Pagans and Witches

[OoMABoO]

hello! i just joined this site last night. i should prolly properly introduce myself before i get on with my post. i'm erica, i'm a 19 year old celtic wiccan from canada.
what brough me to join this site, was the fact that it seems to be a very wide board with alot of different people. i was wondering what everyone's oppinion was on Pagans and Witches. i get discriminated against ALOT because of my religion, and some people dont even take the chance to get to know me. i'm a good person, i'm not mean or bad in any way, yet people judge me because of this.
i was just wondering everyone's oppinion on this. if you think paganism and wicca and generally good religions, just not for you, why do you think that.
if you think they're terrible, why do you think that?
if the bible said nothing about pagans and witches would you still think the same about them? why?
i just wanted some people's oppinions on this cos it seems that alot of people i meet think that pagans and wiccans are bad people, yet they have no understanding of the religion. also, if you guys have any questions for me then feel free to ask.
thanks for your time!
erica

 

[Volos]

Merry Meet OoMABoO:

I haven’t personally run into any discrimination or even people being ill mannered about my religion. Most folks here are very polite about other peoples religions and only ask that you be the same.

if the bible said nothing about pagans and witches would you still think the same about them? why?

I’m sure more than a few bible verses about witches and the worshiping of other gods will be tossed at you in good time.

Stay well…hope to see you around.

Mike

 

[Truncate]

As an atheist, I have no religious text(s) telling me to hate/discriminate against anyone. So, as you are a kind human, I have no problem with you.

I find no reason to be against wicca or wiccans.

 

[Teh Wiccan]

Seeing as I'm Wiccan myself, I view Wiccans in a positive light

 

[Rae]

I'm a fellow Pagan. I have nothing against fellow Pagans because of their religion. Of course, if you're a jerk, that transcends religion.

 

[RaptureTicketHolder]

As a Christian, I hold what the Bible says as near and dear to my heart. I also believe that within its heart, Paganism is just as the Bible says it is.

Im rather new to learning what Wiccanism is, but from what I see, it is definatly not Biblical.

Im grateful for what the Bible does say and sometimes I wish it said more. I look forward to meeting the Lord in person one day. I hope the same can eventually happen for you, in a joyful Biblicla light that is.

Regards,

 

[Missy7303]

I don't judge anyone God does that. I love everyone and hope I can bring them close to God. I have seen diffrent things in my life I don't understand how someone can not believe in God or want anything to do with Satan... but again that is your choice. I all I can say is God loves everyone!!!
I have not been a christain all my life but I will never walk away from God ever!!! I had a friend that used to be in that and all I heard was horror stuff. But she is out of it now after getting her head split wide open.

 

[EvolvEarth]

Missy, what does paganism and wicca have to do with wanting to do something with Satan, unless you're one of those that thinks everything that is not Christian related is following Satan.

I'm also sure your friend wasn't in a true Wiccan group otherwise something like that wouldn't have happened.

 

[Truncate]

I just thought of a question.

To pagans/wiccans only: do you/the pagans/wiccans you know find the term "witch(es)" offensive?

Do you mind when a non-religious person calls you a "witch," if it is in a positive, non-spiteful way?

Is it common for pagans/wiccans to call eachother "witches"?

 

[Rae]

Depends on what you mean by the term. If you mean "witch" as "the put-down used for certain groups of people in the Bible who have nothing to do with modern day witches" then of course I'm offended by it. If you mean "witch" as "a practitioner of a magical system" I have no problem with that. However, not every Pagan is a witch, so I imagine there would be some who take offense to being called one.

Because most Pagans I know of use "witch" only to refer to practitioners of a magical system, they would not call every Pagan they meet a witch. However, if they know you are one, then they may well call you one.

 

[RaptureTicketHolder]

If you are not following Christ, who are you following?

To a Bible believing Christian, there are only two "sides".

I often find it strange that a non-Christian claiming to know what Christianity is all about, can be annoyed with a Christian who uses the same terms that the Bible does. That shows me such annoyance is rather blind to the faith.

Why would any be suprised that a Christian would say anything other than things outside Christianity are Satan playground?

 

[Rae]

Believe it or not, many Christians do see things which are not explicitly Christian as not Satanic. E.g., most cookbooks are not religious in orientation at all. Are they therefore Satanic? How about gardening books? Furniture stores?

Also, FYI, the problem tends to be that if Christians say "This group of religious believers worship Satan," most people take that as literal truth, that this religious group is dedicated to Satan, literally believes in him, and literally worships him. That tends to lead to violence against those religious groups at worst or mischaracterizations of their beliefs at best, leading to discrimination.

 

[ACougar]

MM OoMABoO

I just thought of a question.

To pagans/wiccans only: do you/the pagans/wiccans you know find the term "witch(es)" offensive?

Do you mind when a non-religious person calls you a "witch," if it is in a positive, non-spiteful way?

Is it common for pagans/wiccans to call eachother "witches"?

