The problem of Witchcraft/Paganism

[NoWings]

Well if you learned a bit about Catholisim you would know that we believe the saints aren’t dead. What good is a dead saint? .
The big huge difference between saints and your lesser spirits is that saints are human. while your lesser spirits are well… like you said.

Really, are you always like this? ‘If I learned a bit about Catholicism?’ I wouldn’t be making arguments in its favor if I didn’t have an understanding, rudimentary it may be. I know that the saints are alive in Christ, and that God is the God of the Living.

They’re both incoporeal spirits that we cannot see, but can still have profound change if we invoke them.

There is a little difference. The items you "stated in wicca have powers.( or so they say) And yes you’re right christianity does state that things can strengthen our faith. But they themselves have no power. No power at all. Massive difference. ANd whats with the three leaf clover? since when is that christian? Sort of saying “Omg! they wear symbols and so do we they copied us” A bit desperate there dont you think?

sigh

The three-leaf clover was used by Saint Patrick to evangelize Ireland. It’s a well-known symbol of the trinity.

Well Some say maiden, mother, represents the three stages of womanhood. Or that its the three stages that this “goddess” goes through which is tied into the phases of the moon. Not The same as God which is one but three different spirits at the same time.

No, not the same, but one can see the parallel between the two. A five year old could see that.

Omg. wicca have temples too? That must mean the buddhist, mayans etc all stole from wicca? . Well that does it for me. (nah just joking)
Differences…We have no magic symbols Our stautes aren’t nothing but paster or marble (depending of what its made out of ) I’m sorry but apart from the temple (alters) and candles. Where is the similarities? I think we got out idea of temples and alters from the jews… .

/facepalm

That. is. my. point.

There are PARALLELS. I’m not talking about someone copying from someone else! In all honesty, the neo-pagans have most likely borrowed heavily from high church Christians.

Christianity miracles come from select few who have been blessed by God. Some by Jesus (God) and you even put in a few jewish miracles as well. They didn’t use magic. It isn’t something just anyone can do. No matter how enhanced we feel we are in the faith of God.

Again… parallels.

Maybe you could go on with your points and this time try and be more specific.

Are you kidding me?

Not one thing you have stated shows that christianity is based on any wiccan religion/s Its like the old saying goes"same, same but different" ANd thats bein generous on my part. But you are right in one thing though. christianity did borrow a lot from one religion. And thats judaisim. And that my friend is where our roots truly lie.

Not one thing? Are you kidding me? You are so intellectually dishonest that I think you want to be stupid and ignorant on purpose.

I think the whole Christianity borrowed from Paganism come from “pagans” and “wiccans” trying to add credence to their own religion by trying to tie onto another one. Maybe if pagansim (european) wasn’t almost totaly lost then they wouldn’t need to do this. Don’t forget a lot of what we now of european paganism comes from christian writers. who would have used christian terms to describe things.

I want you to read my posts again. Go back and read them. Where did I state that Christianity borrowed from anything? I said there are obvious parallels and that a person should never have to become pagan because everything that’s in paganism already has a parallel in Christianity.

The Church readily admits usurping older pagan holidays to bring them in line with Christ’s life. Call it fulfillment, as I’ve already said.

If you really can’t see anything that the two have in common, then please dig a hole and cover yourself up because your brain is dead.

 

[NoWings]

P.S to anyone who reads my previous 3 post. Please ignore the typing as it was late and i was tired. And i wasn’t really in the mood to proof read it.

Ah… so your brain was dead at the time.

 

[Maria65]

Easter wasn’t grafted onto a pagan fertility feast because of parallels. It falls near Passover, because we know that is when it happened. The Last Supper was Jesus celebrating Passover with His disciples.

 

[NoWings]

Easter wasn’t grafted onto a pagan fertility feast because of parallels. It falls near Passover, because we know that is when it happened. The Last Supper was Jesus celebrating Passover with His disciples.

Really…

Then why are the holdovers from the fertility feast still celebrated?

 

[latin_rite]

You know what? I have time, so I’ll just go ahead and post responses to your drivel.

