Excavation in Israel Unearths an Ancient Roman Pagan Temple Within an Ancient Jewish Village.

Click here to read more about it on Foxnews.com.

Archaeologists have found an ancient Roman Pagan temple (dating back to around the second century A.D.) while excavating the ancient Jewish village of Zippori. A Christian church, from a later period, was built on top of it, and discovered during an earlier dig.

The temple is in ruins, but parts of it have been well preserved through the ages, and the layout of it is clear. Another building has also been discovered, and seems to have held great importance for the people of the time, though the proverbial 'they' aren't yet certain what it's original function was.

The article I found on Foxnews contains a photo of the ruins.

Apparently, their best guess so far is that the temple was perhaps dedicated to Jupiter (Zeus) and/or Fortuna (Tyche). They're basing this on some coins found at the site that show a temple(s) honoring these Gods.

Perhaps the best, and most interesting, aspect of this recent discovery, is the knowledge that at one time Jews, Pagans, and even early Christians apparently got along quite well, or at least lived together fairly harmoniously. These ancient peoples were able to coexist within the same village, and yet we (the more civilized?) often cannot. That's not to say that fights didn't inevitably break out between the various people. I'm sure they must have. I'm sure fights broke out, at that time, between people who shared identical beliefs as well. Still, it's uplifting to realize that likely people back then, as hopefully in many locations today, were able to at least respect one another, though their beliefs differed greatly.

*On somewhat of a side note, it really does irritate me to a degree that the writers at Foxnews chose to use the Greek names for the Gods, when they said it was a Roman temple that was discovered. On the other hand, I suppose since the Greek names are more commonly known, they may have felt that it was a better way to go, so that the average reader would instantly know who they were talking about. *shrug*

More Resources For Pagan Parents...

Lady Bridget's Pagan Parents Page is filled with lots of fun ideas for teaching Pagan values, rituals, etc. to children. It also has great stories, poems, etc. and a list of suggested reading material for Pagan kids.

Pagan Parents is a great site, that looks promising. There are links to articles on Pagan parenting, what your rights are, etc.

Your rights as a Pagan Parent. This is an article posted on About.com. Particularly if you're divorcing a non-Pagan spouse who may prove vindictive, or if you may find yourself involved in other legal issues regarding your children and your religion, this may prove exceedingly useful, perhaps even indispensable.

Mamawitch's Pagan parenting pages. This site is currently (as of late September, 2008) under reconstruction by Mamawitch. So, some of the pages may be blank, but it still promises to be a very interesting site, with projects for kids to do, a family book of shadows, and much more.

Care2 - A leaning tree for Pagan parents is an online support group for Pagan Parents.

Edmonton Pagan Parents Circle. This site is extensive, with many articles, resources, fun stories, etc. geared specifically toward Pagan families.

The Blessed Bee is a Pagan family newsletter.

Moon Dragon's Pagan Parenting Partnership is a very interesting site, with wonderful articles on the subject, and some awesome links toward the bottom of the page. I can't recommend this site enough!

And, finally, Solitary-Pagan.net.

I hope you find the above resources as great as I do. :)

Various Pagan Paths and Some Definitions and Resources

Pagan

Pagan is an umbrella term, used to label/describe a variety of religious paths and ideas/beliefs. In it's broadest form, it can include any religion that isn't either Christian, Jewish, or Muslim. Though, I have yet to meet a Buddhist (among many other religions) who would call themselves Pagan. And, though Asatruers are often labeled as "Pagan", they tend to prefer "Heathen".

Reconstruction

A 'reconstruction' religion, is one that is currently attempting to reconstruct an ancient religion. As such, most have limited resources on precisely how the original religion was practiced in ancient times, and exactly what was fully believed by the original peoples who practiced said religion. Reconstructionists do the best the can, with what they've got, essentially. The reconstructing of the religion is largely based on whatever writings, archaeological finds, temples, knowledge, etc. has survived through the ages, and what is researched and concluded by scholars and scientists in regards to the way the culture and religion worked at the time it was in place. The religion in question is then typically molded to fit modern times. NOT changed, mind you, but modern day culture (such as restrictions on acceptable animal sacrifice) is taken into account when reconstructing the religion for feasible practice in the modern era.

Sumerian

I haven't done too much study on this particular religion, other then researching and writing a paper on the legend of Gilgamesh. But, I'll do my best to provide links to information that seems as trustworthy as I can find, given my ignorance on the subject.

Sumerian culture and religion

Sumerian/Mesopitamia culture and religion at wsu.edu

History, contributions, mythologies, etc. of Sumer

Wicca

In order to legitimately claim the title of "Wiccan", one must be initiated into a lineaged coven. You'll only be able to obtain the 'inner court material' (protected by oath) this way, and fully grasp what it is to be Wiccan. So, much information cannot be obtained by merely reading about it. That said, I hope that I can provide some very basic 'outer court material'/information on the rede, and tenets, through more knowledgeable individuals who've written it online, though these resources can be difficult to find, given the number of people who've taken the path and run with it to their own version. Never mind the fact that it is a mystery religion, and as such is rather mysterious as to what is believed, until one is initiated.

