NeoPagan Friend

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TeresTala

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I would appreciate any resources or advice pertaining to the following situation:

I have a young friend who has identified herself to me as a NeoPagan. Like many pagans, she has a rather… diffuse belief system. She has even admitted that she believes Jesus Christ may be the Son of God. According to her, unfortunately, this is not “her path”. “Her path” lies in shamanistic practices. This in and of itself would not particularly alarm me as I know quite a few people who are following “their own path.” My friend, however, has told me about a few incidents that strike me as being, well… supernatural. It’s quite possible that everything is happening inside her head, but I’m beginning to be very afraid it is not.

If nothing else, please say a prayer for my young friend.

Many thanks,
TeresTala
 
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TeresTala:
IMy friend, however, has told me about a few incidents that strike me as being, well… supernatural. It’s quite possible that everything is happening inside her head, but I’m beginning to be very afraid it is not.
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Would care to elaborate or would you prefer not to?

I will pray for your friend!
 
My friend has described a couple of instances where she believes her spirit guide led her successfully through unknown woods, alluded to revelations during ritual ceremonies, and said she once heard her spirit guide growling at her – audible growling.

To be honest, I’m hoping that this is all in her head!

TeresTala
 
This needs a lot of prayer. I will pray for you, and for your friend.
Please be very careful. If this is “real”, it is very dangerous. Satan sometimes appears as an “angel of light”.
I am not trying to frighten you, but please stay very close to Jesus, & ask the saints & angels to protect you…
I would also suggest that you talk to your pastor, as he may have more advice for you.
God bless.
 
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TeresTala:
My friend has described a couple of instances where she believes her spirit guide led her successfully through unknown woods, alluded to revelations during ritual ceremonies, and said she once heard her spirit guide growling at her – audible growling.

To be honest, I’m hoping that this is all in her head!

TeresTala
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I’m glad you posted this. I have a friend into similar things but she doesn’t identify herself as “pagan” particularly. She talks about her “Higher Self”, which about sums up what I think is wrong with “her path”. To me, the lure of these types of things is that they are really self-centered rather than God centered.

Anyway, I am currently saying the Holy Face chaplet for her, in reparation and for her re-conversion. The website www.crossveil.org which talks about the dangers of new age practices recommends devotion to the Holy Face.

:blessyou:
 
Hey!

I will pray for your neopagan friend, seeing as I have one also. He’s a Wiccan, believes in this Goddess figure, and is very anti-Christian due to incorrect beliefs about the Inquisition among other things. Please pray for him as well.

Do you know specifically what your neopagan friend believes?

Peace,
Fieryjades
 
Have you ever entertained the thought that she may just be messing with your head?..How old is she?..the line about being “guided through the woods” sounds especially cheesy, and trite. Is her favorite tale “Robin Hood” by chance…I would not waste my time and energy contemplating such nonsense.
 
Saint Micheal, the archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray. And may thou, oh Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the divine power, thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits prowling the world seeking the ruin of souls.

It’s one of my favorite prayers. I always say it after mass or if I am in a situation I don’t particularly like.
 
Thanks to everybody for your concern and your prayers!

Strength, I actually think my friend is not playing with my head, which is why I’m concerned. I’ve known her for quite a while and have always found her to be very honest. I started learning about all this because she took the time to respond to an email I’d sent her over a year ago when we were having a discussion about religion.

Fieryjades, my friend has told me that she believes in a Divine force in the universe that can manifest itself in many forms. She’s not Wiccan… closer to shamanistic. She hangs out with Wiccans, Druids, shamans, and the like. She has a spirit guide and participates in various ceremonies, especially those that put her in touch with her guide. I will certainly include your Wiccan friend in my prayers!
TeresTala
 
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TeresTala:
Thanks to everybody for your concern and your prayers!

Strength, I actually think my friend is not playing with my head, which is why I’m concerned. I’ve known her for quite a while and have always found her to be very honest. I started learning about all this because she took the time to respond to an email I’d sent her over a year ago when we were having a discussion about religion.

