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Topic: Wicca
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BORN AGAIN
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Dear Jade, for me it comes down to whether Jesus Christ rose from the dead or not on the third day. If Jesus did rise, the Bible (or rather, testimonial transcript) says that Jesus is also coming again to rule the earth from Jerusalem and that Jesus will be King of kings and Lord of lords over the earth.
Does that sound like many paths to the top of the mountain to you?
Moreover, God sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins, so that we may freely receive eternal, divine life, in part now, but later we will receive an identical glorified body as Jesus had after Jesus's resurrection.
Those who have received a glorified body will be able to enter into the world-to-come. But only those who have their sins forgiven through the death of Jesus on the cross can receive these glorified bodies.
Does that sound like many paths to the top of the mountain to you?
Lastly, if Jesus is resurrected, Jesus is not a Person to mess with. He is kind and loving, but there will come a day when He will also be severe:
"It is a fearful thingn to fall into the hands of the Living God" who made heaven and earth.
"For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
Jesus saves. Jesus is coming again. Get ready, get ready, get ready by believing in Him while there is yet time to believe in Him.
God bless, ![[Cross]](graemlins/cross.gif) BORN AGAIN
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Satan's hoofprints are all over Wicca!
Excerpted from Wicca, by William Schnoebelen
©1990 by William Schnoebelen. Reproduced by permission
Even in the lower levels of Wicca, the doctrines of Satan begin to creep in. For our rite (the Alexandrian), the sign of Second Grade is the inverted pentagram drawn on the body. This symbolizes the bottom seven Sephirot (or spheres) of the qabalistic Tree of Life. Unfortunately it is also the symbol of the satanic Goat of Mendez, one of the most celebrated symbols of devil-worship.
We were taught that this Grade was male (horned god) oriented, and that to invoke prosperity and power onto the earth plane, it was necessary to use this inverted pentagram. For us, the inverted star was the symbol of the god, and the upright star the symbol of the goddess. Thus, already in Second Grade, we were skating on the fringes of satanic practice.
The "hoofprints" of Satan were all over Wicca, and they were literally on me! As a High Priest, I did one ceremony invoking my "higher self" or Holy Guardian Angel. The being who man-ifested caused a candle in the temple to erupt violently. A little ball of fire or hot wax (I’ll never know for sure which) shot across the room and hit me in the forearm, leaving a searing brand in the precise shape of a cloven hoof. By that time, I saw it as a great blessing!
The question becomes, "How do you know that what you are doing is safe? How do you know that it isn’t satanic, even in the lower degrees? Even if you’re just a witch and not a magician, are you still in grave danger?"
Sadly, you are. Jesus tells us that anyone who is not with Him is against Him (Matthew 12:30). To be "with" Jesus means to accept Him as your Savior and make Him absolute Lord of your life. If you are a "white" witch, you probably either don’t believe in Jesus at all, or you believe He was a great sage or wise man or adept, perhaps even a witch Himself. That is not the true Jesus!
Who Really Is Jesus?
Jesus is not a sage or adept, He is the Almighty Lord God of the Universe who came in the flesh, died and shed His blood for you. If you aren’t trusting in that Jesus and that blood for your eternal destiny, then heartbreakingly, you are in Satan’s camp.
You are part of a system of ritual which is ultimately controlled by Satan! It doesn’t matter if you don’t believe in Satan, he’s still there and he’s still horrifyingly real! Just because you don’t believe in gravity doesn’t mean that if you jump off a cliff you won’t get splattered all over the landscape! The law of gravity cannot be violated with impunity, and neither can the laws of God.
If you think Satan is just a Christian myth, you are whistling in the dark. All you have to do is look over your shoulder and he is there, keeping his eye on his toy — YOU!
You don’t have to be sacrificing virgins or turning crosses upside down to be a satanist! All you have to do is spurn Jesus Christ and you are a satanist! If you remember nothing else from this book, remember this:
ALL pagan religions are controlled by Satan!
It doesn’t matter if you worship Pan or Krishna or Diana or Thor; the face behind the mask of your god is Satan’s. Even if you are a purported atheist, you are still worshiping Satan; for you have undoubtedly made one element your idol (the center of your life): whether it’s power, money, knowledge, freedom or some other ideal.
The true God says:
I am the LORD thy God... Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image (idol), or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God...
(Exodus 20:2-5)
It’s that simple. There are two religious systems in the world. One is controlled by Satan. The other owes its only allegiance to Jesus Christ. Put simply, if you aren’t a believer in Jesus Christ as Almighty God come in the flesh to save you from your sins, you are a satanist!
You see, both my wife and I worked unbelievably hard to be the best possible priestly couple we could be and lead our covens well. We studied and memorized rituals. We counselled our people and tried to help them with their various problems. We were desperately sincere, and thought Christianity was just a bigoted, monotheistic system of legalistic jive!
The Fantasy Goes Sour
But we were never really at peace. We did all the right things and tried to help our people grow, but they never seemed fulfilled either. They acted happy, but their eyes were dark and hollow. They said they were fulfilled, but their lives denied it. We were the ONLY married couple we knew in all our years of Wicca that didn’t get divorced!
Sadly, a majority of the people we tried to help got worse! Many of them became either so filled with their own egos that they could never relate to anyone else or they sank into the mire of drugs or liquor. Two or three went quite insane!
In Milwaukee, we had psychic wars between groups. Witches were shooting at each other in the streets because of adultery! Curses were filling the air like mosquitoes on a hot Wisconsin night!
Pagans like to make fun of Catholics because of all the wars they started, but the only difference between the Pagans and the Catholics is that the Pagans never ran a government and had the power to raise armies. I used to read THE GREEN EGG, Tim Zell’s Neo-pagan magazine. Almost every issue contained a vicious feud in the letter columns.
Why? Because you are dealing with sinful, fallen human beings, that’s why! God says the human heart is desperately wicked and deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9). Without Jesus Christ, people are going to act like spoiled brats! Look around you! How else can you account for all the evil in the world? Killing, bigotry, rape and war — these are the fruits of Satan-worship, under its many guises.
But love, joy, peace, patience, and long-suffering are the fruits of the Holy Spirit.
You may not call yourself a satanist, but if you have not made Jesus Christ your Lord and Master, then Satan is your lord and master. We learned this the hard way! No amount of effort, study or practice on your part will ever bring you the peace or fulfillment you seek. Nor will belonging to any church, Protestant, Catholic or Jewish.
If I’m a Witch, What Can I Do?
Christianity is not a religion! It is anti-religion!! Religion is man’s attempts to do certain things to please his deity. Christianity is a relationship with the Lord of the Universe, Jesus Christ! Only trusting in Jesus for your salvation can make you a saved person:
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
(Romans 10:13)
Church affiliation or following a litany of legalistic rules won’t do it. Those concepts are lies foisted on the world by Satan, then gradually adopted by many major denominations. But it is not what the Bible says:
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
(Romans 10:9-10)
Religionists, of whatever stripe, who make a career out of frightening people and making them work their way to God, are preaching a lie from the pit of hell! You don’t have to live your life in agony, wondering about your fate after death. Nor do you have to worry about "karma" and the wheel of rebirth! John the Apostle wrote:
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life.
(1 John 5:13)
Not hope, but "KNOW" that you can have eternal life with God forever! Consider the alternative Wicca offers you, supposedly lifetime after lifetime trying to pick up your mistakes from previous lifetimes. I would not treat a DOG that badly!
