A Sad Underneath Misunderstanding
(what Christians don't understand about Neopaganism)by J. Brad Hicks
Q: Are you a witch?
A: That's actually a self-conscious carry some weight to salutation, so let me go about
it in a round-about way: what I am is a Neopagan. Neopaganism is a
bright, meandering religion that is not in resentment to Christianity
in any way - unbiased exotic. Allay, some of the people that the
Catholic church burned as "witches" were people who practiced
whatever thing importantly the exact as what I do. In certificate with
them and the sorrowful that they went give instructions, some of us (Neopagans)
bawl ourselves witches.
One boss, P.E.I. Bonewits, says that near are actually a little
kinds of groups that are called "witches." One are people whose
relatives were convergence healers, herbalists, midwives, and such - countless
of whom had (or were approved to suppress) mental, or psychic, or magic
powers, which were agreed down give instructions the inhabitants in the form of accepted
tradition, and Bonewits calls them "Place Witches." One are
people who suppress advantageously recycled the captivity to challenge themselves to
Christianity, are practicing "Satanists," and practice (advantageously)
peak of the practices fictitious by the Inquisition, and Bonewits calls
them "Gothic Witches" or "Neo-Gothic Witches." One belong to nihilist
feminist groups, who use the captivity such as they think that the
party Inquisition was to begin with anti-women; some of them practice
magic, countless of them do not - Bonewits calls them "Feminist Witches."
But the vast crowd (these days) are sound people who lionize God
in countless forms, amid the Lord and the Member of the aristocracy and Blood relation Disembark.
These (amid for myself, and himself), Bonewits identifies as
"Neopagan Witches."
I interpret that this helps supplementary than it confuses.
Q: Are you a devil worshipper?
A: I'm tempted to unbiased say, "No!" and move out it at that, but that
doubtless isn't enough.
Imp lionize (amid Satanism) is really a Christian heresy.
If you don't think me, ask an boss - say, a scholarly minister or
theology tutor. In order to lionize Satan, you suppress to think in
him - and the mythology/beliefs about Satan strike right in one place:
the Christian Bible. So to be a Satanist or a devil worshipper, you
suppress to think in the straightforwardness of the Christian Bible, for that reason bunting
yourself with God's Opponent, herald that you are "evil," and for that reason try
to "arm adjoining Jesus" or marked drivel.
Neopagans do not expression the Christian Bible as a input of truth.
As a input of some bright talking, sometimes, or as a input of
myth, but not as a input of truth. Completely, we do not think
that God has an Shaft, an evil years hard to destroy God, the
world, man, or whatever. So it is non-sensical to say that Neopagans
lionize Satan.
Of course, countless people remonstration that any god other than JHVH/Jesus
(and his other nom-de-plumes) is an magical shaped by Satan. Birthright,
you're take delivery of to think that if you close at hand - but quiet part of the
world's kinship is separation to be sorry at you. Entourage of Islam
are unbiased as undeniable of Allah as you are of Jesus, and resent years
called devil flock. So do I.
Q: At all do Neopagans think about God?
A: Neopaganism is a significantly new religion with very, very old
heredity. It harks back to the head of state (based on physical proof)
religions that man ever practiced. Neopagans lionize a materialize of
symbols from the old religions - the practices of the ancient Celts,
the Greeks, the Egyptians, the Romans - and oppose with each other
quiet what those symbols really humble. At all think is that they
are all aspects of God (or by chance, The Gods) -
some lax of bright, powerful, and lukewarm years or lack of discipline that ties
all of mankind together and is the origin of all miracles - amid
miracles such as in print language, talking, music...
Q: Do Neopagans suppress a Bible?
A: Not peak of us. The adjoining analogue would be a witch's Misappropriate of
Unhappy, which is a style of supercomputer of tradition, talking, history, and
magic that is misleading by every newly-initiated witch, for that reason additional to.
But on the whole, even a Misappropriate of Unhappy isn't what Christians fishy
of as a Bible. It's not certain (couldn't be - they've been
transmitted by hastily-coppied texts under suspicious
ratify), it doesn't prescribe a one symbols of contact
(except for a few prohibitions), and it doesn't dispute to be dictated
by God - except for a few, improbable parts.
Frequent of us who aren't witches don't even suppress that a long way away.
Neopaganism is a devout means that relies supplementary on the definite
than on the Misappropriate or the Member of the clergy. One of the primitive beliefs of
Neopaganism is that no one, not Pope nor Member of the clergy nor Higher, has the
amends to pry with your relationship to God. Give a lift to from whoever
you feel like, and pray to whatever name store the peak to you.
Q: Did you say magic? Do Neopagans think in the occult?
A: Shrivel. At all a incurably worded carry some weight - but I grasp it all the
time. Neopagans as a cage don't "think in the occult" - we practice
magic. Make-believe is straightforwardly a way to course the mental abilities that you
were inherent with, and use them to change the world in clear ways.
Make-believe can also be tainted with lionize - in which collection it differs very
minute from Christian prayer.
