Defining Terms

[_Gandalf]

To clear the air with you I will first tell you that I am not Catholic, and that I have no intention of becoming one. However I am curios about the nature of Catholicism for one reason. Catholics (as well as most Christians) have seemed to come to the unanimous conclusion that my religion is evil. My intention is to ask you to define what (in your opinion) defines the term “Evil”, because I personally can’t see how what I am could be considered evil. I am very similar to Catholics in many ways, for instance I donate my time and my resources to help others. It is also a lifelong commitment for me (and others of my religion) to seek a unity with my environment, and be able to live in harmony with it without causing harm to any in my environment, and at the same time try to peacefully alter that which does cause harm. Now don’t think that I have forgotten to divulge the name of my religion, I intentionally kept from using its name until now because of the connotations that Catholics (and other Christians) have put on it. My religion is Witchcraft. The most common thing about Witchcraft that I have been accused of by Catholics (and other Christians) is what they call “Devil worship”. I personally don’t know how this idea came about because like most pagans, witches don’t believe in the devil. We believe that their is both a God and a Goddess that both stem from a universal, genderless power (which is very similar to what you would call God), and that both the God and the Goddess have multiple facets to their personality. We do not believe that there is one being who is trying to sow havoc among us (which is my understanding of what Catholics believe. If I am wrong about that feel free to correct me), we believe that all things are perpetrated by the God and Goddess, whether for good or ill. So it is impossible you see for me, or any other witch with similar beliefs, to worship what you call the devil. Because quite simply we don’t think it exists.

  I hope I have made my inquiry plain enough, I just want to know why those of your path seem to think that those of mine are evil. As I said before I don't see how I am, or any of the people I know are evil. So I am left with two possibilities; either you define the term differently than we do or there is a misunderstanding between the two of us. Whatever you reply is I am eagerly awaiting it, this is something I have been curios about for a long time.

Sincerely,
Me

PS: In your reply don’t worry about offending me, it is a very hard thing to do. All I ask of you is your honest opinion, and hopefully the official opinion of your church.

 

[Dokimas]

To clear the air with you I will first tell you that I am not Catholic, and that I have no intention of becoming one. However I am curios about the nature of Catholicism for one reason. Catholics (as well as most Christians) have seemed to come to the unanimous conclusion that my religion is evil. My intention is to ask you to define what (in your opinion) defines the term “Evil”, because I personally can’t see how what I am could be considered evil. I am very similar to Catholics in many ways, for instance I donate my time and my resources to help others. It is also a lifelong commitment for me (and others of my religion) to seek a unity with my environment, and be able to live in harmony with it without causing harm to any in my environment, and at the same time try to peacefully alter that which does cause harm. Now don’t think that I have forgotten to divulge the name of my religion, I intentionally kept from using its name until now because of the connotations that Catholics (and other Christians) have put on it. My religion is Witchcraft. The most common thing about Witchcraft that I have been accused of by Catholics (and other Christians) is what they call “Devil worship”. I personally don’t know how this idea came about because like most pagans, witches don’t believe in the devil. We believe that their is both a God and a Goddess that both stem from a universal, genderless power (which is very similar to what you would call God), and that both the God and the Goddess have multiple facets to their personality. We do not believe that there is one being who is trying to sow havoc among us (which is my understanding of what Catholics believe. If I am wrong about that feel free to correct me), we believe that all things are perpetrated by the God and Goddess, whether for good or ill. So it is impossible you see for me, or any other witch with similar beliefs, to worship what you call the devil. Because quite simply we don’t think it exists.

  I hope I have made my inquiry plain enough, I just want to know why those of your path seem to think that those of mine are evil. As I said before I don't see how I am, or any of the people I know are evil. So I am left with two possibilities; either you define the term differently than we do or there is a misunderstanding between the two of us. Whatever you reply is I am eagerly awaiting it, this is something I have been curios about for a long time.

Sincerely,
Me

PS: In your reply don’t worry about offending me, it is a very hard thing to do. All I ask of you is your honest opinion, and hopefully the official opinion of your church.

