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Wiccans rejoice.

I

imported_Shivetya

Platinum Member
Never realized it... but its not too late to accomodate. Too many people associate the pentagram with devil worship. Having dated a few Wiccans I can attest to the stare they can generate with the pentagrams...



The VA agreed to put the symbol on headstones after several adherents of the faith filed a federal lawsuit charging that they and their family members were being discriminated against in violation of the religion clauses of the Constitution.

A VA official, who asked not to be named, said the pentacle would join 38 other "emblems of belief" placed on graves of the fallen. In addition to the Jewish Star of David, the Islamic crescent and star, and a variety of Christian crosses, the existing options include Baha'i, Hindu, Sikh, Sufi, and Mormon symbols, as well as the atom-based logo of American atheists. The approved list also includes a Buddhist "wheel of righteousness" and a stylized rendering of the letters "EK," representing a Minnesota-based religion that promotes "soul travel," Eckankar.


I wonder what the symbol for Scientology would be?

edit: Here they are!
 
That's surprising in light of the fact that our military has become a gigantic evangelical recruiting mechanism.
 
Originally posted by: ayabe
That's surprising in light of the fact that our military has become a gigantic evangelical recruiting mechanism.
Click to expand...

Yeah, like they would never step forward to defend Wiccans

oh, wait they do.

Although our country was founded on a Judeo-Christian base, the Framers of the U.S. Constitution understood that religious freedom was for everyone, not just Christians. In other words, the only way that freedom can prevail for Christians is for Christians to stand up and fight for the minority beliefs and religions of others.

but the "I hate Christians and mock them when possible" crowd only sees what it wants eh?
 
Technically, the symbol that the Wiccans have is not the same as the pentagram of Satanists. A satanist pentagram tends to be an upside-down star.
 
Originally posted by: Shivetya
Originally posted by: ayabe
That's surprising in light of the fact that our military has become a gigantic evangelical recruiting mechanism.
Click to expand...

Yeah, like they would never step forward to defend Wiccans

oh, wait they do.

Although our country was founded on a Judeo-Christian base, the Framers of the U.S. Constitution understood that religious freedom was for everyone, not just Christians. In other words, the only way that freedom can prevail for Christians is for Christians to stand up and fight for the minority beliefs and religions of others.

but the "I hate Christians and mock them when possible" crowd only sees what it wants eh?
Click to expand...

Nope just pointing out the facts, guess you don't know about the bullying and intimidation that occurs at the Air Force Academy against non-evangelicals.

But I guess you are part of the 'I hate the fact that people actually read the news so my crap doesn't fly" crowd.
 
Originally posted by: ayabe
Originally posted by: Shivetya
Originally posted by: ayabe
That's surprising in light of the fact that our military has become a gigantic evangelical recruiting mechanism.
Click to expand...

Yeah, like they would never step forward to defend Wiccans

oh, wait they do.

Although our country was founded on a Judeo-Christian base, the Framers of the U.S. Constitution understood that religious freedom was for everyone, not just Christians. In other words, the only way that freedom can prevail for Christians is for Christians to stand up and fight for the minority beliefs and religions of others.

but the "I hate Christians and mock them when possible" crowd only sees what it wants eh?
Click to expand...

Nope just pointing out the facts, guess you don't know about the bullying and intimidation that occurs at the Air Force Academy against non-evangelicals.

But I guess you are part of the 'I hate the fact that people actually read the news so my crap doesn't fly" crowd.
Click to expand...

Here's a tasty tidbit:

"Last week, the Washington-based group Americans United for Separation of Church and State issued a 14-page report charging that there is "systematic and pervasive religious bias and intolerance at the highest levels of the Academy command structure."

The report said that during basic training, cadets who declined to go to chapel after dinner were organized into a "Heathen Flight" and marched back to their dormitories. It said the Air Force's "Chaplain of the Year" urged cadets to proselytize among their classmates or "burn in the fires of hell"; that mandatory cadet meetings often began with explicitly Christian prayers; and that numerous faculty members introduced themselves to their classes as born-again Christians and encouraged students to become born again during the term."

Text

Is that enough? Google is your friend.
 
Originally posted by: ayabe
Originally posted by: Shivetya
Originally posted by: ayabe
That's surprising in light of the fact that our military has become a gigantic evangelical recruiting mechanism.
Click to expand...

Yeah, like they would never step forward to defend Wiccans

oh, wait they do.

Although our country was founded on a Judeo-Christian base, the Framers of the U.S. Constitution understood that religious freedom was for everyone, not just Christians. In other words, the only way that freedom can prevail for Christians is for Christians to stand up and fight for the minority beliefs and religions of others.

but the "I hate Christians and mock them when possible" crowd only sees what it wants eh?
Click to expand...

Nope just pointing out the facts, guess you don't know about the bullying and intimidation that occurs at the Air Force Academy against non-evangelicals.

But I guess you are part of the 'I hate the fact that people actually read the news so my crap doesn't fly" crowd.
Click to expand...

Funny, I just looked at my (almost 15 year old) dog tags that have NO-REL-PREF stamped on them, and I don't remember being harassed. But then again, I'm sure you have something other third party anecdotal evidence. Right?
 
Originally posted by: ayabe

Here's a tasty tidbit:

"Last week, the Washington-based group Americans United for Separation of Church and State issued a 14-page report charging that there is "systematic and pervasive religious bias and intolerance at the highest levels of the Academy command structure."

