Christian Witches should read this.

[sylphaxiom]

I was writing this as a PM to someone on here and I thought that it would be useful for others to read as well so I am going to post it up here. It is very long and I apologize for this, but it is insightful and interesting. Yes, I wrote it all from memory so things may not be entirely perfect and quotes may not be exact, but it is a good rant nonetheless. Please enjoy and feel free to discuss this as it is open to interpretation.

Well merry met to you too! Yes I was a Christian since I was born until I was about 16 or 17 when I started to lose my faith in the church. I used to go to church about 3 times a week and was even in some of the choirs. Me and my mom were very involved. One of the things that led my astray (years later when I found this out and realized it's impact) was the fact that my father (before he and my mom divorced when I was 4) used to use the Bible itself to keep her down. He was quite psychologically abusive actually. I also got fed up with all the crap that people do and call themselves Christian. The hypocrisy of it all! But I am well aware that there are just as many Christians that are good and present a positive image for the church (my old church had many of these people in it's management and staff actually) However, it just wasn't enough for me. The religion itself felt hollow and forced. I didn't feel a connection with it anymore. So I decided to go on a soul searching quest to discover what might fit with me. I had a system of beliefs that I knew I held true to my heart. I went out and did plenty of research on religions and what might fit closest with my ideals. After some time searching different religions, I found Buddhism. This religion spoke to me on a spiritual level, but it didn't hold everything that I believed in. I still practice Zen Buddhist meditation as a way to center myself and further my own spiritual development and it is amazing. From there I decided that I would just stop looking and just live life without any particular religion and just go off of what I believe. It was hard at first but then I came across Wicca and Paganism. It is really so wide-spread that you can fit anything you believe into it! That's what I loved about it. Here is essentially what I believe in:

There is a higher power (I believe in polytheism mainly because the idea of omnipotence scares me and I think that there is a spirit for everything and no One God can rule over all.)

When we die, we go to a paradise for a certain amount of time. We travel through the afterlife searching for our inner peace and the balance within our soul. We also travel to decide if we are ready to reincarnate or if our soul has matured enough to stay in paradise for all eternity. We must accept the duality of the world (there is no perfect place, good and evil always live as one) and when we accept this in the Summerland, we can live out our days there (or heaven if you prefer)

You cannot rely on anyone or anything (God included) but yourself for your own enlightenment. The idea of "letting go and giving yourself to God for your salvation and enlightenment" is pure bullshit. There is no enlightenment in letting go and giving it off to some higher power. That is a cop-out and an easy way out, so to say. We must work hard in our spiritual development in order to reach our potential and enlightenment.

Jesus Christ was not the "Son of God" (sorry if I offend you on this point, I am only stating my belief system) He did exist and he was a great teacher of men. But he was in no way holy or deified. He was, what some call, a Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva is a soul that has reached enlightenment and can ascend and move on, but they decide to come back and teach others. This can easily explain all of the miracles that Jesus performed and even his rising from the dead (as an enlightened and ascended soul he never needed a body to begin with so death was nothing to him) I just think that he has a taste for flair and the dramatic so he did all that he did. He was a great teacher and a wonderful person, but I just don't think that he was holy in any way (well not in the Christian sense) I also think that Christians spend way too much time focusing on Jesus because he was here and not God like Jesus taught. Other Bodhisattvas in history were Buddha, Krishna, Mohammad, Joseph Smith (if you believe in their crap hahaha jk), and a few other prophets and Great Teachers.

There is a connection with everything around us. Nature and the world is in harmony and all we have to do is listen and they will speak back to us and we can feel our connections.

The mind can do many wonderful things that cannot be explained and we can influence all around us (this is also the basis for magick)

That is the majority of what I believe, I'm sure there is more but it is late and that is all I can think about at the moment. I searched my path and I know that there are many paths to the same Whole. There is no right or wrong way to reach God(s). We all have to search our soul to discover what is right for us. Christians will tell you that their way is right and so will Muslims and Jews and most monotheistic religions, but the truth is that nobody can tell you what to believe. You just have to believe it yourself.