Hi, Gandolf,

For me, evil it the absence of God. The most dangerous part of evil is that which looks good because it’s so deceptive.

Are you a fan of the Lord of the Rings?

Sincerely,

Doki.

PS I’m hard to offend too. I think anyone who has a solid grasp on what they believe and have assurance that it is correct, has no need to be offended.

 

[JonNC]

To clear the air with you I will first tell you that I am not Catholic, and that I have no intention of becoming one. However I am curios about the nature of Catholicism for one reason. Catholics (as well as most Christians) have seemed to come to the unanimous conclusion that my religion is evil. My intention is to ask you to define what (in your opinion) defines the term “Evil”, because I personally can’t see how what I am could be considered evil. I am very similar to Catholics in many ways, for instance I donate my time and my resources to help others. It is also a lifelong commitment for me (and others of my religion) to seek a unity with my environment, and be able to live in harmony with it without causing harm to any in my environment, and at the same time try to peacefully alter that which does cause harm. Now don’t think that I have forgotten to divulge the name of my religion, I intentionally kept from using its name until now because of the connotations that Catholics (and other Christians) have put on it. My religion is Witchcraft. The most common thing about Witchcraft that I have been accused of by Catholics (and other Christians) is what they call “Devil worship”. I personally don’t know how this idea came about because like most pagans, witches don’t believe in the devil. We believe that their is both a God and a Goddess that both stem from a universal, genderless power (which is very similar to what you would call God), and that both the God and the Goddess have multiple facets to their personality. We do not believe that there is one being who is trying to sow havoc among us (which is my understanding of what Catholics believe. If I am wrong about that feel free to correct me), we believe that all things are perpetrated by the God and Goddess, whether for good or ill. So it is impossible you see for me, or any other witch with similar beliefs, to worship what you call the devil. Because quite simply we don’t think it exists.

  I hope I have made my inquiry plain enough, I just want to know why those of your path seem to think that those of mine are evil. As I said before I don't see how I am, or any of the people I know are evil. So I am left with two possibilities; either you define the term differently than we do or there is a misunderstanding between the two of us. Whatever you reply is I am eagerly awaiting it, this is something I have been curios about for a long time.

Sincerely,
Me

PS: In your reply don’t worry about offending me, it is a very hard thing to do. All I ask of you is your honest opinion, and hopefully the official opinion of your church.

If I were to puff up and insult you or offend you, how effective a tool would that be in convincing you that you are not worshipping the one true God?
I do not think you are necessarily evil. Misguided perhaps, or unregenerate. I just pray that your being here at CAF will be a vehicle for the Holy Spirit in your life. You may or may not want my prayer, but it is what it is.

I hope you’ll hang around for a while, ignore our arguments and spats, and listen to the good conversations that are here.

Jon

 

[mark_a]

So it is impossible you see for me, or any other witch with similar beliefs, to worship what you call the devil. Because quite simply we don’t think it exists.

For Catholics, this is the greatest deception the devil can pull off.

 

[Whitacre_Girl]

To clarify the terms, evil is typically defined by many as the absence of God, or something which detracts a soul from God. Since many believe witchcraft does exactly that, the label “evil” does not mean that you are a bad person by any means.

When it comes to Devil worship, it usually boils down like this: The belief is that there are NO other gods than the Trinity. When one perceives gods or forces outside of christianity, they are perceived as “demons” because they are a) leading a soul away from God, and b) having the apopearance of power over the world. These are two characteristics that Christians believe demons have.

As for me personally, I used to be involved in witchcraft for a short time. It was a very bad time for me, and I was overjoyed when I came to Christ. I assume that you are in no way a bad person (I don’t know you), and that your religion doesn’t promote violence, discord, or hatred. It is my wish (obviously) as a christian that you too will come to know the infinite love of God, but I promise (from me at least) that I will always do my best to show you charity, and respect. I do feel saddened that you feel that you cannot be yourself on here though (Religion: Don’t wanna know…) and I want you to know that your insights are welcome here, and I look forward to your opinions and insights on these boards!! The best thinking and reasoning is done when discussing ideas with people with whom you do not agree. Iron sharpening iron and all that.

