Pagan TV: Religious Literacy

[Czernobogg]

I'm starting out as a Pagan at the moment, year and a day here I come (: I just wanna say, this has given me so much inspiration to just open my mind to all the possibilities out there and the customs I've never even heard of. Thankyou, Pagan Meghan

[dixiewidow]

This is so right on! What happened to you guys? Would love to see you do more videos.

[silijah92]

Thank you! :)

[kreeves48393]

WOW! That was great! Thanks Meghan!

[Vicarapostolic]

well done =)

[Joeyal123]

I went to pagan because i read the bible but befor i went ot Pagan i was Agnostic

[parakidd]

this is a follow up on my previous post.

i love going to church and being around positive people. but that stay in the church.

i have been interested in some of that wiccan arts but have never studied or practiced them. also i always thought for some reason you have to be born one idk why. so i don't know where i stand religiously, but i want to know. if any one could tell me how to go about this please help me. i want to say a lot but i think i would be a novelty in the comment section :p

[parakidd]

this was actually i good video, honeslty i would like to call my self christian, i believe in christ and the cross. but over the years i have noticed the self proclaimed christians, don't follow the way of christ like the scriptures say, or spread the gospel, and what is said in church says in church. i have seen many christian hypocrites that judge others without any reason. or offer help to those who need it. so unless i do the opposite of the above i can't claim my self to be 1.

[BelleNex]

Thank you very much for this important message. I have always been an avid reader. Religion, faith, occult and magic have always been at the top of my list. That and poetry. :) Being a Pagan/Witch to me means being thirsty for knowledge and full of love. Blessing bright and dark

[WallflowerChild]

This is definitely one of the few videos I've seen that I feel EVERYONE needs to watch.

Thank you very much, I deeply appreciate you taking this action :) And I can only hope that this challenge reaches out to those 'leaders' you mentioned.

[SlaveJ15]

Stumbled across this video and I agree with you 100%

[Chetallica]

I grew up christian, and at one time was pretty passionate about my path. When I let that path go, and realized I was a Pagan, I did not dismiss other religions, just because one did not work for me. I have read the christian bible, twice,and recently read the gnostic scriptures. And I have read ALOT of pagan literature. It's not whether we feel a book is valid or not, each needs to read, find their own inspiration or not in them, but not dismiss them just because someone finds comfort in them.

[jopalo31675]

Also there is much Paganism embedded within all religions. Even if someone wanted to erase every pagan text all that they would accomplish is destroying human history. Yes, I am a Christian. But, I do not persecute anyone nor am I ignorant of our Dogma. Just because I'm Christian doesn't mean I accept the Archaic, brutal actions of an ancient people. Nor would I think that every Pagan is A Satanist or belongs to a cult that abuses children. We are all Humans first. Blessed be.

[jopalo31675]

That was an interesting video. But, people tend to be mediocre at best. That's why many Christians do not read their own Bible or certian Pagans do not continue their quest for knowledge. I was raised in both the Christian and Pagan world. Both ideologies run deep within my family. Its is true there is much blood shed in the bible. But, please let us not act as if human sacrifice never existed in the Pagan world. Violence has been a part of our society since the beginning.

[goldilocksgirly]

a lot of holy books from other religions are written in other languages. the koran is written in arabic, the torah in hebrew, the baghavad-gita in...sanskrit? idk. how can i read someone's holy book if i can't understand the language its written in? friends from other countries have told me it takes a min. of 3 yrs. to learn another language. are there translated versions available & are they the whole book, or just fragments of it? untill i know, cliffs-notes versions are the best i can do.

[mettabee]

@goldilocksgirly the bible wasn't written in english originally, all of these other books have been translated into other languages including english as well.

[goldilocksgirly]

@mettabee that i'd probably struggle with anything else. i'd much rather be honest about any limitations that apply to me & try to get past them insofar as possible than save face to total strangers on the 'net. after all, this whole video is a challenge to learn things about other faiths than our own, & how would i learn doing things like that? in order to solve a problem, one must first acknowledge it exists, & especially here in the stupid white bread bible hugging midwest limitations are

[goldilocksgirly]

@mettabee imposed on us by where we live or who we live with or both. so yeah...i didn't say english was the original language, just commenting on my own specific situation. book suggestions, anyone? btw, mettabee, did u get my first reply back to u? i can't seem to find it in the comments. ; - P

[RyanMcNallen]

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[MysticxRaven]

ALL GODS ARE ONE!!

