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<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>I was
going to repost Aaron’s post in better format, but Dale has already done
this for me: From Blogdale to your door step:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Joan Opyr
writes: <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Doug and
Doug – and you, Michael -- are skating perilously close to idolatry in
the claims you make regarding the Trinity. This was especially evident in the Trinity
Fest this summer in <strong><b><font face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-weight:normal'>the Feast of St. Brigid</span></font></b></strong>. <strong><b><font
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-weight:normal'>Do you know who Brigid
was? Maiden, mother, and crone</span></font></b></strong>. She was <strong><b><font
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-weight:normal'>a Celtic goddess</span></font></b></strong>;
she <strong><b><font face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-weight:normal'>made
the crops grow</span></font></b></strong>, she was <strong><b><font
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-weight:normal'>called upon to aid in
childbirth</span></font></b></strong>; the Irish still put out bowls of milk on
St. Brigid’s Day. Why? Because Brigid the Goddess had a bit of a nasty
streak – she needed to be appeased. <br>
<br>
<strong><b><font face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-weight:normal'>Incorporating
Brigid into your worship (or your Trinity Fest) is syncretic, Michael, but
it’s bad Christian theology. It’s heresy</span></font></b></strong>.
As long as you Celt-ify your worship with eyes wide open, fine, but I
don’t think your eyes are wide open. I believe that you view Doug <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Wilson</st1:place></st1:City> with your eyes
squinted up and your head tilted to one side (the right). You are theologically
inconsistent, and, as a Christian, this puts you in peril. Know this; think
about this; be clear about this. You believe the God I worship is
“sexless” and “masturbatory.” I believe the God you
worship is a confused mess, an unsavory mixture of rank Anglophilia, sophomoric
bigotry, and sexist convenience.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Aaron
corrects her: <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><strong><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-weight:normal'>Just a quick correction for you. I'm sure there was a
Brigid who was a Celtic goddess, but if you recall the name of the feast at
Trinity Fest was *Saint* Brigid's Feast. That's because we were not naming our
feast after Brigid the Celtic goddess, but after a Christian medieval nun who
was known for her hospitality and looked forward to serving beer to King Jesus
in heaven. In fact, she probably heard St. Patrick preach at least one sermon,
and she was also known for giving away milk to the poor. You should ask Rose, I
gave her a copy of the poem written by St. Brigid where some of this is
mentioned.</span></font></b></strong><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><strong><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-weight:normal'>So, no, Michael doesn't need to worry about syncretism or
heresy. St. Brigid is just one of our sisters in the historic Christian faith,
and a good example of what it means to be hospitable. No nasty streak here.</span></font></b></strong><o:p></o:p></p>
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