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Title: Pagans rejoice! Air Force Academy opens outdoor chapel for Wiccans, Druids and 'earth centred' worship groups
Source:
Daily Mail Online
URL Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art ... th-centred-worship-groups.html
Published: May 5, 2011
Author: Daily Mail Reporter
Post Date: 2011-05-05 18:35:16 by Sebastian
Keywords: None
Views: 4617
Comments: 5
The face of the military is changing. What used to be seen as a bastion for evangelical Christianity is now expanding its lists of faiths to include Wiccans and Druids. At the Air Force Academy in Colorado, a prayer circle and veritable Stonehenge on the Rockies will now serve as a place of worship for the academy's neo-Pagans. Alternative: A dedication ceremony for the Cadet Chapel Falcon Circle was held at the Air Force Academy on Tuesday.The circle give those who prefer to worship outdoors a place to congregate The Colorado school has long faced criticism for only supporting evangelical Christianity. Lt Gen Michael Gould, the academy’s superintendent, said before a ribbon cutting ceremony on the site on Tuesday: 'This outdoor worship space is something we have created to help people of all religions.' According to the Colorado Springs Gazette, the academy is home to about ten cadets who regularly attend 'earth-centred' worship groups which include New Age religion, paganism, Wicca, druids and ancient Norse beliefs. Cadet Nicole Johnson, a member of the earth-centred group, told the Gazette: 'This is very important for us, we didn’t have a place to call our own, to be outside in nature.' Ms Johnson said she and the others had to meet in an engineering classroom before pushing for the construction of the Cadet Chapel Falcon Circle was erected on a 7,200-foot hill top that overlooks the main cadet chapel. Major Joshua Narrowe, a rabbi at the academy, said chaplains signed off the earth-centred chapel and pushed for its construction. He said though they are not a big group, it is a religious need. Last year at the academy, a cross which was made from rail road ties and erected at another outdoor site that was used for Wiccan rites sparked controversy. And it appears they are not taking their chances with the pagan chapel either. Security is tight at the site and there are several cameras surrounding the circle of stones with several signs warning that it is under surveillance. The Rev David Oringdreff, who heads a Wiccan congregation in Texas, offered prayers at Tuesday’s ceremony and said: 'Nowhere except for the United States of America would this be possible.'
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#1. To: Sebastian (#0)
So, how is Christianity the religion of peace when so many religious sites are regularly desecrated by them? This was not the first Pagan ceremonial site there; the first one was vandalized by over zealous evangelicals.
Though Christians have and do desecrate religious sites, it is rare that they do so in the name of their God. And when they do, they are usually rebuked by other Christians. And neither regularly desecrating religious sites nor forcing conversions are mandated by the Bible, as far as I know.
Tell that to Muslims in the ME (particularly in the middle ages) and to the new America's conquest of ALL indigenous Indians: Mayans, Aztecs and North American Indian tribes. Oh! And don't forget SE Asia including the Philipines... I don't want you to forget minor details.
Oh! And don't forget SE Asia including the Philipines... I don't want you to forget minor details. So true. I should have prefaced it by saying, in my lifetime. Whatever might have been permissible or even encouraged before my time, today would be hate crimes and political correctness would require public condemnation.
Funny, how religious fervor/zeal has been tempered by civility and formal education, correct? Now, don't misunderstand me, there are still HOT pockets and 9/11 is testimony but for the most part, the world is actually evolving towards a better place.
"And it appears they are not taking their chances with the pagan chapel either. Security is tight at the site and there are several cameras surrounding the circle of stones with several signs warning that it is under surveillance."
#2. To: Ferret Mike (#1)
So, how is Christianity the religion of peace when so many religious sites are regularly desecrated by them?
#3. To: Sebastian, Ferret Mike (#2)
Though Christians have and do desecrate religious sites, it is rare that they do so in the name of their God. And when they do, they are usually rebuked by other Christians.
#4. To: buckeroo (#3)
Tell that to Muslims in the ME (particularly in the middle ages) and to the new America's conquest of ALL indigenous Indians: Mayans, Aztecs and North American Indian tribes.
#5. To: Sebastian (#4)
I should have prefaced it by saying, in my lifetime.
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