Pagan and witchcraft festivals confront growing Christian harassment

[brooklynite]

Washington Post

As widespread immunity and milder coronavirus strains have spread across the United States, pagans and witches, like their neighbors, have begun to gather more freely this summer at annual community events after two years of relative isolation. So have some unwelcome guests.

Street preachers and Christian protesters have long been a fixture of Earth-based religions’ gatherings as they try to distract and deter people from enjoying what are typically outdoor festivals and ritual gatherings. But this year, some attendees say, these opponents of witchcraft and paganism have become more aggressive and even dangerous.

“There were about 30 [evangelists] this year,” said Starr RavenHawk, an elder and priestess of the New York City Wiccan Family Temple and organizer of WitchsFest USA, a street fair held in the city’s West Village in mid-July.

Over the past seven years, barely a half-dozen of these disrupters would show up, RavenHawk said. But the groups that have appeared this year “aren’t just protesting,” she added. “They are collectively at war with us. They made that clear.”

[quaint]

1. Truly we live in bizarro world

[Baitball Blogger]

2. The only way that you are going to beat the NaCis is to sue them and

get their tax exemption revoked.

[Wounded Bear]

3. And I thought that "Onward Christian Soldiers" was supposed to be metaphorical...

[Deuxcents]

4. If I'm not mistaken.. Christmas started w/ Pagans

Then baby Jesus was the reason.

[BWdem4life]

11. Tree indoors... pagan ritual. nt

[Jade Fox]

12. Christian Christmas co-opted the pagan Winter Solstice festivals celebrated on Dec 21.....

The pagan Solstice tradition of bringing an evergreen tree into the home was a symbol of life continuing even through the dead of winter.

It is thought that Christ was born under the constellation of Pisces, which would put his birthday Feb-Mar.

[Xolodno]

15. Yeap. And it gets better.

Jeremiah 10

2 Thus says the Lord:

“Learn not the way of the nations,
nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens
because the nations are dismayed at them,
3 for the customs of the peoples are false.
A tree from the forest is cut down,
and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.
4 Men deck it with silver and gold;
they fasten it with hammer and nails
so that it cannot move.
5 Their idols[a] are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,
and they cannot speak;
they have to be carried,
for they cannot walk.
Be not afraid of them,
for they cannot do evil,
neither is it in them to do good.”


BUT WAIT! THERES MORE!

Revelation 11

9 For three days and a half men from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, 10 and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth.

-----------------------------

And been told I do not believe in God for not celebrating Xmas, go figure.

[roamer65]

5. Makes me hope the Antichrist is real and persecutes these religious nutbags.

I’ll join in the fun.

[Xolodno]

16. LOL!

Unfortunately, the text infers the Anti-Christ and his false prophet are probably going to be representing themselves as Christians and persecute atheist's, pagans, Christians who don't accept them, etc.

Sort of like how religious leaders call Trump God's representative on earth (that shit scares me).

[roamer65]

17. More than likely if there is one.

[d_r]

6. "don't give them your money, give me your money"

Be my followers, follow me!

[msongs]

7. when ya stole your entire religion from pagans, protesting pagans seems a bit much nt

[multigraincracker]

8. If they are deep thinkers, then a

Humanist festival would have them sh*t their pants.

I'm in.

The religion that puts humans before gods.

[Withywindle]

9. I'm not surprised

Christian Dominionism cannot tolerate living in a religiously diverse country because they believe it's their job to purge other religions for God, and have a country that only follows the One True Way. Aggressive prosleytizing, and ultimately subjugate or kill those who won't convert.

It's all in their philosophy. They view people who believe in tolerance and peaceful co-existing as traitors to the faith. And they're more emboldened and empowered now than ever.

Under Trump, they felt the President was on their side. Under Biden they think they're righteous rebels fighting an evil empire.

[rockfordfile]

10. Lock their crazy asses up

[Sky Jewels]

13. Ugh. Christianity is a pox on the planet.

So are the other patriarchal religions.

[Sky Jewels]

14. They're pissed off that fewer and fewer people are buying their silly convoluted mythologies

about a Great Angry Wizard who raped a young girl to produce a Magical Undead Carpenter who is also his own father and who is hovering in the sky somewhere but also inhabiting people's hearts and other internal organs and will one day vacuum his cult followers up into the sky.