The older pagan holidays were reinterpreted with Christian meanings. The Church readily admits this because it’s generally easier to evangelize when you show cultures that Christianity can do it one better…

“Did you read your post? where i said ~Ok so the wicca “base” seasons of the year. Autum, spring etc. And christianity does so as well (but in a different sense all togther) But we look at the life christ… Such as his death then his resurection (easter) then his birth (christmas) One is the seasons of the year. and one are events in someones life? But in the events in christian year goes. death. resurection, then birth. hardly a wheel of liniar events. A bit of a woobly wheel. Maybe you didn’t explain the connection throughly. Because i don’t see any there”~
That responce wasn’t about older pagan holidays being interepreted with christian meanings. And you know it. You said they both had the same cycles. And nice to see you gave up on the wiccan angle.

No, the goddess mourns her dead son/lover while he is growing in her womb. The parallel is that the Goddess is impregnated by the God and gives birth to the God who then watches him die. Mary was impregnated by God with God, and watches him die.
Look at the stories. past the “female gave birth to a God” part they have nothing in common…
Where did I say that she was anything other than human? I said she is not a goddess in essence but certainly is in function. She is crowned Queen of Heaven and God Himself calls her ‘Mother’. If that doesn’t make one a goddess practically, I don’t know what would.

You said in essence and “FUNCTION”. I always thought that if it function as a certain thing then thats what it was. You can’t say someone is in essence and functions as a goddess then say that you didn’t imply she was a goddess…

Good grief…

Candlemas is indeed a Christian holiday. You just know it by another name…

That is the case. And i have heard of it before. as soon as i read the article i was like “doh”

Yule coincides with the winter solstice which is the day of the shortest light of the year. In Wicca, this means that God (represented by the Sun) has re-entered the world. Thus, the days get longer after this night. Jesus, being the Light of the World, is also celebrated as being born at this time. It was an easy to day to appropriate. You can view it as fulfillment…

Now that is one long bow. Honestly how do you come up with these things. Ever thought christmas is celibrated on the 25th cause he might have been born on that day? prove he wasn’t?
Yule is now a term used for Christmas in some parts of the world. But so what? Allah was name of a moon god. Ask a muslim now what allah means and they will tell you different.Again go back to where i posted how words change meaning. Like the word gay. You attempt to look so intelligent yet can’t grasp the notion that words evolve and change meaning over time.

Ostara is indeed a day of fertility and growth. It’s celebrated in the Spring when everything is blossoming. Easter comes from this word. Ostara - Eostre - Easter. The holiday is celebrated by painting eggs, which are symbols of balance and fertility. Jesus is resurrected and thus brings new life to the world, celebrated on this day. There’s even a Christian egg parallel with the tale of Mary Magdalene turning an egg red in front of Tiberius Caesar…

Easter is held in spring because thats when it happened. And whats the CHristian parrallel? They mention eggs? Caesar said to mary magdalene. That the chances of a human returning from the dead is as likely as a egg turning red in your hand.It wasn’t about mary magdalene going into some speil telling caesar saying" look at this egg it is a symbol of Jesus rebirth" Come on lad grow up.
SO easter comes from the word Ostatra? Do you mean the word easter or the event?

 

[latin_rite]

Samhain is the celebration of the harvest and was believed to be the day where the veil between the spirit world and the world of the living was the thinnest. Thus, it was a great time to honor your ancestors and pay homage to spirits. This was appropriated into All Saints and All Souls Day, respectively. Call it fulfillment if you wish…

Why would i call it fulfillment. You’re the one who is seeking credence. One is a day to remember the dead. The other is a festival to mark the end of harvest and the coming of winter. It does have some festival of the dead elements.ANd that comes from the anceint belief that nature was dying at the time. The gaels believed that the border between the living and the dead became thin which permitted the dead to come back to the world of the living. How is a day about remembering our lost loved ones. and a day about the ending of harvest and dead people having the ability to re enter our world have anything in common?

