Coopernundrums

The founding fathers were a variety of beliefs, many were indeed deists with close ties to Christianity. It is important to keep in mind that even with these convictions they were intelligent enough to realize and defend the right to freedom of religion. They wrote our founding documents with the intention that choice of religion must be left IN THE MIND OF THE INDIVIDUAL. They also understood that this choice should be protected and not influenced by goverment favortism or persicution.

It is easy for atheists to sometimes inadvertantly lend credence to the fallacy that the founders of our country were not religious individuals and wanted an atheist run goverment. I understand that many were indeed deeply religious. I also understand that because of what they had been through suffering their own persecution that they did not want a Christian use only government with all others being mere guests.

I like to think of the First Amendment as an anti-trust law that should prevent monopolies on power. This means that our goverment is not allowed to favor Christianity or any other religion. It is supposed to protect both theists and atheists from persecution.

I get pretty sick of people who dont study their history and make unfounded claims that atheists want to make religion illegal. We simply want to get OUR GOVERMENT, back to the neutral position the founders intended.

Prayer for example has not been outlawed in schools like they’d have you think. What is unconstitutional is creating a captive audience and forcing others to participate or to be singled out for not participating.

In conclusion, our government institutions have to be free from religious favortism or persicution, so that we all can be free outside these neutral institutions to practice or believe what we want. Independance comes with the responsibility that it is not anyone’s right to use goverment to monopolize what it means to be a citizen.

    While October may be the favorite month of thousands of humans, who excitedly plan their costumes of spooks, vampires and monsters, in anticipation of Halloween, cats, particularly black cats, have little cause for celebration this month.

    I am no champion of Feline rights, but you may be interested to know that there are quite a few violent indignities that have been practiced on black cats at this time of year.

     In ancient religions, black cats were considered to be reincarnated beings with the ability to divine the future. During the middle Ages it was believed that witches could turn themselves into black cats. Thus when such a cat was seen, it was considered to be a witch in disguise or a familiar, resulting in many black cats being thrown into fire. The throwing of cats into a bonfire used to be a folk custom in France, Switzerland and Belgium and was done on St. John’s Eve in June. The custom was abolished by King Louis XIV in 1648, though it continued in the provinces until as late as 1796.

    Black cats have taken a bad rap throughout history. Greek mythology taught that a woman named Galenthias was turned into a cat and became a priestess at the temple of Hecate, the “Dark Mother,” and sometimes known as the Mother of Witchcraft.  During the 12th and 13th century, witches in Europe were often found with their “familiars,” usually black cats, and were said to turn themselves into cats at times. During the witch-burning era of the 17th century, witches’ cats were put into baskets and burned alongside the witches.

   Even in the 21st century, old superstitions have survived.  In many European countries and in the U.S., black cats signify bad luck, while in England, your luck is said to turn good if a black cat crosses your path.

    It is true that statistics on black cat torture during October are lacking – most of the stories we hear are here say, and some, no doubt, have been drummed up simply for the shock value.  Ritual sacrifice still exists.  Talk to almost any police officer in a rural area about it and you may hear a story or two about cattle found, completely drained of blood, often with vital organs missing. These stories crop up in newspapers once in awhile, and while some may be dismissed as “urban legends,” the possibility exists that some are true.

Happy Halloween!

    The Druids were the “wise men” of the pagan Celtic society.  Little is known of them with certainty; however it is thought that they played the roles of priests in the Celtic religion.

    Most folks know that the holiday we call Halloween is derived from the Celtic festival of Samhain.  This was one of the great Celtic fire festivals and marked the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter. The Celtic people believed that on this night the gates between life and death were open – or at least poorly guarded.  Part of the role of the Druid priests was to protect the people from the spirits who might cross over.   Placating such spirits is thought to have been the origin of the trick or treat tradition.

    Other information suggests a variation of this idea, that the souls of sinners who had died during the year were held in torment.  They could only be released and given peace if the gods were pleased by the Samhain offerings.

   Since the barrier with the spirit world was thin on this day, Halloween was the perfect time for divination.  The Druids have been said to have been called upon to predict everything from next year’s harvest to an individual’s marriage prospects.

    As said at the outset, little is known for certain about the Druids.  There are only a few contemporaneous textual references to the Celtic religion whose myths were mainly handed down through oral tradition.  Most of our modern image of the Druid is really just Romantic myth, like these.

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