Pseudopaganisms

Well it's pretty clear who's behind this charter trying to synthesize all "accepted" British pagan paths into one religious standard. As I might expect, its the Christian end of the OBOD... never mind the Archbishop of Canterbury himself. So, I know exactly where this is heading. Just so you know what I'm talking about, have a gander at this:

The primary quest of the spiritual person is to seek the truth and gain understanding within a growing relationship with spirit and to reflect this in the way we live our lives, to the benefit of our natural world, ourselves and the people/s we interact with. Light and dark, the cycles of growth and decay are natural, and not to be confused with evil. Evil is that which wilfully destroys without need, controls, removes freedom, spreads lies, causes pain and brings imbalance. Evil is not found in nature. Evil is an unnatural form of darkness.

The prime ethic: Be not evil. To pursue the primary quest of the spiritual person without indulging in evil deeds, be these magical, spiritual or physical in expression. What we do should be natural and therefore of the good ‘Light’. The sacred five principles that express the above: Truth and Honour; Strength and Courage; Justice and Balance; Beauty and Creativity; Love and Responsibility. Our Code of conduct is based upon the principles illuminated above, which we believe will come naturally and be familiar to most people within our tradition already. They are founded upon natural lore and the principles expressed in the stories of our Celtic ancestors.

Code of conduct

Truth and Honour: Undertake to work for the good, to protect and defend the vulnerable, never working magically or otherwise to harm or to seek alliance with or knowingly accept power from evil sources.
Recommended: Respect life at all times and in all of its forms Encourage others to believe in themselves and to grow in confidence Magically use only willing and natural sources of energy.
Prohibited: Sacrifice of animal or human life Capture of spirits Cursing Worship of and/or Releasing of evil entities Sorcery Sexual exploitation or coercion Spreading hate, lies or fear Misleading, tricking, or coercing others within your duty of care.

Strength and Courage: Strive to be the best that you can be, showing courage in difficult circumstances, standing by the truth and a sense of right even when under pressure to do otherwise.
Recommended: Undertake to simply do their best and set their own standards for this, encouraging others to do likewise.
Prohibited: Any action that disempowers others or removes from them the freedom to express their own conviction about right and wrong. For example do not participate in ‘Cults’ whereby people are required to surrender personal freedom on pain of social or spiritual exclusion or worse.

Justice and Balance: There is no justice without balance. Strive to be defenders of the Earth, a beneficial (to all) natural order and preservers of truth. This requires considered effort to make fair decisions both for oneself and one’s own actions and when considering the actions of others.
Recommended: You are reminded that in nature balance is not achieved by repression of forces, simply by the measure of one force against another. It is recommended that you try as part of your spiritual endeavours to apply yourself in a measured, considered and balanced way toward others. It is recommended that at the point of conflict, positions should be stated clearly and without adding insult, and temporary accommodations should be reached (ideally compromise) until the causal issues can be decided upon once the initial heat has dissipated. When asked to judge or state an opinion about the actions of others, you are advised to avoid speculation and gossip, and to seek the facts as seen by both (all) sides before reaching a judgement.
Prohibited: Using disproportionate force Giving false testimony Making judgements on others without declaring any partiality Malicious gossip Bringing the tradition into disrepute.

Beauty and creativity: One of the signs of the work of the Gods is the beauty within our natural universe. As one becomes adept in our tradition, observing the cycles of nature and learning to hear her ‘song’ it is frequently the case that we experience the need for creative expression.
Recommended: Encourage and assist the creative process to awaken in others Use your creative skills to reflect beauty, inspire, entertain and educate. Appreciate all that is beautiful.
Prohibited: Deliberately discouraging or repressing artistic expression in others Deliberate destruction of beauty within others The use of your arts to spread misery or discord.

Love and responsibility: In spiritual terms we are one with all and all are one with us. This realisation impacts the way we feel about all things around us and all beings. Some adepts refer to universal love being the force of connection between all things. Love does not require us to be passive whilst we or our loved ones are under attack, but it does require that we leave room for honour in how we act and the possibility of redemption. We have responsibility for our actions, the actions that effect that which is about and around us.
Recommended: Take responsibility for your actions Be mindful of the needs and circumstances of others Do not forget that we are all kin within the natural universe
Prohibited: Actions that are irresponsible and which needlessly and unreasonably threaten the wellbeing of that/those which surround us.

Well now, if this doesn't smack of a christian interfaith agenda, I don't know what does...especially this nonsense about sorcery and unnatural evil. What has been defined as “evil” here not only goes on the naive assumption that contrary behaviour is willfully destructive, but the generalization that destructive behaviour is without natural cause. If anything is unnatural here, it's the attempt to relate “evil” to darkness and good to “light”. Anyone in their right mind knows that predators come in all tints and shades, especially the most dazzling....and what's this about bringing "tradition" into disrepute? Are we talking about actual Celtic tradition or those romantic plagiarisms under the artistic license of Monmouth? Is this not cult dogma assuming Celtic lore as its principle gospel?..However, I have yet to come across the authenticity of their preposterous claims anyway. As for animal sacrifice,  it was the blood made the offering while the rest was eaten at the feast. Somehow they’re confusing the issue with old Abrahamic traditions of “burnt offerings”. Trying to distort history and the laws of physics around some ideological schism is no different than creationists trying to deny evolution...and aside from all that claptrap about black magic, who gave them the right to redefine what is already in the criminal code? Sharija law for pagans? Heh, you wish.