Fieryjades, my friend has told me that she believes in a Divine force in the universe that can manifest itself in many forms. She’s not Wiccan… closer to shamanistic. She hangs out with Wiccans, Druids, shamans, and the like. She has a spirit guide and participates in various ceremonies, especially those that put her in touch with her guide. I will certainly include your Wiccan friend in my prayers!
TeresTala
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Any resources you come across on this subject, please share them! Not only “spiritual warfare” type resources like the Saint Michael Prayer, but also apologetics info such as, where this new age stuff goes wrong.

Keep us updated!
 
Hey,

I believe that there some articles about paganism in This Rock. Does anybody know what pagans believe moral-wise?

God Bless!
 
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Fieryjades:
Hey,

I believe that there some articles about paganism in This Rock. Does anybody know what pagans believe moral-wise?

God Bless!
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Thanks, Fieryjades,
I checked out that section of Catholic Answers and did a search for new age.

I don’t have a thorough understanding about what so called “pagans” believe but I know a lot of the stuff that would come under the heading of “new age” borrows from many other beleif systems, such as Native American spirituality, Hinduism, Wicca and the like. They tend to see all “paths” and all “gods” as equal manifestations of the one “Spirit”. My friend sees Buddha as pretty much equal to Jesus for example. Such beleifs as reincarnation are often present. They say they are “open” to different “paths” and experiences and that no one religion is “the right” one.

They are into God (in various forms such as “Spirit guides” etc.) “telling” them things or leading them to various practices. It almost seems like an extention of the 60’s “If it feels good, do it” kind of mentality. Sort of like, “if it feels good, my spirit guide told me to do it.”

Often there is no beleif in such thing as Hell and sin, and of course, no need for repentance. God is seen as a sort of nebulous “force” rather than a Person. There is also talk of human beings becoming divine and tapping into the “Divine Force within”…that sort of stuff.
 
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TeresTala:
I would appreciate any resources or advice pertaining to the following situation:

I have a young friend who has identified herself to me as a NeoPagan. Like many pagans, she has a rather… diffuse belief system. She has even admitted that she believes Jesus Christ may be the Son of God. According to her, unfortunately, this is not “her path”. “Her path” lies in shamanistic practices. This in and of itself would not particularly alarm me as I know quite a few people who are following “their own path.” My friend, however, has told me about a few incidents that strike me as being, well… supernatural. It’s quite possible that everything is happening inside her head, but I’m beginning to be very afraid it is not.

If nothing else, please say a prayer for my young friend.

Many thanks,
TeresTala
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we will surely keep your friend in our prayers… in the mean time, look into www.catholiceducation.org
 
One must first understand what a spirit guide is. In Wicca and some other neo-pagan beliefs, a spirit guide can be an angel, though it is not necessarily limited to them. Even one’s dead ancestor can be a spirit guide. The term is actually broader than what we know. For us Catholics we have guardian angels; like I said, a guardian angel is but one form of a spirit guide for them (and in fact they do not use the term angel, but rather refer to it as a spirit guide). I am not sure if anything evil can be considered a spirit guide, but given its broad range, I wouldn’t really be surprised.
 
4HisChurch thought this was a good resource, so I’ll post it for folks:

There’s a couple of good articles on Focus on the Family’s website for college students, Boundless:

www.boundless.org

particularly this one:

boundless.org/2001/features/a0000503.html

(Boundless is an evangelical site, but appears to be relatively denomination-neutral.)

TeresTala
 
Evangelization depends deeply on the knowledge, maturity, and temperament of individuals – both the Christian and the recipient. I have always thought it best to get to really know the person you’re witnessing to, know your own strengths and use them to the best advantage, and pray really hard when you find you have to step into an area where you’re weak!

I have been having an ongoing discussion with my friend about religion. She and I are both rather introverted, so email conversations are ‘safe.’ That is to say, they’re really not safe at all, but they give us both time to think.

She’s got some basic misconceptions about Christianity, so I correct those whenever they pop up. Since I know she’s got a wide practical streak, I try to walk through the logic of controversial topics such as “do all religions lead to God?”

To be honest, I feel pretty inadequate to the task. I know people who would be much better at this than I am. But, here I am, so here I’ll stay for as long as she’ll talk to me!

TeresTala
 
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