I haven’t written for a while. Part of it is that my daughter recently got married and trying to get ready for that kept me busy. The larger part is that I’ve been really angry. Events in the world and in the US have made me furious and I didn’t want to use this space simply to vent my anger.

So, now I’m back. Good for me? Yes. Good for you?? Who the hell knows? That’s for you to decide.

There is something that I want to talk about though, and it does have to do with anger. Not my anger, necessarily, but I have been guilty of it, and I know that the Pagan community is guilty of it as well. As a matter of fact, all adherents of all religions do it.

During the holiday season, which is made up of the Holy Days of lots of religion, there is a lot of religious back and forth. Christians make a lot of noise about how Jesus is the reason for the Season, and Pagans talking about how the Christian holidays are based on the older Pagan beliefs. When we do this, we are not only angering Christians to no avail, but we are unknowingly, invoking Jehovah into our own lives.

I know what’s coming. Really, I do. I know that many will disagree and argue vociferously about how Pagans are only trying to “instruct” and inform about the “history” of holidays. I’m not arguing about whether or not that’s true. It mostly likely is. I’m talking about the unexpected consequences of our speech. I’m talking about how what we talk about is what we manifest, to a large extent.

By talking, continually, even in the negative, about any deity, they are, obviously, an important part of your life. Anger is a passionate emotion. By addressing a Deity with that much passion and emotion, that Deity becomes a part of your life and that Deity takes it as an invitation to enter your life at will.

I hear this all the time. This or that God is “evil” or “wicked.” This or that scripture is flawed, faulty and inherently wrong. The myths are full of horrible contradictions or stories that promote some sort of horrid thing. All myths are that way. (Have you read the Song of the Volsungs? Seriously, there isn’t a single mentally healthy person in that book.)

What we are doing, by focusing on the Deity and the religion is letting the adherents of that belief system off the hook. It’s not the Deity or the religion that’s evil. It’s the people that follow and interpret the scriptures in ways that make it so easy to abuse and deny the rights of others. By focusing our attention on the Deity or religion, we are also making those things a part of our daily lives. We are inviting those things to live in our hearts and minds. We are inviting that Deity and it’s belief systems to take a large part in our lives.

So, how do we fight those who act upon beliefs whose tenets diametrically oppose our own? It’s not by attacking those beliefs. It’s by attacking the actions of those people that commit the acts. It’s not the fault of the belief; it is, entirely, the fault of the person. It’s not the Deity or beliefs that want to keep people that love each other from marrying, it’s the people using it as an excuse that causes the pain.

Stop fighting the belief, it’s a losing battle. Fight the people, they are causing the pain.