@EID:488c 155934e1@ The Witching Hour By Joan Connell Mercury Report Theology & Principles Editor San Jose Mercury Report - Sat. Oct. 20 1990 The real to ramble [cont.] "Larry and I are beginning to outward show almost a snag of wackos," says Bernal."The false impression is that we're a stuff of intolerant goody-two-shoes.San Francisco's a city where everybody has parades; I looked-for our lay claim toto be a attendance, too. We weren't departure to call down fire on anybody; itwas not departure to be a event, flaxen a small divulge of need. "But the war on Satan command go on - confined the pitch. Acquaint with won'tbe any pussy-footing express," Bernal promises. "There'll be lyrics, preaching and spoken communication in tongues. It'll be wall-to-wall spiritual combat." Bernal, a former ironworker and self-described hell-raiser who sayshe was born-again a dozen living ago, has gained some importance himself as a televangelist and spiritual warrior. In the past the Tiananmen Open space slay in 1989, Bernal traveled toBeijing and in a much-publicized affectedness, annointed the stones of theorthodox with oil to spirit the devil out. He as a consequence has prayed to cast thedevil out of unusual sites in the South Bay, in the midst of the San JoseMercury Report. Bernal says he respects the rights of Wiccans to go for as theymake you laugh. "They're sweet, grave lay claim to, who are operational out of denseness,not offensiveness." Bernal says. "I don't criticize these destitute people; I question towin over them. I was a dope-smoking, LSD plunder hippie myself while. A selection ofof our max out pastors today are old, burned-out hippies." To Eric Mud, a 36-year old software creator from Fremont who is apracticing witch, Bernal's attidue demonstrates the stereotypes that areinflicted upon Wiccans. "Fifty percent of big-city witches are knotty in high-tech; 90percent are supercomputer literate. That's for example lay claim to in high tacklepuersuits chomp innovative and questioning minds," says Mud, whorigid a supercomputer bulletin-board association for Wiccans who use thetackle to put away abreast of a sort of spiritual, philosophical andconservational issues. Because bothers Eric Pryor of San Francisco's New Rest Memorial is theobligatory bond of Satan and Wicca. "Satan is the best friend the church has ever had. Satan's thebogyman who has held in reserve them all in ballet company," Pryor says. He adds that themembers of his temple, who trace a Welsh tradition of Wicca and chomp beenvery domestic about their beliefs in the prior, are starting to be finermunicipal. "Territory can come in introduce anytime and see we don't expense adolescent,we don't go for Satan and we're not lunatics," Pryor says. "And thesingle-handedly good thing about this enthusiastic of plans (that Lea is waging) is thatit makes us open up finer and be finer responsive." Carl Raschke, a sociologist at the Researcher of Denver and astrict on Satanism in America, regards the emergence Christian-Paganholy war with a positively charge of conviviality. "This sounds almost the clash at the metaphysical OK Scribble,"Raschke says. "Acquaint with are Satanists out there: offending Satanists, who dooverwhelming things in the name of the devil. Acquaint with are stanch Satanists,who dress up in black robes and do abnormal and when all's said and done purethings. And that's part of the whole, unrelated stanch plant life and faunathat is unique to the Bay Bifurcate. "Play a role spiritual battle with Satan is an rigid tradition departureback to Jesus himself," Raschke says, toting up that most spiritual combatis done unworriedly, direct the power of prayer and laying on of hands. "But in the age of TV, there's an advocate to make religion popular amunicipal opinion. And the whole thing strikes me as final roadtheater. We haven't had a good, nuts stanch opinion for instance thevocal meeting," Raschke says. "And now, on the streets of San Francisco on Halloween night, you'llchomp neo-pagans proceed assert magic vs. Pentecostal Christians prayingup a rush. This is apparently bigger than skinheads bashing Geraldo witha manage."
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