From: Steve James Area: MagickNet To: Danny Harris 19 Mar 92 03:32:00 Subject: Re: Belief and church UpdReq -=> Quoting Danny Harris to Steve James <=- SJ> I consider the masculine to be force while the feminine is form. DH> I agrre a balance between the two is the best policy but Masculine DH> force and feminine form? I am not sure I understand what you are DH> saying there. Are you saying men are Forcefull and women are all form DH> and grace or are you saying that all people have both aspects in them DH> and that most of todays christan chuches cater to the more forcefull DH> aspect? Both genders contain both masculine and feminine elements, usually with more of the one matching their gender (but not allways). The masculine is the force needed for manifestation, and the feminine provides the form for that manifestation. For that reason, one without the other is worse than useless. Not only Christian churches, but MOST organised religeon today caters to the masculine allmost exclusivly. Blessed Be & 93, Steve J. ... The first rule of intelligent tinkering is to save all the parts. --- Blue Wave/QBBS v2.01 [NR] * Origin: * ABySS BBS * Washington DC (1:109/134.0) 718499927771849992777184999277718499927771849992777184999277718 From: Crat Area: MagickNet To: Oberon 20 Mar 92 09:28:18 Subject: Christian Magick UpdReq > There are two basic techniques of magick-working (three, if >you count solitary working). The method that Wiccans use is the >Circle, where each individual participates in the raising and shaping >of the Power to an agreed- upon end. The second method is where >the energy is funneled from a mass of people (the congregation) >through a single controlling individual (the priest) who alone >controls and directs the power. This method is considered by >Wiccans and others to be dangerous, since it gives control of a >tremendous amount of Power to one individual who, even if he (or she) >was originally stable and well-intentioned, may fall victim to >temptation or to the mental distortions that may be produced by so >much emotion-laded Power. >> Frequently the priest ends up using this mass of Power under >his control to further his influence over the members of the >cungregation, and thus increase the amount of Power he can leach from >them. This misuse violates our basic Rede and is, in the minds of >most Wiccans I've talked to about it, a subtle form of Black Magick. >I was in Italy a couple of summers ago, and had a chance to visit a >Catholic church that had been in use for 1500 years. The feeling >of distorted, misused Power in the church was extremely unpleasant, >to say the least. Funny, this description of a priest sounds amazingly like some Wiccan HP's. Either I've known some groups who were improperly calling themselves Wiccans, or there are HP's out there who lead and channel the energy of the Circle. As with all forms of power, magick can be addictive and corrupting whether it is a Catholic priest, a Wiccan HP, or a solitary. To single out a particular religion and damn it based on a few examples does not appear to be in the spirit of Wicca with its openness and acceptance of all paths to the God(dess). It also suggests that we are often ready to pass off problems within our own religion as being the fault of a few misguided individuals, but that the same problems within other religions are systemic. I find myself frequently having to check for the beam in my own eye. May I suggest a view of Christianity other than "high" forms with its smells and bells which you obviously disdain? I suggest you look up some of the pentacostal churches with their free-form services, group decisions, community, and christian magick (e.g. tongues, prophecy, healing, and discernment). With the exception of the "god language" used, you may find the atmosphere and style very close to Wicca. Please note that I am not prosetylizing for pentacostal christianity, but am suggesting that christianity has forms other than the highly ritualized, and frequently distorted, Catholic tradition. I have never been in a 1500 year old church and so cannot say what the negative feelings might of been, but in cathedrals in the US, the feelings are usually exceedingly positive. The only time I have ever felt the need to flee a worship space was on accidently entering an empty room that had at one time been used by what I was later informed was a group called "Blessed Be". This suggests that we find acceptable what we choose to worship. --- Maximus 2.01wb * Origin: Aronson Consulting: TIDMADT 703-370-7054, voice=x6508 (1:109/120) 718499927771849992777184999277718499927771849992777184999277718 From: Vitriol Area: MagickNet To: Legion 20 Mar 92 09:45:00 Subject: Re: Homosexuality and You UpdReq -=> Legion sent a message to Singh Khanna on 03-18-92 01:04 <=- -=> Homosexuality and You <=- L> One of the interesting things is this study only includes homosexual L> men. It doesn't even begin to touch women. Hehehe. No pun intended, I'm sure. _O_ | ... Love Is The Law, Love Under Will --- Blue Wave/QBBS v2.05 * Origin: * ABySS BBS * Washington DC (1:109/134.0) 718499927771849992777184999277718499927771849992777184999277718 From: Ellianna Area: MagickNet To: Legion 20 Mar 92 16:16:00 Subject: Homosexuality and You UpdReq LE>One of the interesting things is this study only includes homosexual LE>men. It doesn't even begin to touch women. This area of the brain LE>could control male homosexuality, but some totally different factor LE>could control the same for females. The doctor was once asked if he LE>intended to repeat the experiment for females, and he said that he LE>didn't. Sounds to me like the doctor knew when to stop a stupid experiment. WHAT does it matter whether or not one portion of the brain is smaller for homosexual men... What about bisexuals are they bigger than even heterosexuals... what about women - homosexual and bisexual... And to think they probably even paid this guy grant money (shaking head in disgust). It's not like homosexuality is some disease that you need to cure like cancer or childhood leukemia... Homosexuality doesn't kill anyone. Come on lets get some real doctors working on real problems. Ellianna ___ X OLX 2.1 TD X Unable to locate Coffee -- Operator Halted! --- Maximus 2.01wb * Origin: NightShades* PODS HUB * KC,MO * 816-763-5544 * HST * (93:9607/0) 718499927771849992777184999277718499927771849992777184999277718 From: Theseus Area: MagickNet To: Farrell Mcgovern 19 Mar 92 22:15:34 Subject: NEWSWEEK & EXPERIMENTS UpdReq Farrell (writing to Singh) made a hypnotic gesture, and this message appeared... >SK> I just read a Newsweek article on homosexuality. In the course of >SK> studying a number of cadavers, a fellow discovered that there is an >SK> actual physical reason behind homosexuality. Apparently, the small >SK> portion of the brain which controls sexuality is even smaller in >SK> homosexuals (as opposed to the average size in heterosexuals). Of course, Masters & Johnson did a survey and found out that homosexuals had ANOTHER portion of their anatomy that was LARGER than the average for heterosexuals.... :) >SK> Now >SK> they're going after determining whether there's a genetic link. I *know* there's got to be a genetic link. I have gay relatives on both sides of my family, and look how I turned out! :) >SK> Interesting, that an actual physical correlation has been found. So >SK> it isn't a matter of environment at all. The first implication for >SK> homosexuals is that it qualifies them as a legitimate minority What a concept! >SK> (which is primarily, legally, based upon *physical* differences. The >SK> implication in Newsweek was that it qualified as a handicap (if >SK> they get to use the handicapped parking spaces, that's taking it too >SK> far!) ... Don't I wish! It would be a nice excuse to get Disability or at least sick days. "Sorry, can't come in to work today. Still queer!" (Thank you Robin Tyler) >SK> ... because it was abnormal (the 'norm' being the larger size of >SK> that small section of the brain). It's expected that within the next 5 >SK> years or so, they'll be able to isolate the gene which causes it, >SK> which raises the spectre of being able to diagnose a fetus for the >SK> potential for homosexuality. I bet this plays merry havoc with the >SK> psychoanalytical crowd... Now THAT scares me.... Personally speaking, I think the bennies outweigh any problems there are. I like my benefits, which include more disposable income (no kids), more free time to do what I want without the worries of feeding a family, freedom to express myself however I want to without wondering about what people will think (because I know what they're thinking already!) and so forth. I don't WANNA change. > So all their theories were wrong...oh, well, they should get > used to it...that is the way of science. Really, though, they mostly > considered their "theories" to be Laws but it is not that hard to > come up with theories to describe a phenomena, and work well, even > scientifically, but are wrong...Newtonian Celestrial Mechanics comes > to mind. > I have a number of friends that are either gay or bi, and will > have to bounce this off them and get a reaction... *I* think that this research is good, if only for the fact that it shows that there may be a definite physical link to a predisposition to homosexuality. I still remain convinced that there is a certain amount of environmental pressures as well, as in the case of children of alcoholics (who are genetically DOOMED to become alkies) who manage to live nonalcoholic lives, and children of nonalcoholics who grow up to be drunks. Frankly, you guys can HAVE heterosexuality. I've watched enough TV and movies to know that it's just TOO complicated. There's too much work involved in BEING heterosexual, too many of the rules are neither written down nor fixed in place. - Theseus - ...Don't just do something, stand there! --- TBBS v2.1/NM * Origin: Modem Magick /Multi-line/ (619) 447-5010 (1:202/311) 718499927771849992777184999277718499927771849992777184999277718