My uber-Catholic freeper-type aunt
gave me a birthday gift yesterday: the book Heaven is for Real (the one about the little boy who has a near-death experience).
I think she issued it as a challenge, expecting me to roll my eyes and reject it. She has no idea that I believe in heaven more than she does--she's pathologically terrified of dying and can't bring herself to say that people who pass--even those who have lived a good, long, fulfilling life--are going to a good place. She always says, "Such a shame; poor (whoever)..." Even if they were 98 and in pain.
Anyway, it also drove home the point to me how many people think that if you're a pagan, you don't believe in God or anything associated with God. Couldn't be further from the truth. But--sigh--I'm not going to waste my breath trying to convince her. I just said thank you and said that I'd been wanting to read the book (which is the truth).
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Sorry to hear that, FL. I can relate--I've always been very afraid of getting seriously ill while my aunt is in this realm, because she would do the same to me, no doubt. 
may enlighten her about your beliefs. Or, she may think that you've been wanting to read it in order to mock it 
She does know what you do for a living, right? Or is all New Age about Paganism to her?
I was just thinking about a similar topic within the hour. That is, those of us that have a New Age outlook on life get the mocking/disdain from both sides, or from the "true believer" evangelicals and from the septics/atheists. They have a "common enemy" and don't even know it! 
No, she doesn't know what I do--not the details, anyway. When I was with my coven, I was "going to meditation classes/sessions" (not a lie--we did meditations ). I write for a trade magazine for book- and gift shops (also not a lie ).
And anything that's not Catholicism is "of the devil"--so yeah, New Age and Paganism are the same in her eyes...and the same as Hinduism, Judaism, Episcopalian...er...ism?, etc. etc. etc.
about the common enemy. That reminds me of the time I pointed out to my elder, who was talking about the influence of the divine on evolution, that that meant our beliefs were one and the same as those of creationist conservative religions. I'd never actually seen a person's head explode before that moment... To her credit, she thought it was pretty darn cool. We pagans, we open-minded like that. 
As for the bit about divinely-guided evolution being the same as fundie-creationism, well, it may seem that way as first glance, but it goes deeper. My understanding of it is that divinely-guided evolution is exactly the same as scientific evolution, both for life and cosmology. It all takes the same amount of time, with the results being what they are today. Without the guidance by the divine, this would be a very different world
At the same time, creationists will only accept that the world is 6,000 to 12,000 years old (I don't know why some acknowledge longer durations, other than perhaps to account for established evidence of the age of Western civilization, while discounting the age of the Aborigines' existence in Australia.) I remember reading one fundie in one of those evolution trials explaining their beliefs, when confronted about the absolute measurement of the speed of light and the fact that the stars are thousands and millions of light years away. If the universe is only 6,000 years old, then the stars would have to be closer. No, was their answer, the light from those very distant stars "was created already on the way to Earth". They have an answer for everything, and won't accept the idea that the universe could be older than the bible states, much less the "ludicrous" idea that it's 13.7 billion years old
Sorry. Got long-winded again.
Why, whatever do you mean? 
Yeah, the views are indeed totally different (and my elder was well aware of it too), but to have it reduced to its simplest comparison...well, that was pretty funny.
"All That Is" ties every single religion, every kind of science, and philosophy together, too!
Yet they keep on fighting! Wazzup wit DAT? 
I was only addressing the bit about creationism vs. divinely-guided evolution 
powerful stuff... Interesting that he died, again...and stayed there. You think he may have asked to go back to that place? 
the first thing i was thinking about the first and second vision...first he *saw* the light, then he was IN the Light...
deep... i will have to think about that one.
I meant to post it here a few days ago but didn't get to it.
I found it fascinating. My first thought was that he had his earlier near-death experiences to learn not to fear death. His health was so tenuous...I just got the impression his guides were showing him what to prepare for if his heart couldn't hold out, and it turned out it couldn't.
Such an interesting kid. It is a shame that sometimes we're born with faulty parts. 