Also, based on your name, I am assuming you are a LotR fan? I LOVED the movies, and I am currently reading the books. They are WAY better than the movie. I just finished The Hobbit and starting of The Fellowship of the Ring.

 

[JonNC]

For Catholics, this is the greatest deception the devil can pull off.

Gandolf,
Mark is one of the good guys I was telling you about.

Jon

 

[John7]

My religion is Witchcraft.

In your reply don’t worry about offending me, it is a very hard thing to do.

This is from the OT. hey, I’m not the author…

Exodus 22:18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

I don’t think there’ll be many/any unrepentant witches in heaven…here check out these NT verses…

Revelation 9:21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Revelation 22:15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

-last one-

Galatians 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

what do you think of these verses from the Bible??

 

[VetA]

To clear the air with you I will first tell you that I am not Catholic, and that I have no intention of becoming one. However I am curios about the nature of Catholicism for one reason. Catholics (as well as most Christians) have seemed to come to the unanimous conclusion that my religion is evil. My intention is to ask you to define what (in your opinion) defines the term “Evil”, because I personally can’t see how what I am could be considered evil. I am very similar to Catholics in many ways, for instance I donate my time and my resources to help others. It is also a lifelong commitment for me (and others of my religion) to seek a unity with my environment, and be able to live in harmony with it without causing harm to any in my environment, and at the same time try to peacefully alter that which does cause harm. Now don’t think that I have forgotten to divulge the name of my religion, I intentionally kept from using its name until now because of the connotations that Catholics (and other Christians) have put on it. My religion is Witchcraft. The most common thing about Witchcraft that I have been accused of by Catholics (and other Christians) is what they call “Devil worship”. I personally don’t know how this idea came about because like most pagans, witches don’t believe in the devil. We believe that their is both a God and a Goddess that both stem from a universal, genderless power (which is very similar to what you would call God), and that both the God and the Goddess have multiple facets to their personality. We do not believe that there is one being who is trying to sow havoc among us (which is my understanding of what Catholics believe. If I am wrong about that feel free to correct me), we believe that all things are perpetrated by the God and Goddess, whether for good or ill. So it is impossible you see for me, or any other witch with similar beliefs, to worship what you call the devil. Because quite simply we don’t think it exists.

  I hope I have made my inquiry plain enough, I just want to know why those of your path seem to think that those of mine are evil. As I said before I don't see how I am, or any of the people I know are evil. So I am left with two possibilities; either you define the term differently than we do or there is a misunderstanding between the two of us. Whatever you reply is I am eagerly awaiting it, this is something I have been curios about for a long time.

Sincerely,
Me

PS: In your reply don’t worry about offending me, it is a very hard thing to do. All I ask of you is your honest opinion, and hopefully the official opinion of your church.

Do i think you are evil? no. Do i think witchcraft is evil? yes. i do not think that your religion is evil because you worship the devil, i think it is evil because (in my understanding) wichcraft casts spells and makes potions, which places the human in the office of the devine (by saying a human can do somthing or create something without the help of God) i do not think that individual members are evil i just think you have a misguided and evil way of thinking (which can lead to being evil).

 

[Joe_5859]

Simply put, evil is the lack of the good that ought to be there.

Unfortunately for Christians, good and evil have recently become entwined with the concept of dualism (thank you, Descartes). Dualism asserts that good and evil are two sides of the same coin; equal and opposite powers. This is not the Catholic understanding.

My favorite analogy for understanding good and evil is that of hot and cold. Cold is not the opposite of heat. Cold isn’t an entity unto itself. It is simply the absence of heat. Thus, when you take away all heat, you reach absolute zero (−459.67°F). Yet, there is no upper limit to heat. The temperature can keep rising and rising to a seemingly infinite degree.

So it is with good and evil. Evil is not an entity unto itself but simply the lack of good that ought to be there.