Article on the Wiccan Rede, on witchvox

Wicca and Witchcraft on religious tolerance.org


Asatru (Norse Heathenism)

This is the reconstructed religion of the ancient Germanic peoples. If you're looking for some reading material...

The Asatru Alliance

Asatru Folk Assembly

Irminsul

Kemetic Reconstruction (Ancient Egyptian Religion)

This is the reconstruction of the religion practiced by the ancient Egyptians. Like Asatru, much of it is conjecture (or inner feeling/message from the divine), with many of the ancient writings and oral traditions having been lost through the ages. Perhaps even more so, as the religion of the ancient Norse was kept a bit more 'in tact'.

One could go Orthodox in this religion, or not. Here is some material that will give you a good idea about what it entails...

Kemetic Orthodoxy Contains many indispensable resources, and a free class one can take online to further their knowledge.

Ancient Egyptian Proverbs

An Article on Tales of Magic in Ancient Egypt (based on papyri found)

An unorthodox church of Kemet

Hellenic Reconstruction (Ancient Greek Religion)

There are a couple different ways of looking at this one. Hellenismos tends to frown upon the practice of magic, but magic was a big part of ancient Greece, at least in earlier times.

Hellenismos - one branch of Hellenic Reconstruction, that appears to be most popular

A nice article, with a great many scholarly resources on the subject

Magic/Witchcraft in Ancient Greece

Reconstruction of Roman Polytheism

Here are some resources which seem reliable, given what I know of the religion of ancient Rome, and what I've studied/researched.

Article on Witchvox (scroll to the bottom for indispensable resources)

Temple of Religio Romana

Celtic Reconstruction

Deiuokara (Reverence of the Divine) - These guys aren't CR (Celtic Reconstructionists), though they are attempting to reconstruct the religions and culture of the ancient Celtic peoples. They do distinctly separate themselves from CR though, given their differences in how to go about this. For more on this distinction, see their FAQ. They are included here only because they are involved in the construction of a Celtic Pagan tradition, but they are not CR.

A Celtic Reconstructionist Gateway This one is really incredible for so much information on CR. Be sure to check out their FAQ.

Another Witchvox article, again, scroll to bottom for some great resources

Attempting to Define Paganism

You, or your child, may run into situations where you'll have to define what Paganism actually is. Most of the time, it's just a lot easier to discuss your families own personal beliefs, as they specifically pertain to you. But, sometimes, you'll have to give a more general definition (online, or perhaps at school even).

It can be a very difficult thing to describe to someone who doesn't identify as Pagan. Hopefully, my little tirade below (which is a reprint of an article I wrote on Xomba), will help you in your endeavors to define it to people who may not know what it is. Or, who, worse yet, believe it to be something that it definitely is not!

The dictionary has a few definitions for Paganism, all of which are pretty vague. One such definition simply states that any religion not part of the big three Abrahamic faiths is deemed Pagan. However, I have yet to meet an individual who counts themselves as strictly Hindu or Buddhist who would identify themselves as "Pagan". So, for the purposes of what I'd like to talk about here, I'm going to be sticking with the people who would be most likely to identify themselves as "Pagan".

Even Pagans will tell you that "Pagan" is an umbrella term, used to refer to a vast number of individual faiths (much like "Christian" doesn't say which denomination or Biblical interpretation one adhere's to). Most of the individuals you'll find who will identify as "Pagan" though, will be reconstructionists (those who are attempting to reconstruct more ancient spiritual paths, as best and most accurately as they can in present time), Wiccans, or those who are more eclectic in their beliefs, but whose beliefs are largely not Abrahamic in origin.

Pagans come in all shapes and sizes, and most have very different ideas of God. Some believe in many gods, some in just one, some that all gods are one, some in none. And on and on it goes. One thing that most Pagans do have in common is that they don't believe in the Devil (at least, not the character presented in Christian mythology). Considering how difficult it is to worship, honor, or otherwise pay homage to something or someone you don't believe in, they are not Devil-worshipers. In fact, you'll often find that telling them they are "actually worshiping the devil" doesn't go over so well. And, frankly, it's not something I've ever been able to understand, considering that the Bible makes a clear distinction between "The Devil" and the gods worshipped by other peoples, in both the old and new testaments.

In a nutshell, that's what Paganism is and is not. It's a little vague, I know, but probably much more descriptive then anything you'll find in an dictionary. Basically, Pagans are just people. They are people who are searching for what they believe is the right spiritual path for them personally to follow. They are people who believe, or know to the best of their ability, that they have found that path. And, their path doesn't include most of what's found in Abrahamic religions. That's pretty much as detailed as one can get, without going through all the various beliefs held personally by all the Pagans in the world (but, I guarantee that even if I were capable of doing that, you would be asleep by the end of this article. I know I would!).