Credo in Deum,Relics do not hold special powers but are merely instruments that God uses to convey His power. They would be like what a favorite brush is to the Artist. The brush cannot paint of its own power but from the power of the Artist. Relics are recognized as some of Gods favorite brushes.
If you didnât at the very least implied, then you wouldnât be so concerned with people owning âpaganâ paraphernalia (such as Buddha statues or voodoo masks).
Exorcists wouldnât be so strict with ruling out psychological illnesses if true, authentic supernatural occult was as rampant as you insist on implying.Any Statistics to back up that statement?
So is having a healthy and balanced sense of skepticism and maintaining a critical mind. You think it doesnât exhaust me spending hours thinking about all this and arguing with myself? The rarity of supernatural events does not necessarily dispel them from existence but neither does it mean Iâm gonna get a visit from the Morgan la Fay for fantasizing about being a descendant of Merlin.
Reducing the probability of something does not equal ruling it out on the exaggerated level you accuse me of doing. Just because I am less likely to get struck by lightning does not mean it canât happen. It does mean however that I can walk in the rain with a heckuva lot less fear. In that same manner, I can study and collect as much âpaganâ artifacts as I am able with little fear of any âevil spiritâ. In fact, you never did address the fact that the Vatican plays museum to a lot of such artifacts from Ancient Greece and Rome. Youâre not saying that, along with every other major museum in the world, is full of demonic spirits are you?
Right, Iâm gonna get a visit from Azazel for crafting some random doohickie.Your response about talismans:
I will pray for your protection,
Lost Wanderer,If you didnât at the very least implied, then you wouldnât be so concerned with people owning âpaganâ paraphernalia (such as Buddha statues or voodoo masks).
Exorcists wouldnât be so strict with ruling out psychological illnesses if true, authentic supernatural occult was as rampant as you insist on implying.
So is having a healthy and balanced sense of skepticism and maintaining a critical mind. You think it doesnât exhaust me spending hours thinking about all this and arguing with myself? The rarity of supernatural events does not necessarily dispel them from existence but neither does it mean Iâm gonna get a visit from the Morgan la Fay for fantasizing about being a descendant of Merlin.
Reducing the probability of something does not equal ruling it out on the exaggerated level you accuse me of doing. Just because I am less likely to get struck by lightning does not mean it canât happen. It does mean however that I can walk in the rain with a heckuva lot less fear. In that same manner, I can study and collect as much âpaganâ artifacts as I am able with little fear of any âevil spiritâ. In fact, you never did address the fact that the Vatican plays museum to a lot of such artifacts from Ancient Greece and Rome. Youâre not saying that, along with every other major museum in the world, is full of demonic spirits are you?
Right, Iâm gonna get a visit from Azazel for crafting some random doohickie.
It is written from the Catholic viewpoint.Iâve searched the whole articles for mentions of statues, talismans, and even Buddhism and I find nothing relevant to our discussion.Lost Wanderer,
This article might help.
SEANCES, SPIRITS AND THE OCCULT A Catholic View, by Fr. Peter J: Elliott
Link: freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2446217/posts
Peace,
Anna
Lost Wanderer,
Ah but Occult =/= Trinkets.
How exactly were my statements âoff the markâ?
What point are you making with the above statement?
Expressing âshockâ at the thought of Christians owning items and applying practices you deem âpaganâ when such ownership need not be cause for concern is definitely off the mark.
In your own words:
Hi Anna: I think I understand what youâre saying to some degree, however, I would be interested to know what you feel spiritual blindness to be. What did you fail to see that caused you to have disturbing experiences, and what were the disturbing experiences?
This was the full quote âin my own wordsâ:
How do you know there is no cause for concern? I posted a Catholic article that spoke of the danger of Eastern paganism. That wasnât enough.
If there was no possibility of spirits attaching to objects, there would be no need for a Catholic exorcism of objects.
Anna, it is very common for those who take a more serious stance against paganism, whether it is in the context of real religion, or fantasy elements, to be dismissed as reactionary and over-zealous. It has happened to me in the past, and I expect it will ocntinue into the future.
StTommyMore,
Sufjon,
Lost Wanderer,
Because I studied my countryâs own ethnic pagan myths and folklore with little to no spiritual harm. Iâve played games that âdabbledâ with such pagan mythologies and wrote plenty of stories and fanfiction yet never even once suffered a symptom of demonic influence as prescribed in books such as that of my own countryâs leading exorcist Fr. Syquia of the Manila Archdiocese.
I repeat:
That you believe in an unhealthy and unlikely probability towards non-Christian items as if they are sources of demonic influence.
Ad homs do not reduce the quality of peopleâs arguments.
Two things are being ignored here.
Seeing as how fisheaters doesnât rank as a decent site with its blatant Traditionalist bent, itâs not exactly a fair and balanced source of information.
Indeed it matters which is why I do my best to defend those who have interest in non-Christian culture and art as well as those who draw inspiration from non-Christian folklore and myth.
Lost Wanderer,Because I studied my countryâs own ethnic pagan myths and folklore with little to no spiritual harm. Iâve played games that âdabbledâ with such pagan mythologies and wrote plenty of stories and fanfiction yet never even once suffered a symptom of demonic influence as prescribed in books such as that of my own countryâs leading exorcist Fr. Syquia of the Manila Archdiocese.
I repeat:
Less probability =/= No possibility
That you believe in an unhealthy and unlikely probability towards non-Christian items as if they are sources of demonic influence.
Ad homs do not reduce the quality of peopleâs arguments.
Two things are being ignored here.
1.) People can collect such statues for purely aesthetic reasons such as decoration or appreciation of a certain style/culture.
2.) Nobody is ever responsible for the misconceptions formulated by shallow individuals who judge people by superficial aspects such housing decorations. There are plenty of despicable individuals out there yet have their houses full of saint statues and altars.
Seeing as how fisheaters doesnât rank as a decent site with its blatant Traditionalist bent, itâs not exactly a fair and balanced source of information.
Furthermore, Iâve been dabbling with fantasy and reading up mythology for over ten years. Youâll find that I donât so much as twitch at holy water being splashed on me. Neither will you find me an Aleister Crowley despite the presence of so many books and comics depicting such myths.
You find a bigger source of âinfectionâ from my parentsâ collection of New Age self-help books.
Indeed it matters which is why I do my best to defend those who have interest in non-Christian culture and art as well as those who draw inspiration from non-Christian folklore and myth.
No doubt even Tolkien himself will take you upon your claims that studying the myths of pagan peoples and owning their artifacts purely for aesthetic and academic reasons is somehow a gateway to the demonic.
Sorry - I didnât realize they were personal. I thought since you had made reference to them that you would be able to relate your experiences. My intent was not to pry.