Besides, isn’t the prospect of living in resurrected glory with Jesus more appealing than spending a few more hundred lifetimes running around the treadmill of the wheel of karma, chasing a shapeless future?
Jesus makes it so easy for you. All you have to do is lay aside your pride and belief in all those Pagan gods and admit that they cannot save you. Ask Jesus to forgive your sins and save you from hell and to be the Lord of your life (Romans 10:9-13). Jesus is real, and will be delighted to meet you right where you are!
Thank God, there is an alternative — a blessed assurance of eternal life! That’s quite a promise! All you need to do to receive it is simply do these five things:
1. Admit to God that you’re not perfect, that you’re a sinner. As the Bible says: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23). Realize that it is only by having faith in Jesus and Him only for your salvation that you can become a child of God and heir to the promise. (Ephesians 2:8-9).
2. Repent and turn away from those sins, especially the sin of witchcraft. God says, "...rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft;" (1 Samuel 15:23) and "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." (Luke 13:3).
3. Pray and ask Jesus to come into your heart and take away your sins! (Romans 10:9-13). Ask Him to be your Savior! "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." (1 Timothy 2:5)
4. Make Jesus the Lord of your life and give Him control over every part of it. See John 14:15: "If ye love me, keep my commandments." And Romans 12:1-2:
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.
5. Then know that you are saved (1 John 5:13) and that Satan no longer has any hold over you. You have full assurance of heaven — assurance that no person can give, but Jesus can! He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6)
It’s that simple! Why put your trust in books and rituals that were written by flawed men and women — especially since much of it is manufactured and made up out of whole cloth? Are people like Alex Sanders or Gerald Gardner worth trusting over Jesus? Who else can redeem you?
If you say, as some "white" witches have to me, that you need no redeemer — that you depend on yourself for spiritual salvation; then you are mouthing the creeds of the satanist! Anton LaVey, the head of the Church of Satan, wrote:
Here and now is our day of joy! Here and now is our opportunity! Choose ye this day, this hour, for no redeemer liveth. Say unto thine own heart, "I am mine own redeemer."
You see how far into the enemy’s camp you already are? You are telling Jesus Christ that you don’t need Him! You are saying to Him that He shed His blood on Calvary in vain in your case! Why do you ignore the plain testimony of His resurrection and saving power? Why do you ignore the Bible in favor of religions made up by people? Why do you trust Gerald Gardner more than the most trustworthy book in human history?
God has promised that His Word (Who is Jesus, see John 1:1-14) will endure forever! His Word is perfect and eternal and will outlast both the heavens and the earth (Matt.5:18; 1 Peter 1:24-25) Can’t you take Him at His word?
Realize, as I did after over a year of study and research, that not one Biblical prophecy has failed to happen exactly as predicted; and that Jesus Himself was the fulfillment of over 300 Old Testament prophecies! Some prophecies in Daniel foretold events hundreds and even thousands of years in the future, yet all have been fulfilled right down to the very year! What witch or psychic has that kind of track record?
Please remember, we’re talking about eternity here! What if your belief system is wrong — dangerously wrong? God says that without Jesus, you, as a Witch or Pagan, will go into the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8). Are the books and people in whom you are putting your faith for spiritual success that trustworthy? Don’t you owe it to yourself to at least investigate what I’m telling you?
Remember, I’ve been there! Wicca, however noble and idealistic it might seem, is a modern, artificial religion created by cleaning up continental satanism a bit. It’s like putting rouge and mascara on a decomposing corpse! The rotten, putrid heart is the same, it just looks nicer.
There are only two kinds of Wiccans, the "higher ups" who know that Satan is their god; and the innocent ones of lower Grade who think they’re worshipping nature deities.
Which kind are you?
In case you have any thoughts about trying to remain an "innocent" Pagan, just playing in the forest and worshiping the goddess, hear what God’s Word has to say about nature deities:
Professing themselves to be wise (wise ones?), they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
(Romans 1:22-25)
Come to Jesus! It will be the best decision you ever made!
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Are you a Wiccan? You'll find proof of the author's statements by reading his book Wicca. If you have further questions you may contact the author, William Schnoebelen at schnoeb@mchsi.com
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The Truth About WICCA (Witchcraft):
ADLER — THE RELIGION OF WICCA
Another source of neopolytheism is the neopagan revival of the religion of Wicca. This movement, popularly known as witchcraft, has a significant overlap with the feminist movement. They too have a deep-seated abhorrence of monotheism. National Public Radio reporter and feminist witch Margot Adler expresses this view in her book, Drawing Down the Moon. She agrees with historian James Breasted that "monotheism is but imperialism in religion." Adler also refers to monotheism as one of "the totalistic religious and political views that dominate our society." As far as neopagans are concerned, "Islam and Christian fundamentalism are seen as appropriate individual spiritual paths as long as each is seen as merely a flower in the garden." In this sense, she adds, "Polytheism always includes monotheism. The reverse is not true."38
The Pantheistic Connection
Most polytheistic neopagans are also pantheistic, though strangely, a few claim to be "agnostic," attracted primarily on aesthetic grounds. At first this seems contradictory. How can everything be one (pantheism) when there are many gods? Within their system, however, this is perfectly consistent. Reality is one in the sense of one ultimate impersonal Force, but it is many in that there are numerous personal manifestations of this ultimate divinity.
Hinduism has long sported a belief in one ultimate impersonal deity ("Brahman") with millions of personal gods as lower manifestations of It. It is at this point that the pantheistic polytheism of neopaganism significantly overlaps with the New Age movement. George Lucas's Star Wars "religion of the Jedi" is a significant example. His acknowledged roots tap into both Buddhism and the Mexican sorcerer, Don Juan. In the Lucas biography, Dale Pollock notes that "Lucas's concept of the Force was heavily influenced by Carlos Castaneda's Tales of Power. This is an account of a supposed Mexican Indian sorcerer, Don Juan, who uses the phrase 'life force.'"39
Irvin Kershner, the director of Lucas's movie, The Empire Strikes Back, is a Zen Buddhist. Kershner admitted of the film: "I wanna introduce some Zen here because I don't want the kids to walk away just feeling that everything is shoot-em-up, but there's also a little something to think about here in terms of yourself and your surroundings."40 In fact, Lucas's biographer, Dale Pollock, acknowledges that "Yoda's philosophy is Buddhist — he tells Luke that the Force requires him to be calm, at peace, and passive."41
Whatever the source of the Force of Star Wars, it is clear that it is similar to the pantheistic polytheism of neopagan witches. Lucas himself called it a "religion" three times in the first movie of his Star Wars trilogy,42 and he admitted to Time magazine that the Force was "God." He claimed that the simple message of the movie was that "there is a God and there is both a good side and a bad side [to God]. You have a choice between them, but the world works better if you're on the good side."43 Not only are both the religion of the Force and the religion of Wicca pantheistic, but central to both is a belief in sorcery. Luke Skywalker, the hero of Star Wars, is a sorcerer. So, even more clearly, is the hero of Lucas's subsequent film, "Willow."