[MysticxRaven]

knowledge IS power

thank you for posting this and for those of you who disagree, feel free to dwell within your own ignorance

blessed be )O(

[Naiant]

Beautiful thoughts, beautifully said. I was very moved.

Ceisiwr Serith

[Wizzman101]

i agree i call my self many things but do i rlly know?

[cademars39]

yep! Read up fellow pagans so you too can become arrogant, know-it alls!! whooopee!

[zeldaofarel]

I did study a lot about other religions. I haven't read the whole Bible, but I just get this really funny feeling when I read it. I had to for Literature class. I felt like puking every time. But I did watch a lot of documentaries, which is a really good thing to watch. Also, I read a lot about religions and practices for my Major Thesis, which was on how women view their religions.

[momcalzmesheri]

YES! I couldn't agree with you more.

[kenrocca]

lol @ this

[Nimue1974]

Jesus did not support stoning any woman, he was a great guy. I am officially christian but I actually have strong pagan beliefs that I seem to have been born with and didn't know they even were pagan til I read about paganism! Maybe I was a priestess in a past life as I feel a strong affininity with it and as a child all I wanted to do was be a witch!!

[illiezeulette]

EXCELLENT!!

[syrop26]

I support the idea of educating oneself about religions. I've read the Bible, Koran, diary of St. Faustyna and the Book of Mormon.

The Bible does condemn witches to death. Deuteronomy says that Sun's and Moon's worshippers should be brought to the city gate and stoned to death. So if a witch happens to worship a Sun god or Lady of the Moon, then according to the "Book of peace", she should be brutally killed.

[movieguy7589]

I love you baby...I am a pagan too....

[deliriumfae]

Very well said! I am one of the people for whom you speak, but I still have more to learn. However, some of my most interesting religious discussions have been with prostelytizers when I quote their own religion back to them.

[tlh215]

I've also noticed, Pagan Megan, that just about every last eclectic neo-Pagan out there is VERY disparaging of elders in the community. I've been Pagan for over 20 years now, and when I try to tell someone something out of my long years of study and experience, esp. if I have to correct someone (like the "Samhain is the Pagan New Year" thing) I get told that I'm the one who is wrong.

I ran into a Pagan this evening who doesn't even bother keeping up with deity names!

[tlh215]

Neo-Pagans also desperately need to bone up on their religious history. History matters a great deal, and most of what is taught in Llewellyn books is such total crap, there aren't words to adequately describe it. One example that comes to mind is "Samhain is the Pagan New Year." Line of crap. It is the CELTIC New Year, but not the universal Pagan New Year. Moments like that destroy attempts to truly rebuild real pagan traditions.

[falumian]

Please read the story of Abaraham as described in Quran.

[m34gh4n87]

You've inspired me.

Btw.. I'm too nicknamed Pagan Meaghan, though I'm spelled with an "a" :)

[SweetNSourAngel]

Funny that you mention the bible since I just saw a great book at my new age store that I'd love to get my hands on: Biblical magick. Using candal magick and such and enhancing it with scripture. Honestly, I can't really aford a lot of books at the moment but it does indeed intriuge me. And since many religions do share common bonds in spite of differences you shouldn't be ignorant. Like the six sided Star of David can also be called the Star of Inner Balance deriving from India^^

[goldgrif]

check out the skeptics annotated bible online

this is a wonderful video, well said, well done,

Blessed BE

[Brink1819]

I checked it out but I still must say Jesus did exist. In fact to my knowledge Jesus was the one who descended into the lower realms to save those who were lost. Now I must say all forms of Paganism isn't bad, I just think whatever part leaves out God's son and sin is not right. It's not just a christian concept is what I mean for this is much bigger.

[Lamondra]

Actually.. if you are looking for compairing concepts..