A witch is anyone who practices magick outside of what is normally sanctioned by society. A Shaman is not a witch because his role is authorized by the society in which he lives. A faith healer is also not a witch since s/he is more or less accepted by the society in which they opperate. Now if a CHristian faith healer went to India, and started healing people he might be accused of witchcraft. With any luck s/he would be left alone, however if the local people required a scapegoat for a bad harvest or something he would be in serious danger.

Do I qualify as a witch? Probably
Do I like being called a witch? Not really

 

[Arthur Dietrich]

Erica: You're a Celtic Wiccan from Canada?

Forgive me, but that doesn't make a lot of sense. lol. Unless you have a Celtic bloodline?

I hope you'll understand my curiousity. A lot of people think 'Celtic' is a way of life. I could never say I'm a Celtic Wiccan because I'm not Celtic/have any Celtic blood.

btw, Merry Meet from a fellow Witch (I take no offense in the word).

I'm not too clear what the Bible says about pagans...They did like they're celebrations enough to 'borrow' them for their holidays (Save for Beltane, of course). It says a few things about 'Witches', but what most people don't know/understand is that back than a 'Witch' was someone who made poisons and did harm.

The same does not apply to neo-pagans/modern day Wiccans.

The other thing people tend to put together is the image of The Horned One and Satan. The image most people get when they think of Satan (With the horns and the tail and all that) is actually taken from the image of The Horned One to turn people from the pagan ways.

Or so I've read ^^

 

[LanceA]

Erica: You're a Celtic Wiccan from Canada?

Forgive me, but that doesn't make a lot of sense. lol. Unless you have a Celtic bloodline?

^^

A lot of Pagans consider themselves Celtic Wiccan/Pagan because that is the path or tradition they follow.

Oh and welcome to the board. Also not all bibles use the term witch in it. And like someone said it should be someone who used herbs to poison people. But hey Witch sounds so much better don't you think? LOL.

KT Lance

 

[Arthur Dietrich]

A lot of Pagans consider themselves Celtic Wiccan/Pagan because that is the path or tradition they follow.



KT Lance

That's just it. Celtic isn't a path or a tradition. Saying you're Celtic is like a German person saying they are German. You are or you aren't.

I say this because I've known a Celtic Witch who get offended when people say they are Celtic/follow the 'Celtic ways', but are not Celtic.

Maybe she was making it up? I dunno.

 

[Truncate]

Depends on what you mean by the term. If you mean "witch" as "the put-down used for certain groups of people in the Bible who have nothing to do with modern day witches" then of course I'm offended by it. If you mean "witch" as "a practitioner of a magical system" I have no problem with that. However, not every Pagan is a witch, so I imagine there would be some who take offense to being called one.

Because most Pagans I know of use "witch" only to refer to practitioners of a magical system, they would not call every Pagan they meet a witch. However, if they know you are one, then they may well call you one.

Thanks for the answer. I mean "practitioner of a magical system."

 

[Truncate]

MM OoMABoO



A witch is anyone who practices magick outside of what is normally sanctioned by society. A Shaman is not a witch because his role is authorized by the society in which he lives. A faith healer is also not a witch since s/he is more or less accepted by the society in which they opperate. Now if a CHristian faith healer went to India, and started healing people he might be accused of witchcraft. With any luck s/he would be left alone, however if the local people required a scapegoat for a bad harvest or something he would be in serious danger.

Do I qualify as a witch? Probably
Do I like being called a witch? Not really

Thank you for your answer.

 

[Lotar]

No one can claim to be a "celtic witch" unless they are celtic (Irish, Scotish, Welsh, Cornish, Manz, Breton), since no one can claim to follow the ancient Celtic religons. No one knows enough about them, since they didn't have a written language until they converted to Christianity.
We have little knowledge of Druids.

Anyways, the bible is against witches, or "practitioners of magic". Also, it is obviously against other gods. So, ya the bible is against witches/wiccans/pagans.

If the bible didn't mention witches, I would still be against it, since as a different religon, it is contrary to Christianity.

 

[the_malevolent_milk_man]

hello! i just joined this site last night. i should prolly properly introduce myself before i get on with my post. i'm erica, i'm a 19 year old celtic wiccan from canada.
what brough me to join this site, was the fact that it seems to be a very wide board with alot of different people. i was wondering what everyone's oppinion was on Pagans and Witches. i get discriminated against ALOT because of my religion, and some people dont even take the chance to get to know me. i'm a good person, i'm not mean or bad in any way, yet people judge me because of this.
i was just wondering everyone's oppinion on this. if you think paganism and wicca and generally good religions, just not for you, why do you think that.
if you think they're terrible, why do you think that?
if the bible said nothing about pagans and witches would you still think the same about them? why?
i just wanted some people's oppinions on this cos it seems that alot of people i meet think that pagans and wiccans are bad people, yet they have no understanding of the religion. also, if you guys have any questions for me then feel free to ask.
thanks for your time!
erica

Howdy ho. I've only known a handful of wiccans and they were all really cool people, never had a negative experience with a wiccan. I really think that they're just misunderstood.

As an atheist I think it's kinda silly but then I think that about all religions. Couldn't care less about your beliefs unless you want to try and debate facts. Then there's no mercy >=D