Paganism

Osiel

I don't want to debate religions with you. I just want to say I was touched by your conflict of wanting to believe in Christianity and your reasons for not being ablt to do so.

I just want to pray for you at this point. I will go way and think about what you posted and if I have something else I could add here I will come back and do so.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Praying for Osiel and his family and fiance. Praying for your revelation of your truth to them so that they will have beyond doubt what they need to be able to receive salvation through your precious Son's Blood shed for them. Praying that you would bring more insight and understanding to Osiel of your Truth of your Word which is given to us in the Bible. Thank you Lord that you say in your Word that "those who seek you will find you when they seek you with all their heart". Amen

I'm just going to give you some scripture for you to think through. I hope it may help you in some way.

MT 7:7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

MT 7:9 "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

MT 7:13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

If you ask God for the ability to clearly know his truth and be able to believe it he will give you what you ask for.

Cheers
Mel

Hi Whimsy,

I appreciated reading your post and I think you asked some good questions. I, for one, would not be game to accuse you of calling God a liar, because ...
a) I don’t know what is leading you to question His claims, and
b) I don’t know if you’ve ever read much of the Bible.
It is quite important thing to do in matters like this because “your decisions are only as good as your facts”. (Don’t know who said that but it’s true!) And since we are talking about what different gods are like, we should consider what is written in the Christian God’s book.

After reading your post, I see a fundamental difference in your approach to Spirituality and the Christian understanding. It seems to me that you have learnt how to use various gods to get what you want, and therefore if the Christian God can offer something that no other one can, why not take what He has to offer when it suits?

Throughout history many different people/religions have approached their god(s) in the same way – work out what you have to do to stop them getting angry, and then what to do to get what you want. The God of the Bible is different in a huge way. He encourages us to call Him Father, He longs for us to turn to Him with our whole heart, He desires for us to get to know Him, what He likes and what He dislikes, He teaches us the things that are best for us in this life and those things that will be harmful. He warns us when we are out of line and disciplines us if we persist in doing wrong things. Even during discipline, His aim is for our good, not to ‘vent His anger’. This understanding helps us to develop a relationship with our God, rather than just treat Him like a vending machine. The relationship is like a child to a loving parent.

So, to your questions:

You say…
“My question is about how you asked how we Pagans know that our gods and "spirits" that we speak to are not of harmful intent? Well, we aren't stupid...”

With all due respect, the issue is not whether Pagans are stupid. The problem is the overwhelmingly superior intellect and resources of spiritual entities. Not only are they ageless with perfect memory and recall, they have the ability to move in and out of our range of electro-magnetic frequency, perfectly recreating any natural phenomenon they wish to. Stephen Hawkings, next to one of these beings, would be a total brain dead numbskull!!! (Therefore, compared to these beings we are all morons). It is interesting therefore to note that in the book of Revelation we are told that Satan will deceive the majority of humanity because of these abilities. That is, most people underestimate his abilities and think all miracles automatically must be from God or some being with good intentions.

The maxim you quote: “An if it harm none, do as thou wilt” assumes much. It assumes that your judgment is accurate of a thing being harmful to yourself or others. The God of the Bible however has this to say: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding…be not wise in your own eyes.”

So then, the question is: Can you trust your judgment (mortal, limited & based on limited information) as opposed to advice given by the Designer of Sustainer of all life?

You say…
“We know that our deities mean well because we see results, just the same as you.”

I would ask, what makes you think that is trustworthy? What would the motive of these other spiritual entities be? Some say they have nothing else in mind than the betterment of humanity. But, according to the Bible, their aim is to destroy. They are more than happy to prosper you in this life if that means you will lose out on an eternity with the God they are in rebellion against. Remember, they can’t hurt or attack God themselves, but they can hurt Him by leading us away from Him to ultimate destruction.

The Bible this… the Bible that…

… it all comes down to the claims of this one book. And so, you raise the question about the motives of the God who supernaturally authored the book.

There are 2 factors that you need to consider:
a) God’s “claim to fame” is the ability to accurately predict the future, with a 100% success rate. There have been hundreds and hundreds of prophecies given in the Bible and the majority of them have been fulfilled, with just a small number of prophecies pointing into the near future yet to be fulfilled. He even says,

There is much that could be said about Bible prophecy, but to summarise: The test of true prophecy is that it is always correct. If a prophecy does not come to pass it is either not from the true God, it hasn’t happened yet, or it has been misunderstood/misinterpreted.

