Camp fire Friday: For the recons, how do you respond to the "dead religion" statement?
February 27, 2011 Camping Heater
I’ve seen more than once on R&S the statement that the original pagan religions are all dead, hinting that they are/were invalid or were simply made up.
How do you deal with those implicit denouncements of your faith?
Great answers everyone!
Comments (9)
I’ve never personally come across this statement, that said, I’d simply respond with the information that much of Roman Catholicism is in fact Pagan in form, and content, with a veneer of God/Jesus overlaid. So… is Catholicism dead?
religions are ideals, they cannot die, they can only be accepted or rejected…
I guess the first question is: Should you engage with them at all? There will always be people who don’t like what you believe, no matter WHAT you believe. Unless you see the real potential for an increasing threat to your ability to practice your faith, why even bother answering them? Are they really worth your time and effort, when you know that they’re just trying to get a rise out of you?
I can’t answer it for you; that’s something you have to decide.
Shalom.
No religion is dead as long is there is a continuous line of believers, no matter how thin that line. One person is enough.
That, and the realization that the religions have indeed evolved over time – we still worship the same things our caveman forefathers did; we just modified it for time and place.
I deal with them with laughter…usually followed up by the question, "Do I LOOK dead??"
Well usually I say; "Dead my foot they were MURDERED by Christians!" and "Hitler tried genocide and it didn’t work either."
Honestly I laugh anymore. No one has ever said that in real life. The closest I have gotten is "Oh, wow. I didn’t know people still believed in that."
Can you honestly be scared of someone who wears bright pink patent leather flip flops? I think not.
My standard answer to what religion I am is "I am Norse Heathen Reconstructionalist. We, as a religious movement are reconstructing the religions of the Pre-Christian Germanic and Norse beliefs. And we’re doing a damn good job of it"
They usually are respectful and ask questions and then it’s forgotten. I’m a typical suburban house wife. There really isn’t that much scary about me. LOL
It’s flip flip season here too. We all know how much I love flip flops.
As with all irrelevant statements, consider the source and ignore it.
I agree with what Heathen Princess said. Explain calmly that we’re reviving the religious beliefs and practices of the Northern Europeans, Anglo-Saxons and those called by those particular deities. It’s not a dead religion because it’s growing more and more every year.