The Polytheistic Manifestations
Surely the apostle's statement, "there be gods many and lords many" (1 Cor. 8:5), is applicable afresh with the rise of neopaganism. According to neopagans, one is free to worship any gods or goddesses, ancient or modern, from the East or West. Some worship Apollo and Diana. Others, like Theodore Roszak, author of Where the Wasteland Ends, are admittedly animistic. As represented by Adler, he believes that "the statue and sacred grove were transparent windows....by which the witness was escorted through to sacred ground beyond and participated in the divine."44
Most neopagans revive one of the Western forms of polytheism. While the names of the gods differ, "most often the names are Celtic, Greek, or Latin." Some neopagans debate about the ontological status of their "gods," assigning an idealistic or aesthetic role to them. But as one put it, "all these things are within the realm of possibility. It has been our nature to call these 'gods.'" She defines a god as "an eternal being, and in that sense we, too, are gods."45
Margot Adler notes, however, that "the deities of most Wicca groups are two: the God, lord of animals, lord of death and beyond, and the Goddess, the Triple Goddess in her three aspects: Maiden, Mother, and Crone." Each of her aspects "is symbolized by a phase of the moon — the waxing crescent, the full moon, and the waning crescent." In this sense Adler suggests that many neopagans "might well be considered 'duotheists,' conceiving of deity as the Goddess of the Moon, Earth, and sea, and the God of the woods, the hunt, the animal realm." She adds, however, that "feminist Witches are often monotheists, worshipping the Goddess as the One."46
Indeed, some describe themselves as monotheistic polytheists. Morgan McFarland, a Dallas witch, declared: "I see myself as monotheistic in believing in the Goddess, Creatrix, the Female Principle, but at the same time acknowledging that other gods and goddesses do exist through her as manifestations of her, facets of the whole."47 Obviously, by her own definition her use of "monotheistic" here is misleading; her belief is really the same as that of other neopagans, namely a many-faceted (polytheistic) manifestation of pantheism.
The Feminist Connection
There is also a close connection between neopaganism and feminism. Of course, not all neopagans are feminists, and not all feminists are neopagans. Nonetheless, neopaganism has a magnetic pull on many feminists. Margot Adler describes the dynamics this way: "Many feminist Witchcraft covens have....attracted women from all walks of life. But even there, most of these women have already been strengthened by the feminist movement, or by consciousness-raising groups, or by an important experience such as divorce, separation, or a homosexual encounter."48
One neopagan feminist put it this way: "We have found that women working together are capable of conjuring their past and reawakening their old ascendancy.... This does not seem to happen when men are present....It seems that in mixed covens, no matter how 'feminist' the women are, a kind of competition begins to happen. Among the women alone, none of this occurs, and a great reciprocity develops, unlike anything I have seen before."49
Some were witches before they were feminists. Z. Budapest, a famous Hungarian-born teacher of witchcraft, said: "I was a Witch before I became a feminist....I observed my mother talking to the dead. I saw her go into a trance and feel presences around her. She is an artist and her art often reflects Sumerian influences....She tells fortunes and can still the wind." But after coming to New York Z. Budapest experienced social oppression, ending up, as Adler relates it, "in a traditional role: wife and mother. After twelve years, feeling limited and enslaved, she was driven to make a suicide attempt. During this attempt she had a vision in which she died and death was not fearful."50 At this point her awareness as a witch and the feminist perspective meet in the attempt to liberate her womanhood from her perceived oppression.
As far back as the 1890s Charles G. Leland wrote that whenever "there is a period of radical intellectual rebellion, against long-established conservativism, hierarchy, and the like, there is always an effort to regard women as a fully equal, which means superior sex." Further, he noted that in witchcraft "it is the female who is the primitive principle." That is, "the perception of this [tyranny] drove vast numbers of the discontented into rebellion, and as they could not prevail by open warfare, they took their hatred out in a form of secret anarchy, which was, however, intimately blended with superstition and fragments of old tradition." Adler notes that Leland is most popular with the feminist groups in the craft partly because he "places the feminine principle first."51
AN EVALUATION OF NEOPAGAN POLYTHEISM AND FEMINISM
There are many obvious condemnations of neopagan polytheism in the Bible, but my evaluation here will be strictly philosophical. In the interest of fairness I will limit my criticisms to questions of coherence or internal consistency. The first four criticisms apply to polytheism in general. The rest are directed at the neopagan feminist forms.
The Denial of Rationality. In keeping with their mystical orientation, many neopolytheists are at root irrationalists. Miller's dismissal of any system that operates "according to fixed concepts and categories" and is controlled by an either/or kind of logic is a case in point. He rejects the idea that something is "either true or false, either this or that, either beautiful or ugly, either good or evil."52 What he fails to notice, however, is that in contending that his own polytheism is true as opposed to false he has engaged in an either/or type of thinking. Everything cannot be true, including opposites. So, if it is either polytheism or monotheism, then one cannot deny the validity of either/or type thinking. In fact, the polytheist cannot avoid such thinking, otherwise his or her position cannot be made intelligible.
The Denial of Ultimate Unity. There is also a self-defeating nature to the polytheistic denial of ultimate unity. Everything cannot be radically pluralistic. We live in a uni-verse not a multi-verse. Indeed, the polytheistic position is offered as a unified system of thought. But in presenting a unified thought about ultimate reality, they deny the very philosophy they are advocating. If reality were radically polytheistic we could not even know it. Any claim to know ultimate reality betrays a more basic commitment to a unity of thought that denies the polytheistic view.
Failure to Ask the Ultimate Question. While some pagan religions speak of origins, few ask the ultimate question. There are gods acting, but — as C. S. Lewis noted — they fail to ask: "How does a play originate? Does it write itself? Do the actors make it up as they go along? Or is there someone — not on the stage, not like the people on stage — someone we don't see — who invented it all and caused it to be? — this is rarely asked or answered." If they did, they would see that nature is created. And, Lewis adds, "to say that God created Nature, while it brings God and Nature into relation, also separates them. What makes and what is made must be two, not one. Thus the doctrine of Creation in one sense empties Nature of divinity"53 and thereby destroys paganism.
Failure to Submit to the Ultimate God. Furthermore, if the pagan realized that "Nature and God were distinct; the One had made the other; the One ruled and the other obeyed," then he or she would not worship the gods but rather the God. As Lewis observed, "the difference between believing in God and in many gods is not one of arithmetic. [For] 'gods' is not really the plural of God; God has no plural."54 But herein is revealed the depravity of polytheism. For they prefer to worship a god they make, rather than the God who made them. As one neopagan concluded: "I realized it wasn't so outrageous, and that we could choose what deities to follow....[For] the element of Christianity that bothered...[me] was its requirement to be submissive to the deity." He adds, "Gods have similar characteristics to humans....To some extent they are flawed and that makes them more approachable."55 In biblical language this is a vivid confession of the fact that they "suppress the truth in unrighteousness....and change the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man...." (Rom. 1:18, 23).
Creedal Pronouncements. Many neopagan witches flatly reject the idea of The Witches' Bible (written by Gavin and Yvonne Frost), fuming at "the word the, since the book, in their view, had nothing to do with their religion." They claim that modern pagans "remain anti-authoritarian," taking pride in themselves as being "the most flexible and adaptable of religions, since it is perfectly willing to throw out dogmas...."56
Their protests notwithstanding, neopaganism has its own creeds and dogmas. First of all, even a Wicca Priestess admits: "I've seen a lot of people in the Craft get hung up on fragments of ritual and myth. Some people accept these fragments as a dogma." Second, while protesting creeds Adler lays down a set of "basic beliefs" which she claims "most people in this book share."57 She seems blissfully unaware that a creed is by any other name still a creed. The creed she confesses is informative. In her own words:
The world is holy. Nature is holy. The body is holy. Sexuality is holy. The mind is holy. The imagination is holy. You are holy....Thou art Goddess. Thou art God. Divinity is immanent in all Nature. It is as much within you as without.58
There are several standard doctrines of neopaganism in this creed, including pantheism, polytheism, animism, self-deificationism, and — more covertly — free sexual expression.
