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From: ethan@utastro.UUCP (Ethan Vishniac)
Newsgroups: net.religion,net.politics,net.flame
Subject: Re: Tax relief for Churches--ARRRRGHH
Message-ID: <43@utastro.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 13-Oct-85 16:20:02 EDT
Article-I.D.: utastro.43
Posted: Sun Oct 13 16:20:02 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 15-Oct-85 06:44:10 EDT
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Organization: U. Texas, Astronomy, Austin, TX
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> > > Wicca, whose history may date back to thousands of years before Christ
> > > on an island just off Greece (But I can't spell the name - Mycenea ?)
> > > originally started as a monotheistic, matriarchal religion based on a
> > > deity called the Great Goddess or Great Mother.
> > 
> > Although these people were rather conspicuous followers of the Mother, it`s
> > not at all clear they invented the idea.  Moreover, I for one am glad that
> > their rituals have gone out of style.
> 
> 	Why are you glad their rituals have gone out of style. I  can think
> of only two reasons why a ceremony would be objectionable. One is that human
> sacrifice was involved. If it is that, then it should be noted that there is
> no evidence that it ever occurred there (though, on rare occassion, an animal
> was sacrificed).

I am indifferent to the sexual content of their rituals or of anybody else's
favorite rituals.  I was thinking of the sacrifice of the annual consort.
If this practice was not included in Mycenean religion then I am happy to
apologize to all Mycenean-Americans on the net.
-- 
"Superior firepower is an      Ethan Vishniac
 important asset when          {charm,ut-sally,ut-ngp,noao}!utastro!ethan
 entering into                 ethan@astro.UTEXAS.EDU
    negotiations"              Department of Astronomy
                               University of Texas