I wouldn’t personally call you evil for practicing witchcraft, simply misinformed. There most certainly are aspects of it that are at odds with Catholic teaching and Catholic morality. I can see how you would be frustrated by people immediately equaiting your belief system with satanism when you don’t even believe in Satan. There is that tendency amongst certain Christians to rather liberally play the “Satanism” card. There is a sense in which that is correct - to the extent that anything that is opposed to God is “satanic”, but there is a sense in which it is not the most accurate description for the reasons you have mentioned.

 

[_Gandalf]

NOTE: After trying to submit this I have discovered that it is almost twice as long as the max limit, so I’m doing it in two parts. Obviously this is part one.

Okay y’all answered this faster than I had thought so I’m going to try to reply to all of you at the same time. If I happen to miss you comment or a particular argument you make then please let me know, I probably just missed it. Some of your comments however do not open themselves up to a reply, so I will not quote them. If you do want a reply that is another thing you will have to ask me to do. I don’t want to make anyone feel left out.

Hi, Gandolf,

For me, evil it the absence of God. The most dangerous part of evil is that which looks good because it’s so deceptive.

Are you a fan of the Lord of the Rings?

Sincerely,

Doki.

PS I’m hard to offend too. I think anyone who has a solid grasp on what they believe and have assurance that it is correct, has no need to be offended.

The interesting thing about this is that I do believe in God. To me there is not an absence of God in Witchcraft, in fact I have more deities than you do (not that quantity matters, I’m just pointing it out). So I can understand where you are coming from but this looks like it is just a misunderstanding between the two beliefs. I find it interesting to note though that were my religion lacks your God, and that absence you refer to as evil, your religion lacks my deities and yet I have never known someone of my path to think of Catholicism as evil. Satanist do of course, but as I said earlier I don’t believe in Satan. And yes I do like The Lord of the Rings. I do completely agree with you about taking offense to things though. In my mind only those who do not have a solid enough grounding in their belief take offense to things that are contrary. Usually because it challenges what they believe and they don’t know how to face that challenge, so they just run away and refuse to think about it. Unfortunately this is an issue I have had in the past whenever I have tried to discuss things of this nature with Christians.

For Catholics, this is the greatest deception the devil can pull off.

This is not directly related to your post (or a logical conclusion), but I would like to point out that Witchcraft has been a religion for far longer than anyone has had the Catholic idea of the devil.

To clarify the terms, evil is typically defined by many as the absence of God, or something which detracts a soul from God. Since many believe witchcraft does exactly that, the label “evil” does not mean that you are a bad person by any means.

When it comes to Devil worship, it usually boils down like this: The belief is that there are NO other gods than the Trinity. When one perceives gods or forces outside of christianity, they are perceived as “demons” because they are a) leading a soul away from God, and b) having the apopearance of power over the world. These are two characteristics that Christians believe demons have.

As for me personally, I used to be involved in witchcraft for a short time. It was a very bad time for me, and I was overjoyed when I came to Christ. I assume that you are in no way a bad person (I don’t know you), and that your religion doesn’t promote violence, discord, or hatred. It is my wish (obviously) as a christian that you too will come to know the infinite love of God, but I promise (from me at least) that I will always do my best to show you charity, and respect. I do feel saddened that you feel that you cannot be yourself on here though (Religion: Don’t wanna know…) and I want you to know that your insights are welcome here, and I look forward to your opinions and insights on these boards!! The best thinking and reasoning is done when discussing ideas with people with whom you do not agree. Iron sharpening iron and all that.

Also, based on your name, I am assuming you are a LotR fan? I LOVED the movies, and I am currently reading the books. They are WAY better than the movie. I just finished The Hobbit and starting of The Fellowship of the Ring.

I can understand that because you believe in the Trinity you think that any other deity must be a demon. However it may be possible that the focus of our religion are on the same thing (NOTE: this is just speculation, I don’t know anyone who actually believes this. I just thought of it now). You believe in a Trinity, and I think the exact words you use are “Three Gods in one divine person”. However I believe in three separate deities. Odly enough though the God and the Goddess both stem from the Universal Power, meaning if you wanted to think about it this way you could say that they are all the same, but still three.