That leads us to the second factor:
b) If the God of the Bible is malicious or of evil intent, the joke is really on everyone for sure and nothing is dear to Him. That He might go to all the trouble to send His Son to this earth, to live a life without any mistakes (aka sin) and submit Himself to the most debasing and cruel treatment, even after doing nothing but blessing and healing people… like, wow, what a lot of effort to go to just to set people up and deceive them! Instead, the Bible reveals that God's interest in humanity was so strong that He did everything necessary to save us.

In reality, those two factors prove without any doubt that the God of the Bible is indeed the true and living God, and that His heart’s desire for us if for our good – in this life and eternally. If the God of the Bible says that all other gods are nothing, is it because he’s an egotist, or because he’s trying to protect you? I see His love and wisdom in this warning.

One of the best things that the Bible reveals is that God has actually created each one of us for a specific purpose, and our highest happiness can only be found in choosing His plan for our life. That means that if we are following the leading of other spiritual entities (which God has warned us are deceptive) then we are being cheated out of that which would bring the most fulfilment. So then, the question you need to ask yourself is not ‘What will I miss out on by giving up my other gods’, but rather “What am I missing out on by not serving the only true God?”

Or look at it from God’s perspective: If He has something wonderful for your life and you reject it, why should He be happy with that, especially if you are choosing something which is convenient in this life but not for your eternal good?

You mention human conscience, which is good to listen to. But that is not fool proof as it is influenced by our upbringing and what we are taught. If Christians have any advantage, it is that we are better informed and so hopefully we’ll make better choices. But as you noted, we all make mistakes. In that case, the difference is that although we all have to face consequences of our mistakes, God has honoured our choice to serve Him by forgiving us for our mistakes. That’s where Jesus comes into the whole picture. He laid everything on the line to save us all, but He leaves the decision with us individually whether we will accept Him into our lives. What will you choose?

I should give you a warning though: If you decide to follow the God of the Bible and ask Jesus to come into your heart, you will have a battle on your hands. You will soon discover that those spiritual entities which have served you so well in the past will change and start harassing you – they might try to cause accidents, give you nightmares, inflict you with illness, etc (there’s something about Jesus that makes them show their true colours! Funny that they never react like that to other deities…) Since you have openly invited these other ‘gods’ into your life, you will need help to be free from them when they turn on you. Jesus died so that you could have that advantage. You will need to ask the Lord to lead you to Christians who can teach you how to expel them from your life. Some of the people who contribute to this site may be able to help.

I leave my contribution here for you to think about and wish you God’s blessings as you consider these things.

Whimsy,

I am not going to jump out at you or attempt to change your thinking. You seem to be very comfortable- in your paganism. I can only tell you a true story.

Many years back, a relative of mine was involved in a motorbike accident. She died but was revived. After revival, she was filled with fear of the dark and found it impossible to speak out in front of people- fear ruled her.

This relative- Ruth, had become a Christian at 16, shortly before this accident. Now her life went she was committed in her beliefs and derived much joy from these. But nothing could rid her of this "fear"- nor could she speak publicly or even in front of small groups.

One day she was invited to a gathering of Christians. Christians who not only had believed in Jesus but were filled with the Holy Spirit. During the gathering- a brother stood up and declared, the Lord says so: "There is a woman in this room, one who is oppressed by a spirit of death. This woman is filled with fear and cannot speak out. I am here to set her free" The Lord says, "Stand Up"

As the man was speaking, Ruth stood up. The man walked over to her and commanded the spirit to depart and laid hands on her. Ruth fell to the floor- and they left her there. Some time later, she recovered and stood up. Walked straight to the microphone and gave her testimony before 40 other people- perfectly and flawlessly- ending with, "There is no fear, I am now free".

Ruth was freed from a crippling condition that impacted all areas of her life. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of freedom- and instantly without ceremony, without ritual- she became a fearless warrior for God. As she stated to me privately, "Peer for 18 years I knew God- I knew I was His" yet in one moment- my life changed, it was as if I had experienced God at a great distance, it was as if for 18 years, I had lain besides a dried up watering hole catching the drops, drip by drop." But now I can see, now the river runs through me. And a river it was- the River of the Holy Spirit.

