Pagans on the Middle East: Intro

Last updated on: April 11, 2011 at 8:48 am by Star Foster

Pagans on the Middle East: Intro 2011-04-11T08:48:48-04:00 Star Foster

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Photo of Exodus taken by Ruth Gruber

Nothing is going as planned today. Somehow the tv ended up stuck on a documentary about a female Jewish reporter who was a PhD by 20 and covered some pivotal Jewish history. Not only did Ruth Gruber greet and interview Jewish refugees coming to the US, she also covered the journey of the ship Exodus and captured the picture of the swastika drawn on the Union Jack.

One thing she said stuck with me, because it’s something I’d wondered myself since I was a child. She said no one was offering to take in Jewish refugees, not even the United States. I’ve never been able to reconcile the creation of the state of Israel with the vision of Emma Lazarus:

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

I’m not a Zionist or an anti-Semite. I don’t believe the Fertile Crescent is any more holy than any other stretch of land. I don’t pretend to know the answers to the problems plaguing the Middle East, and I can’t say I understand all the nuances. What I do know is religion, natural resources, and politics have combined to make a difficult environment, and it’s an environment that I think polytheists have an interesting perspective on.

Polytheists don’t see the Middle East as the holy land, unless they are Canaanite-Phoenician recons, in which case they have no particular sympathy for any of the faiths trying to lay claim to the region. Pagans in general are environmentally conscious and not committed to the idea of oil as being a solution to our energy needs. As a polytheistic religious minority we have a unique perspective on safety, persecution and homeland.

Today I wanted to focus a bit more broadly on the Middle East in general, but now that question I had as a child is reverberating through my brain. Is the US a place where religious minorities can find a safe and permanent home? Is it welcoming to religious minority refugees? Is this a place where religious minorities are welcome to create communities where they can preserve their faith and culture? Why didn’t the US invite the Jewish people fleeing Europe to settle here? Has the United States been welcoming to the Mormons, Santeria or other religious minorities?

Previous Post

April 10, 2011

What Makes Me Angry

Next Post

April 11, 2011 Magic & Religion = Chocolate & Peanut Butter

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category alexandrian asatru astrology ATW Audio books btw ceremonial magick chaos classics community conversion cosmology dianic discordian druid dvd eclectic equinox ethics family feri festivals film Fully Inclusive Events gardnerian gender issues glbt heathen hellenismos history humor initiation interfaith magick meditation Military movies music mysticism myth networking news Open Thread Pagan Pagan 101 Paganism passings polytheism Polytheistic Religion polytheology praxis Reading List religio romana review ritual sabbats santeria service solstice symbols tools values wicca witchcraft

Select a Month July 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: Ananias and Sapphira died after lying to the Holy Spirit about their offering.

Select your answer to see how you score.

FALSE TRUE