On April 11-14, 1974 The Council of American Witches hammered out a creed they called "Principles of Wiccan Belief." It should be no surprise that they came up with a list of thirteen basic principles! These include practicing "Rites to attune ourselves with the natural rhythm of life forces," living in harmony with Nature (ecological balance), and belief in the "Creative Power in the Universe" manifest in male and female polarities. Interestingly, they disavowed Devil worship and the belief that Christianity is "the only way."59 It is clear that they think this is the only way to believe about Christianity.
Reversed Sexism. It is ironic indeed that the very complaint that gave rise to the feminist movement is (for many) their own manifest sin. The admission that neopagan witchcraft appeals to feminists because it offers women a role as a "superior" sex is self-condemning. And the existence of many women-only groups is further condemnation of their sexist practices. Add to this the so-called "monotheistic" worship of only the female Goddess and we have, by their own standards, sexism on the highest level. Certainly, neopagan feminism has lost all ground to complain about so-called "sexist" language in the Bible. Morgan McFarland spoke of the desirably unique spiritual experience that women alone have, as opposed to what is possible when males are present.60 What is this but de facto religious sexism by their own definition? One can scarcely imagine a male-dominated group suggesting the same without the whole feminist movement coming down on its defenseless heads.
Spiritual Exclusivism. If there is one thing in which neopaganism prides itself it is inclusivism and diversity. They usually insist that they have no creeds and allow total diversity of expression. For example, in theory one can worship any god he or she wishes to worship. However, in practice it is a different matter, as is evidenced by several factors. First, the very existence of secret "covens" reveals the exclusivistic nature of the group.
Second, the existence of an initiation rite is an earmark of exclusiveness. In defense, witches claim "initiation is primarily a method to protect the institution of the Craft from people calling themselves 'witches' who are insincere, 'evil' or would give the Craft a bad name."61 However, why try to distinguish the "sincere" from the insincere or protect it from "evil" unless there is some genuine form to be preserved?
Third, many neopagans claim that "Witchcraft was once the universal religion, which has been driven underground to service in secret, with much being lost."62 What is this claim to universality but an implicit exclusivism — a claim to be the most legitimate or authentic religion?
Fourth, even the "Principles of Wiccan Belief" adopted by The Council of American Witches has a strong statement excluding the belief that Christianity is "the only way." They frankly acknowledge this as "our only animosity toward Christianity."63 What most all-inclusivistic groups seem to not understand is that every truth claim is exclusive. For if C (say, Christianity) is true, then of necessity all non-C is false. Likewise, if P (polytheism) is true, then all non-P is false. The neopagan religion of Wicca is just as exclusivistic as any other religion that claims to have discovered truth about reality.
Fifth, neopagans affirm that "polytheism always includes monotheism. The reverse is not true."64 "Includes" is not the proper word; "absorbs" or "swallows" would be a more accurate description. For while giving the appearance of being all-inclusive, it is extremely exclusive of all orthodox forms of monotheism. In other words, it is "open" to anything that does not oppose its own view. In short, it conceals its own exclusivism under a cloak of inclusivistic language. But down underneath it believes that the only way is to deny there is an only way.
Dr. Geisler is Dean of Southern Evangelical Seminary, Charlotte, North Carolina
From: http://www.lifeandtruth.com
Posts: 3276 | From: Charlestown, IN | Registered: Jun 2002
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Eduardo Grequi
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I can only say, that there is only one God and He is the Creator. There is no female deity. Goddes is a female demondeity.
Jade if you worship a different God and do not believe that Jesus is the only begotten of the Father, then you are not my brother/sister
It is quoted in the bible that if you do the work of Satan then your father is Satan.
We are not family.
I believe that the Bible is the word of God, I will discern this and your belief as evil regardless how christian-like you want to make your self. Deny Christ this side of Glory, He- Jesus, will deny you on the other side of glory.
Posts: 771 | From: Belvidere, IL | Registered: Oct 2004
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Romey
New Member
Member # 4186
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posted
I am getting in on this topic kinda late sence I just joined this forum yesterday but I just need to say something.
I do was once into other things such as wicca and witchcraft. But Jesus the son of the ONLY TRUE and LIVING GOD is the ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN.
I am so thankful that the blinders were removed from my eyes. The devil will use whatever he can to deceive people and the people in these so called religions are deceived.
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Here I am to worship
Here I am to bow down
Here I am to say you are my God
Posts: 6 | Registered: Dec 2004
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DaveLissa
Community Member
Member # 2808
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posted
quote:
Originally posted by Jade:
I pray to the same God you pray to, however, I see God as being cabable of inhabiting many forms.
Peace and Love
Jade
Jade, I think you missed the main point.
I'm from a country that is predominantly Buddhist, and has more Hindus than Christians.
All religions have good thoughts, good works in them, but this is the point.
None of them can save you.
Meditation does not save you.
A religious belief does not save you.
Worship does not save you.
Even prayer does not save you.
Only Jesus saves, and there is only one way to the Father.
All the good things the others feed you are just shadows of the Son.
Dave
Posts: 13 | Registered: Feb 2004
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MentorsRiddle
Advanced Member
Member # 2108
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posted
Depending on what version of Wicca you follow, you can be reincarnated into an animal, but the most popular thought is that you are reincarnated over and over untill you become perfect in spirit and learn all of life's lessons. Karma, etc.
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With you I rise,
In you I sleep,
kneeling down I kiss your feet,
Grace abounds upon me now,
I once was lost
but now I'm found.
The gift of God dwells within,
To this love I now give in.
Posts: 1337 | From: Arkansas | Registered: Sep 2003
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WhiteEagle
Advanced Member
Member # 3728
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posted
Dear Jade,
You've received quite a few responses from people who have been personally involved with Wicca.
I'm not irrational, as I am telling you how the wiccans I've personally known have behaved.
While I can see that you are not the same type of personality, and are a sincere person, who does strive to love others, and I have no problem with that. We certainly need more people to be lovers.
I also Glorify God Almighty, who is the God of the Bible, for the wonders and beauty of the creation. I enjoy the outdoors, and find it's very soothing to one's soul to be in nature and not always cooped up in some building.
As a Christian, I don't put my God to "reside" in the creation, He is outside of it, as He made it all. He is separate from the Creation.
You still didn't answer my question about re-incarnation:
I sincerely don't know what the Wiccan belief is regarding this. Do Wiccans believe they can be changed into an animal or plant in the next life?
I know that the Hindu religion does believe in this, and that's one reason they worship cows, as they believe a god resides within the cow.
I realize my posts to you are somewhat abrasive, and I apoligize, it's not directed to you personally, but to the whole deceptive concept of Wicca.
Posts: 1392 | From: Maine | Registered: Aug 2004
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MentorsRiddle
Advanced Member
Member # 2108
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posted
Hello there,
There was once a time when I practiced Wicca, Witchcraft, and other assorted pegan religions. First let me tell you this: while these paths of religion are very interesting, and can give the practicioner a sence of power, or a sence if knowing something that others do not, this religion and all forms of pegan worship is evil.
When I practiced this religion, for around six months or so, I did not pray once during that period, except to the pegan gods that I was praising. During this six month period I slowly felt myself getting very emotionless, and sad, and I didn't really know why. The deeper I got into this practice the more sorrowful I grew.