That’s my mistake. It was Ishtar her sister who went into the underworld to rescue her lover, Tammuz. She was able to leave, but only by bargain…

By bargain? more likely by command of the “king of gods” (Snicker) ea

You can call upon a greater source outside of yourself that can bring change in supernatural ways. That is most certainly a parallel.

Well one relies on God to help out if he sees fit. The other involves A person controlling the universe them selves.

Really, are you always like this? ‘If I learned a bit about Catholicism?’ I wouldn’t be making arguments in its favor if I didn’t have an understanding, rudimentary it may be. I know that the saints are alive in Christ, and that God is the God of the Living. .

Really? You say the saints are alive? well why did you say this?

Really In Christianity, there is a horde of dead saints .

Do you even remember or understand what you type? This is a common theme throughout your threads. You seem to forget what the points you tried to make and attempt to be little peoples anwsers. By claiming to have asked or claimed a different question or opinion

No, not the same, but one can see the parallel between the two. A five year old could see that…

Thats the thing. there is no parrellel between the two. Its like saying that because north korea and the u.s are countries that they paralleled to each other. in so many other ways.

There are PARALLELS. I’m not talking about someone copying from someone else! In all honesty, the neo-pagans have most likely borrowed heavily from high church Christians.

.
UM… Yes you are saying they copied. Or stole ideas from them.

Again… parallels. .

Um no. You said that A person can enhance ones self to take control of these things themselves. I replied that those who have worked miracles did not evoke anything. It was a gift or a miracle worked through them by God. None can say. “OOga booga wooga. I envoke the power of mighty God” throw three frogs in a pot and have magical powers in Christianity. Those who did have “power of miracles” got that ability without asking for it. (except for Jesus)

Are you kidding me?.

No im not. In your original post. you hardly mention any “gods” by name you just said in “wicca”

Not one thing? Are you kidding me? You are so intellectually dishonest that I think you want to be stupid and ignorant on purpose…

No im not. You’re just incapable of proving a point…

That’s my mistake. It was Ishtar her sister who went into the underworld to rescue her lover, Tammuz. She was able to leave, but only by bargain…

By bargain? more likely by command of the “king of gods” (Snicker) ea

You can call upon a greater source outside of yourself that can bring change in supernatural ways. That is most certainly a parallel.

Well one relies on God to help out if he sees fit. The other involves A person controlling the universe them selves.
.

 

[latin_rite]

Really, are you always like this? ‘If I learned a bit about Catholicism?’ I wouldn’t be making arguments in its favor if I didn’t have an understanding, rudimentary it may be. I know that the saints are alive in Christ, and that God is the God of the Living. .

Really? You say the saints are alive? well why did you say this?

Really In Christianity, there is a horde of dead saints .

Do you even remember or understand what you type? This is a common theme throughout your threads. You seem to forget what the points you tried to make and attempt to be little peoples anwsers. By claiming to have asked or claimed a different question or opinion

No, not the same, but one can see the parallel between the two. A five year old could see that…

Thats the thing. there is no parrellel between the two. Its like saying that because north korea and the u.s are countries that they paralleled to each other. in so many other ways.

There are PARALLELS. I’m not talking about someone copying from someone else! In all honesty, the neo-pagans have most likely borrowed heavily from high church Christians.

.
UM… Yes you are saying they copied. Or stole ideas from them.

Again… parallels. .

Um no. You said that A person can enhance ones self to take control of these things themselves. I replied that those who have worked miracles did not evoke anything. It was a gift or a miracle worked through them by God. None can say. “OOga booga wooga. I envoke the power of mighty God” throw three frogs in a pot and have magical powers in Christianity. Those who did have “power of miracles” got that ability without asking for it. (except for Jesus)

Are you kidding me?.

No im not. In your original post. you hardly mention any “gods” by name you just said in “wicca”
Wait am i kidding you? So now you’re saying that christianity borrowed from “wicca”? Make your mind up.

Not one thing? Are you kidding me? You are so intellectually dishonest that I think you want to be stupid and ignorant on purpose…

No im not. You’re just incapable of proving a point

I want you to read my posts again. Go back and read them. Where did I state that Christianity borrowed from anything? I said there are obvious parallels and that a person should never have to become pagan because everything that’s in paganism already has a parallel in Christianity.

