Odin’s Eye – Objections to Christianity – Part 4 – The Justice of the Biblical God – An Unbalanced Scale

December 27, 2018May 21, 2019 / Ed Raby Sr / 1 Comment

Happy Thor’s Day. This is the 8th Night of Yuletide. this night is sacred to Skadi and Ullr – The goddess Skadi is a giantess associated with skiing, bow hunting, winter, and the mountains. Ullr is the god of snowshoes, hunting, the bow, and the shield. The idea behind this night is hunting and being outdoors. It is also a day to remember those who provide our meals and sustenance. The Virtue remembered tonight is Truth.

Introduction:

I am wrapping up my four main theological objections to Christianity with the simple but profound fact that the god of the Bible is very suspect in as far as whether or not he is just and acts with justice. I would go so far to say that the god of the Bible does not follow his own clearly stated guidelines for justice – 1) “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth” and 2) Restitution Included. Namely that the punishment should fit the crime and that restitution when merited should be offered. This is the standard of justice found in the Torah or Law of Moses. Jesus of Nazareth takes this on in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 pointing out that the principles of justice were still valid and in fact because things should be done for the love of god, they were even more challenging. God expects Christians to still be just and follow his principles of justice. The issue is: does the god of the Bible follow his own rules. I would say not.

Faith:

From a standpoint of my own faith, the biblical god’s justice, and in particular the doctrine of Hell, has always been a problem. My standard answer throughout my days as a pastor to others that asked was that the justice of god was a mystery. That someday, we would know it all and see that this god was just to send people to hell. Even if they were people who we loved and who this god claimed to love. But it was more than that as some of the stories of god executing justice were a little lacking in justice. Job’s trial is a good example where God allows the Devil to kill all of Job’s children and servants save a few and does it simply to test Job to see if he will remain faithful. The Biblical god’s answer of – “I am god, that’s why.” is a little lacking in reasoning for a supreme being for one and the whole situation is lacking in compassion not just for Job but for all the people slain for another. They all lived and died simply to satisfy a bet between the Devil and the almighty is a little much to reconcile with the idea of God is love. Stuff like this definitely tests your faith and it should.

Religion:

The thing is most religious responses to the justice of God dilemma either cite ‘mystery’ (read – I don’t have a good answer, so I am going to punt) or our ignorance. Simply put they both attempt to give a god a different standard of justice than we follow. How convenient, but also telling that we cannot even use the standard of justice of ‘eye for eye’ with the biblical god. The very standard that this god gives, he does not follow.

The fact that I used to come up with this double standard for god myself bothered me for years when I realized that is what I was doing. A standard of justice is only viable if it is evenly applied to all. It should be logical and consistent enough that it CAN be applied to all without exception. We have learned not to tolerate double standards between those that lead and those that follow so why here? Why does this god of the Bible get a free pass for being hypocritical?

Religion does its damnedest to keep us from seeing this, and it does it by trying to make God so high his different standard of justice is justified. It sounds like a ruling religious class seeking to justify why they can impose rules on others that they don’t have to follow themselves. After all, they are ‘men of god’ and so as Cardinal Richelieu points out in the Three Musketeers movie in 1993 – “The Cardinal is not subject to the laws of men”. Easy to justify if you create a different standard of justice for your god and you then say you are subject to that standard, not the standard of men.

Theology:

But the Biblical God fails theologically and it comes out best in the doctrine of Hell and final judgment. Everything we will do is in a short temporal time of existence but everything about the final judgment of the god of the Bible is eternal. In short, this god is going to punish us in an eternal and permanent way for our behavior in temporal and non-permanent existence. This includes annihilation and eternal punishment views. The only thing that might save Christianity here as far as theology is actually the idea of purgatory where the punishment is redemptive and non-permanent. But even here there is a postulate that punishment can last centuries compared to the shortness of life.

So being burned like the rich man is said to be burned is somehow eye for eye and tooth for tooth? In that story, the rich man is burned not because he defied god but because he had a good life and Lazarus was rewarded because he had suffered in life. Go look at the story (Luke 16) yourself, this is the rationale that is given. So because a guy had it good he is punished with burning fire? How is this eye for eye? Justice would have been to have the two trade places for a second life, not that he is burned for a long period of time.

