Dealing with a pagan daughter

[rcwhiteh]

Did you mean to say that you did not wish to start a thread?

No, I meant to say that I was not interested in reading any replies defending Paganism or my daughter’s decision to become Pagan.

 

[rcwhiteh]

Honestly couldn’t this be just a form of intrusive thoughts? Nothing but a mental affliction?

Well, if it was, it nearly drove the child to suicide. She became clinically depressed; it’s taken quite a while to bring her out of it.

Personally, I believe that mental afflictions can also be the work of Satan; they may respond to medication and therapy, but no one can say why they begin. My money’s on Satan’s desire to cause as much pain and suffering to God’s children as he can.

 

[Dirk_Skene]

The media gloryfying goth & pagan lifestyles does not help. It sells, so they promote it. I dabbled in it in my mid teens. Thank goodness I got out.

 

[maize]

My daughter, a cradle Catholic, has told us that she no longer considers herself to be either Catholic or Christian, but a Nocturnal Pagan. She apparently became interested in Paganism while she was in high school.

Our Salvatorian priest and one of the Sisters in our parish both tell me that this is probably a “phase”, and that eventually, she will return to Christianity, if not the the Church itself. I’m willing to take their word for it, but I want to know some things about why an otherwise faithful Catholic would embrace Paganism.

If anyone on this forum is a lapsed Catholic who practiced Paganism and later returned to the Church, I would like to hear from you about your experience.

• What made you fall away from the Church?
• What attracted you to Paganism?
• How far into Paganism did you fall?
• What led you out of Paganism and back to the Church?

If anyone on this forum is actively Pagan, I am not addressing you. I do not intend to offer offense; I am simply not interested in a defense of Paganism.

If you are moved to respond to this request, please send me a private message so we can take the discussion off-line and not burn bandwidth.

aTdHvAaNnKcSe!

find out what her pagan beliefs are and help find a catholic substitute for them. its worked in the past.

 

[cyberwolf001]

My daughter, a cradle Catholic, has told us that she no longer considers herself to be either Catholic or Christian, but a Nocturnal Pagan. She apparently became interested in Paganism while she was in high school.

Sounds like the tradtion based on the works of Konstantinous. Look up Nocturnal Witchcraft on amazon.com sometime and the authors other works to help you understand her viewpoints.

Our Salvatorian priest and one of the Sisters in our parish both tell me that this is probably a “phase”, and that eventually, she will return to Christianity, if not the the Church itself. I’m willing to take their word for it, but I want to know some things about why an otherwise faithful Catholic would embrace Paganism.

Well maybe I can help there.

If anyone on this forum is a lapsed Catholic who practiced Paganism and later returned to the Church, I would like to hear from you about your experience.

I am a Pagan turned Catholic that returned to Paganism.

• What attracted you to Paganism?

The ritual, Gods that responded to my prayers, a deeper relationship with higher powers and the world around me. (No need to go through a priest).

]How far into Paganism did you fall?

I not only hit “bottom” I landed so hard the impact created a whole new series of sublevels.

What led you out of Paganism and back to the Church?

The charity and good works of Pagans and the teachings of some of the Theologians. It was nothing like the Churches I’d been a part of.

What made you fall away from the Church?

The idolatry of the GOP, the fact that Catholicism isn’t really that different from the Protestants when you get down to it.

The convulted doctrines (Pray to God, to ask Saints to pray to him for you… WHAT!?)

The constant altering of definitions to fit a given argument. Seriously, most Catholic books I read are 75% re-defining terms 20% fluff to 5% content.

The if you are not college educated you are second class attitude.

The constant excuses used when a problem is pointed out.

I could go on, but it became clear I left Gods that looked out for and helped me. For one that had nothing to alter but love me or go to hell (Literally)

If anyone on this forum is actively Pagan, I am not addressing you. I do not intend to offer offense; I am simply not interested in a defense of Paganism.

None intended and I plan to not offer one. Just an idea of why we end up as we end up.

