Stay away from the windows too!

The beauty of the Pagan/Earth based religion is an individual person
learning is given the option to accept what is right for that
individual. If your style of co-creation is different from the one who
taught you, use what works best for you has always been encouraged.
Some stick with one Name for the god/godess they are requesting to
co-create with. Some use other Names depending on what it is they are
trying to co-create. The individual also has the option of joining a
Coven, usually a group of like-minded Pagans. This style from what I
understand has the high priest and/or priestess emulating whichever
God/ess is requested to help. Co-creation and co-existence is the heart
of the Pagan religion IMHO with the understanding of what you put out
will come back to you depending on which particular way followed depends
on the returned amount, usually in 3's. They may also call on spirtual
elements of the Universe and request they lend energy to the
co-creation. No, I have not learned this by any individual or group
teaching. I have read and learned from many different sources/written
material. Now in my own personal dealings, sometimes I use the word
God, sometimes I use Universe, sometimes I use Creator or Great Mystery.
I freely admit my spirituality is based on a hodge podge of ideas. Some
are Native American, some are Druidic, some are Wiccan, some are Jesus
style. Throw in the different energies contained in this Universe and
me, I then must add some aspects of Eastern and East Indian based
religions. The Medicine Wheel is something I also use. The purpose of
this is for my own tracking of my way around that wheel, as life is a
circular cycle. This is when I usually use directions more than
anything else. Those directions are based on what part of me I need to
work on. This way I can combine spirituality with pyschology. May not
be for everybody, but hey, "I am who I am." Guess you could call it a
"Popeye" religion. The similarities are pretty much what I am drawn to.
The Native ways I've been exposed to believe (Lakota and Seneca
mostly)humanity and all that is in this world are relatives (not Gods).
Including the earth and sky nation and everything contained therein.
Now you know why I consider myself a Differentkindofwench.

Wow what happened here?

first of all ab if you would have read my post you would have seen that
it was written down in the 1500's only because native americans rely on
oral traditions the group of people feared extinction when the spanish
came in the popul vuh is their creation myth and yes art i do have the
ability to say that when someone makes a ridiculous accusation that all
cultures are monotheistic and they all stem from a "god" head ab has a
christian tendancy that he can say he isn't christian but when someone
continually says words like faith, god, salvation, saved, one god, and
quotes the 10 commandments my guess is he believes in some form of
christianity or he is mixing christianity with his personal philosophy
he sits here and he is trying to debate on a subject he knows nothing
about besides googling, and as i said i wrote it in my post that it was
written in the 1500's anyone who has any knowledge would know as does
the post say that the mayan along with native americans and indigenous
tribes rely on oral traditions not just written...

ack in the above post i say native americans wrote it down typo edit
and put the mayan people.

Hi sororitygurl I'm new.

Although there's a little tension, I like everyone's post.

AB seems like an intellectual Christian with strong faith with varied
beliefs mixed.

yes wild but the problem with that is he says he's not a christian. he
believes he is a non-christian as which is obvious by the fact he was
the creator of this thread which is the " common misconceptions about
non christians"

Well Sororitygurl (SG) by some of his points it appears he is a
christian his views on salvation reflect his own beliefs.
He also didn't clarify what is non-christian.

"Non Christians will not receive 'salvation'. Non Christians don't
need salvation. They have God on their side without the need of ritual
eating of the flesh, "

To my understanding, non-christians don't believe they need salvation
and furthermore some don't believe in God at all.

Confusing?

then as a non christian he is trying to say that man kind created ever
other god and goddess besides 1 god head in every culture , which is not
accurate.. and he is usinga christian foundation to supply all non
christian groups which could range from atheist to agnostics, to hindus,
indians, mayans, indigenous tribes, buddhist, taoist, confucianist,
greek and romans, polytheistic culture of the middle east prior to
islam, etc to say that is to say that there is and never had been a
goddess only 1 central god figure and that would be idiotic especially
if you trace the fact that the oldest forms of religious we know of is
the goddess worshipping societies and paganism

i recognize that we all have different beliefs in this forum different
everything and yes i may have gotten a little rude with him only because
the point i see he is making is he is making 4 general assumptions about
all religions which don't fit and he refuses to see that even though
scholars of all forms cannot even agree what the term religion actually
means and how it should be defined he is attempting to segregate
christian and non christian whihc is way to broad and not a viable
category he is speaking fo rhimself and not for the billions whom he is
stereotyping in his small 4 points... what you believe is your decision
but don't take your beliefs and make them billions of others as well.

and yes i agree thats my whole stand point he is arguing those
foundations and then saying he's a non christian even though the
majority of his beliefs are found within a christian foundation, which
is why i said he may say he isn't a christian but that's only because
he has concocted( sp) some sort of his own theory which he believes
others have wrong, but at the same time hes applying the christian
context which i assume he has grown up in and prior to this believed in
and he is mixing the two together even though most non christians i
would think would not agree with him, because like i said if they don't
believe in this all savior form of a 1 god then it wouldn't matter to
them they wouldn't want gods salvation, or that they worship either no
god or 1 god, and that etc etc etc his points our founded on christian
beliefs.

ps welcome to jsh

Hi Wildone, perhaps like others here AB just sees his relationship with
God as so much bigger than Christianity. A relationship that doesn't
fit within the confines of a specific dogma. Or maybe (like others
here) the labels aren't important, or maybe unnecessary ... sometimes
unwanted. I don't know.

Glad to see you joining in the discussions.

I do not know alot about the american Indians. But i do wonder if they
may of come from the Phillicians (sp?). They were great sailors and
thier writings have been found on the east coast far outdating anyone we
have ever known to be here. In New Mexico in Paleo Hebrew the
corresponding letters for YHWH (Yahweh) have been found some dating to
be around 3000 years old. Now the poetic name of Yahweh is Yah. This may
sound stupid maybe but the sound Yah isn't it prevelant in the Indian
culture? thanks.... Miles

Thank you Artgurl and SG for the warm welcome.

So AB is a Christian but not a Christian. I got cha

Wild

I won't be the one to place a label on him. He just IS.

(I am not much for labels and boxes myself)

haha oh okay got cha :)

The way I see what AB is trying to say is that there is only one god.
That it all started out that way and mankind has added on this to the
point where there are many gods/idols before that one god.
If you look at it from this stand point, his arguement is valid.
I doubt very much that in the beginning of human existance there were
multiple gods/goddesses. If there were any at all.

Well if AB believes there is ONE God that would make him a beliver right
kidatheart?

Thank you for trying to clarify

So why would he do a topic forum on non-believers if he is a believer of
God?