What do followers of the neo-pagan religion Asatru actually do?
I've got lots of information on the origins of this religion and how it has migrated from Iceland and Europe into the U.S., Canada and Australia. I know they get together and engage in a drinking ritual where toasts are made to a variety of gods, ancestors or heroes of the religion. But which gods? Who are these AEsir gods of the old Norse religion? Odin, Woden? And what are their beliefs about the meaning of life, the universe and whether there is life after death? Just curious - I have to write an article on this subject and I really need some factual input.
What is Christo-paganism and do anti-religious people respect it?
anti-religious people don't respect any religion. That's the nature of anti-religious people. Christo-paganism is a controversial blend of neo-paganism and Christianity. Since many people believe that paganism is defined by the fact that it isn't Christian, some people believe it doesn't exist. Others practice it perfectly well in spite of these people. -Scarlet
What is worse: Being liberal in a red state or conservative in a blue state?
I’m a Ted Kennedy level liberal. I’d explain that, but that’s not the point of this answer. The point is. . .In 1992 I moved from Ohio into a lovely suburb of Detroit, MI. The community into which I moved was built around small lakes in the early ‘70s. The conditions for purchasing a house (which I wasn’t even told existed, nor was my wife, who is a real estate agent) included, amongst other unenforceable provisions, a prohibition against selling a house to a black, Jewish or non-Christian buyer. At my first Homeowners’ Association meeting two things happened: a) I was elected Association President (why is irrelevant) and 2) the man I replaced said to me that my name didn’t “sound all that kikey,” and that I should watch out because they were moving into the surrounding subdivisions.I told him I didn’t appreciate his assumption that I would agree with or even accept his prejudices, and that I, in fact, did not. His response was to announce loudly that he hoped they were happy because they’d elected a damned lib’rul. Nearly every homeowner in the room was a union member or married to one. There was an unofficial debate among several folks as to whether I should be voted out of office, but in the end, despite my best efforts to get myself out of the job, I remained Association President for about five years.Twenty-some years later, after Michigan had elected yet another Republican governor in the face of Republicans having roadblocked all efforts at highway, bridge and infrastructure funding, I asked why they would vote so clearly against their own interests, at a neighborhood corn roast. I was told, “Because you guys put a n****r in the White House.” That was obviously nonsense, since they had elected Republican lawmakers to redistrict the state. I told them so, and then I went home.I have no idea what it’s like to be Conservative and live in a blue community, but I can tell you it’s pretty tough to be a liberal and live in a red one.
Why aren't more Christians environmentalists?
I understand that there are crazy environmentalists who blow things up and sh*t, but that's a small faction. It clearly states in the Bible that Christians must be good stewards of the Earth, and take care of what they perceive as God's creation. So how come I hardly see any Christians going out and pushing for legislature to, oh, I dunno, clean up landfills, or protect endangered species? Most of the Christians I know don't give two hoots about clean air and drive gas-guzzling SUV's. The more liberal Christians (such as the ones I grew up with, in NY) were very environmentally-minded, and I thought that most Christians were like that until I met my mother's Christian relatives in the south (who are very conservative). They don't seem to care about environmental destruction and it really confused me. So why aren't all Christians environmentally-minded, since the Bible stresses good stewardship and Earth's beauty? How come the more religious parts of America (esp. the Bible Belt) have virtually no recycling programs in their cities? Why are they also huge producers of car gases? Maybe I'm just being naive in this scenario, or just missing something here. Thanks in advance for your explanations. It is much appreciated. PS - And no, by saying "environmentally-minded," I don't mean "pot-smoking hippie Al Gore-worshipping liberal." I specifically mean environmentally-minded, and nothing more.
West Virginia State Board of Education et. al. v. Barnette et al...?
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943), was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States that held that the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution protected students from being forced to salute the American flag and say the Pledge of Allegiance in school. It was a significant court victory won by Jehovah's Witnesses, whose religion forbade them from saluting or pledging to political institutions or symbols. However, the Court did not address the effect the compelled salutation and recital ruling had upon their particular religious beliefs, but instead ruled that the state did not have the power to compel speech in that manner for anyone. Barnette overruled a 1940 decision on the same issue, Minersville School District v. Gobitis (also involving the children of Jehovah's Witnesses), in which the Court stated that the proper recourse for dissent was to try and change the school policy democratically. In Barnette Justice Robert H. Jackson wrote for the majority and his opinion is considered one of the great statements of freedom in American history.[original research?] However, in overruling Gobitis the Court primarily relied on the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment rather than the Religion Clause. Here is the entire case http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=319&invol=624
Whether you like President Trump or not and being the Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, could you have the courage not to salute at him because of his draft dodging status especially in the Vietnam vets?