She was praying when, according to her, Jesus spoke to her and said, “You were never one of mine - get out!”

One can image how something like that would affect a young girl.

I’ve been there!

What occurs to me is this:

• If she believes that the Trinity is real, then there is no conflict with the statement that Jesus Christ came to Earth to establish and ordain the Catholic Church.

Careful, your jumping to conclusions. It could be proof of any Church after all Orthodox ad Protestants believe in the trinity. As do Christian Wiccans.

NEVER EVER jump the gun, careful to never have an attitude of follow these steps and she’ll be Catholic before Christmas. A lot of parents make that mistake.

You got to go slowly in any intellectual and spirtual argument building on each layer. To many Christians want to just haul mule to the finish line.

One good way to test your arguments is to flip them infavor of the other faith and a couple of others.

 

[AirLiner]

Well, if it was, it nearly drove the child to suicide. She became clinically depressed; it’s taken quite a while to bring her out of it.

Personally, I believe that mental afflictions can also be the work of Satan; they may respond to medication and therapy, but no one can say why they begin. My money’s on Satan’s desire to cause as much pain and suffering to God’s children as he can.

Now I really do think this is scrupulosity I’ve read that it can in fact drive one to grave depression, believe me I know how bad it can be, though I luckily never reached a point of deep depression. Please, for your daughters sake don’t try to blame this on the supernatural. The world is filled with diseases, if one gets ill they shouldn’t blame it on the devil, the should just seek a cause and treatment. It’s just a manifestation of obsessive compulsive disorder. Look up scrupulosity and see for yourself.

 

[cyberwolf001]

Now I really do think this is scrupulosity I’ve read that it can in fact drive one to grave depression, believe me I know how bad it can be, though I luckily never reached a point of deep depression. Please, for your daughters sake don’t try to blame this on the supernatural. The world is filled with diseases, if one gets ill they shouldn’t blame it on the devil, the should just seek a cause and treatment. It’s just a manifestation of obsessive compulsive disorder. Look up scrupulosity and see for yourself.

THIS! It bears repeating, listen to this guy!

 

[Non_Serviam]

Here are a couple of things for you to think about as you talk with your daughter:

1. If she really believes that Jesus spoke with her, don’t belittle that-there’s a very good chance that you might cause her to disbelieve in any communication with God at all.

As you’ve stated, the message this “Jesus” gave isn’t true, but she thinks it is. So remind her of what she’s previously known about Jesus in a caring and loving way so that she can see the difference between the message she was given and what Jesus has to say. (The parts of the Gospels where He tells people to depart from Him might be a stumbling block for her, so be patient.)

1. Take the time to really understand how she views things now-it sounds from your description that she has a mix of “pagan” and Catholic beliefs that she hasn’t clearly sorted out yet-make it clear you really want to understand what she believes now and how it affects her life-then you can deal with her beliefs instead of some stereotype of a pagan.

It’s possible that God could use this opportunity to draw you both closer together, to give you the chance to help her draw closer to God and to make all things work together for good. Just take your time and make sure you understand her clearly and that you communicate clearly with her-measure your words twice before speaking them.

Good luck.

 

[rcwhiteh]

Please, for your daughters sake don’t try to blame this on the supernatural. The world is filled with diseases, if one gets ill they shouldn’t blame it on the devil, the should just seek a cause and treatment.

Well, as I have suffered from a measure of Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) and clinical depression myself, and have undergone almost three years of therapy, I’m perfectly aware that there are mental disorders that respond to non-religious treatment.

I suppose it would be more accurate to say that I believe that inflicting mental disorders is one way that Satan has of making God’s children unhappy; these disorders do not necessarily need exorcism to overcome. I believe that there are persons of true faith who understand the human mind better than the average person, and that God ministers to His children through their practice of psychiatry, clinical psychology, and social work.

I don’t propose dealing with evil by prayer alone; sometimes you have to wield the weapons yourself and hope God keeps your aim true.

(Yes, I’m rambling - cough suppressants with codeine will do that to you. I hate allergy season… )