There is little justice in this story, just a god who on the one hand in the Old Testament tells people who prosperity is a sign of God’s blessing and then turning around and saying though that if you do become prosperous, the biblical god is going to burn you as punishment for it. In a full analysis of the biblical account not only are there many accounts where god’s justice is a little suspect but where he violates the very rules he sets forward because he gets jealous or angry. Like the other mythologies, the biblical god is very human and reflects probably more of the attitude of the author of that particular passage than the almighty that actually might exist.

Spirituality:

For me personally, I come back to the quote I have used before. If the god or gods are just then they will judge us based on the virtues we lived by. If they are not just, then they do not deserve to be served. If there are no gods then, we should live in such a way as to be fondly remembered. I worry less about an afterlife; because regardless, it is this life I must live either way. I choose to live based on virtue because, in the end, it is all I really have. My own personal responsibility for the life I live is mine alone. Cue Robert Heinlein.

Conclusion:

I will revisit these objections in the future with other thoughts. Odin’s Eye will continue to be a discussion point on faith, religion, spirituality, and theology. I will continue to use it to find a path to knowledge and wisdom. What you may see in the future is me actually deal with more specific Biblical passages and why they are problematic. There will also be the continued discussions of deism, humanism, and paganism. I probably will have a more detailed plan next Odin’s Eye.

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

A Skald’s Life – Foundational Virtues – Last Full Week

December 24, 2018December 24, 2018 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Moon’s Day. It’s the 5th night of Yule. This night is sacred to community. A Feast usually done this night with a potluck, mead, friendship bread and gingerbread people. Tonight is about remembering the virtue of Hospitality.

Journal Entry:

It being the last full week of the year, I am thinking about the changes to my routines and goals and so forth. This has really been a very difficult year looking back on it with deep lows and high highs. Nothing really in between was present. I suppose this is going to be a reflective week and I need to watch that. The Grey is still around and being overly focused on the negative can bring that down with more power.

What I want to do this week is have shorter journal entries and put more writing in the bottom part of the stuff on each journal entry to talk about changes and what I am trying to do there. This is the last full week of the year, so it needs to be done.

Honor:

“Honor is the feeling of inner value and worth from which one knows that one is noble of being, and the desire to show respect for this quality when it is found in the world”

Principle – Be positive about my future

I don’t see any need to change the Principle concerning this Virtue. As far as honor goes think more about my future and less about the past. In that sense I feel some sense of value to my wife and family. I feel valued by the co-workers but at the same time the work I do is not something I can or want to do forever. I need something a little more significant from my perspective.

Courage:

“Courage is the bravery to do what is right always.”

Principle – Act with Courage at the right time.

No need to change things here either. Things are working well and I feel more brave and it is going to be needed more and more as this next year starts to unfold.

Truth:

“Truth is the willingness to be honest and to say what one knows to be true and right. It is often better to not say anything at all if one cannot be honest.”

Principle – Pursue knowledge, wisdom and truth at all times.

No need for change here either. I simply need to get better about being truthful with myself and others. Or just keep my mouth shut. Mostly I am just trying to dedicate myself to study more and reading.

Morning Routine:

Review Nine Noble Virtues (NNV) and Principles
Meditate on the Virtues
Review Goals
Review Bucket List
Full Body Stretch
Breakfast
Supplements and Medicines
Shower and Personal Hygiene
Get Dressed for the Day

I already made changes here and this routine is the most solid I have. I really need to make the meditation part a little more formal but the routine itself is solid and works.

Bucket List:

Go Back to Budapest, Hungary for a vacation.
Get My Tattoos.
Actually Get Drunk.
Smoke a Joint.
Hike the Northern Lakeshore Trail along the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Write My Novel.
Learn Latin.
Learn Hungarian.
Weightlifting – Bench 225 lbs, Squat 315 lbs, and Deadlift 405 lbs.
Start my own business

One of these things has to come off this list by June 30th. I don’t want to change anything here and perhaps what I do need to do is put a collage picture on the wall with representations of all these things. That should be side by side with one with my goals.