You really seem to be basically Christian, though non-denominational, and there is nothing wrong with being considered a Christian and forsaking The Church. Jesus even said that though the Church is a house of God, God lives within each and every one of us and will always hear our pleas. He is everywhere and he is everything. Worship Him for he is the one, true God. To me this speaks well to any faith. Essentially they are all the same, but so many people get hung up on the differences that they fail to see the similarities. They say don't worship idols, but how things have become, even Christians do now! The focus too much on the cross and the symbols of Jesus and many (especially Catholics) feel that they have to pray to an image of Jesus or the Cross. My symbol is that of nature, the Pentacle. It is a symbol of harmony, perverted by Christians during the Dark Ages and the rise of The Catholic Church in order to convert the vastly Pagan majority and to gain power. That is also the cause of all the things considered "of the Devil" and "evil" Yes, the bible does say that the devil was a beast that was horned and evil, but there are many deities and entities (both evil and benign) that have horns. The ancient God of hunting (and essentially every hunting God in ancient times) was a horned God called Cernunos (quite possibly an incorrect spelling) He was horned in order to represent the stag that many ancient peoples hunted. Hunting or gathering was their way of life and a benevolent image of their prey was ancient man's way of rationalizing the gift that the Gods had put before them for they sustenance. This is in no way evil but the Church made it so when they tried to convert others. All I am saying is that Christianity is not all bad. You just have to look at it in a pure sense and not like it has become. The Church has strayed so far from the original idea that is has basically become a farce to the way it should be. The New Testament of the bible was supposedly actual reportings of Jesus by his followers. But it wasn't actually written until about 500 years after his death and resurrection. Even if it is testimonial from his followers and just passed on from word of mouth all those years, it will have changed from what actually happened. That is the way things go when they are passed down like that. Nothing in that book can be taken literally anymore. It was even changed again years later during the Convention of Constopoly when the Church decided what should be in the "official" Bible. Things were omitted and changed to suit the needs of MEN thus the book itself became sexist and mostly oppressive. And it happened again with the King James Version of the Bible when King James decided that he need a "Purely British" Bible. With that it became even stricter and more oppressive. And sadly enough the KJV bible is the most used bible today! Just like the most read book on Witchcraft is "Witchcraft and Demonology" by some author from the 18th or 17th century which is entirely false and a giant slight to the entire Craft and religion. It is a sad thing that even Christians do not know these simple truths about their own religion or anything. Jesus himself said "judge not, lest you yourselves be judged" and "Love thy neighbor" and even "Forgive man, for he knows not what he does." and even something to the affect of accept others for who they are since they are all children of God. Many forget theses passages and forget how often Jesus taught of tolerance and brotherly love. So frankly, if it is truth that you are seeking, don't look to any one thing. NOBODY has gotten it completely right and NOBODY ever will. Follow your heart and it will take you to the many places that you need to go.

Fair thee well, and best of luck to you my fellow Truth Seeker! Blessed Be and may the Gods be with you and the hand of Fate a gentle touch to guide you!

[sylphaxiom]

Interestingly enough, this is actually in defense against Christianity. The religion is sound and applaudable, but it has just strayed too far from it's intention in my own opinion. I believe there is much to be learned from it. I know I will want my kids to go to church (sunday school that is) until they are old enough to legitimately decide what they want to do. Although, on that point, I am sure I will have to work out with the mother, since I am sure I will end up either having a kid with, or getting married to, or both with a Christian woman. But we will see what the future holds.

[sylphaxiom]

Hahaha well thank you, everyone follows their own path. I, personally, do not incorporate much of Christianity in what I follow or believe. I am a follower of the Old Gods. The mythologies of the ancients is where my path lies. A friend of mine (who thinks my being Wiccan is just a silly, childish phase and believe that it is unfounded and ridiculous) told me that "they are mythologies! And they are called that for a reason! They have no basis in real life and they take much more to believe in them than Christianity does." I simply told her that I have heard the phrase "Christian Mythology" many many times. And it is true! A myth is defined as "1 : an allegorical narrative
2 : a body of myths: as a : the myths dealing with the gods, demigods, and legendary heroes of a particular people b : mythos 2 <cold>
3 : a branch of knowledge that deals with myth
4 : a popular belief or assumption that has grown up around someone or something" (as quoted directly from the Webster dictionary under the entry "mythology") There is nothing wrong with any belief system. They are all just as unfounded as the next. There is no basis for faith, there is no "factual basis", and there is no cause for faith. We believe in what we believe in because it is just that...a belief. I can believe the sky will crush us all or Oprah will be the next antichrist (which I do believe the Oprah part) but that doesn't make it anymore real or tangible. It also doesn't make it any less valid than saying that Jesus Christ was the son of God or that Anubis will care for my soul onto the underworld where my journey will begin. The idea of a tangible religion and a logical religion is simple erroneous! We will believe what we will believe and that is all. There is no cause to be prejudice or resentful of another faith simply because it is not your own. Follow YOUR path and you will feel a sense of accomplishment and self-worth. What fits for YOU is all that really matters. There are many paths to the same Whole and it does not matter which you choose to take to reach the top.