One night I felt God tugging at my heart, and praied to him and asked for forgiveness. I must have cried for like 2 hours or so. And I started to feel alive inside again, and started to feel better than I have ever felt in that six month period. God pulled me back to him and revealed alot about witchcraft to me, and the history of witchcraft and where it came from. Please my friend for your sake, and any others that may be reading this. Do not practice this evil religion because in the end it will only hurt you, and those you care about... Trust me, I speak from experience...
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With you I rise,
In you I sleep,
kneeling down I kiss your feet,
Grace abounds upon me now,
I once was lost
but now I'm found.
The gift of God dwells within,
To this love I now give in.
Posts: 1337 | From: Arkansas | Registered: Sep 2003
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Study
Advanced Member
Member # 3991
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posted
I posted this early this morning. I fell it warrant posting again.
W I t C h C r A f t
It’s funny how Satan try to deceive.
God Bless
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http://www.biblenotebooks.com
The book no Christian should be without!
Posts: 364 | From: NJ | Registered: Oct 2004
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helpforhomeschoolers
Advanced Member
Member # 15
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posted
Our God says that there is no way to know him except through faith in and of HIS Son Jesus Christ. You may know of him even the demons do, but you do know him and he does not answer your prayers unless you pray them in the name of Christ and you can't do that if you deny him.
Posts: 4684 | From: Southern Black Hills of South Dakota | Registered: Jun 2002
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Caretaker
Advanced Member
Member # 36
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posted
Jade you do not follow or pray to our God, for any who reject our Lord Jesus Christ, reject the true and eternal YHWH, Creator and Sustainer of the universe and Savior of all who will come to HIM through Christ Jesus our Lord. If you are not of Christ, then you are of the world and have a different god then we:
1 Cor.
4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
John 3:
6: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17: For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18: He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
1 John 2:
22: Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
23: Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.
In your rejection of YHWH, the God of the Word and the WORD who is GOD, you Jade are in actual fact worshipping Satan, the god of this world.
2 Cor.
11:14
And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
There is one and only one pathway to God and that is through Jesus Christ.
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A Servant of Christ,
Drew
1 Tim. 3:
16: And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh..
Posts: 3978 | From: Council Grove, KS USA | Registered: Jun 2002
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redkermit
Advanced Member
Member # 4059
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posted
quote:
Originally posted by Jade:
I pray to the same God you pray to, however, I see God as being cabable of inhabiting many forms.
Peace and Love
Jade
So, if you pray to the same God I do, you are in essence, a Christian then? I know you are not, since you stated you are a Wiccan, but then why would you pray to the same God I do? As you also mentioned a goddess, do you pray to her, also? If so, then I do not see how we pray to the same God, as I believe there is only one God, and there is no "goddess".
I know things can be mis-interpreted on these message boards since we can't see facial expressions or hear voice inflection, so I just want you to know I am sincerely asking you questions to understand exactly what you believe. I am not being sarcastic or anything like that.
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I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. (Ps. 84:10b)
1 John 2:6
Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
Listen Online:
www.wmuz.com
www.997flr.org
Posts: 604 | From: Michigan | Registered: Nov 2004
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Jade
Community Member
Member # 4118
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posted
I pray to the same God you pray to, however, I see God as being cabable of inhabiting many forms.
Peace and Love
Jade
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Prayer comes in many forms.
Posts: 10 | Registered: Nov 2004
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helpforhomeschoolers
Advanced Member
Member # 15
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posted
Jade: the problem with the Wiccan Rede is this:
There is ONE God who is god of all other god's, you don't have to believe it; your disbelief does not make it any less so. The ONE God who is God of Gods has provided ONE way to know him and to love him and to receive HIS grace. That way is Jesus Christ.
This ONE God of gods is the creator of life and of the heavens and the stars and the planets and they were created by HIM for HIS pleasure.
It does not please him that people honor other gods. In fact, it displeases him so much that one day very soon, he is going to pour out wrath upon this planet and destroy it and all that is in it. The only people who will be spared this wrath are those who have become HiS Children through belief and faith and obedience to HIS only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
Now the problem with the Rede is that it encourages people to believe that they are being loving in their practice of Wicca. But in reality, what you do is a hateful thing, because you encourage others to do something that will cause them to receive God Almighty's wrath.
Your ignorance of the truth, does not make it any less the truth. Now you are no longer ignorant of the truth for you have been told; your denial of the truth that you have heard, will bring wrath upon you and it will also bring wrath for those whom you lead down the path that leads to wrath.
Please know that I am not judging you; I have friends of many years who are wiccan, some are witches and some are not. All of them are people of good kind works, they give, they share, they help, they have kind words and gentle ways and you won't hear them gossiping or speaking ill of others. In many respects they are nicer people than some Christians I know. But those things will not spare us from wrath. You see the God of gods is a JUST God; and man is born with sin. I know you do not believe that either, but the scriptures say that men parish for a lack of knowledge. Look at any infant who has just been put down when he didn't want to be put down and tell me we are not born with sin. That baby id capable of much rage. Because we are born with sin, we are already condemned creatures. This world and everything in it deteriorating, dying because of sin. And you can't do enough good works to keep your self from dying and going into eternal damnation even if you did nothing but good from the moment you were born. It would not be enough. And while God is merciful and provided for us a way to be saved from eternal damnation through Jesus Christ, God is not unjust and he cannot allow you to be saved from eternal damnation if you deny the one who paid your debt for sin.
God loves you Jade; He created you for a purpose and part of that purpose is to love him and to be loved by him; sin separates you from that love and no matter how much you deny it the empty space is there, the space that no one or nothing can fill accept HIM. He has provided a way for you to be exactly where you were created to be and that way is Christ Jesus. God stands and waits at the door for you Jade. Wont you open the door and let him in?
Posts: 4684 | From: Southern Black Hills of South Dakota | Registered: Jun 2002
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redkermit
Advanced Member
Member # 4059
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posted
Jade - you posted in the prayer request forum:
"I pray that you, your father, and your family make it through this.
Peace and Love,
Jade"
As a Wiccan, who exactly are you praying to?
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I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. (Ps. 84:10b)
1 John 2:6
Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
Listen Online:
www.wmuz.com
www.997flr.org
Posts: 604 | From: Michigan | Registered: Nov 2004
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Jade
Community Member
Member # 4118
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posted
Elohim, there are variations of Wicca. Your cousin was simply involved in a more "magic" oriented tradition. There is nothing wrong with that, however, Witchcraft is not Wicca, for reasons I've stated before.
Peace and Love
Jade
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Prayer comes in many forms.
Posts: 10 | Registered: Nov 2004
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Jade
Community Member
Member # 4118
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posted
WhiteEagle, you are wrong in your assumptions.
I am Wiccan, and I worship the God and Goddess, not the "creation".
I am Wiccan, and I love my neighbors.
I am Wiccan, and I do not practice Witchcraft.
I am Wiccan, and I do not seek to control others.
I am Wiccan, and I have no inherent bias toward Christianity.
I am Wiccan, and I am not a hypocrite.
Your irrational generalizations, WhiteEagle, are totally wrong, and I suggest your learn the difference between "white magic", and the nature based religion of Wicca. A good website to look at is: www.wicca.com. Visit the message boards there, you'll learn a lot.
Laurie, I never said that all Christians do good out of fear. However, I've met a few that do. I believe religion is a personal experience, no matter if someone tells me "I'm going to burn in Hell" for believing what I believe.
