From: Lady Irene
Date: Mon Nov 20, 2000 11:54am
Subject: Re: Re: Invading Wiccan Elder Scenario

"While her insane behaviour is nowhere near the typical behaviour, I think it is to be expected of a religion with no central authority. When anyone can simply call themselves a high priest and run a coven, it is likely that sometimes the worst people become the ones in authority."

Anyone can call themselves the high whatever of any faith- there is not a single faith that has a central authority for all sects of that faith. (there is no head Christian, no head Muslim, no head Jew) It is the individual sects and churches that dictate who may become what, and in Wicca, as in other faiths, sects DO have central authority over their members. Many Wiccans are learning to find out who these so-called "elders" are affilated with, just as a Catholic would go to a church affliated with the vatican over a church that affiliated with no authority.

I am insulted by the entire nature of this thread. Hellas could be just as easily attacked by someone calling themselves a Christian or a Hellenist. It could be targeted by a run away Nova Roma member, for crying out loud, you don't see people going "what if a member of Nova Roma came in and tried to...." (Nova Roma is here mentioned because I find it the LEAST likely group to "attack")

The anti-Wiccan propaganda (which, strangely enough, is usually targeted at Celtic revisionists, not followers of the religion of Modern Wicca) on this list rears its ugly head again and it is disgusting.

There are Wiccans in Hellas NOW. Just as there are, I assume, soldiers and doctors, masons and boy scouts and other people held to an outside ethical standard, with rites of its own, in addition to their worship. This anti-Wiccan paranoia is NOT raised by the Wiccans on the list, who, in accordance with the Mission statment don't bring that up here, but by the non-Wiccans.

This has to end. Wicca is brought up again and again by the non-Wiccans on the list. It's like you guys are obsessed with it!!!!! If it interests you so much, then become a Wiccan!

Otherwise, just hush, because you are spreading untruthes and misinformation, and if we Wiccans are to follow the list rules, we have to let those allegations stand, because demonstrating THE TRUTH could be seen as "invading" or "attacking."

I've been here damn near since the beginning, and I'm not going, and I'm not going to be silent when my faith is misrepresented, but I am very upset that those who are Wiccan have the sense to read the mission statement and not bring up Wicca because it is not the topic of the group, but those who are anti-Wiccan seem to have no issues with bringing it up again and again and again. (and are not called on it)

Yup, some of us here follow more than one religion, and attend more than one mystery! AMAZING! And rooted in historical Greek practice.... Gods of the city, the home, the heart, as we discussed before.

We will not be silent to maintain an illusion of uniformity. What Wicca is being mischaracterized here as is atrocious, and the act of doing so is no better than the anti-Christian facism some of us fight in Wiccan groups from so-called Wiccans.

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