Weightlifting:

The only change needed here is I need a new gym and need to get back into lifting. This will probably happen after the new year or near the end of this one.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

The Pagan Pulpit – Happy Holidays

December 23, 2018December 23, 2018 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Sun’s Day. It is the 4th Night of Yule. This day is dedicated to the gods Freyr and Njord. It is about peace and having a good upcoming season. Tonight is about the virtue of love and the developing a sense of community. Compassion, forgiveness and mercy are all present in this night of Yuletide.

Announcements:

We don’t pray here – we figure God, the gods and goddesses, or whatever powers that be either know already, don’t give a fuck, or are busy with more important matters than our petty stuff. We also kind of assume that they expect us to do stuff that we can do for ourselves, and that we will do them ourselves and not be lazy. We also believe in being good friends, so we don’t presume on our friendship with the powers that be by asking them all the time for stuff while giving them nothing in return.

We also don’t take an offering here. We figure the powers that be probably don’t need it. Let’s be honest, offerings are not giving to the divine powers, they are given to an organization to support it. Just being honest. God, the gods or whatever never see a dime, farthing or peso of that money; it all goes to the church, mosque or shrine.

Opening Song: Halford – Get into the Spirit:

Halford is the lead singer for Judas Priest. I really like the fact that metal music can do this kind of thing. Do something different. Some of his takes on classic hymns at Christmas are superb.

Poem: “Yuletide Prayer” – Jenna

Meditation:

Just something personal I have noted in my life. I actually feel far less stress. I haven’t enjoyed the holidays like this in years. Just saying.

Song of Preparation: Pentatonix – Carol of the Bells:

What a great group these people are. I can’t say enough of how I have enjoyed Pentatonix over the years.

Text:

“Happy Holidays”

Sermon:

Just a short word today – Happy Holidays to all that come here and read my stuff. I trust you will find this holiday season full of peace, joy, hope and love. Enjoy the season and live life fully in the coming years.

Skaal!!!

Closing Song: “Baby It’s Cold Outside” – Lady Gaga and Joseph Gordon-Levitt:

You probably can tell where I stand on this controversy, This is clearly two people who have the hots for each other and there is this game they are playing back and forth. Seeing in this version Lady Gaga is playing the part of the person trying to convince the other to stay, is she trying to rape him? Sorry, the notion is ridiculous. both of these people want to go at it with each other. It’s not undo pressure, it’s actually cultural concern by what outsiders will think that is the issue.

Gods, I don’t know when Puritanism became politically correct, but it needs to be stopped. Let’s be honest this is got to be another example of political correctness being something we need to discard as the language and cultural fascism it is. Are we really going to get to the point where flirting and seduction is going to be considered rape itself?

Enjoy the holidays and keep warm with the one you love.

Parting Thought:

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

Odin’s Eye – 12 Nights of Yule

December 20, 2018December 20, 2018 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Thor’s Day. Also happy first day of Yuletide – Tonight is Mother’s Night which is a celebration to honor the goddesses Frigg, Freya and Disir. It marks the Winter Solstice eve. The official last day of the year in some Germanic and Celtic Traditions. Today we remind ourselves of the Virtues of Motherhood and Industriousness.

Introduction:

I had an awkward conversation at work about Christmas. Basically people wanted to do a secret Santa thing and to be honest I am way too broke for that right now. I basically said my religion is complicated. This post will drop on December 20th which is the first day of the twelve nights of Yule or Yuletide. This is a really complicated time for pagans in that different pagan traditions celebrate the end of the year in many ways. The Germanic, Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian traditions all get mixed up here in the united States, but most of what you see as far a traditional ‘Christmas’ is actually Yuletide symbols and traditions from those pagan traditions, mixed with a story about a baby in Bethlehem and presto – Christmas.

That said this holiday had a long-standing tradition before Christianity arrived, which is about ultimately a Celebration of the Winter Solstice and the rebirth of the sun.

Faith:

My faith is complicated on this subject because to be quite honest one of the main reasons I say I am a pagan is so I can celebrate holidays with everyone else. I have no problem celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, or any other holiday at this time of the year along with Yuletide with the pagans. I look for the commonalities of faith in this holiday and in large part it is about final ending and starting the New Year. It is a season of hope and joy regardless of tradition and so that I can join in with my fellow humans and celebrate the end of the year and the rebirth of the new one.