Love, that's all that matters. Love for God, love for others, love for self. That sums what our attitude, as humans, should be. If we love ourselves, we can love others. If we love others, we treat them respectfully, kindly, and help them when they need it. If we love God(dess), we can grow spiritually. And I am deeply thankful for that.
When I stated that most Wiccans are better Christians than some Christians, I was flustered, and I apologize for that statement.
Peace and Love Be Our Guides,
Jade
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Prayer comes in many forms.
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WhiteEagle
Advanced Member
Member # 3728
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posted
quote:
Originally posted by Jade:
Another important issue you have touched is some people use the term "witch" and "wiccan" interchangably. This should not be done, due to the fact that the words mean totally different things. A Witch is someone who practices the "science, art, skill, etc" of Witchcraft. That's it. It implies no connection to any religion. But, a Wiccan is someone who practices the nature based religion of Wicca.
By the way, not all Wiccans are Witches, and not all Witches are Wiccans.
Wiccans may not practice the so-called sciences of witchcraft, but they do practice issue of control on others, and in your mind it's for the good. Any practice that tries to exert control over others is Witchcraft. A lot of CEO's practice witchcraft, a lot of parents practice witchcraft and even a lot of Christian Churches practice "witchcraft" in that all these people attempt to "control" the thoughts and actions of other people.
I know what Wicca teaches in theory, but in practice, any of the people I met who are wiccan in their beliefs are very "controlling type People". some use fear to intimidate others. Some use guilt on others. They have a patronizing and superior mentality over others. This is my experience in meeting people who pracitce Wicca.
quote:
You've also claimed a few "similarities" betweeen Satan and the Wiccan God and Goddess that are totally erroneous. Wiccans don't believe in a malevolent entity known as Satan, just to clarify. And no Wiccans call on God using the name of Lucipher. Wicca does not demand oaths of commitment of its followers. Wicca serves to unite its practitioners with the God and Goddess, not seperate them.
Also, Wiccans see all Gods as one God, all Goddesses as one Goddess, and all Deities as one Deity. They see the Divine(god, goddess) as a one single entity, but with many different forms.
Wiccans don't live to "please" their Gods anymore than Christians live to "please" God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit. They live in connection with the God and Goddess, the same way Christians are connected to Jesus.
A final note, Wiccans don't live in fear of "burning in the fires of Hell", in fact, most believe in the doctrine of reincarnation. Wiccans do good because its the right thing to do, not out of fear that someone will send them to a place to suffer. Its funny, most of the Wiccans I've seen are better Christians than some Christians I've seen.
Wiccans "love their neighbors", no matter what religion they subscribe to.
Let Peace and Love Be Our Guides,
Jade
Wiccans in reality do NOT love their neighbors no matter what religion they subscribe to.
I have first hand experience to the Wiccan bias against Christianity.
You believe in lots of gods, because you are worshipping Demons, my friend and they are tricking you.
Unfortunately even though you don't believe in Satan, he does believe in you.
I've seen these lovers of Gaia and Mother Earth first hand. They are hypercrites.
Posts: 1392 | From: Maine | Registered: Aug 2004
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WhiteEagle
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Member # 3728
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posted
Also correct me if I'm wrong, but Wicca teaches:
One people, One world, One Government.
I went to the camp of anti-war protesters, and they had big banners proclaiming this belief.
Read about the Tower of Babel. Those people also claimed the same ideas. It's in Genesis.
I just read that you don't worship the creation, but correct me again:
Wiccans worship the god that they believe is in all the natural world. You do admit to believing in Re-incarnation. Do you believe you may be re-incarnated into a plant or animal?
Posts: 1392 | From: Maine | Registered: Aug 2004
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LaurieFL
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posted
Also, in response to your saying we Christians do "good" out of fear. I do whatever "good" I do out of a passionate love for others, especially children who suffer. This is a burden God placed upon my heart and created in me, and I help becaue I want to do so. Before I gave my life to Christ, I didn't care about anything except myself and my bank account.
Posts: 700 | Registered: Aug 2004
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LaurieFL
Advanced Member
Member # 3794
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posted
Jesus said "I am the way, the turth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father except by me."
This is what I believe to be absolute truth. Therefore I believe all other religions to be falsehoods and lies and damnation unto eternal torment for the practitioners, unless they turn from their wicked ways.
I am sure I sound pretty ignorant to you. However, I have multiple college and advanced degrees in the physical sciences, and I pursued a variety of philosophical and religious and non-religious paths in my life. The only answer I have ever found to be true and real and to make a definitive difference in my life is a belief and faith in Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
I do not hate people who practice other religions at all, but I do feel pity for them as they are greatly deceived, and I will attempt to lead them to the correct path by my words, actions, and/or prayers as often as possible.
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WhiteEagle
Advanced Member
Member # 3728
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posted
To Jade:
In my part of the country, Maine there is a lot of Wiccans. We even have a yearly "Common Ground Fair" that the Wiccans are the major participaters. This yearly Fair allows all opinions in their political boothes, EXCEPT Christianity. The Christian viewpoint has been baned from their fair.
I know a woman who used to be a Wiccan. she practiced making horoscopes, would dance "naked" in the moonlight, used Tarot Cards, etc.
Wicca is called a "white magic" that tries to control others. Any practice that tries to control others is Witchcraft.
Wiccans worship the "creation" and not the Creator. They do believe in a Mother Goddess, such as Gaia, or Mother Earth.
True they have the saying :If it harms none, do as you will."
Satanists also have this saying.
Practicing Wicca opens one up to spiritual darkness, not to God and His Holy Spirit.
Posts: 1392 | From: Maine | Registered: Aug 2004
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Jade
Community Member
Member # 4118
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posted
Contrary to what you believe about Wicca, Favor Minded, Wiccans do not worship nature. They see the work of the God and Goddess in the moon, the trees, the ocean; they feel the presence of the Divine in nature. However, they do not bow down and worship it(nature).
I have no idea where you information came from concerning the "Law of Return", but, again, it is false. As both of us have stated, Wiccans follow a statement in the Wiccan Rede that says "harm none". So, retaliating against anyone would be in violation of "harm none", and therefore a Wiccan would not retaliate "three times". The Law of Return merely states that whatever you do, it comes back to you. It does not give someone the right to be a "karmic avenger" and take it into their own hands. Again, that is in direct violation of "harm none", and a Wiccan would not perform an act of revenge on another human being. (Of course, humans aren't perfect. We all fall short of being perfect, and thus, make mistakes. Wiccans and Christians included.)
Another important issue you have touched is some people use the term "witch" and "wiccan" interchangably. This should not be done, due to the fact that the words mean totally different things. A Witch is someone who practices the "science, art, skill, etc" of Witchcraft. That's it. It implies no connection to any religion. But, a Wiccan is someone who practices the nature based religion of Wicca.
By the way, not all Wiccans are Witches, and not all Witches are Wiccans.
You've also claimed a few "similarities" betweeen Satan and the Wiccan God and Goddess that are totally erroneous. Wiccans don't believe in a malevolent entity known as Satan, just to clarify. And no Wiccans call on God using the name of Lucipher. Wicca does not demand oaths of commitment of its followers. Wicca serves to unite its practitioners with the God and Goddess, not seperate them.
Also, Wiccans see all Gods as one God, all Goddesses as one Goddess, and all Deities as one Deity. They see the Divine(god, goddess) as a one single entity, but with many different forms.
Wiccans don't live to "please" their Gods anymore than Christians live to "please" God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit. They live in connection with the God and Goddess, the same way Christians are connected to Jesus.
