Is it right?
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XWynterXoXPriestessX
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Is it right?
Ok, may someone PLEASE explain something to me, because for some reason, I cannot get my head around this. My parents did it, my friends parents did it, and EVERYbody I know has been through it... People that oppose Paganism or Wicca claim that it cannot hurt them because they do not believe it, so why do they burn, destryo, rip, break, vandalize, trash, or just throw away spell books and tarot cards and all of that good stuff? If they were secure in their own faith why would they try to break down ours? that kinda hurts, ne? we are human too, and it DOES hurt me when my little cousin or other friends call me upset because someone estroyed something sacred to them. and at age 17, i was forced to clean up the ashes of all my 5 spell books, 2 decks of cards, my BOS, and my other items after my parents burnt them. is this right????
)o( My heart belongs to you, Captain Sereph Gurd Akil)o(
Your eyes are my paradise, your smile makes my sunrise.
Your eyes are my paradise, your smile makes my sunrise.
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ThePaganMafia
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Well it is a hard question to answer. Because your parents have all rights to you and you have to listen t what they say whether you like it or not. So they had every right to burn it and by definition what they did is right I would guess.
Of course your not gonna think it's fair. But at 17 your parents word goes over what you think. You won't have any right until your 18. So you have to really deal with it until then.
Of course your not gonna think it's fair. But at 17 your parents word goes over what you think. You won't have any right until your 18. So you have to really deal with it until then.
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Blazewind
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Not that I mean to stir up any troubel here, but I must disagree with the idea of someone having no rights until age 18. A young person does have rights indeed. The human right to be treated with respect is something that all of us, as human beings have, or should have from birth. People need to respect the beliefs of their children. If someone is seventeen, that is old enough to choose soemthing like beliefs for oneself. Burning books is cencership, and could blow up in someones face very easily.
Wynter Preistess, while I would never openly encourage soemone to disobey her parents, you are 17, and I think it safe to assume that you do know what you are doing. Why not just try to do both, please your parents, and yourself at the same time. Find a way to remain to to, and practice the faith set out for you by your parents, but don't give up your beliefes either. Just do a better job of not putting your books and supplies where they can be easily found. Also, do make a point of practice their faith openly in the house to show them that you are still open to giving them a chance to be the ones to deside.Talk to them as well. Ask them about the reason for distroying your things, and tell them that they have hurt you.
Wynter Preistess, while I would never openly encourage soemone to disobey her parents, you are 17, and I think it safe to assume that you do know what you are doing. Why not just try to do both, please your parents, and yourself at the same time. Find a way to remain to to, and practice the faith set out for you by your parents, but don't give up your beliefes either. Just do a better job of not putting your books and supplies where they can be easily found. Also, do make a point of practice their faith openly in the house to show them that you are still open to giving them a chance to be the ones to deside.Talk to them as well. Ask them about the reason for distroying your things, and tell them that they have hurt you.
Blazewind
The only truely stupid question is the one that no one had the nerve to ask.
The only truely stupid question is the one that no one had the nerve to ask.
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XWynterXoXPriestessX
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I wasn't even living with my parents when they did it. I was with my sister. and she was ok with it being in the house, she even made an attempt to learn more about it. but when my parents came to visit, they did it. and my sister live hours away from them. at age seventeen, you are able to legally go out on your own, as long as your parents dont care if you leave......and, I'm not seventeen. I was just seventeen when it happened.
)o( My heart belongs to you, Captain Sereph Gurd Akil)o(
Your eyes are my paradise, your smile makes my sunrise.
Your eyes are my paradise, your smile makes my sunrise.
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Blazewind
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If you weren't even living at home, then I thiongk that's even worse what your parents did. It was your sisters house, and if she didn't mind, then what right do they have to coem into the daughters's home, and start wreaking stuff. Sorry about mixing up your age. I thpuhgt by your post that you said youu are currantly seventeen.
Blazewind
The only truely stupid question is the one that no one had the nerve to ask.
The only truely stupid question is the one that no one had the nerve to ask.
Can't really give a yes or no answer to the question, because there have been many times when I've destroyed religious materials. Sometimes they end up in a recycling bin. Sometimes in the trash. Sometimes in a burn box to be dealt within a cauldron fire.
Now to destroy someone else's property (religious or no), I feel is problematic... and, in many cases, actionable either criminally or in small claims court.