Pagans celibrate midwinter because it's the celibration of the sun being born for a new year. The light is born.... Some even go the length to say that the sun is actually the son that gets born from the godess.

[Brink1819]

Question what's wrong in knowing there was Jesus and whorshiping God? Being a Pagan at the same time and knowing about the underworld, earth spirits, and a very negative being which in some way or another everyone has felt? I see nothing really wrong..In some way it all makes sense!

[goldgrif]

per the bible, the socalled revealed word of god, you cant use magick,

[wuweido]

well said :)

[johnbstroud]

Amazing you are beautiful. I'm so happy you stated this embarrassing fact. People are forgetting to read, write and think for themselves. It's the big question you expressed! - what is ethical & fundamental for society to develop A more informed view of religion today. Bravo to you.

[av1497]

i think most of us have read the bible it would be the other faiths that we dont know because in day to day life we dont really need to know about eastern religions or even about other pagan religions

[StormyNeko]

I agree with you. A Pagan who barely knows why they became pagan needs to re examine there ideals and embrace knowledge of other faiths, instead of being as ignorant as others have been of Paganism.

[qob]

Hi! I absolutely love this video, and I was wondering if Pagan Meghan could offer a reading list

[PaganTV]

It's coming!

-Pagan Meghan

[aelira68]

Hello there I wanted to stop by and say hi. One point I wanted to share with you though is, I did not misspell Asetro. As a practitioner of the this path I am aware that I am using the Danish spelling rather than the Americanized style. No biggy though just needed to be on the same page as you.

[AxiomofDiscord]

I try to know others faiths better than my own if I can. It seems I am asked more to show others wrong than to say what I believe and that itself is kinda scary to me. I use to try to find common ground but anymore like many subjects most people do not seem to want to build any common ground also rather sad

ATF of Axiom of Discord

[terralynn9]

Thank you for answering your call to share this wisdom. Your words are beautiful and inspiring. Thank you.

[PDValentine]

By the way? ALL religions are idiotic.

[PDValentine]

At the risk of appearing completely shallow, Meghan, you are knock-down gorgeous.

[PaganTV]

Thank you.

-Pagan Meghan

[aelira68]

Though I am a follower of Asetro, you made very good points that we should pay attention to. Wassail!!!

[PDValentine]

You misspelled 'asatru'.

[aelira68]

Hello there I wanted to stop by and say hi. One point I wanted to share with you though is, I did not misspell Asetro. As a practitioner of the this path I am aware that I am using the Danish spelling rather than the Americanized style. No biggy though just needed to be on the same page as you

[PDValentine]

"Americanized"? Next time think before you type.

blogtalkradio(dot)com/TheNaked­Satanist

Tonight at 6 PM Eastern US.

[Meowmeowmeow08]

mm bibles mean >.> alot of people dying in there too...

[KesWolfe]

Thank you. For your beautiful words and for the deeply-rooted (and felt) sense behind them. Thank you for reminding us that in this age of information, that -knowing- is as important as -feeling- that something is, or is not the way some may perceive. Thank you.

[steev75]

its an earth religion and also a dual and female lead.

anton levay is a satanist??? confusing why he was mentioned. valente/gardner or was it crowley who wrote witches rune. did valente write charge of the goddess? im trying to remember the texts

[buffyfan811]

i agree with you 100% and also, those who judge us are only un-knowing of all religion and some christian's believe the horned one is satan out of fear of what they were learned as a child

[raphael3712]

I agree! I have studied religion since I was 15. I am deeply disturbed by how many people don't know their own faith nor the faith of others. When I left the faith I was brought up in, I studied it in depth. In fact that's why I left.

[darklyfey]

Amazing stuff. I'm a fan!

[evilbarb]

That was truly inspirational!

[lepndahood]

After hearing you say that, i really want to read the Bible now. I havent read it in several years, and i look up several verses here and there but still. I i understand what your talking about when it comes to others fiaths. Im a pagan and I know more about Christanity then most Christians i know. And i have to prove to them i know what im talking about cause i can use examples from the bible. But i totally understand.

