Barbara Lee on Would You Believe, RTÉ One, Sunday, 10.25pm

Tabnabs

Just a heads up for any who are interested;

Barbara Lee

Barbara Lee, a white witch for 30 years, allows us into her suburban her home in Killiney where she shares her experience of becoming a Wiccan. Barbara firmly believes that Wicca has been hugely misrepresented in the media. Wicca ritual is about celebrating the earth, channelling positive energies and creating healing. Barbara did not take her decision to become a witch lightly. With her father a former Anglican preacher her upbringing was strictly conventional. Indeed her own two children were raised within the church of Ireland faith. But at 17 years of age, Barbara felt that there was something missing from her religion - it was the recognition of the feminine and the celebration of the cycle of life.

Today, she presides over a coven of witches that meet once a month to perform rituals and initiations. The coven also celebrates the Celtic festivals; Barbara estimates that there are 150 witches from the Alexandrian tradition in Ireland with another 2,000 pagans, druids and shamen. To become Wicca is not an easy process; firstly one must have a wide knowledge of comparative religion and mythology and undergo a nine week course before initiation can even take place. Initiation also involves performing three rituals before one becomes a member of a coven.

In 2006, Barbara's world was turned upside down when her sixteen year old daughter was diagnosed with cancer. Barbara believes that her Wicca faith helped her through the long year of nursing Rhiannon. Sadly Rhiannon passed away in Sept 2007.

She burned too brightly, my daughter yet in her short life of only eighteen years she had done what others would take a lifetime to achieve - Barbara Lee

http://www.rte.ie/tv/wouldyoubelieve/

hamsterboy

Is this gonna be repeated?
Would You Believe (:)) I missed it

HB

It's available online here.
The first one in the list-just click and watch away

Nerin

Aw.
I'll be watching it as soon as i can.

It's actually a very well done programme and very interesting.
I came across it last night by accident.
It's poignant and Babara Lee comes across like someone with a heart of gold in it-a good embassador for her beliefs.

Nevyn

She is a wonderful lady and a hell of a strong person.

Bougeoir

That was a very good programme just finished watching it there. She is a very strong, caring and lovely woman. Thanks for that!

Talliesin

It was a very good, well put-together program, which did a great job of conveying a lot in its running time. The last part was a wonderful tribute to Rhiannon; beautiful and deftly done.

Phenobarbidoll

Wow.....RTE still know how to be patronising, don't they?

Yeshua

Urm... no. It was not well done.
She was condescending in the extreme.
There is poetry in Catholicism. From the Renaissance to modern times the Catholic Church, the Anglican church joined in.
This ignorant "enlightened pagans versus idiotic christians" thing sickens me.
If a christian were to have said the same about a pagan I think things would have been different.

Nevyn

Yeshua wrote: »

Urm... no. It was not well done.
She was condescending in the extreme.
There is poetry in Catholicism. From the Renaissance to modern times the Catholic Church, the Anglican church joined in.

If it didn't make the lady's soul sing then she is entitled to her opinion.

Yeshua wrote: »

This ignorant "enlightened pagans versus idiotic christians" thing sickens me.
If a christian were to have said the same about a pagan I think things would have been different.

I think your viewing of the interviews has been coloured by your opinion.

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Bright blessings
Thaedydal

Yeshua

Thaedydal wrote: »

If it didn't make the lady's soul sing then she is entitled to her opinion.

No, she's actually not.
Entitlements are accorded, not assumed.
What she did there was not to say "in my opinion Christianity is devoid of poetry". She said it was.
It is not.
She is wrong.
It is actually that simple.

Thaedydal wrote: »

I think your viewing of the interviews has been coloured by your opinion.

Actually, you're wrong.
My viewing of the interviews was done while maintaining an open mind. The problem is she did actually say that Christianity is devoid of poetry, which is patronising and condescending, actually I believe it may well be bigotry.
This is nothing to do with my opinions coloring the interview, that's her being a bigot. Most pagans I know are bigots. It seems to be the done thing.

Nevyn

Christianity has no poetry or sense as far as I am concerned.
If it fills someone else's spiritual cup and makes thier soul sing then I am happy for them
but it is not for me.

Toots

Yeshua wrote: »

What she did there was not to say "in my opinion Christianity is devoid of poetry". She said it was.

Actually, what she said is 'There's no poetry in religion.' she didn't specify which religion.

I only just watched this now (thanks for the link Black Briar), having missed it when it was on TV. I thought it was a a great programme, and Barbara Lee came across as a very caring, intelligent, and open minded person. I didn't detect one bit of Christianity bashing in the entire episode.

Lou.m

What is with all the hate and aggression???

The woman said how she felt about it and it was a tiny part of the doc it was really about a woman going through huge personnal grief.

I think it is slightly cold that you cant respect that and treat it gently.

I have seen lots of docs where people say how diff faiths help them.

She was merely stating why christianity was not right for her what SHE felt was missing FOR HER.

It was a very personnal piece and those are her personnal feelings and that was what the crew was there to film.

She even said she loved churches and praised christianity she just explained what was missing for her thats all.

Very respectful and decent.

Yeshua

Thaedydal wrote: »

Christianity has no poetry or sense as far as I am concerned.

There is no "as far as I am concerned" about it. Christianity is based on the words of the Bible.
The Book of Songs is a poem. Whether or not you are concerned is irrelevant. It is poetry.
The Book of Proverbs is a series of poems. Whether or not you are concerned is irrelevant. It is poetry.

Paradise lost, unrelated to the bible but none the less Christian poetry is poetry. Whether or not you are concerned is irrelevant.

"The sky is fluorescent neon green and pizzas are made out of neutrinos as far as I am concerned". Now that just looks ridiculous and we accept that it is ridiculous. Just because you put "as far as I am concerned" or "in my opinion" at the end of a sentence doesn't make it any less unreasonable.

Lou.m wrote: »

What is with all the hate and aggression???

All I see here is discussion between two groups of people that disagree on a matter that is ambiguous and therefore open to dispute.

Lou.m wrote: »

I think it is slightly cold that you cant respect that and treat it gently.

She put it out on the air, she made herself open to criticism.

Nevyn

Yeshua you may find it to be poetry for you other people do not.
If you can not accept this and persist to be disruptive in this forum
your posting privilges will be removed.

Nevyn

Barbra was on the telly again, I had 3 poeple mention this to me today as I hadn't seen it.

http://www.tv3.ie/videos.php?date_mode=1&locID=1.65.370&showspanel=1&show_cal=2&page=1