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You see Whimsy- there is a God and the great promise of God is that those who change their mind and reject SELF and the world around and believe and trust in his Son, will be cleaned, restored and will receive the greatest gift that man can receive, greater than kingdoms, the Holy Spirit.

These would go on to do the works of the Holy Spirit. Just the work that was done to and for Ruth- cleaning and clearing out spirits, serpents and whatever that had latched on to them. They would walk bubbling with joy and filled with life. These would speak out with power- the power that penetrates through the mind and roots itself in the spirit.

Today- many believers and unbelievers are seeing what Jesus can do through his Precious Spirit. Christians who were powerless are becoming empowered. Those who did not know Jesus are seeing the work of His Spirit and throwing themselves at his feet- so they too can benefit.

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For many years, the Christian Church, walked bent over and crippled in the same way Ruth was crippled- not necessarily by a spirit of death, but sick and grasping a form of religion rather than the power of God which comes with the gift of the Holy Spirit.

But now today, the Son of God is spreading his wings- preparing His People for His Return. He is pouring out His Spirit both on his sons and daughters, those who previously were weak and crippled are now are rising up in strength. They are no longer preaching religion- but demonstrating the life and power of God.

He is also drawing to Himself, those who don't believe amongst whom are pagans like yourself. Jesus is drawing to himself those who are bold and are willing to believe that they deserve the best- and the best is the Son of God and his precious gift of the Holy Spirit.

Why is this happening today Whimsy?

Well, the same Spirit is telling us that the Son of God is returning. The world of 2009- and the world in ten years will be entirely different worlds. We are going to see great sea movements, movements in the Heavens- believe it- nothing is going to be like it is today- nothing. Fear and calamity is coming to this world. And God is strengthening his own and calling out to those who yet do not know Him.

Now Whimsy- you may carry on worshiping your gods and goddesses. this is your prerogative. If paganism is where you wish to be- then stay there. The Son of God is precious, His blood shed for mankind is the most precious substance in the whole of Creation- it is the elixir of life- for those who are worthy- for those who know its value. In the same way, His Spirit, which is here to be poured out on those who thirst is the river of life. No longer is the Spirit spoken about- now we are experiencing its power, in the same way as in the day of Jesus.

For each man and woman there is a day when God speaks to them- those who are wise should not miss that day. My advice is- don't accept what is useless and without life when life is offered to you. When you too can join to the Son of God and receive His gift of the Holy Spirit.

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If you are bold and fearless and decide to choose life in place of death, the Son of God rather than these lying spirits- you know what you have to do. If you don't, ask!

Peer

Hi Whimsy, Interesting questions. I had to answer these questions when I was a child. The Bible is clear that there are gods. The Lord is called "The Most High" The Bible also gives an accounting of the origin of the gods. In the Old testament God says the Israelites worshipped devils.

This is the context with which one must reckon. The Christian God either is who He says He is, or He isn't. One cannot simply lump him in with a grouping of their choice.

Think of the universe. It is ordered and run magnificently. Think of the name "uni" verse. It operates in unity. One-ness. The gods are not in agreement. They often have conflicts among themselves - a read of the mythologies shows that they operate out of pettiness many times. Our universe shows a unity of thought and design and of the might and power to sustain that cannot come from a fractitious board of directors known as gods.

The credo "An if it harm none, do as thou wilt." Counters nature and human nature. People often follow that with their limited vision and follow after passions that indeed cause harm. How many sexually transmitted diseases are spread knowingly, or caught unknowingly by people who were 'doing as they wilt' not expecting harm, but receiving it nonetheless.

Jesus Christ offered his life so that man can be freed from the penalty of sin. What god ever did that? They claim there is no sin. They do not have the authority to do that. Which gets back to the primary point. The Christian God created ALL things - therefore He has the right to explain to His creation WHY it exists, and HOW to operate in that existence. When one follows the 10 commandments, there is peace and it all "works".

