My rather nasty habits have gotten me into trouble more than once. My parents knew way back in high school that I was a handful when I was kicked out of religion class because I "dared" to argue with the crotchety old nun about the righteous opinions of the Catholic church on the importance of morality. I can still hear my father's voice hissing in my ear, "HOW could you?" as we walked down the dark hallway from the principle's office.

I soon learned that there were other ways to be heard without being looked down upon like I was a complete raving loon. I took up the art form of letter writing. I learned that with a few choice and well thought out words, you can usually get the point across without the need of a lawyer. I have always loved a good challenge.

A while back, I got involved in a debate message board. The host would put up a weekly topic for us to hash out among ourselves. Sometimes it would get rather brutal, but all and all it was a great deal of fun. Well, that is unti

I was shocked. I had not expected this. I had expected that I would have been called upon to defend my beliefs. I had expected to rationally argue the positive points of all other non-Christian religions. At the very least I expected to be thumped with the Bible. But it had become worse than that...I had been ignored!

Now, I am a rather opinionated witch. But I do not just fly off the handle when I feel I have been wronged. I do my homework; facts and figures of proof are my trademark. I don't expect people to accept my beliefs, but I do expect them to accept documented facts of truth.

After I reread her letter, I started realizing something. I could yell and scream all day about the merits and positive aspects of non-Christian religions. I could tell them that prayers are important to all religions, not just the ones that believe in the Bible, until I am blue in the face and without a voice. But it doesn't do any good to yell at a brick wall or talk to someone with closed ears, either way it just bounces off without penetrating.

This whole experience has made me take another look at myself. It made me remember why I was so drawn to paganism in the first place so many years ago. I had always felt a bit on the outside in the way I saw the world go around. I always felt that when you are part of a religion, that it should be incorporated into everything that you do, not just a once-a-week scramble to get to your God on time.

Some topics in this essay:
, Wicca Paganism, REAL God, Paganism Buddhism, non-christian religions,