Now to destroy someone else's property (religious or no), I feel is problematic... and, in many cases, actionable either criminally or in small claims court.
This truly puts one between a rock and a hard place and I think it is very unfair.
Assuming your parents follow some form of Christianity, the Bible does say to honor your father and mother. On the other hand, the Bible also commands parents not to provoke their own children to wrath. (It actually only addresses fathers, but it seems like a good pearl of wisdom for both parents.) By doing this, they risk isolating you and destroying anything they tried to teach you regarding their own belief system.
If it were in their own household, I could see why they would give in to an emotional reaction such as that but I still think it unwise. If they truly felt threatened, it would have been more constructive to at least study it for themselves so that they know what they are dealing with. After all, the Bible also says "Know thine enemy." Not that I think pagans are enemies nor am I trying to preach a Bible sermon here... heh heh... but I hope you know what I mean... that more can be gained by understanding than by this sort of behavior. This is especially true if it was not even at their own house.
Had the situation been more "desparate" and you were living in their house and had been behaving strangely - for example you had been isolating yourself and engaging in self-mutilation while drawing "I love Hitler" posters surrounded by your own religious symbols and weapons paraphenalia or stuff like that - I could see why they would feel a need to behave this way. Yet it would be even more risky. I've seen three different episodes of "Judge Hatchett" where parents tried a more constructive approach when their children were drifting off into such dangerous paths (neo-Nazism, street gangs, etc).
You are right, though. If they really felt that secure in their religion, they would more likely laugh it off like I have seen other Christians do, but some do get very serious like that. I had a co-worker get very defensive and squeamish once when we went to lunch at a fastfood oriental restaurant. She flinched at the fortune cookies, saying that she would not touch them because she wanted to go to heaven. At least she let the rest of us enjoy them instead of destroying them.
Assuming your parents follow some form of Christianity, the Bible does say to honor your father and mother. On the other hand, the Bible also commands parents not to provoke their own children to wrath. (It actually only addresses fathers, but it seems like a good pearl of wisdom for both parents.) By doing this, they risk isolating you and destroying anything they tried to teach you regarding their own belief system.
If it were in their own household, I could see why they would give in to an emotional reaction such as that but I still think it unwise. If they truly felt threatened, it would have been more constructive to at least study it for themselves so that they know what they are dealing with. After all, the Bible also says "Know thine enemy." Not that I think pagans are enemies nor am I trying to preach a Bible sermon here... heh heh... but I hope you know what I mean... that more can be gained by understanding than by this sort of behavior. This is especially true if it was not even at their own house.
Had the situation been more "desparate" and you were living in their house and had been behaving strangely - for example you had been isolating yourself and engaging in self-mutilation while drawing "I love Hitler" posters surrounded by your own religious symbols and weapons paraphenalia or stuff like that - I could see why they would feel a need to behave this way. Yet it would be even more risky. I've seen three different episodes of "Judge Hatchett" where parents tried a more constructive approach when their children were drifting off into such dangerous paths (neo-Nazism, street gangs, etc).
You are right, though. If they really felt that secure in their religion, they would more likely laugh it off like I have seen other Christians do, but some do get very serious like that. I had a co-worker get very defensive and squeamish once when we went to lunch at a fastfood oriental restaurant. She flinched at the fortune cookies, saying that she would not touch them because she wanted to go to heaven. At least she let the rest of us enjoy them instead of destroying them.
It's like walking down an empty street, listening to your own footsteps. But all you have to do is knock on any door and say, "If you'll let me in, I'll live the way you want me to live. And I'll think the way you want me to think." And all the blinds will go up, and all the doors will open, and you'll never feel lonely. Ever again.
~Henry Drummond, "Inherit the Wind" (1960)
~Henry Drummond, "Inherit the Wind" (1960)
I couldn't answer this question. After all, there is a wide range of religious items out there. Some are sacred and others... not so much.
In your case, it was a blatant act of nastyness. It was stuff in your sister's possession. I was outraged as a pagan and as a potential parent, to be honest.
The thing is, people have been destroying each other's religious items for as long as there has been religion. It is a sad, sad thing...
In your case, it was a blatant act of nastyness. It was stuff in your sister's possession. I was outraged as a pagan and as a potential parent, to be honest.
The thing is, people have been destroying each other's religious items for as long as there has been religion. It is a sad, sad thing...