Its that time of year again. October, a time of coloring leave, gourds, harvest festivals, trick or treating, remembering our ancestors for us pagans, and of course, dealing with propaganda. Before I go any further, let me go in to the definition of what propaganda is.
PROPAGANDA
Noun
1. the organized promotion of information to assist or damage the cause of a government or movement.
Most people do not realize that there is a spike in the distribution of RIGHT WING christian propaganda during this time of year. Most of it is harmless, your standard fare of "Jesus loves you" tracts combined with some prayer. As is the nature of propaganda though, Some tracts are poorly researched attempts To discredit alternate viewpoints, as well as to make any who hold these viewpoints seem evil. The latest attack I have seen of this nature is a tract that was passed to me just yesterday called "The Trick," distributed by Grace Slavic Baptist Church.The tract is done in the form of a comic book with a meeting of a satanic "coven" as the opening scene. The "coven is attempting to call forth satan so that he may curse various implements of destruction; poisons, needles, razors, all to be used on candy to be distributed to trick or treaters for satanic sacrifice. Now satan is evil, and so is harming children, but the tract was designed to make it seem as if pagans, specifically wiccans and druids, are doing this. The tract claims to trace the origin of trick or treating back to the druidic pagans of Gaul by saying that the druids would go door to door demanding children and virgins to be offered for sacrifice, that was the treat. If none were offered, then demons would attack the household, that was the trick. However, the book "The Religion of the Ancient Celts" by J.A. MacCulloch outlines how the act of human sacrifice during peace time was used primarily for rites of fertility so that their agricultural gods may be infused with greater power for more sustainability. "The purpose of sacrifice, namely fertility, is indicated in the poetical version of the cult of Cromm- "Milk and corn
They would ask him speedily,
In return for one-third of their healthy issue." (chapter 16, page 237)
MacCulloch also states that the romans were able to banish the practice of human sacrifice from the Gaulic Celts around the year 40 ad. According to the author, they kept many of the same rituals, but replaced most of the actual sacrifices with symbolic sacrifices. "By the year 40 A.D. it had ceased, though victims were offered symbolically, the druids pretending to strike them and drawing a little blood from them" (page 236)
Alot of modern day pagan practices come from western europe. With many of our ancestral religions having practiced human sacrifice it may be understandable as to why alot of christians would be leary of pagan practices. Those christians who would use the act of human sacrifice as a bullet in their crusade against paganism thoughneed to be reminded of their own religions origin. The ancestral religion of christianity after all, is the religion of the semites who also openly practiced human sacrifice. Does that make the modern day Christian evil? No. Does it make the modern day Jew evil? No. All it means is that our ancestors were a little misguided in some ways.
"The Trick" is a tricky tract, intended to misguide and scare. There is also no mention of the CHRISTIAN ROOTS of trick or treating, the tradition known as "souling" on All Hallows Eve where beggars may go door to door and ask for food usually in the form of a "soul cake," a simple cake made from oats and barley. The only real connection this particular tradition has with the pagan predecessors is the tradition of leaving food on your doorstep during the time of Samhain so that the spirits would be appeased, and your dead ancestors would feel welcomed in your home.
In conclusion, the lies of propaganda are undone in the face of honest to god research. Keep this in mind the next time you are handed a religious tract of any kind. No matter what religion, that tract is pushing an agenda.
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| "The Trick" is up..... Or "Silly Christians, Sacrifices are for Druids!" |
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