Blessed Be

Tyler

[oldcrone66]

yes to all

[drtazz2879]

Very well spoken. Relationships are what we are all about in life, and making things more relative or making sense to others can be quite helpful in establishing deep relationships. When asked "What do pagans believe?" how many of us can actually give people an intelligent answer?

Thank you for producing thought in myself and in everyone who might watch this video.

Blessings

[Rain4732]

That is a complex answer as Pagan is an umbrella term but there are basic points that connect us all.

[Iberianlobo]

I would perhaps challenge our leadership to help educate our community. You brought up the Druids, and well, there are still those who study history, theology, law, magic, etc..who call themselves Druids: Ar nDraiocht Fein and FoDLA are two very good sources of education. Educate yourselves!

Seek them out.

[Iberianlobo]

Meghan, I agree with you. Our community is unfortunately quite theologically ignorant. I think pagans should educate themselves and engage our leaders (authors, priests(esses), Druids, teachers, etc..) in these kinds of discussions. Seek out education in any form.

[AnethSvartalf]

Holly shit! That was pectaculer! What books would your suggest to a person interested in paganism but wants evidence that the gods exist (as opposed to being crazy or tricking myself into believing they exist)? Does any pagan work address the existence of gods or argue polytheism over monotheism?

[PaganTV]

Good question. AN episode featuring Pagan TV's recommended reading list will be up soon. We have many suggestions. -Pagan Meghan

[AnethSvartalf]

*grins* Well, I'm subscribed, so I'll be waiting for it. :)

[Rain4732]

Kool, I have to admit that of my 3 years of studying and practicing I haven't read anything of Gardner or Valiente, I have begun to read Margot Adler although that book is taking me forever because of its dryness. I have read much of Cunningham and I am taught within an Online grove, but still much is missing. Thanks for this post. Blessed be.

[Iberianlobo]

Check out an author named John Michael Greer, a polytheistic philosopher. James Hillman is a Jungian style psychologist who argues for polytheism.

The organization known as ADF (Ar nDraiocht Fein) is heavily involved in polytheistic theology/philosophy.

[AnethSvartalf]

Thanks for the names. :) These should be good authors to start with.

[sinfultictac]

OMGS you make so much good points. Though I know much more then most pagan's I know about even some basics.

I've read things Zell to Heretism. Even though I stand at wolrd cross of Hellenic and Celtic I never let it stop me from reading even other peoples books

[jamesesitton2nd]

You are right, we pagans should at least know the Bible. I have read the Bible fully twice, the Quran fully once, and the Baglavad Gita fully once. I love studying religions so I think im pretty well versed in other belief systems than my own.

[floridaredhead]

By the way you are having a perfect hair day in this video. I envy your lush curls.

[PaganTV]

Thanks for all the feedback, guys! I really appreciate it, and hop you'll all come back for more soon! -Pagan Meghan

[floridaredhead]

Also...when studying Christianity I strongly recommend talking to an Episcopal priest, particularly one that is non-Anglican Communion Network specifically. You would not believe how easy they are to talk to and how well informed.

[floridaredhead]

I also have to admit that I strongly disagree with Grimnr there - I have noticed that pagans are very POORLY informed about their faith and their history. I'm sorry but it is very true.

[floridaredhead]

I'm reading that book too. I've noticed that many people do not know much about faith. I sat in a cafe last night and watched how a non-Christian non-American asked "what is Mardi Gras all about" and the American did not know.

[Grimnr]

It has been my experience that the majority of pagans that I have delt with are very knowledgeable about religion. I agree that as Pagans we should know what we speak, especially if we are going to teach others. If you are really wanting to learn the Bible ask a Jehovahs witness, the have a great understanding of it. If you want to learn ask the Priest of those faiths, in the process you will build a repore with various Faiths. Live to Learn and Learn to Live. Blessed Be and Merry Part.

[PaganTV]

I'm really glad that you've encountered well-read Pagans. I've met a few myself, but I'm confronted by the large gap between the Knows and the Know-Nots. I agree with the JW comment, also; my mother is a Witness and they have a pretty good hold on scripture. BB- Pagan Meghan