Now, if one desires to be contentious and argue each point, they can always do that, but then they WILL face the Creator one day soon and the consequences will not be desirable, nor escapable. Thats just the way it is. When one creates ALL things, it is only logical they did it for a reason, or purpose. It is only just that they tell their creation why they were born, where they are going, what reward awaits those who obey, and what results end up for those who disobey. We can try to rewrite the whole thing, but it is foolishness when we evidently have zero power to enforce our will in the eternal plan.

God did create, and God created with a time table in mind that concludes with the devil and his angels being cast into the Lake of Fire and those who worship them cast in with them. You see Whimsy, God created you in His image and He has given you this time to come to Him and accept Him for who He is, or reject Him. The choice is yours.... I recommend you to get off the fence and take a year to SERIOUSLY examine the claims He makes in the Bible and put Him to the test in your life by doing as He says and giving Him the chance to be Lord of your life.

"God is, and He is a rewarder of them who diligently seek Him." I challenge you to seek Him on HIS terms, not YOURS, and you will find the love, joy and peace your heart longs for. You will find a Comforter in the storm and a Savior from the destruction that must come upon a world intent on destroying itself and one another.

Blessings and Peace as you seek the One True God with ALL your heart,
Timothy

Lessons from Adam

1 Don't get pulled in with the "I just want to be friends" line. Scripture says for a man to have friends, he must show himself friendly. It is not my responsibility to make a friendship happen somehow. Friendship is a matter of the heart that unites two people. We are not to be united with those who hate God - like, how foolish is that?! If a pagan wishes to befriend a Christian, that is a dream with more of a hook than a reality for them. If they have not accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in their lives, and they have not accepted your relationship with Him, then the relationship they propose to desire with you is there to lead you away from your Savior. I learned that lesson over 30 years ago with my Dad. He believed in spaceships and other inhabited planets being mentioned in the Bible. As a teenager, I did not agree with his conclusions. I was aware that because that was his heartfelt belief, (and there was an element of "Christ is coming this year and you had better be ready",) and that he loved me; the natural conclusion would be that he had a strong desire to draw me into agreement with his deception for my own sake.

When someone professes love for you, it may be sincere. If it is, they will want you to believe all the "wonderful" things they believe - all for your own good. When a Pagan says, "I just want to be friends," they are believing a lie. You can be sure your friendship is not there on their part to bring them to Christ, whom they despise, but to bring you to Satan's kingdom. Good is greater than evil, all the time, but we are specifically enjoined to have no part in it, or fellowship with it.

2 Friends respect friends. For a pagan to say "I want to be friends and get along with you people who are so stupid that you trust God," is the height of rudeness. When your beliefs have been belittled and berated, you know that friendship is not the real objective. You cannot dishonor my family and say you honor me. If you do, you have stated that the price of my friendship with you incudes that I distance my heart from my family to some degree. When that family happens to be the Body of Christ, I am too busy pressing in, to be distracted with debate and doubts. Those were answered years ago for me. It is not my responsibility to give those answers to a skeptic. As my threads with Adam will show, he was not interested in receiving any answers, he just wanted answers that he could douse with his own hatred for Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

3 Friendship is an allegiance. We can be polite and civil with Pagans without forming a bond in the name of 'friendship." Friendship is a heart level relationship that opens one's spirit up to another's in a 'soul-tie'. This is where the devil gains an opening to deceive. I stated friendship as a way of displaying that I was not Adam's personal enemy. That is where I crossed the line, because it aligned me with his kingdom - YUCK! Forgive me Lord Jesus!

I like to get along with people. I think my posts with Adam show that. But, if someone desires to get along with you, let them be the ones who forsake their gods to do so. Lead them to Christ, and then you may have common ground for a mutual friendship.

4 Friendships are not manipulated from us. When you hear the line, "why can't we just get along?," it comes with a pull for you to pony up something to "get along" on their terms. If someone wants to "get along" with me, all they generally have to do is be agreeable. Don't come to me and say "I want to get along, and here is why your belief system is stupid..." If they want to get along, then praise the virtues of my belief system. If they want to subvert my belief system, then cut the "I just want to get along" baloney. When you see flattery mixed with berating of your belief system, there is death in the mix. Steer clear. I did not and I hope the Lord will use this to show others the folly of it, as he did me.

