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As brucegdc said, I would tend to answre "no" to teh title of the thread. I guess it all depends from the faith and from the individual. I'm sure there are a number of people who have real faith in something they have belived all their live, without any physical or mystical breaking point that...

Beltainelady, I just want to point out that I certainly do not consider all Pagan elders to have a "holier than you" attitude, far from it. I confess that my personal experience with Pagan Internet discussion boards is somewhat limited, but the vast majority of the elders (again, for lack of a...

I really love that serie. Actually, Starczinsky didn't know up to the end of Season 4 if there would be or not a Season 5, so he made sure that the main plot was closed by the end of Season 4. The very last episode of Season 5 was actually originally the last episode of Season 4, but was...

The issue of people pretending to be holier than you also arises in other circumstances. An unrelated example: live role-playing. In these, players dress-up so some kind of (often) medieval grab and play a chosen role in some kind of play, the story of which they don't know in advance. I've seen...

Don't worry, Brian, I didn't think otherwise. I just provided an answer to your (very valid) argument. :) The concept of the religion as a world view is certenly interesting, mostly considering how difficult it is to actually apprehend or comprehend deity. Baud

Ben, I wholeheartedly agree with you in principle, but unfortunately human nature is so that there will always be people who will not behave according to the standard one would consider appropriate from elders (be they self-appointed or not). I don't want to sound like the old preachy...

In any case, raligion and philosophy usually deal with a lot of similar subjects, like what is real in the world, who you are, how to interact with others, etc. Courses in comparative philosoph usually analyze in adiition to non-religious philosophers, the point of view of religions or their...

I'm currently listening to The YTeaching Company tapes on comparative religion. In these, Prof. Robert Oden gives the following definition of religion (taken from H. H. Penner): "Religion is a communications system that is constituted by supernatural beings and is related to specific...

Another point I forgot to mention is the availability of information. The regional differences and evolutions of religions over time have been mentioned, but for most ancient religions the available information ios somehow limited. Prehistoric religions are only known by archeological...

The definition in my dictionary (translated from French) says: "Member of a Jewish sect that appeared in the second century bce which purported to follow rigorously and strictly Moses' law, but which is, in the Gospel, charged with sticking too close to formalism and of being hypocrytal."...

Just to make it clear, the "options" in my post were just alternatives - that I don't necessarily believe in myself. I personnaly don't believe in a moral judgement after death. Baud

This is a very interresting question indeed. I can do nothing but agree with the fact that free will cannot be exercised in a complete vacuum. I would still call it free will, though, because we usually always have the choice between a number of choices within certain constraints. In that...

I don't think it is a cold perception, on the contrary. I find it a very optimistic perception, and I certainly share it. I personally believe in some form of reincarnation, but it is possible to come to the same conclusion as you did (death is not to be feared) by logical reasoning: - If...

I must confess that I am not entirely comfortable with reconstructionism in religion. The problem of the sources is certainly an important one, but I tend to think that the problem of the evoluyion of society is even greater. The French scholar Jean Markale, a specialist of Celtic cultures...

That's interresting! He is very careful not to mention it in his book (unless I missed it, but I think I would have noticed it). Baud

Very good prayer, IMHO valid for many other denominations. Understanding others is one fo the reasons why I systematically use public transportation, when I could go from my airconditionned appartment to my underground garage, take my airconditioned car (which I don't have, but could), drive...

I have - fortunately - never met this Corbin as far as I know. I am always amazed how people would spend time to write down lenghty messages for the sole purpose of hurting others (and his message(s) most probably took a long timez to write). Reading his messages, I cannot help wondering if...

I fear I don't have very much to add to this thread! ;) WHKeith and bgruagach put my take on the issue in clearer words than I could. Like WHKeith I use the term "Wiccan" to define my beliefs because Neo-Pagan encompasses too many different denominations. Even if Wicca covers a relatively wide...

Hello to all! My nickname is Baud (primarily because my real name defies pronunciation), I am 34 and live in Toulouse (France) where I work for an international organization. I am Neo-Pagan (with strong Wiccan overtones), but I am also generally interrested in religions, principally their...