[new truth seeker]

Hi- I'm the one you originally wrote that post to If anyone out there would I"d sure appreciate it if you could point me in the direction of studying the old scriptures, ect. I still DO believe in One, or a Higher Power, if you will, that is above all others. I believe in Jesus , that he came for mankind to bring them to the Light, but so much has gotten mucked up and changed and manipulated it bears no resemblance any more to his message. I need to know about wica and paganism and witchcraft as in relation to ?God? and what is right? DO I make any sense. I have no faith in asking ANY 'christian' any of my questions- they would just 'lay hands on me' and attempt to cast the demons out of me- been there done that no thanks- not again- I already know their answers, I was one of them for 30 years! I feel a connection to nature and the earth (and yes- the spirit world and even witchcraft) that I have had since childhood as far back as I can remember. I supressed it and ignored it for the 30 years I was married to a christian minister and in active ministry. I want to know and own who I am and I am who God made me. I was created the person I am and I am tired of being who everyone judges I should be. Any input anyone?

[Y0m]

The true teaching of christ has been obscurred over time.


Look for a book called A Course in Miracles by the foundation for peace.


Comes from jesus himself.


Me I am every religion and no religion. God needs no religion.

For those confused and frustrated give up these tittles! Sit in the silence and trust your inner teacher.

[Peregrine]

One of the things that led my astray (years later when I found this out and realized it's impact) was the fact that my father (before he and my mom divorced when I was 4) used to use the Bible itself to keep her down. He was quite psychologically abusive actually.

(Shivers) While this did not happen in my own house growing up, I did see this happen a lot in other relationships. I had a horrible relationship like that when I was 19. He was 25 and new to the church. He wanted "a good Christian girl" to marry. Luckily for me, the relationship broke off so I was not stuck in a miserable marriage with him. He blatantly told me (in a "talking down" tone) that he had to be the king of the castle and it was getting too hard to find that in the outside world. It tickled him pink to quote those verses from Ephesians about the requirement of wives to be in submission to husbands. Luckily, there were a lot of nice guys in the church and they encouraged him to read further, but to no avail, (he had a head made out of rocks), in which husbands are commanded to love their wives so much that they must be willing to die for them. Did I mention the pip squeak had a gift for being a craving little coward when the going got tough? He was great at bossing around a frightened naive kid like me though. Heh.

A friend of mine... told me that "they are mythologies! And they are called that for a reason! They have no basis in real life and they take much more to believe in them than Christianity does."

No basis in real life? Since when? I agree with the late JRR Tolkien about Mythology. He wanted to write a mythology because mythologies tap into "higher truths" about the human spirit and human nature. They are not intended to be understood literally or as history books which is why they addressed as Mythologies.

The idea of a tangible religion and a logical religion is simple erroneous!

The closest I have been able to find would be Deism, which is only one step short of atheism.

We will believe what we will believe and that is all. There is no cause to be prejudice or resentful of another faith simply because it is not your own. Follow YOUR path and you will feel a sense of accomplishment and self-worth. What fits for YOU is all that really matters. There are many paths to the same Whole and it does not matter which you choose to take to reach the top.

From what I read about ancient Orphics, they only worshipped one god (Dionysius) but they had the belief that "all roads lead to Dionysius." Still trying to determine if they were monotheistic, henotheistic, or some other such thing. In any case, they were a nice example of religious tolerance. I'm convinced that early Christianity borrowed heavily from their beliefs but unfortunately, as others already stated, it eventually got bastardized in more ways than we can shake a stick at.

[Cinder]

That was very VERY insightful That actually makes me look at things a different way. I appreciate it!