Questions, questions, questions... please help!

[curiousrocker]

Hello... i'm new here at mystic wicks... i haven't decided on my religion yet, but i'm very interested in Paganism. I've been researching a few other religions, mostly by word of mouth so i don't know any hard facts about most of them... lol... but i know most christian-based religions oppose gay relationships. i think this is very hypocritical and wrong of them, and its highly against my morals to judge people. how do the several forms of Paganism reflect on this controversial topic?

[Earthy]

Firstly,welcome to MysticWicks.
Take your time finding your path and enjoy the journey,i'm always learning every day.
Personally,i don't judge people for their sexual preference and have never found anybody here who has.
This is a very open community,and very accepting.
Hell,they accepted me.:lol:

[curiousrocker]

thanks alot.. it's really important to me to find a structured religion involving people with my common beliefs... and i feel really strongly about that especially. what about abortions? what do Pagans believe about abortions?

[Earthy]

I've never really read up much on the views of abortions so can only give my opinion.
I don't think there is a certain stance a pagan would take,we have no bible as a christian does,so i imagine it's just personal opinion.:)

[curiousrocker]

Thank you very much! :)

[Isil Darkmoon]

There is no "set" answer to those questions, but a general one... MOST pagans are much more tolerant of 'alternate' choices than the general public. Many of us have been on the end of persecution for beliefs, or are close to others that have... knowing how it feels tobe the minority, we are generally more tolerent of other minorities as well. While there are some that I'm sure object, all the pagans *I know personally* and most of the ones I've spoken to online tend to subscribe to at least tolerent indifference, if not active support, of the LGBT community.

As for abortion, there's NO easy answer to that. I personally am pro-choice, and don't see abortion as a "problem" in that an innocent life, to me, is not destroyed--since I believe in reincarnation, I think the soul just moves on to a differnet life.

Others take the ideas of the Wiccan Rede--the part about harming none--to extend to the unborn child and see it as a bad thing. There's just as much debate among pagans as to when life begins--conception, when the fetus be comes viable outside the womb, or actual birth--as among any group.

A decent number of pagans I know tend to be in the following school of thought: "I would never have one myself, I would counsel--but NOT demand--a friend looked at other avenues first, but to say it's always bad or to make it illegal would be horriffic and wrong."

[Earthy]

You're welcome.:)

[curiousrocker]

thats very insightful... i'm also pro-choice. is that ecclectic paganism or another form that believes in pro-choice?

[Isil Darkmoon]

There really are no "set" beliefs throughout the different branches of paganism... it's really left ot the individual's deicsion. That's always been one of the biggest draws, to me--that WE are held accountable for our own actions, thoughs, feelings, and belifs... none of this "oh the devil made me do it, I was posessed!" crap. Paganism pretty much lets us choose our own way, living as the best human beings we can. (I personally am an eclectic pagan green witch with wiccan and celtic influences to my path, to get horribly technical, but "eclectic pagan" is much easier to say *grin* .)

Oh, and WELCOME!

[DebLipp]

Wicca in particular generally interprets "All acts of love and pleasure are my rituals" to mean that the gender of those who love is immaterial. There were some early Wiccan groups that were homophobic, mostly in the 50s and 60s, but I don't know of any today. Most Wiccan Priests and Priestesses will happily perform gay handfastings.

Few Pagan trads have any sort of doctrine. Both CAW (Church of All Worlds) and ADF (Ar nDraiocht Fein) are specifically supportive of relational choice, but they are both national organizations with central leadership, which is sort of unique in Paganism.

As to abortion, most groups very specifically AVOID a stance on the issue. In Wicca and in most Paganism, fertility is sacred, pregnancy is sacred, women's bodies are sacred and women's choices are sacred. So whatever side you line up with is your personal interpretation of what that sacredness means. I suspect more Pagans are pro-choice than not, but it is up to the individual to decide.

[DixieWitch]

MM and welcome to MW!!!

[HorseCrow]

:welcome:

And best advice- take it easy, take your time and it'll come to you :)

[dragonspirit 69]

HI :wave: :welcome:

[CaitrionaMorgaine]

Merry Meet and Welcome to Mystic Wicks!

Avalon's Blessings, ~Rhiannon

[WynnJera]

http://www.evolutionconcepts.com/~wynnjera/mwwelcome1.gif

[charmedkisses1]

It's impossible and false to generalize that "all pagans" agree certain subjects like homosexuality, abortion, etc.... (heck I"ve talke to many who don't agree on them here) so NO ONE can really answer that, except for their own opinion....


O and
welcome!

:stooges:

[WinterTree]

Hiya! :welcome:

[Faeawyn]

The only thing I can say with certainty is that you won't find a more accepting group than you will in paganism. You'll always have those traditionalists that are die-hard in their personal beliefs....but in general, we center our beliefs around the concept that everyone walks their own path and makes their own choices.
:welcome:

[VroomBroom]

http://www.emotipad.com/newemoticons/Welcome.gif

[MaryE]

http://www.frontiernet.net/~jade768/marye/welcome2.gif