I have recently been very interested in the Welsh God of the dead and the underworld, Arawn. During the times of the Pagan Celts he was considered a wise and just ruler of the underworld, generally fair and upright. And the underworld he oversaw was a "land of peace and relaxation".
However with the advent of Christianity in the lands of the Welsh Arawn began to be demonized due to his association with death. Soon he became a symbolic equivalent of the Christian Satan, overseeing Hell and snatching up the souls of the "damned" as if such a thing existed in the Welsh Pagan mythos.
I have no problem with fundamentalists believing these things, as that's what fundamentalists do and I can't lose all my hair over it. But when Pagans themselves answer questions from new practitioners using anti-Pagan propaganda as a source, it's incredibly frustrating. I almost take it personally that this kind and just divinity is being so defamed today by those who claim to represent him. It takes all of two seconds of research to eliminate these misconceptions.
Anyways this isn't a rant, I guess I'm curious about others experience with anti-Pagan propaganda in learning the faith, or of any opinions of this issue. Or this can be lost to the annals of PF
However with the advent of Christianity in the lands of the Welsh Arawn began to be demonized due to his association with death. Soon he became a symbolic equivalent of the Christian Satan, overseeing Hell and snatching up the souls of the "damned" as if such a thing existed in the Welsh Pagan mythos.
I have no problem with fundamentalists believing these things, as that's what fundamentalists do and I can't lose all my hair over it. But when Pagans themselves answer questions from new practitioners using anti-Pagan propaganda as a source, it's incredibly frustrating. I almost take it personally that this kind and just divinity is being so defamed today by those who claim to represent him. It takes all of two seconds of research to eliminate these misconceptions.
Anyways this isn't a rant, I guess I'm curious about others experience with anti-Pagan propaganda in learning the faith, or of any opinions of this issue. Or this can be lost to the annals of PF
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