The Church readily admits usurping older pagan holidays to bring them in line with Christ’s life. Call it fulfillment, as I’ve already said.

If you really can’t see anything that the two have in common, then please dig a hole and cover yourself up because your brain is dead.

You mightn’t have said borrowed. But you implied it. Sorry for understanding your post more than what you do. My brain is dead? At least i remember what questions i have asked. Your entire reply to my post have been a lack luture attempt at covering up your mistakes. You posted a whole legend of mistakes. And tried to cover it up by responding to my answers as if you asked a whole set of different questions

 

[NoWings]

Really? You say the saints are alive? well why did you say this?

Do you even remember or understand what you type?

Because they still died in their body. Most people don’t think of people that have died in the body. I typed it because most people say, “oh , Saint Cyril died in XXX ad,” instead of, “oh, Saint Cyril died in body but not in Spirit because God is a God of the Living in XXX ad.” It only has significance to a Christian.

So now you’re saying that christianity borrowed from “wicca”? Make your mind up.

I didn’t say Christianity borrowed from anything. You just can’t read, apparently.

I’m done with this discussion. I refuse to banter with you since you don’t read what I write.

Irini Passi

 

[debradee]

I originally posted about my daughter’s relationship with a “witch” boyfriend who she now has no contact with. That has been resolved thank you very much.

I am not the most learned Catholic in the world (I am a “rushed” convert who is still learning) and I refuse to use pretentious vocabulary so please forgive my plain language.

The original poster I believe asked why young people are being drawn to Witchcraft/Paganism. This has lead to a full blown argument that started out as a civilized discussion. This bothers me. Sorry, civility has gone out the window from what I have been reading. Just my opinion.

That being said…I have another question for the “neopagan” experts that runs along the lines of what the starter of this thread was asking.

My daughter has now made friends with a very nice sweet girl (20 yrs. old) who claims to be a Wiccan. Her parents were abusive and she was raped - I could go on but it’s a nightmare. She claims that this is why she became a Wiccan. It helps her thru her nightmares and gives her peace etc…I think it is because she had no control over her life until she got away from her parents and this is a way she thinks she can have that control.

Anyway…before this, she had no religious background at all because of her wonderful caring parents… She was discussing Catholicism with my daughter and told her that Jesus died on an “X” not a cross and that all of the Saints are gods. My daughter didn’t want to have a religious discussion with her because of what the girl has been thru so she just changed the subject.

Is this what all Wikkens believe or is she just ignorant to these facts?

 

[gracelovefaith]

Excellent response enfantdelune. I remember reading about the rosicrucians, free masons, the golden dawn, the doors of perception, starhawk, llewellyn, margot alder 10+ years ago etc. I even loved Tori Amos. But it is all wrong and I am so glad I was graced by God and the Holy Spirit to see the truth. We all have the capacity to see, we just need to pray for others that they may find truth in Christ and find the fallacy of wicca and paganism. I think people are not just attracted to it for the power, but for the search of something sacred, just look at all of the new age book stores. With disfunctional families, painful childhoods, paganism seems to offer an escape/retreat from it with the facad of perfect love and a nature based wisdom. Even though it all just leads to more destruction and chaos, it’s hard for people to recognize it when faith is weak. All the smoke and mirrors can’t stand a chance with the help of Mary, Mother of God, and her beloved son Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, God, the Angels and the Saints.

 

[debradee]

I love these questions.

I am an ex-Pagan/ex-Wiccan and I figured I’d throw in my two cents as to why it attracts young (mostly female) people.

