercenary group called Wagner. What if they too decided to add a religious to their organization? What if they suddenly started to refer to themselves as “Crusaders?” What would be you position on that?
And please don’t feel offended. I was listening to the former French President François Hollande a minute ago. He was also talking about “Jihadist” Activities in West-Africa.
I think this is a common misperception, and the more we insist on this misperception the more these SoB’s will be able to recruit people to their cause “in the name of God”. And this goes for political Islam too.
What would be you position if someone like your former president did what Jair Bolsonaro did and started to call himself “A president who is favored by God” (Bolsonaro did that, He could do that too if he wanted)?
So where is our first line of defense? Is it to say “Religion is stupid anyway, so yes, Trump might be appointed by God and Russian soldiers In Ukraine are the soldiers of God”? Or do we rather say “No Sir, Christian religion is against everything that Wagner does and is they were to call themselves “crusaders” they would purely and simply lying and they would be doing this for propaganda purpose”.
In fact I will add again, that if there is a “holy war” or “duty of war (in the name of God)” in this case, according to my Holy Book it’s the Ukrainian Soldiers who are in this case because they’re the ones who were attacked without any real cause by an oppressive tyrant.
So I’m even saying that I also feel a bit offended by these things. It’s no big deal because we are only at the starting phase of getting to know one another in this world. But still I will keep insisting that militia forces who kill / plunder and rape people in West-Africa are nothing more than Barbarian Hordes. So they should be called this way. They are the same as the Gangs controlling Haiti right know. When you call them “jihadists” you add a cultural / religious element that is not there in reality. These guys are not better only worse than the drug addict who asks for your wallet in a street in the middle of the night.
And this also works for political Islam. There is no “political İslam” because the Quran says “your religion is for you and my religion is for me”. So logically, there cannot be politics with a Muslim agenda nor can there be faith with a political agenda because, as I have explained, it’s completely personal. I could have a magic wand and convert 1000 person a day to Islam. Still, as I have explained, If I don’t do my meditations and/or my reading in order to achieve some personal spiritual progress. What is it to me? How do I achieve any type of spiritual growth?
So this is also nonsense. When you call the IRI “Islamic” you do the same thing. You add a cultural / religious element which does not really exist there. In my country we like repeating the phrase “The religion of a state is justice”. There is no Justice in the IRI. It’s not even a government. A government is supposed to protect its people. Even if you are a monarchy, children shouldn’t have no hide their faces because they are afraid of their government. Governments don’t do that. And I have already explained the “Islamic” clause in my previous posts. So there is no IRI. It’s simply a lie.
And if you don’t agree. Than do you agree that Russian soldiers in Ukraine are Holy Wariors (as the Patriarch Kiril said)? Would you agree with me if I started talking about the Wagner Militia (and enterprise) as a crusader group? Don’t feel offended but I have to ask this
