OpheliaGinger Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 Fellowship means gathering around in a dining hall and eating 100 different casseroles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oddity Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 Fellowship means gathering around in a dining hall and eating 100 different casseroles. Ah, pot lucks. I kinda miss those. I'd always eat just the meat dishes unless there was some veggie I really like on hand and then stuff my face with the desserts. XD 'Course, at risk of looking like a freak, those can be arranged with friends, too - I figure if I ever have a low-budget housewarming party, I'll do either that, or try to butter up my cousin's gourmet chef husband (er...no pun intended). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MultifariousBirdLady Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 One thing to be careful of as an Odinist, though, is that SOME forms of Asatru/Odinism advocate racism. More like "some things that look like Asatru". Fair enough, I stand corrected. The "ariosophic" morons really work on a bizarre mix of ancient Nordic concepts, jebus cult crap and other shit (for example, more than a few of them claim that old Baldur is really jebus ). Wow, never heard that one before... but then again, most of my info comes through what I've picked up from genuine Asatru practitioners, as opposed to having seen it for myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MultifariousBirdLady Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 Fellowship means gathering around in a dining hall and eating 100 different casseroles. Or if you live in Ithaca, 100 different couscous dishes. (Seriously, Pagans have potlucks, too, and at one of them out of maybe 8 dishes, 3 were couscous, including mine. Just like the 3 mac-n-cheeses and 2 kinds of chitlins that showed up at a tiny church potluck in very rural southwestern Virginia.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MultifariousBirdLady Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 Fellowship means getting together with people who share your beliefs. You don't necessarily have to be friends with them. You hit it right on the head with the Pentecostal church services, however there is nothing Pagan around here. Nothing. Zero, Zip, Zilch, Nada, Null. No covens, no kindreds. Can you travel to Pagan festivals? Might be one way to get your fix of ecstatic dance and drumming. I hear you with respect to just getting together with others who share your beliefs. If there's nothing near you physically, at least there's the internet, although it's understandably a poor substitute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MultifariousBirdLady Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 Especially considering they're all going to die at Ragnarok, doesn't exactly say all powerful or worthy of worship of a deity can be told he's going to die and exactly how it's going to happen but still let it happen anyway. Great people don't need to be all-powerful to be deserving of respect and admiration for their accomplishments. Friends and family don't need to be all-powerful for one to feel affection towards them. Gods don't need to be all-powerful to inspire feelings of devotion, admiration, respect and motivation, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripley Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 Fellowship means gathering around in a dining hall and eating 100 different casseroles. and needing Pepto after wards ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outlaw393 Posted October 19, 2009 Author Share Posted October 19, 2009 Can you travel to Pagan festivals? Might be one way to get your fix of ecstatic dance and drumming. I hear you with respect to just getting together with others who share your beliefs. If there's nothing near you physically, at least there's the internet, although it's understandably a poor substitute. I live in Central Wisconsin. The closest things are usually way up north or in the Milwaukee/Madison area. (3+ hours south of me) There is nothing in central Wisconsin. And it sucks. I won't drive three hours to Milwaukee for anything. Someone else can drive - I'd be really really lost. The internet isn't really a substitute at all. The best it gives is research and the comfort that there are many others out there that have the same beliefs. But you don't really 'share' anything with anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MultifariousBirdLady Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 I live in Central Wisconsin. The closest things are usually way up north or in the Milwaukee/Madison area. (3+ hours south of me) There is nothing in central Wisconsin. And it sucks. I won't drive three hours to Milwaukee for anything. Someone else can drive - I'd be really really lost. The internet isn't really a substitute at all. The best it gives is research and the comfort that there are many others out there that have the same beliefs. But you don't really 'share' anything with anyone. Would you drive a few (or several) hours for a weekend or week-long festival? You might find one of those near enough for you to attend. Just an idea. In what sense did you want to "share" with people? True, you can't exactly do ritual online (other than role-play type ritual, which just doesn't work for a lot of people), but I have been part of online conversations where people do share deeper aspects of their religious beliefs, insights, experiences, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outlaw393 Posted October 20, 2009 Author Share Posted October 20, 2009 Would you drive a few (or several) hours for a weekend or week-long festival? You might find one of those near enough for you to attend. Just an idea. Nope, I wouldn't and haven't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taphophilia Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Please get away from the Pentecostals. They will suck you in to their brand of insanity. There is a UU congregation in Wausau or if push comes to shove find a very liberal Lutheran church. At least Lutherans value education. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outlaw393 Posted October 21, 2009 Author Share Posted October 21, 2009 Please get away from the Pentecostals. They will suck you in to their brand of insanity. There is a UU congregation in Wausau or if push comes to shove find a very liberal Lutheran church. At least Lutherans value education. I attended that church for a year and a half before I decided to leave recently. I enjoyed it a lot. And yes, I was raised Lutheran, and that's not for me either. Wausau is about an hour north of me. Still a long drive. Plus I see gas prices going back up so long drives are out of the question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outlaw393 Posted October 28, 2009 Author Share Posted October 28, 2009 Now that I left the church, what do I tell the people who find me at my work and ask me where I've been and why I'm no longer attending? They're Pentecostals, which means that they believe that one can lose their salvation. Honestly if I told them that I'm leaving Christianity they'd automatically assume that I'm going to hell, etc. Right now no one knows I left. They just assume that I've been sick (which I have been, but I'm better now). What would you do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midnight-mindwanderings Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Oh thats tough that you see them outside of church. I don't really know, seems like it will be a bit awkward no matter what. Maybe you can say you are working on personal aspects of your relationship with god or attending a different church if you want to avoid the hellfire speeches. I had the fortune of not ever seeing church members outside of church so stopping attendance was a simple matter. I hope other people on the board have some more experience and can help you out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taphophilia Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 What would you do? I'd be friendly, happy, AND vague. Your life and personal beliefs are none of their business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outlaw393 Posted October 31, 2009 Author Share Posted October 31, 2009 What would you do? I'd be friendly, happy, AND vague. Your life and personal beliefs are none of their business. I agree. So far, being vague and avoiding the subject have worked well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outlaw393 Posted December 11, 2009 Author Share Posted December 11, 2009 Update: I went back to my old church. So far I'm really happy with a mix of the two religions. It's a nice compromise. I feel like I finally found my niche. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vomit Comet Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 Update: I went back to my old church. So far I'm really happy with a mix of the two religions. It's a nice compromise. I feel like I finally found my niche. If they are true Pentecostals, you will be kicked to the curb the moment they discover what you are up to. I hope you realize it, and don't be too shocked when it happens. Your town sounds crappy. Do you have any compelling reason to stay there? Move away to somewhere more stimulating if you don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vomit Comet Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 Regarding Odinism. If it were to be demonstrated to me that the Aesir were indeed as 100% tangibly literally real as the Old Norse believed them to be, then fuck yeah I'd be down on my knees worshipping the fuck out of them because they're fuckin' bad-ass. But to do that now would make about as much sense to me as worshiping the deities described by JRR Tolkien in the Simarillion, such as Illuvatar or Manwe or whoever. Made-up stories and myths; the only difference is that we know who Tolkien was, whereas the inventors of the various Indo-Aryan pantheons are lost to history. I mean, maybe there were actual spiritual beings hanging around that the ancient Germans encountered from time to time and interpreted as the persons of Odin, Freya, etc. Maybe they're still around in some form or another, like in Neil Gaiman's novel 'American Gods.' If so, that would be way fuckin' rad! (I mean, as long as Ragnarok wasn't in the cards. At least with the Christian End-Times you can get extracted out from the hairy shit via the rapture if you've got Jebus!) But alas, I can't bank on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outlaw393 Posted December 14, 2009 Author Share Posted December 14, 2009 If they are true Pentecostals, you will be kicked to the curb the moment they discover what you are up to. I hope you realize it, and don't be too shocked when it happens. Your town sounds crappy. Do you have any compelling reason to stay there? Move away to somewhere more stimulating if you don't. They won't discover what I'm up to. And no, I wouldn't be kicked to the curb. Yes, my town sucks. My compelling reason? I can't afford to move out. If money wasn't an object I'd move somewhere warmer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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