TexasSky
Senior Veteran
Elsa -
In regards to Christianity - Yes. I have formally studied it. I studied it in a secular religion class taught at a secular University, and I studied it at a Theological seminary.
I read Greek.
I read Hebrew.
I have taken the time to look at what the Dead Sea Scrolls fragments and manuscripts actually contain. I have visited with translators of the Bible.
I have researched the History of various denominations, in a formal, research paper sense. I have taken the time to discuss denominational differences and similarities with respected ministers/priests of the various denominations and with professors who teach in various Universities for those denominations.
I have taken the time to research the cultures involved.
When approaching my studies, I make a focused effort to study other religions, not from the view of Christians looking in. I attended Synagogue, and talked to Rabbi's. I asked Buddhist Monks to explain their faith to me. I asked Muslim men and Muslim women to explain their faith to me. I have read a great deal of both the Quran and the Talmud, and have discussed the parts that agree with and the parts that disagree with Christianity. I have contacted professors of History, both secular and Christian, to ask about certain Historically debated issues with Christianity.
My son-in-law was at my house the other day, laughing at me, because I have 3 bookcases full of nothing but Biblical Research Materials. He wanted to know when I found time to read anything else.
So, no, I haven't "just taken someone's word for it."
One of the more fascinating things I learned is how much the denominations agree on the word of God.
We love to focus on the disagreements, but the fact is, we agree on far more than we disagree on.
In regards to Wicca.
My first encounter with a Wiccan was a young man whose mother's excuse to a court for her attempt to murder her baby was that Wicca taught her she could have more magical power if she murdered someone who had certain features. That was in the early 70's, when it was still a rather "unknown" and "new" thing.
A few years later, I was sitting in a journalism class and was given the assignment of doing an investigative article on a speaker who was coming to class. The investigation revealed that the man was considered a Coven Lord in a Wiccan Coven. He was just coming out of jail for manslaughter. Yet, when I covered his speech that evening, he stressed the "rule of 3", and "do no harm" and kept describing Wicca as some sweet little group of animal lovers. So, I wondered, "How did this man end up in prison for manslaughter?" And I dug deeper, and deeper, and deeper.
At this point, I didn't view Wicca much differently than I viewed any other non-Christian faith. I didn't have strong feelings of the negative toward it or towards its members. I simply thought they didn't know Christ.
Then my professor for the class, who was a member of the Coven, made a remark to someone that caused another Christian in the class to ask how Wiccans felt about Christians. The professor started a rant that all Christians needed to be destroyed, that Christians are the cause of all bad things in the world. That certainly got my attention, and the Dean's. Someone reported the man, and he got a formal sanction from the college.
Apparently his Wiccan friends thought I had done it.
I started finding them waiting for me out of classrooms, pretending to cast little hexes on me.
Then one day the man who started it all walked up to me and stopped, then backed away, then walked up again, stopped, backed away and finally said, "You have a tremendous power. You should use it. I can teach you how."
I said, "You have nothing that I want to learn. I want you to leave me alone. I want your followers to leave me alone. Pure and simple."
He said, "I can feel the power you have."
I said, "IF I have any power, it is the power of God. Get away from me."
That night I found little threatening notes on my car with cute little celtic symbols drawn on the bottom. Threats of terrible things to come.
I got mail with the same nonsense.
I went back and told this man, "Call off your fools, or I will go the police."
He laughed. The notes continued.
I came to him and said, "I've had enough. If one more member of Wicca contacts me, I will skip the police, and I will, instead, call on every single Christian minister and Priest I know to call the wrath of God on you, personally."
This man, who does not worship God, went absolutely white. I never heard from him or his group again.
The next year, at the age of 42, the professor had a sudden heart attack in class and died instantly. Two weeks later, the Coven Lord died of a heart attack. A few months later, the police, while investigating charges of animal torture in the area, discovered it was related to Wiccan ritual.
That prompted me to do a little deeper investigation to this "peaceful", "Druidic" faith. I discovered that many people who consider themselves to be Pagans, get absolutely enraged if you call them Wiccans.
The more I researched, by talking to Wiccans, talking to former Wiccans, and studying websites on the Internet, studying things sold by stores that claim to sell things for Wiccans, the more I realized that it is not the harmless friendly worship so many claim it is.
So, no, the two do not merge.
God has never tolerated sharing the throne of heaven.
Wiccan teaches, in almost every version out there, that the real ruler of the universe is a goddess who manifests as nature. God's holy word is clear that God created nature, it did not create Him.
Wiccans do not believe in heaven or in hell.
To say there is no heaven is to call Christ a liar.
They teach the use of magic.
God forbids dabbling in magic.
I've been accused of twisting Wicca.
I won't post links to the sites because I won't promote it, however, it isn't difficult to find out what they teach, and to find it contradicts Christianity.
