Archive for September, 2008
Posted by owner on
September 29, 2008
One of the most significant aspects of Wicca and other neopagan faiths is their reliance on “spirit guides.” While neopagans deny the existence of the God of the Bible, they firmly believe in a spiritual universe populated by pagan gods and goddesses, deceased relatives, locational spirits, disembodied humans awaiting reincarnation, and in some pagan paths the spirits of animals. There is also belief in angels and even demons, although these terms are not used in a biblical way.
Some neopagans view spirits as aspects of the divine; manifestations of a single life force that permiates the universe. Others see spirit beings as distinct entities with independent existence apart from any underlying unity. Given the lack of a cohesive theology among the neopagan “paths” (sects), any resultant confusion tends to be ignored as irrelevant, and neopagans accept the validity of each other’s views.
There is also great variety of beliefs with Wicca itself. Many wiccans honor the Lord and Lady, viewed as male and female aspects of Deity. In Dianic Wicca the female deity is an Earth or Mother goddess (the counterpart of the Greek goddess Gaia) and the male deity usually is referred to as the Green Man or the Horned God (a name drawn from Celtic paganism).
What is important however isn’t the characterization of the spirits that populate neopagan world views. What’s important is the two important roles spirits play in the lives of wiccans and other neopagans.
An aid to Magick
The addition or substitution of the “K” indicates that while the magic performed by stage magicians is illusion, Witchcraft or Wiccan Magick is the actual manipulation of reality by non-material means. Magick (or Magik) isn’t the art of illusion. It’s the art of affecting events in the physical (mundane) universe by non-natural means. This typically involves the use of spells. And woven into most Wiccan and other spells are the names of pagan deities or powers. This is illustrated by one of many spells that can be found on the internet, which begins:
By power over all
By Diana, Hecate, Selene, Kernunnos and Pan
. . .
Such spells call on the spirits named to lend their powers to the make the spell effective and produce the result desired. But this is not the most significant role that spirits play in neopagan faiths.
Spirits serve as guides
The most significant and dangerous role given to spirits in Wicca and other neopagan faiths is to serve individuals as “spirit guides.” Neopagans rely on “spirit guides” to provide information, insight, and direction. They consciously open themselves up to the unseen world and invite spirits into their lives. When one or more spirit guides responds to the invitation, the individual follows the perceived guidance and takes the path he or she believes the spirit has marked out.
Many neopagans rely on spirit guides for help in making even minor decisions, such as which route to take, as well as for guidance in making life-altering choices for careers or relationships. The notion that there are friendly spirits in the universe who are eager to help humans has migrated beyond neopaganism, and many with no neopagan beliefs have invited spirits into their lives to give them personal guidance.
The growing reliance on spirit guides hinges on three assumptions: first, that there is a spiritual universe populated by spirit beings; second, that these spirit beings have supernatural influence over what is happening on Earth, and third, that these beings are eager to provide beneficial guidance and to help the humans who call upon them.
The Bible View
Old and New Testaments speak to each of these three assumptions, and for Christians their teaching is decisive.
(1) There is a spiritual universe. The Bible teaches that there is a spiritual realm lying alongside the material. God who created the physical universe also created a spiritual realm populated by spirit beings. However, the beings who inhabit the spiritual universe are defined as angels (who Scritpure describes as ministering spirits whose role is to serve those who will inherit salvation, Heb. 1:14) and as demons, fallen angels who have rebelled against God and chosen to follow Satan. There is no place in the biblical revelation for the gods, goddesses, or other spirits imagined in Wicca and neo-paganism.
(2) Supernatual beings have influence over what is happening on Earth. This view has strong support in Scripture, which recounts many stories in which angels have intervened on behalf of believers. There are also many accounts of the activity of demons … enabling a possessed girl in Philipii to foretell the future, but also causing all sorts of physical and mental illnesses. While the activites of angels are beneficial, the activities of demons are universally described in the Bible has harmful to humans.
(3) Spirit guides selflessly promote the wellfare of those who call on them. This uncritical assumption is the most flawed. Neopagans recognize that some spirits are hostile to humans, but they confidently assert that if one specifies only beneficent spirits in seeking spirit guides no hostile spirits will respond! In fact the only spirits who do respond to such an invitation are demons; a truth that explains the Bible’s absolute prohebition in Dueteronomy 18 against any and all occult practices.
