h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Achh, the poop's always saying ridiculous stuff - don't mind him, he's old For my part, bigotry doesn't work - plus we have a form of witchcraft incorporated into our faith in Lebanon (how is that?)

My grandmother was a "seer" - second sight? Whatever. She scared the other villagers to death. I loved being her granddaughter. Noone messed with me - I guess so I wouldn't sic old granny on them

There is not much that separates us all.. We pour melted lead into water to destroy an evil eye (read bad spell).. and the way those prayers are chanted... well... what *is* the difference? We have household saints (Hindu? Catholic... what's the difference)

At the end of the day it is not the words that matter but what you are and what you do. As you say in your entry, it is not the vessel but your mind that does the scrying...

Bah... anyway. So who's the hotdog?

W

your granny sounds like she was very

Your very right that its not the words or names that count but the intention, the rest are just focus points.

she was ultracool - came and said goodbye to me before she passed on. I was here, pregnant and depressed. She died in her sleep in Lebanon. She showed me my son at 3 and played with him at a long dining table before taking her leave. I never saw her again but I think of her often. I sense her when I'm down or when we have a problem. I think of her as our guardian. She was definitely an oddball but her heart was pure and she was very funny and silly with it. My ambition is to be remembered by my grandchildren the way I remember her, you know?

Hi Seraphina,

"How does this make me any 'wackier' than the millions of people who believe in an almighty being in the sky, virgin births and people who come back from the dead to float up into the aforementioned sky!!??"

Hey, you can't expect to be treated like a respectable religion until you've:

been the target of, or the perpetrator of, ethnic cleansing on a massive scale;
had your beliefs taken so seriously that they have a positively dangerous influence on modern politics;
used said beliefs to justify murder, rape and paedophilia;
started accusing the rest of the community of the above atrocities because you don't like *their* beliefs.

Nope? Not even an inkling to burn books, kill, pillage, conquest? You say your religion is generally PEACEFUL?

Where the hell do you get off comparing yourself to a "respectable" Abrahamic religion?

(All of the above was a P-take, BTW. )

More seriously, many of the edited entries on Christianity are skeptical; us Christians are starting to realise that when you go around claiming inspiration from a big guy with a beard, you're really just asking for a ribbing. However, there are also entries which exist solely for descriptive purposes, leaving the counterpoint to existing entries. If you're writing about gem therapy and spellcasting, you can leave the "critique" to a (hopefully good-natured) followup. I'd expect that most people will realise that these are actually personal religious beliefs, not established scientific fact!

Good luck in PR, Seraphina! But remember the advice of an anonymous friend:

"Given the choice of Peer Review or a tank of man-eating piranhas, I would choose the piranhas. It's faster and much less painful."

—Jordan

That was funny! Well said Jordan!

I think hunny that you are doing a fantastic job with your guide entries, and very brave of you too! the whole point of the guide and what keeps it going is the contribution from everyone about everything!

Keep strong, I suspect they are just jelous at the rate you are getting your fab entries into the guide!

Big s

I just had a bit of a chuckle at Jordans post too

Heeeelllooo!

Another match at PR, huh?
I think that this commentor felt the practice is wacky - his opinion. It doesn't necessarily mean that the article is wacky. I admit not having read since the latest updates, but it is fairly objective in describing the hows and whys of crystal therapy. It would be hard to find evidence, yes, so adding any references would perhaps not even help.

Don't give up, you've made a nice piece of writing here!

Piranhas... yeah!

Serephina, you arewacky, not because you are witch, but you sense of humor!

I do not really care what do in witch time, because it is not spectrum of intrests
every one deserve a hobby they .

any one judging let them go their own castle in clouds!

Its more than just that one i'm having trouble with Milla!

I hope I didn't come across as stroppy - it was a genuine question.

I think the article is good, and have no problem with it being in the Guide, which I'm sure it will be very soon

From my own point of view, I don't see h2g2's role as justifying faith any more than it's proving scientific theory. Our job is simply to document human existence and with that comes the freedom to accept that science is only one aspect of that.

Personally, my only concern with any entry about faith is that it should explain the basics first - I don't believe an entry about faith should then have to justify thousands of years of faith. I don't believe your entries on the tenets of witchcraft needs to justify witchcraft, only to explain that for those who do believe in it, these are the details and these are the processes, which as far as I'm concerned is exactly what your entries so far have done.

If a Scout doesn't believe your entry has merit, they are free not to pick it. They also have the freedom to explain their point of view - civilly - in Peer Review. They do not have the right to insist that only one world view can be represented in the Edited Guide. The only people who do have that right, should we choose, is the in-house team, and tht would require a shift in our Editorial Policy

So, just to reassure you, we're aware of the long and noble history of witchcraft and do not expect you to justify it - only to document it, should you choose. With that in mind, our criticism would focus on how you explain the practices, not on whether the practices themselves have any basis in science.

Personally, I feel that if we were to limit ourselves only to a scientific approach, we might as well delete anything to do with music, art, religion, TV, films, food and culture as science can't fully rationalise any of 'em. It offers us many answers, but not all of them.

Indeed, it's not nice to be spoken to like a five year old though!

I should have read this earlier ( but had some difficulties getting this to open ),then I would have known that I'm not the only one who asks for an opinion being given civilly. I have now unsubscribed from PR, because I had the impression that everybody else was just fine with how certain comments were given, so I decided that PR is not the place for me to be. It's good to see that some people reflect on the tone in PR, though.

Sereph - keep on fightin' the good fight I'm actually in the middle of updating the WOEFULLY inadequaste Entry in h2g2 about Witches. It's called 'Witch' and for the life of me I can't remember the A number but feel free to send me info.

I'm not practicing but my mother is a longtime white one, so I grew up with the 'wacky' ways

Bels - just ignore the ignorant Works for me in all walks of life

MJ, it's not only one ignorant, there are a few more, and I didn't like being told off for asking for a civil tone and fairness, either. Plus, I've seen a bit too much of this in PR , so excuse me, but I have enough arguments at home which I can't avoid, I really don't need them on here.

Imdeedy do PR rattles my cage at times too. I go in fits and starts. But then I go and unwind by drinking and eating , so it's all good

I know what you mean Claudia,, its more someones
tone than their actual opinion that gets to me!
I'll be right over MJ!

It's good if this works for you. I was wary of PR, but then thought I'd give it a go, because it is important for the guide. But I don't want to get involved in arguments about opinions and beliefs . If my request for politeness and fairness is thought to be about 'philosophical' things, then PR has missed it's aim, imho. I thought PR was about giving advice, correcting things, asking for clarification if necessary, and all that in a friendly, inoffensive way. Looks as if I've misunderstood the concept, though.

No I don't think you've misunderstood it at all Bels Don't be discouraged because I think you have a valid voice and sensible attitude, something that a few others might like to try out

Sereph - I'm working on the Entry about Witches here: A9247629

It isn't much more than what was originally there and a few links in the Guide that I thought might be relevant. The rest is on a Word file that I'm trying to get together. I'll edit it soon, but am looking for some more good info. I'm sure you can help out

MJ