And I can see why didn’t stay with Witchcraft, I personally don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all religion (no offense). And yes, you do not know me, but you have already given me the benefit of the doubt, which is more than I can say about every other Christian I have met (Which is why I have not stated what my religion is on my profile). As a general rule Christians (and Catholics in particular) are charitable, at least to their own. Often they have trouble extending their hand to a pagan though. And yes, I do love a good debate. As you can see above though I do like the Lord of the Rings, and way to go on reading the books! Most people just watch the movies (which are really good, but I do have a thing for books).

 

[_Gandalf]

NOTE: This is part two.

This is from the OT. hey, I’m not the author…

Exodus 22:18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

I don’t think there’ll be many/any unrepentant witches in heaven…here check out these NT verses…

Revelation 9:21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Revelation 22:15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

-last one-

Galatians 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

what do you think of these verses from the Bible??

Way to go on honesty! But now for my reply. Now the first verse you gave me I actually don’t have any original information to give you, but I do know of a really good article written about that verse which should clarify some things. I’m going to try to find the link to it, its been a while since I read it.

As for the rest, not only do they not answer my question (Why is Witchcraft considered to be evil), they also seem to follow a basic misunderstanding of what Witchcraft is. You may notice that in those bible verses of yours they always group Witchcraft with things like, for instance, murder. Things of this nature are purely against what we believe in, and these verses of your seem to date back to a time where Witches were thought to fly around at night and “feast on the flesh of infants”. In the end I am lead to the belief that these are written under inaccurate data, and are therefor null.

Do i think you are evil? no. Do i think witchcraft is evil? yes. i do not think that your religion is evil because you worship the devil, i think it is evil because (in my understanding) wichcraft casts spells and makes potions, which places the human in the office of the devine (by saying a human can do somthing or create something without the help of God) i do not think that individual members are evil i just think you have a misguided and evil way of thinking (which can lead to being evil).

Yes, spells are a part of Witchcraft. Although potions (in my experience) are mainly herbal in nature, and have proven scientific benefit. So that isn’t really magick (however spells are often said over potions to make them more effective). I would disagree with you on the notion that spells put humans in the place of the divine though. I believe that there are two types of energy in the universe (actually three but I’m simplifying here), you have your personal energy (which is yours anyway, so your not doing anything above that which humans can) and you have divine energy. The difference is that divine energy is asked for (I guess you could think of it like a prayer), and personal energy is in all humans. So a practitioner of Witchcraft is not putting him/herself in the divine when casting a spell. He or she is either using that which is available for all humans or asking for assistance form the Gods.

Simply put, evil is the lack of the good that ought to be there.

Unfortunately for Christians, good and evil have recently become entwined with the concept of dualism (thank you, Descartes). Dualism asserts that good and evil are two sides of the same coin; equal and opposite powers. This is not the Catholic understanding.

My favorite analogy for understanding good and evil is that of hot and cold. Cold is not the opposite of heat. Cold isn’t an entity unto itself. It is simply the absence of heat. Thus, when you take away all heat, you reach absolute zero (−459.67°F). Yet, there is no upper limit to heat. The temperature can keep rising and rising to a seemingly infinite degree.

So it is with good and evil. Evil is not an entity unto itself but simply the lack of good that ought to be there.

I wouldn’t personally call you evil for practicing witchcraft, simply misinformed. There most certainly are aspects of it that are at odds with Catholic teaching and Catholic morality. I can see how you would be frustrated by people immediately equaiting your belief system with satanism when you don’t even believe in Satan. There is that tendency amongst certain Christians to rather liberally play the “Satanism” card. There is a sense in which that is correct - to the extent that anything that is opposed to God is “satanic”, but there is a sense in which it is not the most accurate description for the reasons you have mentioned.

Well I don’t happen to see much room for a reply on this one (because I have already said everything I would have above), however I did want to compliment you on you analogy for evil using heat, that is a very good way of explaining it. And yes, it is frustrating to always be thought of as a Satanist considering that I don’t believe in him.