A final note, Wiccans don't live in fear of "burning in the fires of Hell", in fact, most believe in the doctrine of reincarnation. Wiccans do good because its the right thing to do, not out of fear that someone will send them to a place to suffer. Its funny, most of the Wiccans I've seen are better Christians than some Christians I've seen.
Wiccans "love their neighbors", no matter what religion they subscribe to.
Let Peace and Love Be Our Guides,
Jade
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Prayer comes in many forms.
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Study
Advanced Member
Member # 3991
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posted
Favor Minded,
Good Post, I know nothing of this religion or any other for as that goes. When I read the original Post on wicca. Just the W I C along. The first thing came to my mind was this have to be some form of witch craft. Thanks for the conformation.
W I t C h C r A f t
It’s funny how Satan try to deceive.
God Bless
![[thumbsup2]](graemlins/thumbsup2.gif) ![[hug]](graemlins/hug.gif)
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http://www.biblenotebooks.com
The book no Christian should be without!
Posts: 364 | From: NJ | Registered: Oct 2004
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Favor Minded
unregistered
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posted
The Church and School of Wicca is intended to
"Bring Magic to the Masses"
A brief definition of "Wicca" is as Follows -
I. Development
A. Starting in the early nineteenth century, a new natural religion gradually evolved. It gathered momentum in the mid-twentieth century.
B. Many authors and philosophers helped to develop the magical modern religion and to articulate parts of its belief structure.
C. The religion finds its roots in ancient ways. It has psychic connections and sympathy with those who were burnt in the medieval period, and indeed with all individuals who have been oppressed and killed in the name of religion.
D. The recent "festival" movement has enhanced the growth and diversity of the religion.
II. Literature
There is no official text; for the Craft is a religion of life and of nature, not of "the book."
III. Explicit Religious Doctrines
A. God (deity) is immanent and transcendent.
B. Every living entity has a spirit which is connected to and part of every other spirit. Humans are a part of nature.
C. Divinity manifests itself through all living beings. Nature itself is divine (but not something to directly "worship") as is the Cosmos as is each person.
D. God and goddess images are recognized as aspects of a greater divinity that is unknowable.
IV. Ritual and Worship
A. Observances may be group or solitary. Regular worship services are scheduled in harmony with the moon's phases by groups (covens or congregations) of members.
B. Each worship site is constructed anew on each occasion of meeting. It is defined by new consecrated circles, and may be located anywhere.
C. Only coven members are allowed to enter the innermost circle.
V. Ethics
A. The ethical set is summarized in the Wiccan Rede:
Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill:
If it harm none, do what you will.
We are aware that there are many, many versions of this rede out there. This is the simplest to use.
B. Guidance is given by many earth-plane teachers and by spiritual (discarnate) guides.
VI. A Brief Definition
Wicca is a new religion that emphasizes growth through harmony in diversity, knowledge, wisdom, and exploration.
References -
http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/teens/index.htm
http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/christianwitches/index.htm
Here is a scary one with "History" of Wicca
http://www.dragonflydream.com/Wicca.html
What it REALLY is - Satans Little White Lie
Goddess worship, Wicca, witchcraft and other occultist practices are more and more part of our main stream American culture.
Chaplains in our prisons are required to facilitate witches, warlocks, and druids, just as much as any other religion. Wicca is also a religion that has infiltrated schools all across the country, drawing young people in by the thousands.
You remember from last week’s sermon how liberalism has led to the building of a chapel on the grounds of Chapman University in Orange, California (A Disciples of Christ college) to be used for worship. If you recall, the University allowed a group of Wicca (witchcraft) followers to bless the grounds of the chapel because their group was going to be allowed to use it too. This serves as an example of how far away today’s culture is drifting away from the truth of God’s Word.
Since it is very evident that paganism, witchcraft and other magic is growing in popularity, it is important that we understand this dark craft from a biblical perspective and keep ourselves pure from its seductive influences. There is much that we could say about the demonic world.
It is not our aim to give these unclean beings that inhabit our world very much honor or fear. The blood of Jesus Christ binds every unclean thing and they cannot enslave born-again Christians against our will. There is much ignorance, however, on the part of many Christians, about exactly what the Bible says about this subject. We need to expose the craft for what it really is and give you the equipment that you need to answer people Biblically with regard to this subject.
We know that if something is opposed to the cause of Christ, that Satan is behind it.
As we contrast Wicca with Christianity today you may find many of the Wiccan beliefs reminiscent of many New Age beliefs.
Both belief systems are very similar.
I. History
A. Wicca – a nature religion
To begin, we must know that Wicca began as an “Earth” religion. That means that Wiccans worship nature as a divine image. Because of this belief that nature is divine, many Wiccans are strong environmentalists. They celebrate cycles of the sun and moon and often worship outdoors. Wiccans also believe that all plants and animals in the world are equal and will often say a prayer of thanks before doing something as simple as pulling a carrot out of the ground.
Wiccans often refer to the planet earth as a “goddess” or “Great Mother.”
However, Christians know that the only being worthy of worship is the Creator and not the created. God is a supernatural being who is immortal, eternal and all-powerful. He alone is to be worshipped. The plants and the trees are not to be worshipped. They are God’s creation, created for our benefit.
Animals are not to be worshipped. We read in the book of Genesis that we are to treat them with respect and be good stewards of these things, but they are created for our benefit.
Genesis 1:28-29
28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.
Genesis 9:3-4
3 Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.
4 "But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it.
We are not to worship plants or animals. They are not gods. They are created for our benefit. We are to worship the One who created all of these things.
Deuteronomy 4:39
39 Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.
Romans 1:25
25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen.
Jude 24-25
24To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy-- 25to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
Wicca is a “Pagan” religion. Webster’s dictionary defines a “pagan” as anyone who does not acknowledge the God of the Bible.
Christians, of course, believe in the One Supreme God who is the first and only source of all existence.
Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”
Wicca is anti-authoritarian. That means that they refuse to have any centralized authority.
Wiccans create their own beliefs by mixing and matching various views and practices in order to build their own religion.
Wiccans draw many of their beliefs from personal experience. If it happened to you and you believe in it, then who is anyone to judge?
This is a dangerous thing because personal experience can become more important to us than truth.
2 Corinthians 11:14 says that, “Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” Since that is true, then personal experience cannot be our ultimate authority because Satan is deceptive and can fool us into thinking that darkness is light – he is very good at what he does. You can have a personal experience that feels good and feels right to you, but it is a counterfeit to the real thing.
Wiccans belief that truth is subjective or relative; the only way you can know any kind of “truth” is through feelings or emotions.
The key ethical principle in Wicca is called the Wiccan Rede: “Do what thou will, but harm none.” Wiccans believe they must follow their conscience. Unfortunately, when the enemy takes up residence in one’s heart the conscience becomes dulled.
Another ethical principle Wiccans subscribe to is called the “Three-fold Law of Return.” This is sort of like karma times three. You remember karma: whatever you do will either come back to you at some point whether good or bad. Well, this Wiccan code teaches that whatever you receive you are allowed to return it three-fold.
For example, if someone gave a good Wiccan $5 then the Wiccan would feel obligated to give that person $15 in return. But it can also mean that if someone punches you one time you can, in turn, punch them back three times.
If someone hurts you in some way, Wiccan teaches that you have the right to hurt that person three times worse in return. Doesn’t that seem to throw the theory of the Wiccan Rede (“Do what thou will, but harm none.”) out the window?