1. Power. Young girls (and boys) often feel that they have no control over anything in their life. Their parents make decisions for them, their teachers make decisions for them, and their church makes decisions for them. They are longing to be able to make decisions for themselves and Paganism/Wicca offers a promise of being able to control your life through “spellcrafting” and worshipping the Goddess.
2. Singularity. Many high school aged folk don’t want to worship in a congregation because they prefer to be alone. All the time. Paganism/Wicca affords them the ability to sit in their room and worship on their own terms, without anyone telling them what to say and when. Writing your own prayers/spells is actually preferred.
3. The “Old Ways.” Here is the kicker - Paganism/Wicca is evangelized (YES, I said it - though every Wiccan will affirm that they don’t seek out new members… they ‘advertise’ in other ways…) to young people by claiming that their beliefs/practices pre-date Christianity and organized church religions so they MUST be the RIGHT ways. Young folk are longing for a foundation… even though Wicca was ACTUALLY founded in the 1950’s by Gerald Gardner.

So… the real problem here is that these young folks are falling into Witchcraft/Paganism and not doing their homework. Trust me - I was one of them. It took me years to get out. It all starts innocently. They’ll read Llewellyn books, Cunningham books, etc. Books with titles in pink glitter claiming they’re full of “Spells for the Teen Witch.” Need more allowance money? Want that cool boy to like you? Here’s how!

So then, these teen “witches” get older. Now Paganism/Witchcraft becomes something else. Why? Because at 20, 21, 22 years old - you don’t care about whether or not the captain of the football team asks you out. You’re looking for peace. So, the new draw of Paganism is that it’s a “Nature Religion” attuned with the cycles of the earth. You can meditate on ancient Goddesses and Gods, do ‘cleansing’ rituals, and make mead. All good stuff, right? Well, just like the teen ‘witches,’ these young-adult ‘witches’ are ALSO not doing their homework. Trust me - I was one of them.

At some point… most people that are in this black hole of ‘faith’ decide they really MUST figure out what this religion is ACTUALLY all about. So maybe they pick up The Gardinerian Book of Shadows. They’re still confused. They read Crowley. Margaret Murray. Frazier’s Golden Bough. They will reach and reach and reach for some actual link to “the Old Ways.” But… it’s not there. It doesn’t exist. It’s a fabrication.

In fact… from experience. When you dig into all of these more and more bizarre texts on the occult… something funny happens. The deeper you dig and the further down the road you go, you start to find something. You find… Freemasonry. You find Rosicrucianism. You find the Knights Templar. You find the Priory of Sion. Then you find… the Catholic Church. And allllll of these heretical texts teach you one thing: they all stem from those who fell away from God and the Catholic Church. That’s right: Fell Away From God and the Catholic Church. These young Pagans/Wiccans will come to realize… their religion is not founded on God. It’s founded on anti-God. And there is the real relevation.

So - what IS THE FOUNDATION that we’re all looking for at the bottom of the pile, holding up all of humanity? That’s right - the Catholic Church.

It took me years of searching and reading and learning to find it. And I came home.

So, my suggestion then, and sorry to ramble a little, is to encourage them to actually dig into what they call their faith. Ask questions - and don’t take fluffy answers. If they tell you they’re following the Old Gods - ask them for proof. Tell them to read - A LOT. Bring them the texts. Tell them that if they want to follow this path - they should at least understand it. Because to fully understand is to fully believe.

You’ll find, they’ll find, and I found that following this path all the way to the truth leads you where all paths in LIFE should lead you: Home. All roads truly do lead to Rome.

Here’s a good place to start to send them looking for answers… but be patient… it may take a while: sacred-texts.com/index.htm

I should have read your post again. That’s why I’m re-posting it after reading the last post…(make sense?). I believe you got it right. Great response to the original question. Thanks!

 

[latin_rite]

.

I’m done with this discussion. I refuse to banter with you since you don’t read what I write.

Irini Passi

Yes thank you. You was growing tiresome with your contradictions. ( i say contradictions because calling someone a liar is frowned upon here.) At first i thought you was a wiccan pretending to be a agnostic But then i thought "no… this person is a agnostic in every sence of the word…They just don’t know.)
But i’m glad you want to back away… I was thinking getting this person to see how wrong they about their “theories” would be like getting a dog to talk

 

[sans_Delilah]

I originally posted about my daughter’s relationship with a “witch” boyfriend who she now has no contact with. That has been resolved thank you very much.

I am not the most learned Catholic in the world (I am a “rushed” convert who is still learning) and I refuse to use pretentious vocabulary so please forgive my plain language.