Conclusion: Adam and other pagans need a clear witness of who we are and what we believe and we leave it at that. It is not up to me to "prove" God to anyone. God leaves it up to each of us to "taste and see that the Lord is good" for ourselves. I cannot do that for another person, nor can you. We testify to what we have seen and heard. If the person turns on us and rails against those truths - casting more truth out there will not make it better. Save the pearls, and save yourself the heartache. "Do not cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot and turn and tear at you." This is what Adam was doing when he made statements like, "oh, I didn't know you were referencing the Bible as your authentic source...". It was all said in a matter of fact conversational tone, but there were spears and arrows in those words and I should have been outta there! Sometimes the kindest thing you can do is to be a friend from a distance. I love Adam, but it is not up to me to prove it to him in his flawed terms. God loves Adam too, and will forgive him when he repents for berating God and exalting gods that cannot save. Jesus is THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Light. NO man comes to the Father, except through Him. That is a horrendously narrow statement - but it happens to be TRUE, We can choose to be offended as spoiled brats, or we can "GET OVER IT" and get on with finding the peace, and fulfillment that comes once we do.

If you have found Jesus Christ as your personal savior, HOLD FAST to Him and don't have fellowship with anyone who would take that away from you! When you throw a lifeline, you don't jump in the water after it, you have to man your station and stand firm for the other person's sake as well as your own.

Blessings and Peace,
Timothy

Thanks MelodyCat for taking the time to make that clear. I did not have rest in my spirit following my initial post to Adam on being friends. There is a line drawn in the heavenlies that must not be crossed, and I unwittingly crossed it, but now I repent and align with God's Word to walk as a son of light.

Blessings and Peace,
Timothy

I’ll make only a quick comment in regard to all that you said. That is this: My Latin and Hebrew are excellent and well proven. The fact that you are unable to tell the differences between Classical Latin and liturgical Latin shows your own defects not mine.
Adam

if you believe in the confession you made to Melodycat- then remove this posting & related postings, so that young Christians are not misled.

Hey Timothy,

Regarding not being able to read the post from Adam to you;try scrolling all the way to the bottom of the page it sends you to and it should offer you a second page to scroll to. I was having same problem earlier and this is how I figured it out.
I also wanted to thank you for being such a encouragement to me. Thank you and God Bless all the days of your life

Corey

I don't know why, but it won't take you to other pages of this article. Just scroll down and click on page two, Tim, it's all there for you to read. You're right though, it was a reply to you.

Yes, thanks for asking. My wife is doing well these days.

You are right about this being a Christian website. The other thing to consider is that I have a lot of roles to fulfil - as a father, a pastor, a real estate agent, and so on - and so I don't always get the time to really research into a lot of important areas. I have to "choose my battles" so to speak. So I can't always go into depth on any conversation, due to the time it can take to do the proper research. I'm more interested in PRACTICING Christianity than defending it, and this means that I have plenty of challenges all the time.

I'm sure you understand that. In any case, please understand that I don't wish on you or anyone else HARM. I actually have a deep passion for the eternal and even temporal well-being of people. That is why, given my convictions, I invest time and money into evangelism. I don't make the rules in this Universe, God does. As I understand it, our God wants all people to come to Him and receive His love, but sadly, most will not. He doesn't take pleasure in the death of any sinner.

You were right Jim! Here are some lessons learned.

http://www.christian-faith.com/forjesus/paganism#comment-4981

It is my hope that in some of my replies, those coming after will see that there are answers. However the folly is that even correct answers will engender a multitude of questions from those who refuse to believe.

Blessings and Peace,
Timothy

The Bible tells us to answer a fool lest he be wise in his own conceit. True, it also says, do not answer a fool lest you be like him. These verses are written by Solomon right next to each other. They are not stand alone verses, nor contradictions, they are discernment verses. We are to discern the circumstance and respond or not according to it.

In this case I answer a fool because others coming behind should not be left with the false impression that Christianity has no answer, or an inferior one. While doing so, I do not seek to draw out further conversation but simply reply to the conversation that is.

You are right to not engage and give a stage to those who hate the Lord, but ignoring it totally on a public forum is not wise. Notice my replies do not seek for 'illumination' of the person's opinions. I have a rhetorical question in it with the answer spelled out. These are areas to discern and work with accordingly.