Well, if you are a civilian then there is no requirement to salute a president. If you are in the military than I would like to think that your military discipline and bearing would far outweigh your personal feelings. He outranks you, and it’s your duty to salute him. Major Winters, in Band of Brothers (second time I brought that up today. Huh) said to Captain Sobel “You salute the rank, not the man” and that applies here. You are saluting your commander-in-chief and the president of the U.S., NOT Donald Trump. But, if you didn’t? Best case? You would get your ass royally chewed by everyone that saw it and outranks just for embarrassing them and you can kiss your immediate future in the military goodbye. No one will promote the guy that didn’t salute the commander-in-chief. Worst case? You could be dishonorably discharged for conduct unbecoming. Realistically? Field grade article 15 with a demotion, forfeiture of half your pay, no promotions for 18 months, and 1 month manual labor. If it was your first offense, or first markup anyway.To be honest though, soldiers are a pretty tight-knit group and your commanders know you and your attitude pretty well and there is no way they would let you end up in a situation where you were going to be around the president if they had any inclination that you would disrespect him. They would figure out a different place to put you (helloooo KP duty)
At what point did "conservative" become equated with “Christian” in the eyes of the American public?
I observed that, when Rose Kennedy died in 1995, the space within the Democratic Party for those who were pro-life collapsed completely. At this point Roman Catholics, who deeply believe in social programs that help the poor, either curbed discussions about abortion or switched parties. Many did neither, and simply voted for more conservative Democrats.Incidentally, it was around this time that Al and Tipper Gore, who were avowed pro-life and pro-family Christians, switched their stance upon abortion. I found this ironically hilarious, as Tipper Gore was responsible for the conservative hearings on explicit content in recorded music in the 1980s, which famously included comments from Dee Snider, the lead singer for Twisted Sister. A link to a summary of this event is here:Over twenty years hence, as the Democratic Party began to focus on issues other than helping the poor, and fewer conservative Democrats ran for office, many Christians found themselves effectively pushed out of what used to be known as the Big Tent party.Those vocal few factions that equate Christianity with one particular political party don’t represent the rest, but we all know that. Only the people and groups in America that really, really don’t like Christians and wish to make following Jesus appear as something shameful choose to paint all Christians with the same broad brush.
Can you be a conservative and accept evolution and the existence of human caused global warming?
Yes, many identified Republicans in the USA do, for example.As of April 2016:Forty-seven percent of conservatives now say the climate is changing, a leap of 19 points since the midterm elections of 2014, according to the survey released yesterday by Yale and George Mason universities. The poll did not ask respondents whether climate change is caused by people.Many More Republicans Now Believe in Climate ChangeNote the caveat in italics (mine) of course, which is the kicker. According to a Pew survey later in 2016:According to a new Pew Research Center poll, just 48% of Americans realize that the Earth is warming mostly due to human activity. Highlighting a vast partisan reality gap, 79% of liberal Democrats and just 15% of conservative Republicans answer the question correctly.Pew survey: Republicans are rejecting reality on climate change | Dana NuccitelliAmong other things, that means that 15% of conservative Republicans can and do accept human-caused global warming.A larger percentage, but still not a majority of Republicans accept the science of evolution. Per Pew in 2013:Whoo! 43% actually accept rock solid, incredibly stable science. It’s almost like they aren’t the anti-science party. Oh, wait, that means that 57% of Republicans reject rock solid empirically proven science in favour of tribal identity.So yeah, you can be a conservative and accept evolution and human-caused climate change. But you probably shut up about it at home and with your friends because they probably don’t.Like my content? Help it spread via Patreon. Get confidential consulting via OnFrontiers. Email me if you’d like me to write for you.
Qué significa "Dedicarse constantemente a aquello que nos apasiona vence con frecuencia al talento." ?
Significa que la perseverancia tiene más que ver con el éxito que el talento. Otra versión de esto es el dicho "el genio es 1% inspiración y 99% transpiración." Tendrás mejores resultados (o por lo menos, más respuestas) si repites esta pregunta en la sección de idiomas. En YA de los EEUU, se encuentra en la categoría "Society and Culture" bajo el nombre de "Languages."