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Posted by on in Studies Blogs
Better than Belief

In our culture belief is the sine qua non of religion. We talk of ‘beliefs’, and ‘believers’, and ‘other beliefs’, as synonyms for religious doctrines, adherents and other religions. The problem with this is that only one religion on the planet actually cares about what you believe: Christianity. Most other religions relate to their doctrines or practices in very different and sometimes contradictory ways, such as having several unresolved and conflicting opinions in one person. For them, this is not a problem, but for Christianity it is. The history of Christianity is mostly about disagreements in doctrine and who had to flee, hide, fight, be killed, or submit to whom, about it. It is true that across human history religion has been an excuse for war or plunder, but that was usually about resources or dominance and not about technical points of theology. Christianity is different.

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Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Henry Buchy
    Henry Buchy says #
    heh, the old 'faith vs works' debate...
  • Peggy Andreas
    Peggy Andreas says #
    That was a very interesting read, thanks. My own take on this is something I've understood since reading Starhawk's "Spiral Dance
  • T. Thorn Coyle
    T. Thorn Coyle says #
    Sam, this was nicely written. Thank you. There are two quotes that I return to again and again on this matter: Joseph Campbell's:
  • Apuleius Platonicus
    Apuleius Platonicus says #
    First of all, the problem with Christians isn't that they tend to disagree with one another. The problem is that they have a tende
  • ericjdev
    ericjdev says #
    My experience with Goddess is entirely faith based and I place no value in the experiential. Furthermore, I could care less if how

Posted by on in Paths Blogs

Today's Hekate's Deipnon and I have a lot to do for it so I'm keeping this post brief. Since my progression into Hellenismos, I have started to consider language in Pagan practice. Although I am Dutch, I have nearly always practiced in English. I love this language; it's softer, more poetic, more fluid than Dutch. It has synonyms that make sense. 'Practicing in English' became part of my practice. When I set out onto the Hellenic path, I naturally started practicing in English. I can't read or pronounce Greek yet so it made sense. Since about a week, I am not so sure anymore.

I tried an on-the-spot translation into Dutch of my daily prayers and hymns and felt a deeper connection to Deity than I had felt before within this practice. I started wondering why that was as I stumbled through my translations this week. I think... that especially Hestia appreciates my Dutch prayers and hymns because Dutch is the language that is spoken in this household. It's part of our Oikos. I'm not sure the others care very much.

Of course, I would rather practice in ancient Greek. I got myself a home study course and will be attempting to learn as much as I can on my own before taking a language course. It's not mandatory in Hellenismos to speak Greek but I would love to be able to read the hymns, myths and plays I base my practice on in their original language and form. Translations are lovely but there is always artistic freedom. Besides, for me, it's the language of the Gods.

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