It is a polytheistic religion. You've seen on Chrisitian Forums where Moriah has taught that the spelling of Christ's name makes Him part of a quadinity. That is unbiblical.
From a site that claims it is operated by Witches, teaching others how to become Wiccans, comes this quote:
"Wiccan beliefs do not include such Judeo-Christian concepts as original sin, vicarious atonement, divine judgment or bodily resurrection. Craft folk believe in a beneficent universe, the laws of karma and reincarnation."
Again - that calls Christ a liar.
They teach this: "
"Wiccans do not sacrifices animals or people in rituals! Wiccans do not cause harm to others. It goes against the Wiccan Creed: "An ye harm none, do what ye will". This Creed is generally accepted by most Wiccans."
Yet, the first 3 Wiccans I met in real life all were jailed for violating that attempted murder, manslaughter, and animal sacrifice.
Apparently that "Do what you will," thing is interpreted pretty liberally when it comes to the negatives.
For everyone saying I've twisted Wiccan's teachings.
This is also from a website that claims to explain their belief.
Our only animosity towards Christianity, or towards any other religion or philosophy of life, is to the extent that its institutions have claimed to be "the only way" and have sought to deny freedom to others and to supress other ways of religious practice and belief.
To say Christ is not the only way, again, is to call Christ a liar, for Christ Himself said He is the only way.
Beyond that, the faith admits to animonsity toward Christianity, yet, you have people claiming to be both Wiccan and Christian.
Christ has said, you cannot serve 2 Masters. You cannot BE Christian and hold animosity toward Christianity.
Do I keep the Sabbath Holy?
In the Jewish way, no, but Christ already addressed that the Jewish concept of punishing people for taking care of their own needs on the Sabbath is not how the law was meant.
So yes, I keep the Sabbath Holy.
And being a liar and Christian is sinning against God.
Blaspheme is a tad more serious, and very different.
Blaspheme is presenting and attributing to God, things which are not of/from God, and attributing to man, things which are Gods.
Someone claiming to worship Christ, while worshipping a false god at the same time, and denying the final authority of Christ, and stating that all power if through man's commune with nature is attributing the abilities, authority and power of God to someone and some thing other than God.
One Wiccan website goes so far as to state that God is death; and goes by the names of Pan, Herne, Osiris, and Hades.
And you don't see that as Blaspheming the Almighty?
In regards to Christianity - Yes. I have formally studied it. I studied it in a secular religion class taught at a secular University, and I studied it at a Theological seminary.
I read Greek.
I read Hebrew.
I have taken the time to look at what the Dead Sea Scrolls fragments and manuscripts actually contain. I have visited with translators of the Bible.
I have researched the History of various denominations, in a formal, research paper sense. I have taken the time to discuss denominational differences and similarities with respected ministers/priests of the various denominations and with professors who teach in various Universities for those denominations.
I have taken the time to research the cultures involved.
When approaching my studies, I make a focused effort to study other religions, not from the view of Christians looking in. I attended Synagogue, and talked to Rabbi's. I asked Buddhist Monks to explain their faith to me. I asked Muslim men and Muslim women to explain their faith to me. I have read a great deal of both the Quran and the Talmud, and have discussed the parts that agree with and the parts that disagree with Christianity. I have contacted professors of History, both secular and Christian, to ask about certain Historically debated issues with Christianity.
My son-in-law was at my house the other day, laughing at me, because I have 3 bookcases full of nothing but Biblical Research Materials. He wanted to know when I found time to read anything else.
So, no, I haven't "just taken someone's word for it."
One of the more fascinating things I learned is how much the denominations agree on the word of God.
We love to focus on the disagreements, but the fact is, we agree on far more than we disagree on.
In regards to Wicca.
My first encounter with a Wiccan was a young man whose mother's excuse to a court for her attempt to murder her baby was that Wicca taught her she could have more magical power if she murdered someone who had certain features. That was in the early 70's, when it was still a rather "unknown" and "new" thing.
A few years later, I was sitting in a journalism class and was given the assignment of doing an investigative article on a speaker who was coming to class. The investigation revealed that the man was considered a Coven Lord in a Wiccan Coven. He was just coming out of jail for manslaughter. Yet, when I covered his speech that evening, he stressed the "rule of 3", and "do no harm" and kept describing Wicca as some sweet little group of animal lovers. So, I wondered, "How did this man end up in prison for manslaughter?" And I dug deeper, and deeper, and deeper.
At this point, I didn't view Wicca much differently than I viewed any other non-Christian faith. I didn't have strong feelings of the negative toward it or towards its members. I simply thought they didn't know Christ.
