In response to a group of fundamentalist Christians' harassment of Pagans attending the 8th Annual Samhain Rite, we published this Guest Commentary in the Asheville Citizen-Times on Monday, Dec. 9, 2002. Following it are a number of Letters to the Editor responding to the commentary.
"If my daughter was in there, I'd burn this place to the ground!" screamed a Christian protestor at the owl-masked Witch who guarded the entrance to a sacred Samhain ceremony in Swannanoa on Oct. 31. The threat went unheard by the Pagans inside as we beat drums and played ecstatic gypsy music. The furious fundamentalist couldn't stop the costumed dancers from swirling in their spiral dance while hundreds of area Pagans -- including many children with their parents -- joyfully celebrated Coven Oldenwilde's 8th Annual Public Witches' Ritual on Halloween night at the youth group Mosaic Vortex's Capricorn Studio.
Outside -- clearly
unprepared for the mountain cold -- a busload of self-described
"reverends" stood in thin white shirts without coats,
shaking Bibles and shouting violent threats at the top of their
lungs, trying in vain to terrorize the Pagan participants on their
holiest night of their year. They even ranted at the children
participating, screeching that they'd go to hell for dancing with
us!
But one minister who was there that night became so horrified by their behavior that he videotaped their threats and turned the tape over to WLOS TV the next day (which aired it as the lead news story that very night). Chris Wells, a youth pastor from Greenville, South Carolina, had come alone to learn more about the Earth-based religion of Wicca. Instead, the hateful actions of strangers professing his faith compelled him to apologize for their behavior in a televised news interview.
We appreciate Mr. Wells' compassionate reaction, particularly since Christian intolerance of Paganism is still too common in our mountain region. Just ask the Pagan mother and daughter bullied at an Erwin Middle School choir recital last year, or the High Priestess who penned an Earth Religions Awareness Week Proclamation several years ago, only to see it savagely denounced by Christian preachers.
For despite the acceptance Asheville has granted its large population of Pagans in recent years, the fact remains that fundamentalists still routinely subject Pagans to blatant and illegal bigotry on a daily basis -- typically involving religious harassment at work or bullying at school, arbitrary refusal by landlords to rent to us, vandalism of our cars or homes, and desecration of our outdoor sacred spaces. This is no longer any secret -- Witches have been calling attention to this phenomenon in area news media for years, and none can deny by now that a specific, repetitive problem persists.
This hate-mongering descends from the pulpit, spread by certain hypocritical "men of God" who exhort their parishioners, even children, to despise and disrespect Pagans, Muslims, new-agers and any other followers of a religion that differs from their own. Sadly, the protestors who menaced us at Samhain brought several youths with them, who will likely grow up to emulate their elders' aggressive, intolerant attitude toward people of other faiths. We find it hard to believe that such people are followers of the "Prince of Peace," and not a perverse, violent hate cult. Had they worn turbans and beards instead of ties and buzz-cuts, we couldn't have told them apart from the Taliban.
No one takes kindly to being hit over the head with "God's love." Warlike spirituality rarely endears others to its cause. Rabid proselytizing is futile when it comes to Pagans, anyway -- to date, no Christian group has ever walked away from Pagan rites in Asheville with a single convert or repentant practitioner. The fact is, Pagans aren't easily swayed from the Old Religion, because it brings us deep joy, wisdom, and strength. Our solidarity has been finely honed after centuries of being caught in the middle of monotheistic holy wars, and the near-daily bigotry many of us encounter simply has the effect of steeling our resolve and cementing our beliefs, rather than eliminating them.
Each time fundamentalist Christians have shown up at our public rites and vainly attempted to disrupt our magic, it has backfired on them -- starting with the first public Samhain ritual in City/County Plaza eight years ago, when TV news cameras showed the police leading away Trinity Baptist pastor Ralph Sexton, Sr., for displaying lack of restraint. In the eyes of the general public, angry preachers shouting at Pagans who are practicing their constitutional right to freedom of religion look unpleasantly like the white racists who screamed at blacks who integrated the South's public institutions in the 1960s.
As Pastor Wells realized last Samhain night, aggressive proselytizing gives Christianity a black eye among non-Christians. We urge other moderate Christians of conscience to follow his example, and take action to curb extremist members of their faith. Like the Freedom Riders of the Civil Rights movement, peace-loving Christians could attend local Pagan rites with the purpose of reining in their intolerant brethren, to help ensure that the freedom of religion of their Pagan fellow Americans is protected. Church leaders could produce a positive position paper stressing tolerance for spiritual diversity in our area. Christians in schools and workplaces could make the effort to learn about their non-Christian colleagues' views on religion, and seek out the similarities linking people of faith rather than attack their differences.
We call on the followers of Christ to actively practice the peace, humility and compassion they preach in His name, and witness true spirituality to those of their own faith who arrogantly presume that getting "saved" gives them God's permission to indulge in bigotry and bullying. At the very least, consider that nonbelievers aren't likely to be convinced of the power of Jesus' love when so many of Christianity's most vociferous advocates behave as if possessed by some unholy demon of hate.
And we suggest that fundamentalists who continue to refuse to understand why Goddess-worshippers find it offensive to be preached at while we are celebrating a sacred rite put themselves in our place, and consider how they would feel if their Christmas or Easter services were interrupted by Witches drumming, dancing and chanting around their churchyards.