Religion:

The pagan traditions that survive at this time of year are quite extensive, from decorating trees, to the yule log to Christmas carols. Kissing under the mistletoe is a favorite of mine. The resurrection theme in Christmas is just as prevalent in the idea of the resurrection of the sun only Christians will talk about the future resurrection of the son of God. Gift giving predates Christianity as does holly and even fruit cake,

I find the fact that the whole twelve days of Christmas thing is actually a response to the twelve nights of yule. The actual tradition is very complicated but I found a good web page on Nordic Wiccan about it called The 12 Nights of Yule. Next year I may do a series about this holiday marking each of the twelve days as I find the whole thing fascinating. I am kind of new to this pagan thing, so I am still learning and the more I learn the more I enjoy the mythology behind it all.

Theology:

I suppose the real powers that be don’t mind us humans celebrating that which makes humanity great even in the middle of the darkest time of the year. Us northerners have four seasons and it gets darker and darker and then as winter continues it gets lighter and lighter and eventually the sun’s rebirth will cause life to return to us in Spring. The idea of rebirth is an old theological concept and it isn’t just found in Christianity or Paganism. Nearly all religions have a concept of rebirth. This idea of hope in darkness and joy in the midst of darkness is pretty common too.

Spirituality:

I am not sure how I feel about Christmas as an X-Christian other than the story is nice. one of the things I may start doing is looking at certain Biblical stories and pointing out why they are problematic and the whole Nativity story is really problematic. I also think that on a human level I can learn spiritually from any faith that genuinely tries to celebrate spirit of joy and hope. It is a family holiday and a time to remember some important things. I guess I like the fact it is a time of celebration from a standpoint of Yule rather than a single day.

Conclusion:

I like Yule and I like the concepts it is trying to both teach and uphold. I think if I had more time I would have liked to dig deeper into this for this year, but it will just have to be a time of wonder, joy and peace for me this year. As I go through next year, part of what I will be doing is researching all this. As a writer of fiction, I smell a lot of potential stories in all this. A time to enjoy my family and life.

So I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

The Pagan Pulpit – Education Isn’t About Convincing People

December 16, 2018December 16, 2018 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Sun’s Day

Announcements:

Opening Song: “Walk” – Pantera Cover by Breaking Benjamin with Disturb’s David as Lead Vocalist:

Found this gem of a cover song while researching another song. Love it.

Poem: “The Time You Spent” by Joanna Fuchs

Just a little poem in honor of my graduation.

Meditation:

Song of Preparation: “Hammer to Fall” – Queen – Live:

Text: Education isn’t About Convincing People – Eben Pagan:

You can’t convince anyone of anything. You can only give them the right information so that they can convince themselves.

Sermon:

A quote from someone named Pagan.

I wish I could say I have convinced people of something different from what they already believed. Belief is unfortunately a powerful force that keeps us from change at times. It is without a doubt easier to give information to people and then let them stew on it and let them learn based on what you have given them.

I don’t if at the heart of it all is education. Whether formal or informal, we learn and we try to pass it on. But people have to convince themselves or they will not really change.

I know for me the whole faith question was one of listening to the other side, but it was my own examination of my former education that I discovered holes and flaws. I began to inform myself and study the critics of my faith and discovered that some criticism was legitimate. Painfully legitimate.

So, I found myself with a new conclusion, one I came up with myself. That we ultimately choose our religion and faith based on who we are, not on the truth. We embrace the faith we want to because we want to embrace it. We simply learn and change ourselves because of what we learn. Don’t expect others to be any different from you in this regard. Just give the information you know and then let them figure it out, or not themselves.

Closing Song: “Somebody to Love” – Queen:

Because it is Queen.

Parting Thought:

Nope, you at times have to educate yourself.

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

Odin’s Eye – Why I Am a Pagan (and What I Mean by That)

December 13, 2018December 13, 2018 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Thor’s Day

Introduction:

I suppose a definition is in order. Pagan can be used as both a noun and an adjective and has multiple definitions and means which may or may not apply to everyone who calls themselves a pagan. Pagan or paganism can imply some, most or all of the following:

One observing a polytheistic belief system
A member of spiritual, cultural or religious community that worships nature – neopagan
One who is not a Christian, Jew or Muslim (negative)
Irreligious or hedonistic person
Uncivilized

None of these definitions really work for me I would prefer to understand it with my own definition that kind of reflects a broader definition of pagan:

One who defines their own spirituality and comes to understand that spirituality from the world around them.