Then my professor for the class, who was a member of the Coven, made a remark to someone that caused another Christian in the class to ask how Wiccans felt about Christians. The professor started a rant that all Christians needed to be destroyed, that Christians are the cause of all bad things in the world. That certainly got my attention, and the Dean's. Someone reported the man, and he got a formal sanction from the college.
Apparently his Wiccan friends thought I had done it.
I started finding them waiting for me out of classrooms, pretending to cast little hexes on me.
Then one day the man who started it all walked up to me and stopped, then backed away, then walked up again, stopped, backed away and finally said, "You have a tremendous power. You should use it. I can teach you how."
I said, "You have nothing that I want to learn. I want you to leave me alone. I want your followers to leave me alone. Pure and simple."
He said, "I can feel the power you have."
I said, "IF I have any power, it is the power of God. Get away from me."
That night I found little threatening notes on my car with cute little celtic symbols drawn on the bottom. Threats of terrible things to come.
I got mail with the same nonsense.
I went back and told this man, "Call off your fools, or I will go the police."
He laughed. The notes continued.
I came to him and said, "I've had enough. If one more member of Wicca contacts me, I will skip the police, and I will, instead, call on every single Christian minister and Priest I know to call the wrath of God on you, personally."
This man, who does not worship God, went absolutely white. I never heard from him or his group again.
The next year, at the age of 42, the professor had a sudden heart attack in class and died instantly. Two weeks later, the Coven Lord died of a heart attack. A few months later, the police, while investigating charges of animal torture in the area, discovered it was related to Wiccan ritual.
That prompted me to do a little deeper investigation to this "peaceful", "Druidic" faith. I discovered that many people who consider themselves to be Pagans, get absolutely enraged if you call them Wiccans.
The more I researched, by talking to Wiccans, talking to former Wiccans, and studying websites on the Internet, studying things sold by stores that claim to sell things for Wiccans, the more I realized that it is not the harmless friendly worship so many claim it is.
So, no, the two do not merge.
God has never tolerated sharing the throne of heaven.
Wiccan teaches, in almost every version out there, that the real ruler of the universe is a goddess who manifests as nature. God's holy word is clear that God created nature, it did not create Him.
Wiccans do not believe in heaven or in hell.
To say there is no heaven is to call Christ a liar.
They teach the use of magic.
God forbids dabbling in magic.
I've been accused of twisting Wicca.
I won't post links to the sites because I won't promote it, however, it isn't difficult to find out what they teach, and to find it contradicts Christianity.
It is a polytheistic religion. You've seen on Chrisitian Forums where Moriah has taught that the spelling of Christ's name makes Him part of a quadinity. That is unbiblical.
From a site that claims it is operated by Witches, teaching others how to become Wiccans, comes this quote:
"Wiccan beliefs do not include such Judeo-Christian concepts as original sin, vicarious atonement, divine judgment or bodily resurrection. Craft folk believe in a beneficent universe, the laws of karma and reincarnation."
Again - that calls Christ a liar.
They teach this: "
"Wiccans do not sacrifices animals or people in rituals! Wiccans do not cause harm to others. It goes against the Wiccan Creed: "An ye harm none, do what ye will". This Creed is generally accepted by most Wiccans."
Yet, the first 3 Wiccans I met in real life all were jailed for violating that attempted murder, manslaughter, and animal sacrifice.
Apparently that "Do what you will," thing is interpreted pretty liberally when it comes to the negatives.
For everyone saying I've twisted Wiccan's teachings.
This is also from a website that claims to explain their belief.
Our only animosity towards Christianity, or towards any other religion or philosophy of life, is to the extent that its institutions have claimed to be "the only way" and have sought to deny freedom to others and to supress other ways of religious practice and belief.
To say Christ is not the only way, again, is to call Christ a liar, for Christ Himself said He is the only way.
Beyond that, the faith admits to animonsity toward Christianity, yet, you have people claiming to be both Wiccan and Christian.
Christ has said, you cannot serve 2 Masters. You cannot BE Christian and hold animosity toward Christianity.
Do I keep the Sabbath Holy?
In the Jewish way, no, but Christ already addressed that the Jewish concept of punishing people for taking care of their own needs on the Sabbath is not how the law was meant.
So yes, I keep the Sabbath Holy.
And being a liar and Christian is sinning against God.
Blaspheme is a tad more serious, and very different.
Blaspheme is presenting and attributing to God, things which are not of/from God, and attributing to man, things which are Gods.
Someone claiming to worship Christ, while worshipping a false god at the same time, and denying the final authority of Christ, and stating that all power if through man's commune with nature is attributing the abilities, authority and power of God to someone and some thing other than God.
One Wiccan website goes so far as to state that God is death; and goes by the names of Pan, Herne, Osiris, and Hades.
And you don't see that as Blaspheming the Almighty?
Upvote
0
