Pagan gun owners

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Whitewolf 508

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I have noticed a number of threads questioning whether gun ownership and Christianity or Judaism are compatible. Thant is not a question that has to be asked of us pagans out there as most of us are not really the forgiving type and can be a little prickly about the opinions expressed by the bible thumpers out there.

One of the reasons that I and my family are armed is because our religous preferences are not main stream. I have not had the problems that others have had but I have met with open hostility when the subject comes up.

A friend of mine from my college days has told me how she has had to relocate three times because of problems. She even had her home burned down back in the late 70s because she was quite open about her practices. At the second place, a number of her pets- cats and dogs- were killed by the various neighbors and she had real hateful graffiti sprayed on her barn.

:fire:
 
Yeah - there are solid reasons for being somewhat vague when folks ask you about your spiritual leanings.
 
Heh, when I saw the title of this thread and "Biker" as the last one to respond to it, I thought it would be about a totally different subject!

I consider religion to be very personal (at least for me) and I'm never the type of person to disparage another's beliefs, unless they're used as a vehicle for violence and hatred. That's partly why we have the First Amendment.
 
I understand your anger, and your problem with the disrimination against your beliefs. However, I don't know what point you're trying to make. Are you asking what other pagans believe about gun ownership, or just trying to make a general statement? I'm not flaming you, I just don't understand why you posted this.
 
Not exactly something new. I am a Southern Baptist, living smack in the Bible belt, and I have been on the receiving end.

That aside, this thread seems OT.
 
.

edited as my very obvious reference to the movie Dragnet might
possibly be misinterpreted. Cripes.
 
lowkey

We tend to be low key as much as possible but the problems started when my daughter was in high school. The majority of the kids are either Catholic or born agains and started harassing her about not going to church. One of her idiot friends let the cat(black of course) out of the bag so to speak and things went from there.

Things got bad enough so that I had a meeting with the principal and explained to her that I was going to protect my daughter no matter what. A very large friend of ours (Asatruer-Old Norse)picked her up after school several times and the threats stopped.

We are in a remote enough area so that the bonfires and so on are not really noticed. But some of our friends are kinda out there and do not need a sign. They like to take a long walk after dinner etc..Some eyebrows are raised.
 
Asatru.

Hávamál 38.

Let a man never stir on his road a step
without his weapons of war;
for unsure is the knowing when need shall arise
of a spear on the way without.

Works for me.
 
The right to be armed transcends religious, social, racial or lifestyle choices.

Satanist or Born-Again, rich or poor, black or white, gay or straight, it doesn't matter. Those the non-traditional leanings in any of thse categories often SHOULD be armed for protection.

Black civil rights activists, gays, women, born-agains in Vegas, wiccans in the middle of the Bible belt, all have an increased need for self-defense and shold not allow religious considerations come into play.

Around here there are a lot of Amish. I think their religious beliefs prevent them from doing anything but turning the other cheek. I don't agree with this, but hey, this is America and the 1st A comes before the 2nd A.

What bothers me is when the self prooclaimed 'leaders' of a group (Al Sharpton, Rosie O'Donnel, NOW leaders, ...) decide to speak for the whole group and denounce people's rights toprotect themselves, despite some increased safety risk.
 
Moderator Note

Okay. Possibly against my better judgement, I'm going to leave this one open for awhile.

It does have the potential to get contentious, so I'm laying down some ground rules here. In thread violations of any of these ground rules WILL be cause for a ban -- no exceptions, no appeals.

1) There will be NO insults about others' religions. No Pagan-bashing. No Wiccan-bashing. No Christian-bashing. No theist-bashing. No atheist-bashing.

2) There will be no "jokes" about others' beliefs, either. NONE.

3) The thread will be closed if it goes off-topic. On topic is discussion of how your personal beliefs relate to your decision to carry a gun and/or defend yourself and your family. Off topic is anything else.