Yep, that is me. I mean I don’t really have any belief in special revelation anymore but I do believe that people might have some sound ideas about how the divine works but that is the natural revelation of reason not the divine doing something directly to reveal themselves.

Faith:

When you faith basically consists of believing there is something or someone out there but you don’t believe that we will ever know who or they are. When you believe that the only real means we have to engage the world is yourself, then you begin to have faith only in yourself. to do the things you need to do. If I am going to come to understand the divine reality, then it is going to have to be me that does it. It doesn’t mean that conversation, reading and the opinions of others are not part of that. What it means is like I know that I am the only responsible moral agent for what I do, I also am the only real moral agent in what I believe. The reality is that for every human being there is a faith in something.

Religion:

I don’t completely dismiss religion, I just know what it really is. It men and women’s collective opinions about the divine. I don’t dismiss sacred writing as they might have so accurate observations about what god may be like, I just know they are all the works of men and women and the divine probably has little to do with it. There is a kind of natural revelation as people talk, discuss and write about god but that is all it is. For me the jury is still out of what value religion actually has and it isn’t coming back with an innocent verdict. One thing is for sure for me is that all of that is nothing more than a few more voices in the whole of the discussion for me now.

Theology:

The thing about theology based on natural revelation is that verification of what you discover using reason is not always possible. You start sentences about the divine with ‘If,,,” a lot. The one thing being a pagan means is a lack of being dogmatic about what you believe. Your theology is very open to change and the changes can be quite dynamic. You are open to these changes and in fact I feel a good pagan should embrace them and meditate and think on them. It’s a journey of discovery not a place to make a last stand and die on a hill that may not be worth anything in the end.

Spirituality:

This means a great deal of spirituality as a pagan for me is to be open and relaxed. My deist pagan self tells me that I can be open to let the god of the universe; if they exist, to reveal themselves to me in the world around me. My humanist pagan self can see the ‘divine spark’ in each human being and let that tell me a little about the divine as well. My spirituality is based more on living the Nine Noble Virtues of Asatru than it is rituals and creeds. They simply represent a good code to live by in my opinion and ultimately it is my spirituality and no one else’s so I have to guide me to truth as much as possible accepting the guidance of others when it fits. I am The Grey Wayfarer and that is an identity I want to keep the rest of my life.

Conclusion:

We are coming on the pagan celebrations of Yule. Part of my spirituality is the celebration of holidays and some of the divine being revealed in them as I celebrate them. Mostly through the concepts of family and values such as hope and joy. This brings us to the end of the year. What a year it has been!!! Good, bad and ugly it has been a year I will not soon forget. I want to keep walking though, I believe that the best things are still yet to be discovered are around the next bend in the path, over the next hill or across the next valley of life. So I commit myself to the journey.

So I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

The Pagan Pulpit – Doubt but Not Denial

December 9, 2018December 9, 2018 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Sun’s Day:

Announcements:

Opening Song: Eminem – Not Afraid

With Eminem for me it really depends on the song whether I like him or not. I like this one because it is very much a comeback song and I need a comeback song. In any case, the song has its musical moments that I like.

Poem:

Solitude – Lord Byron

To sit on rocks, to muse o’er flood and fell,
To slowly trace the forest’s shady scene,
Where things that own not man’s dominion dwell,
And mortal foot hath ne’er or rarely been;
To climb the trackless mountain all unseen,
With the wild flock that never needs a fold;
Alone o’er steeps and foaming falls to lean;
This is not solitude, ’tis but to hold
Converse with Nature’s charms, and view her stores unrolled.

But midst the crowd, the hurry, the shock of men,
To hear, to see, to feel and to possess,
And roam alone, the world’s tired denizen,
With none who bless us, none whom we can bless;
Minions of splendor shrinking from distress!
None that, with kindred consciousness endued,
If we were not, would seem to smile the less
Of all the flattered, followed, sought and sued;
This is to be alone; this, this is solitude!

It wouldn’t be fitting not to have Lord Byron Poem when I am also quoting him for my text this week. Solitude is something I am acquainted with and something at times I desire. He hints at what it means to be alone and it is not solitude with nature but to be among our fellow-men and not feeling anything. Without connection to something we feel alone, even in a crowd. Boy do I get that.