Well I think I have everything, but if I missed something or you want me to expand on a topic feel free to ask me. Sorry for the long post by the way, but I wanted to try to answer all of you at the same time.

 

[Joe_5859]

Gandalf,

When you say “witchcraft” is your religion, do you mean Wicca, or are they two separate (though perhaps related) belief systems?

Just curious.

 

[_Gandalf]

Gandalf,

When you say “witchcraft” is your religion, do you mean Wicca, or are they two separate (though perhaps related) belief systems?

Just curious.

I’m actually glad you asked, and yes they are different. Technically the words Wicca and Witchcraft have the same roots, so in essence they mean the same thing. However the word Wicca has started being used to describe a certain movement of Witchcraft. There are multiple types of Wicca (and Witchcraft), but the one that most people are familiar with is Gardnerian Wicca. In a way Wicca is a more precise term, and Witchcraft is more vague. Despite there are multiple versions of Wicca they all tend to have the same practices and in general the same beliefs. For instance they have what they call the Rede, which is similar in nature to what you call the bible (however other than that they are completely different of course). Witchcraft however refers to any religion that is pagan in nature where the practitioners try to channel natural energy for the benefit of themselves and their surroundings. The word Witch (As far as I know) is Celtic in origin, and different words were used in other cultures (druids, sorcerers, wizards…) but now it refers to all of it, though some people don’t like to use the word Witch due to some of the connotations attached to it. These are the most prevalent forms of Witchcraft/Wicca:

Alexandrian
Cabot
Celtic
Christian Wicca (Don’t ask me how, but some people think they can be both)
Dianic
Faery (or Feri, and there is a more radical moment within them which are often considered different)
Eclectic
Gardnerian
Greco-Roman
Green Witchcraft (I’m actually not sure why this is considered Witchcraft)
Hereditary
Seax Wicca
Solitary
Stregheria
Wiccan Shamanism

There are more (Asatru, Brujeria, Celtic Re-constructionists, Ceremonial, Chaos, Druidism, Egyptian, Santeria, Shamanism, Voudoun…), but if you meat a Witch/Wicca then I can almost grantee you that they will be one of these. In some cases though that doesn’t tell you anything, like the term Eclectic. It means they don’t specifically follow a certain set of guidelines, but what those guidelines are, who knows?

In general it is hard to define Witchcraft, so many people have found different words to describe the same thing. With the exception of the culturally oriented paths then (In my opinion) these are the only real difference between most of them. All of these paths lead to the same place (Well… Most of them anyway) its just how you get there.

 

[Dokimas]

The interesting thing about this is that I do believe in God. To me there is not an absence of God in Witchcraft, in fact I have more deities than you do (not that quantity matters, I’m just pointing it out). So I can understand where you are coming from but this looks like it is just a misunderstanding between the two beliefs. I find it interesting to note though that were my religion lacks your God, and that absence you refer to as evil, your religion lacks my deities and yet I have never known someone of my path to think of Catholicism as evil. Satanist do of course, but as I said earlier I don’t believe in Satan. And yes I do like The Lord of the Rings. I do completely agree with you about taking offense to things though. In my mind only those who do not have a solid enough grounding in their belief take offense to things that are contrary. Usually because it challenges what they believe and they don’t know how to face that challenge, so they just run away and refuse to think about it. Unfortunately this is an issue I have had in the past whenever I have tried to discuss things of this nature with Christians.

I’m assuming this is a response to my post because you quoted me and then responded. I wasn’t responding to your belief but answering your question about how I defined evil. It had nothing to do with your belief specifically. I don’t know what you believe.

I’m not catholic. I’m just a Christian.

I do believe satan is real; he is a liar, a hater and a deceiver.

 

[_Gandalf]

I’m assuming this is a response to my post because you quoted me and then responded. I wasn’t responding to your belief but answering your question about how I defined evil. It had nothing to do with your belief specifically. I don’t know what you believe.

I’m not catholic. I’m just a Christian.

I do believe satan is real; he is a liar, a hater and a deceiver.