The original poster I believe asked why young people are being drawn to Witchcraft/Paganism. This has lead to a full blown argument that started out as a civilized discussion. This bothers me. Sorry, civility has gone out the window from what I have been reading. Just my opinion.

That being said…I have another question for the “neopagan” experts that runs along the lines of what the starter of this thread was asking.

My daughter has now made friends with a very nice sweet girl (20 yrs. old) who claims to be a Wiccan. Her parents were abusive and she was raped - I could go on but it’s a nightmare. She claims that this is why she became a Wiccan. It helps her thru her nightmares and gives her peace etc…I think it is because she had no control over her life until she got away from her parents and this is a way she thinks she can have that control.

Anyway…before this, she had no religious background at all because of her wonderful caring parents… She was discussing Catholicism with my daughter and told her that Jesus died on an “X” not a cross and that all of the Saints are gods. My daughter didn’t want to have a religious discussion with her because of what the girl has been thru so she just changed the subject.

Is this what all Wikkens believe or is she just ignorant to these facts?

Unfortunately, Debradee, there are members of every religious affiliation who are uneducated. And as she was not raised with religion, one can see how she wouldn’t be aware of many of the basic tenets of Catholicism. But as a Pagan, I can tell you that MOST educated and well-adjusted Pagans have arrived at their faith through serious study of world religion. Unfortunately, MOST Pagans are not educated or well-adjusted, and are simply trying to be different. And those are the types of Pagans that most people have the misfortune to come across. I promise you that we are not all ignorant.

to answer your question:

Regardless of what I believe, I know that the Catholic Church teaches that Jesus died on a CROSS, and that the saints are not GODS. Whether or not this is the truth is inconsequential to me.

Please don’t let bad experiences with Pagans lead you to believe that we’re all ignorant.



And in reference to Wicca specifically, it is a rather innocuous bit of Paganism, really, and attracts more experimenting teenagers than anything, probably resulting in the your talking about. This young woman will most likely become bored with Wicca very soon, and move on to something else, probably Buddhism. But whatever she picks up, she’ll drop it within a year, and most likely live out the rest of her days as an agnostic, claiming belief in some higher power, but not knowing what it is, and not integrating it into her life at all.

 

[NoWings]

Yes thank you. You was growing tiresome with your contradictions. ( i say contradictions because calling someone a liar is frowned upon here.) At first i thought you was a wiccan pretending to be a agnostic But then i thought "no… this person is a agnostic in every sence of the word…They just don’t know.)
But i’m glad you want to back away… I was thinking getting this person to see how wrong they about their “theories” would be like getting a dog to talk

Yes, and getting you to learn to read and think coherently would be like getting Satan to kiss the feet of Christ.

 

[debradee]

Unfortunately, Debradee, there are members of every religious affiliation who are uneducated. And as she was not raised with religion, one can see how she wouldn’t be aware of many of the basic tenets of Catholicism. But as a Pagan, I can tell you that MOST educated and well-adjusted Pagans have arrived at their faith through serious study of world religion. Unfortunately, MOST Pagans are not educated or well-adjusted, and are simply trying to be different. And those are the types of Pagans that most people have the misfortune to come across. I promise you that we are not all ignorant.

to answer your question:

Regardless of what I believe, I know that the Catholic Church teaches that Jesus died on a CROSS, and that the saints are not GODS. Whether or not this is the truth is inconsequential to me.

Please don’t let bad experiences with Pagans lead you to believe that we’re all ignorant.



And in reference to Wicca specifically, it is a rather innocuous bit of Paganism, really, and attracts more experimenting teenagers than anything, probably resulting in the your talking about. This young woman will most likely become bored with Wicca very soon, and move on to something else, probably Buddhism. But whatever she picks up, she’ll drop it within a year, and most likely live out the rest of her days as an agnostic, claiming belief in some higher power, but not knowing what it is, and not integrating it into her life at all.

Thank you sans Delilah,

This was the answer I was hoping for.

 

[sans_Delilah]

Thank you sans Delilah,

This was the answer I was hoping for.