Meditation:

Song of Preparation: Disturbed – Prayer

Don’t normally pray, but this isn’t really a prayer but a reflection on loss and doubt in God. I understand this better now more than ever.

Text:

There is something pagan in me that I cannot shake off. In short, I deny nothing but doubt everything.

Sermon:

I find that the hardest thing personally to grasp at times is my turn from Christianity. Not because I don’t think it was right decision or wasn’t in the end reasonable but the constant reminders this time of year of a holiday I no longer celebrate the Christian side of. I got my oil changed and the guy asked me if it was OK to wish me a ‘Merry Christmas’ instead of ‘Happy Holidays’. Do what you want to do. I am not offended. It does however remind me of something that I no longer hold sacred. It’s not about the Mass to Christ anymore to me. It’s about family and Yule.

I, like Lord Byron, have always had a bit of the pagan in me. I have enjoyed this quote by Byron for long time because it makes sense to me. This tug of war between the side of me that wants to place my faith fully in something and be open to all possibilities and the other side of me who is the hardened skeptic that doubts everything. It however is a tension I have come to think is beneficial. What I want “to believe in is the world the promised it would be, not the tawdry, fouled-up mess it is.”

I suspect this pagan part of me will always be there and I don’t regret that because it means I will hopefully find a way to walk this world that enjoys the wonders of it and yet, seeks the truth of it. No matter how ugly the reality may be I remain both hopeful and a skeptic.

Closing Song: Skyrim – The Song of the Dragonborn

Yeah, I know it is a song about a fictional character for a video game – The Dragonborn. Except the song is epic and the lyrics with the singers are also epic. A good way to build up our courage for the week ahead.

Parting Thought:

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

The Pagan Pulpit – No Service Today

December 2, 2018December 2, 2018 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Sun’s Day

Sorry today there will be so service. The problem is time and my mind is needed elsewhere at the moment. Once classes are done I will be back at it next week.

As an aside, while i was in the ministry i would often fantasize about what it would be like to just skip as service. Just do what everyone else did when they didn’t feel like going to church – stay home and not go. So happy skip day.

Just consider it an inclement weather day for yourselves.

As for inspiration, George Carlin for you today:

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

The Pagan Pulpit – That Which No Longer Serves Me

November 25, 2018November 25, 2018 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Sun’s Day:

Announcements:

Opening Song: Shinedown – Monsters:

I suppose there is a progression to the music today. The start of it is an understanding that the monsters that live in all of us are very real. I love the chorus of this song:

‘Cause my monsters are real, and they’re trained how to kill
And there’s no comin’ back and they just laugh at how I feel
And these monsters can fly, and they’ll never say die
And there’s no goin’ back, if I get trapped I’ll never heal
Yeah, my monsters are real

The emotions that are the monsters, as our text says, doubt, fear sorrow, confusion and anger. Monsters that sleep but can be awakened at any moment with disastrous consequences. Other people may fool people and hurt everyone with their lies and falsehoods, but the real danger is the monsters lurking within us all.

Poem: “The Fire of Fury” by Ed Raby, Sr.

“The Fire of Fury”

A flame burns within me

It is one that I cannot see

It is fueled by my fury.

My motivation,

My anger,

My salvation,

My destruction

My enlightenment

Fire, Light, Anger, Illumination

The Fire of Fury will light my way

Or it will consume me

Ed Raby, Sr. – November 24, 2018

I had the title of his poem for quite some time and a feeling of what I wanted to express. I used it for the subtitle of my Rogue Wizard series at its current state but it kept being the title for a poem too. As I was preparing the Pagan Pulpit for this week, the words began to form. Poets understand what I mean. I think it speaks for itself.

Meditation:

Song of Preparation: Disturbed – Indestructible:

It is no secret I like Disturbed. I plan on sitting back after school is over and listening to every one of their albums and songs. I just haven’t had the time to give listening to music the proper time it deserves and this is one band I want to some attention to in-depth. The progression of today’s songs continues with learning to take the negativity and toxicity of certain emotions and transforming them into that which makes us indestructible.

