ooo, an opinion 01

so, the other day i listened to the latest Elemental Castings episode, "PANTHEACON PANEL - Hindu-Pagan Dialogue"... as alway the discussion Thorn Coyle comes with was very interesting and gave me something to think about. this was no different, but i was quite disturbed by the end of it. the panelists had quite a lot to say about the christians in america and, i will assume american, missionaries overseas. the problem, for me, was how it came across. i don't know ANY christians like the way the panelists (two Hindus and two Pagans) were describing. i ended up feeling quite defensive about the whole deal. very much: where are they getting these christians from? do they really consider people like that christians?... i rarely feel defensive about christianity, so it was an odd feeling...

now, i suppose there must be people out there that are like the panelists were describing, but do they have no other contact with nice christians? are american christians so fundy and small-minded? i wouldn't think so, but its scary to think that there are things going on in america like the stories that were being told...
boiling down the panel, the whole thing quickly became a 'polytheists unite' talk, which was quite interesting. as it was pointed out, a lot of interfaith get togethers seem to deal with the monotheists, so it was fun to hear another side. not so fun that it was mostly negative, but there you go...

my opinion: live and let live. i want to talk about everything, and if i change my mind about my beliefs, or you change your mind about your beliefs, there it is.

another opinion: go and listen to the podcast, and subscribe to Elemental Castings. Thorn Coyle is a great host, and i've enjoyed the discussion on most of the episodes, even if i didn't personally agree with what was being said.