No, thank you, Debradee.

There are plenty who would discount my opinions simply because I espouse a “flawes” viewpoint.

I appreciate that you can appreciate my opinions, rather than discounting them outright.

I respect you for that.

 

[masha]

Umm…latin rite, the Church chose midwinter for Christmas not because they thought Christ was born then (He might have been, but its unlikely and the Church never really cared that much about the exact date). Midwinter - the winter solstice was chosen because it is the time when light (parallel the Light) increases against the darkness. It is a fitting time to celebrate the birth of Christ, our Light and salvation. The Church chose the summer solstice for the feast of the birth of St. John the Baptist (which used to be a much bigger feast) to remind us of St. John role as the last prophet, as well as to remind us that “He must increase, I must decrease.”

Easter is similar. It was chosen as much for symbolism as anything else. Spring represents rebirth, resurrection, triumph over death. And eggs are a huge symbol of the resurrection: life inside a tomb.

We’re Catholic, our faith is full of symbols and mystery, please don’t try to run from them simply because some of the symbols come from paganism, don’t worry, they’ve all been baptized

 

[sans_Delilah]

We’re Catholic, our faith is full of symbols and mystery, please don’t try to run from them simply because some of the symbols come from paganism, don’t worry, they’ve all been baptized

Heh. That baptism bit made me giggle.

I don’t think anyone is trying to ruin Catholicism because some symbols and practices are Pagan in origin. It’s just frustrating when people say that Catholicism never adapted from Pagan practices, or that the Church “reclaimed things” from Paganism (whatever that means), or better yet, that Paganism stole Christian practices.

It’s just a bit frustrating when people ignore facts and history simply because they believe they’re right about divinity.

 

[Gottle_of_Geer]

Okay this has been bugging me for a while. Why is it that so many teenagers are flocking onto Witchcraft(Wicca especially) and Paganism? Im in my last year in High School and i as far as i can tell theres no sign of it letting up, I even lost my closest friend to it for a while. So in conclusion what can we do whether were in High School or not to reverse this trend or at least bring it to a halt?

For the same reasons witchcraft was attractive in the past ?​

 

[Wiccan_Teen]

*
3. The “Old Ways.” Here is the kicker - Paganism/Wicca is evangelized (YES, I said it - though every Wiccan will affirm that they don’t seek out new members… they ‘advertise’ in other ways…) to young people by claiming that their beliefs/practices pre-date Christianity and organized church religions so they MUST be the RIGHT ways. Young folk are longing for a foundation… even though Wicca was ACTUALLY founded in the 1950’s by Gerald Gardner.*

So definately you’re right. A TYPE of the pagan system was founded by Gardner. Gardnerism, Alexandrianism, Dianicism–it goes on.
Just like there are various different TYPES of Christianity. Catholic, Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Protestant(Methodists, Lutherans, Baptists, Pentecostalism–it goes on)
It’s okay.
Pagan religions and rituals indeed predated many accepted Christian practices, that’s okay. There is always something that came before, isn’t there? There were people in the Americans before the Europeans. There were animals before the humans. And that’s okay.
I truly don’t see what TRUE, peaceful pagan religions are doing to Christianity. If a Christian converted to Islam or Judaism, is that so bad? Why should it be horribly awful if an unsure, under-confident teen seeks a path that advertises just as much as every other religion does. It’s okay, really.
I’m sorry if I offend you, but it hurts me when lovely people say things that contradicts reality(my reality, at least).
Personally, Wiccanism is a beautiful combination of all of the most beautiful thing sin the world–nature, peace, love, harmony, light, togetherness. The problem you see is the crude version of what the media and stereotypes tell you to see, most of the time. I believe that there are problems with some types of the practices my brother’s and sister’s practice because there is an excessive emphasis on sacrifice(sex, human, animal).

Again, I’m sorry if I offend you but I saw the thread looking on my e-mail notification and I felt compelled to reply. None of my opinions are meant to hurt or insult you, please don’t misunderstand anything I type. :flowers: I give you my love and peace. Bless your day.