Blessings and Peace,
Timothy

Firstly, Michael if there is any thing that is true in your original article, please for this person's sake and others of the sort, give resources. If they must be condemned, then it must not be by our opinions, but by the testimony of the Lord.

Bellis, if you would, give us the information about this so that we may condemn it properly. :)

As for all of witchcraft, Wicca, paganism, the Lord God says to you this:

10There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.
11Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
12For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
- Deuteronomy 19:10-12

19Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
- Galatians 5:19-21

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
- Revelation 21:8

Thus far, all that you do, regardless of what, is condemned and earns you this second death.

The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
- Mark 1:15

Repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
- Acts 26:20

38Repent, and be baptized...in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.
- Acts 2:38-39

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
- John 3:3

Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
- John 3:5

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.
- Acts 16:31

If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
- Matthew 16:24

Bellis, repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ whom you bear witness of yourself, saying, "2- Over 96% of us believe in the existence of Jesus, for there is biological proof of his existence, only not of your "God"." Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him.

The evidence of God is in all of creation, it is in even you. If you need evidence of the existence of God then you will find it only when you seek it. For it is written, "Search and you shall find."

I trust my God that He shall work in you to draw you to Himself by His love and grace as He reproves you of the fullness of your sin. Take these words I have given to you to heart.

Mentally you just defiled me with your last post that told me to do some ungodly thing to myself! That is abusive language by all recognized standards. You have condemned your own arguments. Paganism is not innocent, nor is witchcraft. You take actions of hundreds of years ago by a few and make ALL who call on the name of Christ responsible? I don't think so.

Get to know Jesus Christ. He is coming and you want to be on the right side when He gets here. He has the right to demand obedience because He is God and He created all things. You are worshipping the created and not the Creator. Surrender your pride, and let Him show you what true love is all about.

Remove your own beliefs from your website if you have one and tell your friends to do the same, if you think that people should delete their own pages because someone else finds them "highly offensive".

Get off your high horse.

Bellis- thank you for clarifying your passionately held beliefs.

Days of darkness come to all of us, when what we hold to passionately are shaken. When that day comes for you then read Psalm 23. Jesus is the Shepherd spoken of in this Psalm.

Right now you might see Jesus as irritating but later when that time of darkness comes remember, Jesus died for all, you too. On that day don't hesitate to approach Jesus for He is compassionate and mighty to save.

Until then- Go well!

Peer.

I wrote this piece a long time after reading materials written by professed followers of Wicca and by followers of the Witchcraft religion. To you, the two may be one and the same, but who made YOU an authority on the subject? Honestly, think about it. There are OTHERS who wish to use words in DIFFERENT ways to you. They may be "HIGHLY OFFENDED" at your statements also, so perhaps you should retract them :-). Satanists, for example, practice witchcraft, as do many other religionists of various shapes and sizes, but not all who practice witchcraft are satanists. And some like to call Witchcraft "their religion". Understand you do not, and cannot know everything about the way others wish to name their religions and practices. If you behave as if you do, then it is YOU who are ignorant.

I think that your particular version of paganism was made up quite recently, because all the Wiccans I spoke to believe very much in "the goddess" and somewhat in "the god". I can't possibly address all the possible belief systems in paganism with one article, because there are so many variations. You can't claim to represent paganism as a whole, but only what your particular beliefs are within your particular pagan system.

Why are you worried about me commenting on the foolishness of worshipping gods that are fragile and can be destroyed, since you say you do not believe in ANY of them?

As far as evolution is concerned, to me it is pure wishful thinking. I have a science degree from a reputable Australian university, and my father was an associate professor in Applied Mathematics at Sydney University. He is an expert in astronomy, cosmology and has read a lot of biochemistry as well. We both reject evolution, as do many well read scientists. Not all bow down to the politically correct doctrines of Darwinism. You should read the other side if you care to know. The doctrine of Evolution is not science per se, in my view it is merely the outgrowth of a Philosophy. There is a clutching at straws going on by materialist philosophers and a lot of "just so" declarations made by people who cannot prove their interpretations of the data. Mutations occur, but as Sir Fred Hoyle showed in his paper "The Mathematics of Evolution", its virtually impossible for them to produce any kind of significant change that macro-evolution requires.