The report said that during basic training, cadets who declined to go to chapel after dinner were organized into a "Heathen Flight" and marched back to their dormitories. It said the Air Force's "Chaplain of the Year" urged cadets to proselytize among their classmates or "burn in the fires of hell"; that mandatory cadet meetings often began with explicitly Christian prayers; and that numerous faculty members introduced themselves to their classes as born-again Christians and encouraged students to become born again during the term."

Text

Is that enough? Google is your friend.
Click to expand...

So a single anecdote is evidence of an organization wide plot? Amazing.
 
Originally posted by: BoberFett
Originally posted by: ayabe
Originally posted by: Shivetya
Originally posted by: ayabe
That's surprising in light of the fact that our military has become a gigantic evangelical recruiting mechanism.
Click to expand...

Yeah, like they would never step forward to defend Wiccans

oh, wait they do.

Although our country was founded on a Judeo-Christian base, the Framers of the U.S. Constitution understood that religious freedom was for everyone, not just Christians. In other words, the only way that freedom can prevail for Christians is for Christians to stand up and fight for the minority beliefs and religions of others.

but the "I hate Christians and mock them when possible" crowd only sees what it wants eh?
Click to expand...

Nope just pointing out the facts, guess you don't know about the bullying and intimidation that occurs at the Air Force Academy against non-evangelicals.

But I guess you are part of the 'I hate the fact that people actually read the news so my crap doesn't fly" crowd.
Click to expand...

Funny, I just looked at my (almost 15 year old) dog tags that have NO-REL-PREF stamped on them, and I don't remember being harassed. But then again, I'm sure you have something other third party anecdotal evidence. Right?
Click to expand...

Look above you.

A lot of these changes have happened in the 15 years since you were in. Look it up for yourself.

Here's more:

Text

DENVER, May 12 -- An Air Force chaplain who complained that evangelical Christians were trying to "subvert the system" by winning converts among cadets at the Air Force Academy was removed from administrative duties last week, just as the Pentagon began an in-depth study of alleged religious intolerance among cadets and commanders at the school.

"They fired me," said Capt. MeLinda Morton, a Lutheran minister who was removed as executive officer of the chaplain unit on May 4. "They said I should be angry about these outside groups who reported on the strident evangelicalism at the academy. The problem is, I agreed with those reports."

I can do this all day:

"The Air Force has said that a survey of cadets in 2004 uncovered "perceptions of religious bias."

Of the more than 3,500 cadets who responded, more than 50 percent agreed that religious slurs and jokes are used.

Conversely, just fewer than 50 percent reported they "never" heard demeaning comments.

Nearly 50 percent of non-Christian cadets surveyed said classmates have a low tolerance for those who do not "follow a religion" or "believe in a divine being.""

Text
 
OK, I see I was wrong. I looked around and see where there are plenty of articles regarding the evangelizing at the Academy.

Do you have any evidence of this happening anywhere else though? If not that seems like a pretty localized problem and not a military-wide conspiracy. If indeed it is common, then I agree it's a problem.
 
Originally posted by: BoberFett
OK, I see I was wrong. I looked around and see where there are plenty of articles regarding the evangelizing at the Academy.

Do you have any evidence of this happening anywhere else though? If not that seems like a pretty localized problem and not a military-wide conspiracy. If indeed it is common, then I agree it's a problem.
Click to expand...

I've seen programs about it happening in the Army too, maybe not to such an extent. I also can't seem to find the results of the internal Air Force study anywhere, I'll keep looking.

But I think it has a lot to do with location, being in Colorado, which is ground zero for a lot of the evangelical groups.
 
Originally posted by: ayabe
But I think it has a lot to do with location, being in Colorado, which is ground zero for a lot of the evangelical groups.
Click to expand...
Its not so much Colorado, but the fact they are specifically in Colorado Springs which can accurately be described as ground zero for allot of those evangelical groups. (Its definitely not like everyone in the state holds similar views.)
 
Originally posted by: Aegeon
Originally posted by: ayabe
But I think it has a lot to do with location, being in Colorado, which is ground zero for a lot of the evangelical groups.
Click to expand...
Its not so much Colorado, but the fact they are specifically in Colorado Springs which can accurately be described as ground zero for allot of those evangelical groups. (Its definitely not like everyone in the state holds similar views.)
Click to expand...

No, of course not. But aside from Denver, Colorado is pretty red.
 
Originally posted by: manowar821
One is a pentacle and one is a pentagram. I forget which one is the evil one, and which one is the nature/peace one.
Click to expand...

The pentagram has a circle around it and pentacles don't...I think. Neither is evil. As someone earlier mentioned, when the top point is upside down it could be construed as evil.
Frankly, they're just benign symbols, IMO, until someone decides to give them meaning. That being said it's pretty much all Hollywood ascribing the "devil worship" tag to them.
 
Originally posted by: ITJunkie
Originally posted by: manowar821
One is a pentacle and one is a pentagram. I forget which one is the evil one, and which one is the nature/peace one.
Click to expand...

The pentagram has a circle around it and pentacles don't...I think. Neither is evil. As someone earlier mentioned, when the top point is upside down it could be construed as evil.
Frankly, they're just benign symbols, IMO, until someone decides to give them meaning. That being said it's pretty much all Hollywood ascribing the "devil worship" tag to them.
Click to expand...

Ohh, okay. I was confused...

I was told by someone that Wicca was invented in the 50s by a pagan who modified the religion so that he could watch girls dance naked around fire.
 
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