Dixie Deerman and Steve Rasmussen, also known as Lady Passion and Diuvei, are the High Priestess and High Priest of Coven Oldenwilde in Asheville. They can be contacted through the Coven's web site, www.oldenwilde.org.
Asheville Citizen-Times POSTED: Dec. 17, 2002 10:36 p.m.
Regarding the guest commentary, "Christians need to rein in their extremists," (AC-T, Dec. 9), from the two pagans: they should be thankful they live in a country founded on Christian principles, otherwise, they would know the true meaning of intolerance. With all the strong language they use to describe fundamentalist Christians, such as, "hate mongers" "self-described reverends," "perverse," and even compared to the Taliban, one wonders just how tolerant they would be, if they were the majority, instead of the very (thankfully) small minority they are.
They pride themselves in being "pagans" and "witches." Fine for them, just don't force it on the rest of us. By the way, if one of them is ever homeless or have a medical emergency, good luck on finding an "earth-based religion" homeless shelter or hospital.
Harold Cannon, Candler
Asheville Citizen-Times POSTED: Dec. 21, 2002 2:41 p.m.
The guest commentary "Christians need to rein in their extremists," (AC-T, Dec. 9), by Dixie Deerman and Steve Rasmussen, high priestess and high priest of Coven Oldenwilde, was informative - and painful for this Christian to read.
The hate which the pagans encountered from fundamentalist Christians likely stems from fear, a hallmark of that version of Christianity. A wise Methodist minister taught me it's a fear-based religion. Fear of the unknown. Fear of what's outside the pale of fundamentalist orthodoxy. Terror of a condemning God. As a former - indeed, recovering - fundamentalist, I understand where they are coming from, and it's not a healthy place.
Long before fundamentalism was concocted, there was Celtic Christianity. It cherished the presence of God in nature (which I have been blessed to encounter), love and care for the Earth, and the feminine aspect of God. Occasionally, Scripture uses feminine metaphors for God. Exclusive use of masculine metaphors for God reflects gender bias, no theological truth.
In answer to the authors' pleas that Christians "rein in their extremists," I would ask: How is fear cast out? How is ignorance healed? How does one gain love, compassion and respect for others? If those are present, tolerance will come easily.
Edwin Shealy, Asheville
Asheville Citizen-Times POSTED: Dec. 23, 2002 10:58 p.m.
It always amazes me when people insist that this country or our Constitution is based on Christian principles, as claimed by the letter to the editor, "Responding to commentary on reining in extremists," (AC-T, Dec. 18) criticizing pagans for not wanting their tires slashed by Christians anymore. Not only is democracy mentioned nowhere in the Bible, nowhere in the Bible is there even one example of the democratic process at work. The inhumane institution of slavery is referred to many times in the Bible, but nowhere in the Bible is that peculiar institution ever condemned or even criticized.
On Halloween night in eastern Asheville, the Christians who gathered to harass the Wiccan group were loudly and quite angrily cursing, threatening, and condemning all the Wiccans present, none of whom had said or done one unkind thing to the seething, shouting Christians. I was there, and I saw it. It was pretty spooky, observing firsthand how the Christian faith could activate within its adherents such profound animosity and loathing for others who had done them no wrong whatsoever. It was obvious to me then, that if this country had been unfortunate enough to have been founded on Christian principles, burning others alive at the stake could very well still be the law of the land.
That was the spookiest Halloween I have ever experienced.
James L. Nammack, Asheville
By Asheville Citizen-Times
Jan. 14, 2003 11:44 p.m.
This is a much belated letter, but I felt someone need to respond to several letters justifiably critical of the harassment by a group of professed Christians of a Wiccan group meeting on Halloween night. Such behaviors are to be condemned, and do not represent authentic Christianity or the Christian community of the Asheville area. Although Christians do not accept Wiccan beliefs, they do respect the right of any religious group to meet peacefully. We are taught to love our neighbor, and not to curse them or to harbor hate. On the other hand, it is a mistake to lump all Christians together with a misguided few. As for one Wiccan complaint that the word "democracy" is not in the Bible, it is wise to remember that our civil government is a representative republic, and that concept is in the Bible. Likewise the complaint about "slavery" and the Bible. It would be helpful to remember that many in Roman times were prisoners of war, others sold themselves to pay off debts and many elected slavery just to survive. Christians were never to oppress them, and most were released after seven years.
Don Fortson, Black Mountain
By Asheville Citizen-Times
Jan. 28, 2003 11:44 p.m.
The author of the letter, "Most Christians respect right of other beliefs to gather," (AC-T, Jan. 15), claims that the animalistic behavior of a group of Christians toward a Wiccan gathering on Halloween did not represent Christianity as a whole. I would like to remind him of the bloody Inquisition (which lasted for many centuries), the murderous Crusades, the Christian extermination of North and South American Indians, the current popularity of capital punishment among U.S. Christians and so forth.
If Jehovah of the Old Testament had been able to foresee the rise of Christianity, surely one of his Commandments would have been: "Thou shalt not bear malice toward those who worship Me in the manner of their own choosing.''
The letter writer goes on to claim that the Bible advocates republican government, and that Christians were always kind to their slaves. Amazing. Nowhere in the Bible are democratic elections advocated. And if Jehovah had been all-compassionate, another one of his Commandments would have been: "Thou shalt not hold others in servile bondage, for this is an abomination to Me for those of My creation.'' Historically speaking, an unfortunate oversight.
James L. Nammack, Asheville
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