Doesn’t the way Jesus teaches sound much more fair and loving? (Read Matthew 5: 38-42). The Scriptural thought prohibits all retaliation and personal vengeance.
Jesus does not want His people to be doormats, but He does call for His followers to deny self and refuse to insist on personal rights over the well-being of others. Jesus set the example for us. 1 Peter 2:23 reads, “When they hurled insults at Him He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.”
Can you imagine the ethical implications of a belief that teaches someone to retaliate three times over? Our society would be in a constantly escalating series of physical battles. If someone rear-ended my car, I would have the right to total their car? If you kick my dog, I can kick your dog three times?
This not only goes against the Bible’s teaching, it goes against a commonly held sense of decency and morality of Western society.
The Biblical solution of turning the other cheek goes against the grain of how we WANT to react, but it illustrates a powerful principle that must be taken seriously when we are wronged. Even when we are wrongfully abused, our course of action must always be governed by the higher principles of the Kingdom, not the mere satisfaction of personal rights.
It is a fact that followers of Wicca often call themselves “witches.” However, Laurie Cabot, an “official witch” from the Witches’ League for Public Awareness, says that witches do not worship Satan.
There is a name for all of this rhetoric from the Wiccan society – “Ostrich Theology.” Ostriches are believed to bury their heads in the sand to avoid trouble. It’s the old, “If I can’t see it, it’s not there” way of thinking.
Ms. Cabot claims that witches do not believe in Satan. But, sadly, Satan is an incorrigible party crasher. He will take worship any way he can get it. 2 Corinthians 11:14 says that Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. Mark 4:15 speaks of how Satan likes to come along and steal all hope from the believer.
He is a deceitful liar who will stop at nothing to lead people into an eternal hell. Peter writes in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for victim to devour.”
There just happens to be some major similarities between the typical Wiccan “god” and Satan himself.
1. Both are lords of death – and the source of death.
2. Both rule in an “underworld” kingdom of some sort.
3. Both are known as Lucifer in some circles.
4. Both are believed to be the source of light.
5. Both demand commitment by oaths and covenants.
6. Both seek to draw their followers away from the God of the Bible.
It seems to me that if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck – a very satanic duck.
Witchcraft is often presented as a science. It is through this clever façade of science that witchcraft is often thrust upon our young people in public schools.
But witchcraft is not a science. Science requires repeatability. For example, electrical engineering is a science because we know that every time we turn on a light switch a light will come on. A true scientific hypothesis must be able to be repeated as often as necessary and produce the same results.
Withchcraft is not like that. A former Wiccan high priest turned Christian once said, “I could never do any of the craft magic with even a 50% confidence that it would work.”
One might wonder why if Wicca is so dangerous and it is run by Satan himself, why doesn’t it work all the time? Well, very simply because there is another game in town. Jesus Christ is infinitely more powerful than any of the “gods” of Wicca and He can intervene whenever He sees fit.
For example, this former Wiccan high priest says, “If a witch tries to cast a spell on a Christian, it will often fail to work, simply because the Lord watches over His children carefully.
God will not allow Satan to touch His people unless He has some higher purpose in mind.
Jesus Christ said, "I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t be stumbling through the darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life." (John 8:12). The light of Jesus Christ is the true light. It is a light that cannot be overcome by darkness.
We are involved in a battle everyday. Ephesians 6:12 reads, “For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms.” You know how it is… You know the right thing to do but your mind tries to convince you to do what you know you shouldn’t.
Satan is always trying to get his hands on us. But God’s Word promises us that if we will submit ourselves to God and resist the devil, he will flee from us (Quote James 4:7 on screen). Paul also warns us in Ephesians 4:27 not to give the devil a foothold… How do we do that? We cling to Jesus like our lives depend upon Him – because they do depend upon Him.
He is the only way we can win this war that wages for our very souls. Get into His Word, know what it says and do what it says.
Do you remember when Jesus was being tempted in the wilderness? Do you remember how Jesus fought off Satan at that time? He quoted Scripture. (Look at Luke 4:1-13, Read).
We have the ability to do the same thing! Jesus was quoting Deuteronomy to the Devil and the Devil left Him alone when he realized he was in over his head.
This stuff is not pretend – it is not a fairy tale. It is real. It is a real life battle between the forces of holiness and evil and our eternal souls are at stake.
If you know someone who is involved in Wicca – You should remember - Wicca is a religion.
Religion is man’s feeble attempts to do something that will please his “god”. Christianity is a relationship with the Lord of the Universe, Jesus Christ.
These people who are engulfed in the grips of Wicca need to know that Jesus Christ loves them. They do not need our scorn; they need the love of our Savior.
Fortunately, these people have not wandered too far away from God’s grace. If they can hear the message of Jesus Christ either through you, this tape or a combination of ways then they are off to a great start. Isaiah 55:11 says, “My Word will not return to me void, it will accomplish the purpose for which I sent it.” God will not let His Word fall on deaf ears and be trampled underfoot.
He will plant it in the heart of the hearer and allow it to spring forth in His time. When that Word does take root the person will be convicted to believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. When Jesus Christ takes root in their life, they will feel the need to repent.
Repentance simply means to turn away from sin and turn to Jesus Christ for salvation. Acts 17:30 says that God commands all people everywhere to repent.
After repentance comes confession. Paul wrote in Romans 10: 9-10, “For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.” Jesus said in Matthew 10:32, "If anyone acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will openly acknowledge that person before my Father in heaven.” Now, the person is ready to be immersed in baptism for the washing away of their sins, the gift if the Holy Spirit and a rebirth into a new life in Christ. Acts 2:38 tells us, “Repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sin and the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
A follower of the Wiccan sect once said, “If you take the Bible and put it out in the wind and the rain, soon the paper on which the words are printed will disintegrate and the words will be gone. Our bible IS the wind and the rain.”
Even after the words fade and the paper disintegrates the Word of God will still be alive and active and sharper than any two-edged sword. Jesus said in Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”
To Any Wiccan friends I would say, “The wind and the rain are eventually going to disappear, but God’s Word will live forever.”
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Gramajo320
unregistered
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posted
Jade,
I believe the wiccan religion and the beliefs they have to be so very wrong. No one should ever even think of getting involved in it or ever adhere in any way shape or form to their beliefs.
I strongly disagree with your statement that one can do whatever they want as long as it doesn't hurt anyone. That is not true whatsoever in the life of a christian. Accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour and following His teachings and obeying the ten commandments is the only way!
In Christ's love,
Gramajo320
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Jade
Community Member
Member # 4118
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posted
Wicca, a nature based religion, has been talked about a lot recently. Some say its "fine", others claim that Wicca is simply a form of "Satanism", and that is should be avoided. What is your view (if you have one, that is) on the highly controversial religion of Wicca?
Personally, I believe all religions that seek a personal, loving relationship with God, and loving relationships with others, as valid paths to the Divine. I see religions as paths on a mountain; the view at the top is the same no matter what trail you happen to be on.
So, I have no problem with Wicca. Considering its practictioners have strong, lasting ties to the God and Goddess, and that Wiccans follow a verse in the Wiccan Rede that reads, "An it Harm None, Do What ye Will", which means do whatever you want as long it harms none. To me, that phrase summarizes the 10 commandments and many other moral doctrines.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you reply! ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Peace and Love Be Our Guides,
Jade
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Prayer comes in many forms.
Posts: 10 | Registered: Nov 2004
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