Text:

“Release all that no longer serves you: “I cast away all doubts, fears, sorrows, confusions, anger to the wind. I release any toxicity that weakens my spirit.” – The White Witch Parlour

Sermon:

Yeah, I am using a quote from a white witch site. That said when I was a Pentecostal, I swear I heard this same quote from the more Charismatic Movement oriented believers. It’s amazing how mysticism can change the form it has, but the words and concepts are simply the same.

There is something to be said for the idea of releasing that which no longer serves us when it comes to emotions. Emotions are raw material. Parts of them are useful and other parts are chaff that needs to be given to the wind. The real challenge of dealing with these emotions is learning how to harvest them. Learning what needs to be released as toxic and unproductive while keeping the parts of them that lead to constructive and healthy action.

The most pronounced example of this I can think of is something that happened this week to me. I wrote on Tuesday a post: The Rabyd Skald – The Grey and The Wayfarer (Part 3) – Confessions. The process of working through the three issues presented in that post was refining moment for me. I was working through the emotions and found that I changed in my feelings toward all these situations. The toxic elements of the emotions are less and the good parts that motivate and bring positive change are now more present. I know what to do about all of them and I am more at peace about that.

The quote today is a personal one that perhaps we all need to say from time to time. Doubt can lead to inquiry into truth. Fear can lead to courage. Sorrow to joy. Confusion to enlightenment. Anger to Motivation. Once you have let go of the toxic part of these emotions, the positive constructive elements are what makes you more of who you are and who you need to be.

Closing Song: Halestorm – Amen:

Ultimately its your shit to deal with. Not anyone else’s. And that ultimately is a good thing. Can I get an Amen?

Parting Thought:

Have a great week.

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

Odin’s Eye – A Pagan Thanksgiving

November 22, 2018November 22, 2018 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Thor’s Day – Happy Thanksgiving!!!

If someone were to ask me if I could still celebrate Thanksgiving as a non-Christian, I would probably respond – “You still think Thanksgiving is a Christian holiday? That’s cute.” The thing is that when you study holidays in general you see a couple of things. Nearly all cultures and religions have a celebration of thanksgiving to whatever powers are worshiped at the harvest time. All of them. The other thing you see is when a country or culture accepts Christianity, Christians basically repackage the pagan holidays and re-symbolize them for themselves. In short, Christians have stolen or blended with holidays from all different traditions since Christianity was founded as the early Jewish Christians still celebrated Jewish holidays. Mostly what you see today is Christians have stolen various holiday traditions from paganism and blended them with their own. It’s why some pagans get mad about the whole thing.

Personally, I am taking a different tack this Thanksgiving. I am a deist and I will probably whisper a prayer (something I rarely do anymore) of pure thanksgiving to whatever powers are really out there, if any. But to be honest there are thanks that could be given to many people for that celebration and for the prosperity I receive. So my list of thanks goes to people this year.

I thank my wife for being a forgiving soul who loves me despite all the things that have happened between us. I haven’t been a very good husband this year, but she deserves wife of the year honors. Thank you baby. I love you more than ever before.
I thank my Mother for being so generous to us in the past decades for housing us an sheltering us. She has put up with a lot and still loves us.
I thank my kids for being good kids. You have all followed your hearts and have learned to love with power. All of you have expressed your love for me this last year and I can’t tell you how much that means to me. Thank you.
I thank my grand kids for being kids. For showing how there can be pure joy in the world for the simple things of life. For showing me that no matter what the news says, I can see hope in your eyes.
I thank my fellow students at school and my professors. The learning environment over the years has been awesome. That is mostly due to you.
I thank my coworkers. You have given me comradeship that I do value. It’s nice to work with you, laugh with you and just share this working experience with you. You make the burdens of it lighter.
As I look at my feast, I thank the farmers, ranchers and all the people who make it possible. To the people who plant, grow, raise, harvest, process and transport all of it – Thank you.
For everyone who keeps the heat and lights on, provides the basics of life and the luxuries. Thank you.
I thank the watchers of the wall. While I think many of the so-called threats to the nation are the politicians made up are garbage done for political ploys, I know there are real threats out there that you guard against. Thank you.
To my friends, to the ones I have left anyway. Thanks for sticking with me. I haven’t made it easy this year I know. I appreciate the real friends who didn’t bolt at the first sign of trouble.

Yeah, I am going to thank people this year. Thank you all.

In Thanksgiving,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

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