... a little girl was standing there, loud and proud, with her basket of kittens.
"Christian kittens for sale! Christian kittens for sale!" this little girl shouted at the top of her lungs.
The pastor, all happy and proud of this little girl for selling her "Christian kittens" with such proud abandon, very happily bought two from her.
Two weeks later, at another market, the same little girl stood with her basket of kittens for sale, but her message this time was, "Pagan kittens for sale! Pagan kittens for sale!"
The same pastor, who happened to be bargain-hunting, was mortified when he heard her.
"My child," he said, "two weeks ago you were selling Christian kittens. How did they become Pagan kittens!?"
The little girl looked up at the pastor and said, deadly earnest, "Oh, no, pastor, it's simple: last time their eyes were still closed."
(Shared, with some editing, after that of the fabulous Z. Katz)
We were at a braai last weekend and there were only six of us there. Out of the six of us, the one Christian stood out a bit, but he didn't mind too much. I can very happily report that he has his opinions, we have ours, and we all get along happily enough.
When I heard this joke, the thought struck me that we, as the Christians do, tend to lump everyone in the same pot. "Christians this, Christians that!" we shout, without taking the time to actually single out those individuals or individual groups that actually cause us the metaphorical grief we go through. In the same breath, yes, the Christians LOVE shouting' "Pagans this, Pagans that!", but some of them are also trying to send the message of "Single him/her/them out."
Am I making any sense here?
I took part in a competition yesterday (body art/beauty/maquettes) and was involved with two sections: as a model for Section 4 (Hand and Arm Prosthetics) and as an entrant for Section 7 (3D masks: Venetian Creations). I didn't win in my section, but my artist won second place in hers. The point is, there were some REALLY beautiful men there, not only in terms of models, etc, but some of the really normal, Camel-man type beauties as well, and I had a roving eye for most of the day. Yes, I am in a relationship, but looking at these men and thinking about last week's braai, I couldn't help myself from thinking, I would really love to have a Pagan boyfriend. It's a personally discriminatory thing for me to have thought, because you should be happy with the love you have, faults included; I also know of AT LEAST one other couple that are a Christian/Pagan blend, and their kids follow their own paths. But, that said, it doesn't change the fact that, given the chance, I wouldn't mind in the least having a Pagan boyfriend/lover. Or even agnostic. Would it be a way for me to properly cut my ties with my Christian upbringing (yes, shocker, I was a right little Churchified happy clappy, but in hindsight, I always liked the activities more than the messages I was supposed to be learning)? Or is it the way most people think when it comes to their faiths?
Ironically, wanting a Pagan boyfriend hearkens back to the Christian idea of marrying inside your own faith. That'd be ever so slightly hypocritical of me, I think: cut your ties, but sneak one of them into your life.
UUUURGH! My head says it's time to stop babbling so much and start making sense.
Ok Let me just start by saying that I do understand. I have never dated anyone that was not either Pagan themselves or at least agnostic, well for the most part. Yes it is a biased opinion of mine but I do feel that life is easier when your partner is fully supportive of your views.
ReplyDeleteBut!! Saying that I have to also say that firstly I don't very much like the gay male community. They have so many issues about their looks and money and cars and all that bullshit that they have lost their spirituality. The 20% that is left that has a spirituality, well most of them has a chip on the shoulder for Goddess alone knows what reason. I am not saying I am perfect or you are or paul is. But good decent gay men that fir in with your spiritual vies are few and far between. That is why I imported Paul.
I am not trying to tell you what to do, I am just bieng a different perspective.