Just a hunch, but I think SamG meant*** “apologize”*** in the sense of making a formal defense or justification for the faith, as opposed to making a regretful acknowledgment of a fault or offense.What do you want to apologize to them for? That you’re sorry they’re so… lost? confused? ill-informed? misguided?
Unless you’re personally responsible for that TV show “Charmed,” in which case you can apologize to ME.
Wiccan has only existed since 1948. It was founded by Robert? Gardener. Anyhow, wiccans basically only have to follow the wiccan rede, “an’ it harm none, do what ye will.” Sounds good, but it is so easy to lie and say something does no harm or to say it is okay to do a small amount of harm for the greater good. It’s a very self-centered religion that is about building personal power, which is very satanistic. Wiccans are hard to apologize to because they have so much flexibility with what they believe. You basically have to find out exactly what your friend believes and break it down piece by piece. There is a pretty good apologetics booklet by Fr. Frank Chacon & Jim Burnham called Beginning Apologetics 4: How to answer Atheists and New Agers. While not comprehensive by any means, it will give you a start. One thing that is totally easy to tear down right off the bat, however, is reincarnation. If we really have past lives because we are working through many to perfection, how come we can’t remember our past lives? It seems like we can’t learn from our past mistakes if we don’t remember them. I guess some people will answer back that past life regression therapy is necessary to complete this spiritual journey, but that’s lame. Jesus trained His apostles and sent them out to teach the world the Truth as a loving God would. Why would past life regression be so hard to come by if it were the true path designed by the Creator(s)? Doesn’t seem very loving to keep information limited to a few “in the know” types and doom everyone else to endless repetitive life cycles repeating past mistakes. Take heart, though. I used to be a wiccan, and it was fairly easy for me to convert to Catholicism because of all of our rituals and fun things like incense and bells and holy water. I’ll pray for your friend to understand that just because a group won’t tell you you’re wrong doesn’t mean they’re good for you. Guten luck!
Athough Gardner is credited for “founding” modern Wicca, I think something should also be said about Aleister “The Beast” Crowley, who influenced significantly much of the neo-pagan movement, especially Wicca and modern Satanism.
Very true, especially for solitary practitioners.
Not really, though it might be easy for us Christians and the other monotheistic religions like Islam and Judaism. From the perspective of karma though, reincarnation actually makes sense (I’m not saying I believe it, but if you would understand the concept of karma and reincarnation, it would fit in).
Those who studied reincarnation can easily answer this: sort of like having our present consciousness not being able to completely regress to the point of going back to one’s past life; this also serves as a sort of buffer to help the person focus on the reality he is living now, and not get confused with his past reality.
A couple of questions. First, by what standard do you define what harm is? Second, who, or what dispenses the justice for causing (or wishing) harm to someone else through magic?
Harm is anything that:
So not that I know many wiccans, but if this is all true, why are so many pro-abortion and contraception? If these things are not seen as harming others then I think there is a problem because it denies another their very rightful existance for our personal gain. Also, to manipulate a situation to one’s own advantage is outright selfish and with selfishness always comes harm to another. So I’m not sure if the definition of harm is so common. I’m not justifying the hellfire and brimstone bible thumpers either. This is just to state that we probably should take a good look at what we say and believe.
Enjoyed the show Charmed…never missed an episode. The premise of the show was not about promoting evil, but defeating it. But then again, it was fiction…I would have like to have seen it continued…What do you want to apologize to them for? That you’re sorry they’re so… lost? confused? ill-informed? misguided?
Unless you’re personally responsible for that TV show “Charmed,” in which case you can apologize to ME.
so you could make fun of it, right? The writing and acting on that show were so bad.
well like i said in my last thing were not all perfect and even some christans agree on some cases that abortion would be okay (i.e. if i woman was raped), and with the manipulation we try our best not to, but simple mistakes happen. and im male so the contraception issue i think should be left up to someone else
Granted, some Wiccans (including myself) aren’t opposed to abortion or contraception, but that doesn’t mean all of us are. like all religions, there is a division on that particular matter. Some Catholics, whom I’m very close to are not opposed to abortion or contraception, and say what you will, they are still Catholic.
I have not scanned all of the post yet, however I think SamG ment by “apologize” was offer Catholic-Christian apologetics–defense of Catholic claims—to WiccansWhat do you want to apologize to them for? That you’re sorry they’re so… lost? confused? ill-informed? misguided?
Unless you’re personally responsible for that TV show “Charmed,” in which case you can apologize to ME.
First, an in-context citation of St. Augustine would be nice.
I support contraception precisely BECAUSE I disapprove of elective abortion. Failure to differentiate between the putative “evil” of contraception and the very real harms that stem from freely elective abortion is, IMO, the larger problem. (full disclosure - I am Pagan but not Wiccan, and do not follow the Rede.)
As far as what I personally had written in the quoted post, there is no difference. Both deny existance.
) that these Presences were clearly of the same order, but also clearly not the same Persons. Thus am I led to my faith, and to the conclusion that polytheism of some form is a more accurate worldview than monotheism (and thus I could not in good conscience accept the call of the Jewish God, for the reasons you mention).