From: altheimm@nextnet.csus.edu (Murray Altheim)
Newsgroups: alt.pagan
Subject: Re: That Virgin Mary really gets around
Date: 14 Aug 92 16:08:46 GMT
Organization: California State University: Sacramento

In article <gd6md7-.gordons@netcom.com> gordons@netcom.com (Gordon Storga) writes:
><e0LePB7w164w@ailanth.UUCP> ailsa%ailanth.uucp@wang.com (Ailsa N.T. Murphy) :
>>lip@s1.gov (Loren I. Petrich) writes:
>>> <11190028@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM> reykja@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Reykja Sigurd
>>[three tiers (one attribution gone) of making fun of the virgin mary deleted]
>>
>>i find all this rather odd, myself.  this thread, that is.  i had always
>>thought the mary sightings were very nice, rather moving.
>
>I always thought they were fairly silly.  At least as silly as Elvis
>sightings.
>
>>proof that even christians need the goddess.
>
>They don't worship her as a goddess, but as the *human* mother of a god's
>son.

I hate to tell you this, Gordon, but it is held in some camps that because
Jesus was divinity, that his mother was also divine, that she does carry
more power (ie., to answer prayer) than a common mortal. You are judging
another faith the same way (in ignorance) we pagans bitch about the 
Christians judging us. Do you wish to be seen in this light?

>>if people are seeing the virgin mary, and more
>>people WANT to see her, why should we make fun of that?  
>
>See above under "silly".
>
>>if i thought she existed, *I* would try to go someplace where i could see
>>her in person!  why is
>>it that pilgrimages are subject to ridicule if people in OUR culture go on
>>them?  i think they're beautiful.
>
>I think it's terrible that people have their hopes raised, spend money
>they can't afford to spend on travel, only to sit and stare at a knowhole
>in a tree.  What a waste of humanity.
>
>Gordon

I remember a few posts back, Ciaran Benson described a beautiful pagan
ceremony that included about 400 people and included a huge puppet of a
deity, the digging of a grave and the puppet being thrown in while every-
one wept and then laughed and partied.  Pretty silly to you?  It sounds
pretty silly to me, especially if I'd paid good money to be there. Well,
to turn my <sarcasm> off, I would have given my eye teeth (or my hen's
teeth, whichever chew the best) to have been there. From the outside,
many elements of ritual and worship sound pretty silly. How about some
guy in a beard wearing funny robes, burning flavored dung and waving 
around a Walt Disney magic wand? eh?  I'm not trying to be harsh, but
the few times I've tried to explain *little* bits of "what I did last
weekend" to folks in my office, I know they file it under "More of that
strange shit that Murray's into."

EVEN IF it's just a reflected street lamp, it may be that the VM used
the reflected street lamp as a source of light to emanate her energy for
the faithful to see. I don't pretend to know otherwise, so I leave them
to their beliefs as I wish they would leave me to mine. Even if they won't.

Blessings to you and your (chewy buns [for Janis])

Murray

-- 
Murray M. Altheim      "Ils ont l'orteil de Bouc, & d'un Chevreil l'oreille,
Instructional Consultant    La corne d'un Chamois, & la face vermeille
CSU, Sacramento          Comme un rouge Croissant: & dancent toute nuict
altheimm@csus.edu       Dedans un carrefour, ou pres d'une eau qui bruict."