17th February 2009, 12:43 PM
The key question to me seems to be: how can modern day pagans claim to respect the past pagans wishes, when no-one has much idea what they were.
Ancient writing on the druids were sketchy at best and invariably writern by Romans with an agenda. Current day paganism is an entirely modern construct re-creating an ancient religion which in all likelyhood is as similar to the original, as a medieval fair is to the War or the Roses.
Paganism has a much right to exist as any other religion but it seems to me that the wish to influance archaeology regarding the actual past of paganism is equivilant to whitewashing the past, in order to make the modern day fascimile more acceptable.
Ancient writing on the druids were sketchy at best and invariably writern by Romans with an agenda. Current day paganism is an entirely modern construct re-creating an ancient religion which in all likelyhood is as similar to the original, as a medieval fair is to the War or the Roses.
Paganism has a much right to exist as any other religion but it seems to me that the wish to influance archaeology regarding the actual past of paganism is equivilant to whitewashing the past, in order to make the modern day fascimile more acceptable.