Nothing like a little religious tiff over God smiting Fargo

June 29, 2001 10:30 AM

Nothing like a little religious tiff over God smiting Fargo to keep the editorial page busy. Start from the bottom, and work your way up, skipping the stories on baseball.
posted by nathan_teske (9 comments total)

I love this quotation: "Letters published on The Forum’s opinion page have portrayed attendees as Satan-worshippers who caused last June’s flood." The Wiccans are being accused of manipulating the weather? Hellooo, Salem Witch Trials!
posted by jess at 11:05 AM on June 29, 2001

Yes, according to one of the letters, the day after last year's event, Fargo got 7 inches of rain--clearly caused by the evil Wiccans. Send 'em my way (central Texas), I say! We could use the rain this time of year. As an added incentive, they could make a fortune around here.
posted by tippiedog at 11:19 AM on June 29, 2001

"Lady Star Lightrider"

If I had one of those lightcycles from Tron, I would definitely name it that.

Why is that every time a subject like Wicca is reported on, the press chooses to quote someone with a goofy name or other somewhat embarassing feature?

OK I knew the answer to that question.
posted by Kafkaesque at 11:44 AM on June 29, 2001

I'll throw this out before we all start having useless discourse about the definition of Wiccan, or Pagan, or Appolonians, or just Loony, or Christian, or Christian Loony. Having had some experience with many Wiccans and Pagans

(don't just try and trip my trigger here 'cause I've actually studied this stuff)

I would like to point out that there are many lines of thought in the demense of "natural worship" that do believe in human weather manipulation, for both good and evil. If I'm a Christian (far too "black and white") than it is perfectly reasonable to assume that
a) God smote them mightily, (to which I point out that God formed a covenant AFTER the pissed-off-I'll-get-you deity of the Old Testament). Or ...
b) The "Wiccans" did call the rain.

We need ALOT more rain in Montana this year and we have far more than our share of Wiccans here. Why aren't we getting it? UNLESS, its the Wiccans who are causing this awful drought ...
posted by Wulfgar! at 12:07 PM on June 29, 2001

I love this quotation: "Letters published on The Forum’s opinion page have portrayed attendees as Satan-worshippers who caused last June’s flood." The Wiccans are being accused of manipulating the weather? Hellooo, Salem Witch Trials!

What cracks me up is that 2000 flooding happened on a Sunday, right after most Christians went to church...hmmmm....
posted by nathan_teske at 12:09 PM on June 29, 2001

Why do the christian loonies assume that wiccans worship Satan? If they're going to be an intolerant bigots who assume that another religion is satanic why pick on witches? After all the bible specifies a pretty intolerant religion with all that jealous god stuff. Why just witches, why not zoroastrians, muslims, jews, or those guys who belong to that other baptist church down the street? Seriously, I'd like to know how many of these people consider any religion other than theirs to be satanic. If they recognize that other religions can exist and not be satanic, how do they know which ones are satanic?
posted by rdr at 2:36 PM on June 29, 2001

If it rains seven inches again, I'm gonna laugh my ass off.
posted by frykitty at 3:47 PM on June 29, 2001

If it rained 8 inches, would they have blamed it on Buddhists instead?
posted by Foosnark at 11:10 AM on June 30, 2001

Seriously, I'd like to know how many of these people consider any religion other than theirs to be satanic.

Jack Chick, for one. (Be sure to read the "tracts.")
posted by tweebiscuit at 1:58 PM on June 30, 2001