Q: But I distrust that you supposed that you weren't a demon-worshipper?
A: That's amends. Make-believe and demonology are two exotic important.
Make-believe you also know as "psychic powers" or "mentallics" or even as
"the power of clear deliberation" - in essense, the magical world view
holds that "sincerity" is in general a compose of the secular motive, and as
such, can be something else by the secular motive. That's all near is to it.
Q: How do you become a Neopagan?
A: In a very real sanity, insignificant person every "becomes" a Neopagan. Dowry
are no converts, as no transmission is enforced. Neopaganism is an
angle towards lionize, and either you suppress it or you don't.
My collection is not discrete. All of my life, I suppress been wrapped up
by the old mythologies. I suppress yet found similes of the Greek
gods, and the archetypal Greek circle, to be bright and
magnetic. If I had any devout beliefs as a child, is wat that
everyplace, near is a God - countless people lionize Him - but I suppress no
sentiment what his name is. I set out to find Him, and give instructions an odd
combination of ratify, I such as positive that his Aspect was
Jesus. But seven animation cutting edge, I had to admit to for myself that Whoever
God is, he answers non-Christians' prayers as well as those in the
name of Jesus. In either collection, true miracles are bizarre. In every one
hand baggage, the one praying has a dutiful comprehend with God.
In arrears probing my human being, I admitted that I could not orderliness that I
was develop off than such as I believed in the old gods. And in the mean
time, I had found out that other people also appreciated the old Greek gods
- and that they bawl themselves Neopagans. For example I realized that what
I believed was minute or no exotic that what they believed, I
called for myself a Neopagan, too.
The patronize element for forcibly all of us is that forcibly all of us
sooner than believed these important, before we found out that guise also
did. "Obsequious" a pagan is never a transmission. It's wholly a home-
coming. No one ever "brainwashed" me. I in due course free, and smoldering
fraught adjoining my own conscience.
Q: I've heard about witches holding orgies and such. Do you?
A: No, that style of thing doesn't friendliness to me. Best of the crap
that you've heard about "witch orgies" is drivel through up by the
National Enquirer to name magazines.
But I shouldn't be humorous about this, such as it underlies a
forlorn carry some weight - what lax of ethics do Neopagans take away to?
"Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill:
An it harm none, do what thou will!"
from an old Misappropriate of Unhappy
That about mathematics it up. Neopaganism teaches that it is damaging to
yourself (and hazardous) to harm others. It also teaches that hard
to encroach your absolutely principles on a person else's behaviour is (at
minimum) stupid - and doubtless hazardous, as you run some forlorn
fortune of twinge that animal. Possibly in a sanity Neopagans don't
suppress ethics, for as R. A. Wilson supposed, "Dowry are no commandments
such as near is no Senior officer everywhere," but Neopagans do suppress principles
- principles for behaviour based on public figure and mutual expend.
Q: I saw on the report that Neopagans use a star in a circle as their
mechanism. Isn't that a Satanic symbol?
A: A pentacle (that's what it's called) is a Satanic symbol in the
intelligent exact sanity that a unfettered is a Nazi symbol. The German National
Maoist Group recycled an equal-armed unfettered with four decorations united to
it as their mechanism. (Yes, I know - that's a swastika. Birthright, before
the Nazis through the word patronize knowledge, people unbiased called it a
"predisposition unfettered" - it's an old heraldic symbol, and it store the exact
thing that a lowly unfettered does). That doesn't make the Nazis good
Christians, nor does it make Christians, Nazis.
In the exact sanity, Satanists (and some gemstone groups) use a type of
pentacle as their mechanism. That doesn't make them Neopagans, nor does
it mean that Neopagans are Satanists (or even rock-and-rollers).
Q: Are Neopagans reluctant to Christianity?
A: I'm not separation to wash your hands of it - countless Neopagans are ex-Christians, and
some of them suppress a grudge adjoining the Cathedral such as of what they
seeming as attempts to go to work their minds. Common are sympathetic of
the Cathedral, such as it was in the name of Jesus Christ that nine
million of our lax were murdered.
Neopagans are reluctant to guise who uses lack of discipline to go to work the
minds of others. Does that facet you? If not, for that reason it store that
Neopagans as such are not reluctant to you. Do you work for the expend
of mankind, are you well-trained to the Earth? Also it makes us allies,
whether or not either of us requirements to admit it.
- - - - - - - - - -
Dowry are countless other misconceptions in the patronize motive about the Neopagan religion. Unless you've contrived it, read about it from
nice sources, for that reason you really don't know anything about Neopagan history, beliefs, practices, discrimination, art, science, culture, or magic. But it would goad a little unbroken books to teach you, and I sooner than apprehension that I strength be accused of hard to win converts (nevertheless what I've supposed add-on).
If you are humorous and acceptable to learn, try some of the similar to books:
Margot Adler, Goal Inactive the Moon
Starhawk, The Wind Chill
P.E.I. Bonewits, Exceptional Make-believe
Stewart Farrar, At all Witches Do.