Daily Blog

Jihad Jane

March 11, 2010 · Leave a Comment 

A lot has already been written on the fact that Islam does not overtly forbid images of the prophet Mohamed. The Quran says nothing about it.

The real reason that there’s not supposed to be any images of Mohamed is that after he died there was a real threat of his followers trying to deify him. Mohamed himself constantly reminded people that he was just a messenger, not a divine being. After he was dead, though, a lot of ardent supporters were very likely to try to make him into some kind of demigod or saint. (Not unlike Elvis fans).

To prevent this, several Islamic schools of thought banned the use of icons or images of the prophet so that no one could worship them. It was Allah, not Mohamed, that was worthy of worship. Eventually a screen was drawn over the tomb of the prophet to prevent anyone from lighting candles there, and everyone was told that “Mohamed worship” was un-Islamic. Thus began the long history of Islamic sects banning images of Mohamed.

Flash forward to current day: The U.S. has arrested Colleen R... [Read the full story]

News

Jihad Jane

March 11, 2010 · Leave a Comment 

A lot has already been written on the fact that Islam does not overtly forbid images of the prophet Mohamed. The Quran says nothing about it.

The real reason that there’s not supposed to be any images of Mohamed is that after he died there was a real threat of his followers trying to deify him. Mohamed himself constantly reminded people that he was just a messenger, not a divine being. After he was dead, though, a lot of ardent supporters were very likely to try to make him into some kind of demigod or saint. (Not unlike Elvis fans).

To prevent this, several Islamic schools of thought banned the use of icons or images of the prophet so that no one could worship them. It was Allah, not Mohamed, that was worthy of worship. Eventually a screen was drawn over the tomb of the prophet to prevent anyone from lighting candles there, and everyone was told that “Mohamed worship” was un-Islamic. Thus began the long history of Islamic sects banning images of Mohamed.

Flash forward to current day: The U.S. has arrested Colleen R... [Read the full story]

History Bits

THE EVOLUTION OF THE HEATHEN

January 17, 2010 · Leave a Comment 

Quoted from “The Heathen’s Guide to World Religions.”

In the beginning, we humans lived in the wild and ate whatever was slower or stupider than we were. At this time, we invented a thing called a “god.” The god was made from the mightiest elements mankind could see: fire, thunder, lightning… all the big, scary stuff we didn’t understand but knew was powerful. As there were so damn many things we thought were powerful, we found we couldn’t settle for just one god, so we made a whole slew of them, each god representing a different big, scary thing. We understood little about these gods, except for the simple fact that in their Infinite Wisdom they had decided they didn’t need to eat us. As we found this good, we honored and worshiped these gods.

As time passed and humans prospered on Earth, we learned much about the way the planet actually worked... [Read the full story]

Western Religions

Jihad Jane

March 11, 2010 · Leave a Comment 

A lot has already been written on the fact that Islam does not overtly forbid images of the prophet Mohamed. The Quran says nothing about it.

The real reason that there’s not supposed to be any images of Mohamed is that after he died there was a real threat of his followers trying to deify him. Mohamed himself constantly reminded people that he was just a messenger, not a divine being. After he was dead, though, a lot of ardent supporters were very likely to try to make him into some kind of demigod or saint. (Not unlike Elvis fans).

To prevent this, several Islamic schools of thought banned the use of icons or images of the prophet so that no one could worship them. It was Allah, not Mohamed, that was worthy of worship. Eventually a screen was drawn over the tomb of the prophet to prevent anyone from lighting candles there, and everyone was told that “Mohamed worship” was un-Islamic. Thus began the long history of Islamic sects banning images of Mohamed.

Flash forward to current day: The U.S. has arrested Colleen R... [Read the full story]

Fringe Religions

Air Force Pagans

February 6, 2010 · Leave a Comment 

DENVER – The Air Force Academy has set aside an outdoor worship area for Pagans, Wiccans, Druids and other Earth-centered believers, school officials said Monday. A double circle of stones atop a hill on the campus near Colorado Springs has been designated for the group, which previously met indoors. “Being with nature and connecting with it is kind of the whole point,” said Tech. Sgt. Brandon Longcrier, who sponsors the group and describes himself as a Pagan. “It will dramatically improve that atmosphere, the mindset and the actual connection... [Read the full story]

Welcome

Welcome to The Heathen’s Guide

January 17, 2010 · 4 Comments 

From the Author. Welcome to the new HeathensGuide.com, complete with a forum, news, sales, video, Q&A, and all things web related.

While most of my posts are either fun or furious, I thought I should start off the Welcome screen with a bit of background on The Heathen’s Guide and how it came to be.

I spent most of the 1980’s and early 1990’s wandering about North and Central America, actively involving myself in as many faiths as I could. For the most part, what I found in every religion were decent people with good hearts that wanted to serve their god. From the Mormon Temple in Utah, to the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, to the Harmonic Convergence on the shores of Vancouver, the people I met really, really wanted to be and do “good”... [Read the full story]