Firstly, yes this was a reply to what you had said earlier. And I also figured it was about your religion specifically and not mine. But if I don’t mention my religion it would make it hard to reply, considering I’m not really in a position to have an informed opinion on yours. However your post did answer my question. I gathered from your post that you believe Witchcraft is evil because it is not what you believe, as opposed to it being evil in nature. That may not be a correct interpretation of what you had said but I think it went somewhere on those lines.

 

[Dokimas]

Firstly, yes this was a reply to what you had said earlier. And I also figured it was about your religion specifically and not mine. But if I don’t mention my religion it would make it hard to reply, considering I’m not really in a position to have an informed opinion on yours. However your post did answer my question. I gathered from your post that you believe Witchcraft is evil because it is not what you believe, as opposed to it being evil in nature. That may not be a correct interpretation of what you had said but I think it went somewhere on those lines.

I’m not sure about this understanding from my post. I think I just defined ‘evil’. When did I comment on your belief, especially in contrast to mine? Maybe you’re reading something into my words that aren’t there.
I don’t think I’ve commented on witchcraft.

I will if you want me to.

 

[_Gandalf]

I’m not sure about this understanding from my post. I think I just defined ‘evil’. When did I comment on your belief, especially in contrast to mine? Maybe you’re reading something into my words that aren’t there.
I don’t think I’ve commented on witchcraft.

I will if you want me to.

That is entirely possible. And after reviewing your original post I see that you are correct, so you have my apologies for the misunderstanding.

 

[adrift]

  I hope I have made my inquiry plain enough, I just want to know why those of your path seem to think that those of mine are evil. As I said before I don't see how I am, or any of the people I know are evil. So I am left with two possibilities; either you define the term differently than we do or there is a misunderstanding between the two of us. Whatever you reply is I am eagerly awaiting it, this is something I have been curios about for a long time.

Sincerely,
Me

PS: In your reply don’t worry about offending me, it is a very hard thing to do. All I ask of you is your honest opinion, and hopefully the official opinion of your church.

Have you ever looked at the Webster definition of witch?

1 : one that is credited with usually malignant supernatural powers; especially : a woman practicing usually black witchcraft often with the aid of a devil or familiar

This is what I would call the traditional definition. The more modern one is what you are defining witches as. I understand that those who practice witchcraft now say that there has been a misunderstanding of the practice in the past. I know the arguments. I don’t buy it. I don’t believe that it is historically correct but rather a revisionist view. I don’t believe that what today passes as witchcraft is evil but dangerous. It flirts with the devil even if those who espouse it do not realize it.

 

[_Gandalf]

Have you ever looked at the Webster definition of witch?

This is what I would call the traditional definition. The more modern one is what you are defining witches as. I understand that those who practice witchcraft now say that there has been a misunderstanding of the practice in the past. I know the arguments. I don’t buy it. I don’t believe that it is historically correct but rather a revisionist view. I don’t believe that what today passes as witchcraft is evil but dangerous. It flirts with the devil even if those who espouse it do not realize it.

The time line that I am familiar with is that in the beginning Witches served as healers (among other things, in some instances, like with the druids, their main job was to keep the history and beliefs of the people. Oddly enough they believed that writing was something only done with things unworthy of being devoted to memory, so their traditions where strictly oral. Sadly this means we don’t know much about them). Through some radical movements inside Witchcraft itself and the changing opinions of the people it ended up with a rather bad name, not all of which was undeserved. After that time though Witchcraft is what it is now, which is more inline with what Witchcraft was originally like.

 

[adrift]

The time line that I am familiar with is that in the beginning Witches served as healers (among other things, in some instances, like with the druids, their main job was to keep the history and beliefs of the people. Oddly enough they believed that writing was something only done with things unworthy of being devoted to memory, so their traditions where strictly oral. Sadly this means we don’t know much about them). Through some radical movements inside Witchcraft itself and the changing opinions of the people it ended up with a rather bad name, not all of which was undeserved. After that time though Witchcraft is what it is now, which is more inline with what Witchcraft was originally like.

That there is a claim that they were misunderstood healers is to me revisionist history. Perhaps you can point to something that documents this that is not an modern concept.