If you want to know about the abundant evidence for Jesus Christ, you'll have to take the time to read and view relevant videos. Have a read of the testimonies on this site and other site, look up Christian miracles on youtube, interact with more people, and you'll find out. Read Christian books discussing the resurrection of Christ, or even what is on this site on that subject.

I think giving evil a name is very useful. Leaving it un-named means that you can't talk about it. If you can't talk about it as evil, you can't stop it. That is why even secular governments have LAW books. If they didn't, how could you ever convict anyone of a crime. Please, start thinking. Don't just believe everything you have been fed.

I imagine there are countless books written by Pagans. I don't have the time to read them. Its like this: if I read the book you recommend, some other pagan would tell me that it was wrong in so many places anyway. So whats the use?

Just because you SAY you do not commune with spirits of any kind does not mean that you don't. It is the "spirits" that impart the thoughts that you might think come from "the Universe" or something like that. Its just that YOU don't see them for what they are. Other pagans, like one I talked with a week ago on the street, do believe in spirits, but don't think they are evil.

Finally there is no need to be gross or insulting or use foul language to abuse those you are angry at. When you behave like that, you don't inspire much confidence. Its hard to avoid the conclusion that you are an emotionally immature person with a lot of bitterness and unresolved anger inside.

Give evil a name?? Honey he allready had a name looooooooong before you and I were born.

Fact Jesus loves you and gave His life for you.

Fact There is no second or third or fourth round to life ..You have just one life and it is very precious to God...

Fact Jesus is able to forgive each and every sin but you must come to Him

Fact Your language shows much anger and your anger comes from hurts that have been inflicted on you and you choose to keep these hurts....

Fact Nothing is too hard for God to do and He is willing and able to accept you no matter what you have said or done...

Fact There is only one True God all the other gods are determined to destroy your soul...

Fact Stop being so stubborn and admit that you have a emptiness in you that you have tried to fill but nothing you have sought has helped...

Such a sweet and loving response from a harmless little worshipper. Your final words reveal the lack of love or tolerance in your heart that you boast of having.

You don't name evil because you know it gives it power? That is interesting. If it is not there, it is not there. The power is in the darkness. Evil exists and it is aggressive. Evil hates the light, because the light exposes the evil, which can then be defeated through the power of the One True God, who created the one who became the father of all evil.

There are many brands of paganism with many beliefs attached.

Megan You can go to the “WITCHES VOICE” and learn much. You choice to be Christian or Pagan or even Atheist should come from a deep and meaningful search. Not from skimming some blogs or other people’s ideas. They have their places but a truly wise person searches and searches and never stops searching because there is always something new to learn. I wish you much luck on your journey and may wisdom abide with you. By the way, I’m nearly 30 now and find that we all have ignorant days, don’t sale yourself short by demining you!
Bright blessings,
Adam

It is a known fact that Pagans do not believe in God, Goddess, or any other holy form of power. We also don't give a name to evil, because that gives it power. Instead of Gods or Goddesses, we believe in the Spirit and the Soul in every NATURAL being around us. The Pentagram, or 5-pointed star in a circle, does not represent evil or Satanic worship in any way. It represents the 5 basic elements of life: Earth, Water, Wind, Fire, and Spirit, being enclosed as one, yet seperate in life (the circle), showing eternal balance and spirit in Nature. But good for you, moving on to being a Wicca! I started about 4 years ago, and I'm about to get a family traditional Pentagram Ring that represents that you are able to broadcast yourself as a Witch (yes that is one way to name the practicers of this religion) or a Wiccan. My mom has one, and I will get one from Dan's Jewelers, but I digress. Even though, Sweet!

From what I know, TB Joshua is personally giving much to the poor, and teaching others to give to widows and orphans as a priority. They spend a fortune on helping widows and orphans every month. For a long time, TB Joshua did not even have his own bank account, and would actually give money to those who received healing through his ministry. He refuses to let his own church members celebrate him by putting his face on T-Shirts - my wife heard him rebuke this stuff in the strongest terms.

Probably the real reason he has been attacked by other Nigerian ministries is because he so exposes them as GREEDY self-centred self-glorifying ministers who are laying up personal treasure on earth - not so much by his words but by his example.