I hope this is clear.

pax
 
Depends on what pantheon you worship, but if you are doing the Norse thing, you pretty much have to own weapons. Thor and Odin and all would consider you major sissies if you didn't :D
 
I once heard a Catholic priest talk about turning the other cheek. He said that if someone struck him on one cheek, Christ said to turn the other. He would then let the person strike him on that cheek. He was asked what if the person struck him a third time. He replied that, having obeyed Christ's teaching, and having run out of cheeks, he would "just have to coldcock the sonofabitch." His words, and being well over six feet and big enough to have had a tryout as a linebacker with the (then) Baltimore Colts, he could probably have done it.

Jim
 
Thanx Pax

The gound rules are pretty clear and resolute.
I own firearms as an expression of Personal Liberty. I practice my faith as an expression of Personal Liberty, these Liberties are Dependant on the predication that my expession of said Liberties does not impinge and or diminish the rights of others to do the same. If necessary I will use my firearms to defend these same Liberties, and defend to the bitter end the rights of others.
 
...if you are doing the Norse thing, you pretty much have to own weapons.
Click to expand...

I quoted the Havamal up thread. The "Sayings of Har" were supposedly told to Har by the Wanderer himself. When One-Eye speaks, the wise man listens.

I was a practicing Pagan for about ten years. Since then, I've been fairly agnostic... but when I've needed to call on Deities, I tend to use the Older Religions. I firmly believe that while no one religion has the whole "truth", they each contain wisdom we can benefit from.

I'm a hobby black smith, so Hephaestus is a "patron". I lift weights and train physically, so Athena, Thor, Mars, Heracles, ect... all make a certain personal sense to me.

As for personal arms, even the neo-pagans can see that "an it harm none" and karmic debt should also encompass not allowing "more harm" to be done by overt pacifism. Initiatory force can be seen as "morally" wrong, but defensive use of force is always "morally" right. Not using defensive force is allowing initiatory force to be perpetrated on yourself or another.

That can't be a "good thing" in anyones book.
 
"Lo, there do I see my Father,
Lo, there do I see my Mother, my Sisters and my Brothers,
Lo, there do I see the line of my people, back to the beginning...
Lo, they do call to me...
They bid me take my place among them,
In the Halls of Valhalla,
Where the brave, may live...
Forever."

Born and bred a Norseman.

Biker
 
While we could all aruge about what we believe and why, it is not the concern of "armed" citizens which religious group, cult, or other organization that you belong to. Unless or until that group uses weapons for illegal activity, that is when we "gun owners" need to speak out and condem such a group.
While I being a born again Baptist do not agree with a Satanist, but that disafreement does not overflow to the area of gun ownership. A "satanist" has beliefs totally contrary to mine, until the right to keep and bear arms comes up. Then we are "brothers" in arms.

While I would not let me kids hang out with his, we could protest the capitol building for 2nd ammendment rights and I would stand hand in hand with him in unity.

That is the great thing about the constituion, it transcends religion, race, etc.

And to the moderator: Good choice on keeping the forum open with caution. Very few things are as devisve as religion.
 
I think that whatever religion one is, there will always be others who don't like it. Because many religions are mutually exclusive, there's no way around it.

I know personally, being a protestant christian, that there are many, many people who label themselves "christian" only because that's how they grew up, or that's how their family expects them to be. It's like a smoker "yeah, I believe smoking causes lung cancer and heart disease *puff puff*" There are just so many out there, and so few I think really believe. Obviously, I don't know what is in anyone else's heart, but as they say "you will know a tree by its fruits." And if the fruit of your heart is harassing another person because of their beliefs, then what's under the bark is not christian.

[OT proselytizing deleted-JS

Whitewolf 508, anyone who is harassing you or your child about your religion are not christians. Most christians don't personally know any real pagans, and could understandably be afraid or uncomfortable, but would not harass anyone. That said, the "churchians" who populate most churches in America would be likely to harass anyone of a different belief, including christians who believe in anything more than sharing gossip in the pews after a few hymns. Even Billy Graham himself said something like 80% of people who claim to be christian, are just pretending (usually decieving themselves as well). Don't feel left out, you aren't the only one who is persecuted by others for your religion.
 
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