If we evaluate neopaganism’s invitation to request and rely on spirit guides from a biblical perspective, We’re forced to conclude that such requests are responded to only by demons. And that to make such a request is to open oneself up to demonic possession or oppression.
Why all the positive testimonies?
If we were to speak with a person who claims to have one or more spirit guides we’re likely to hear a glowing report of all the help the spirit guide has provided. Why, if the Bible indicates such spirits are hostile to humans, would a spirit guide provide real help? The answer lies in understanding the motives of Satan and his demons.
The first goal of Satan and his followers is to blind humans to God’s gift of salvation in Jesus Christ. The second goal of Satan and his followers is to make Christians ineffective as ministers of Christ’s love. And the third goal is to cause humans as much misery and pain as possible. The first two of these goals have unquestioned priority on Satan’s agenda. When the first two of these goals are forwarded by providing some temporary benefit, demons have no hesitation in “helping” humans. The help provided seems to confirm the pagan belief and to cast down on the Gospel. Only when a person is thoroughly blinded to the Gospel or when God can be blamed for painful experiences are demons likely to engage in what is to them the delightful task of enhancing human suffering.
Summing up
The tendency of Wicca and neopaganism to foster reliance on “spirit guides” is the most significant feature of such religions. In seeking spirit guides practitioners of wicca open themselves up to the very real demons who inhabit the spiritual universe. In doing so the subject themselves to evil beings whose intent is to deny humans salvation and bring on them the same judgment demons will face at history’s end.
Posted by owner on
September 26, 2008
Neopagan beliefs about the nature of the universe
Wicca is one of a number of modern faiths or “paths” that have
grown out of an attempt to reconstruct ancient pagan religions.
Emerging from the 1970s. neopaganism has experienced explosive
growth in the Great Britan, the United States, and Scandanavia.
Today neopaganism is an alternative to Christianity which many
young people and adults find particularly attractive. The most
practiced of the the neopagan paths is wicca, which shares many
assumptions with such paths as New Age, neo-druidism, occultism,
voodooism, Shamanism, and a number of others. In general what
these articles report about wicca is also true of other neopagan paths.
Wiccan beliefs about the nature of the unverse are difficult
to define, simply because they are so diverse. There’s no
book wiccan’s look to as authoritative, as Christians look to
the Bible. Wiccans have a number of diverse beliefs, and in fact
celebrate each person’s or branches right to differ. One of
the neopagan criticisms of Christianity is that it claims to
have The Truth … and as far as wiccans are concerned is
harshly and wrongly critical of neopaganism. One reason for
wicca’s popularity is its nonjudgmental attitude toward others.
This should be no surprise, in a culture like ours which holds
that truth is relative and places a high value on tolerance.
So in starting to define the essential wicca it’s best to
begin by stating what wicca is NOT and what wiccans do NOT
believe.
* Wicca is NOT Satanism. Wiccans do not believe that any
such being as Satan exists.
* wicca is NOT Christian. Wiccans do not believe that God
exists–that is, God as a self-aware and all powerful Person who
created the material and spiritual univereses and who takes a
continuing interest in humans and their lives.
What Wiccans do believe about the universe
If you scan neopagan Internet sites you discover a number of
statements describing core beliefs about reality. These
statements are confusing and self-contradictory.
* “I see the earth as a living and breathing organism.”
* “Most neopagan traditions are polythesitic.”
* “God-ess is impersonal. It transcends …human emotions.”
* “Some pagans regard one particular god (or god and goddess
pair) as the Supreme Principle.”
* “Nearly all neopagans recognize the existence and true
divinity of other gods; virtually no neopagans as monotheists.”
* “…they believe in an Unknowable Ultimate Reality.”
* “many believe there are countless spirit beings, gods and
goddesses, in the cosmos and within all of nature.”
* “Mother Nature is highly worshipped.”
* “Many believe in a supreme intelligence that created a
duality of God/Goddess who then created a spirit world of
gods and goddesses as well as all of the universe and nature.”
* Nature itself is divine, as is the cosmos.”
* The Deity is immanent and transcendant.”
* “God and godess images are aspects of a greater divinity.”
The Deity is an “impersonal it,” a “supreme intelligence” that
“transcends human emotions.” But there is a spiritual universe
populated by gods and goddesses who are to be acknowleged and
worshipped. “Mother earth” is worshipped, for the earth is a
living and breathing organism. And there are countless spirit
beings “within all nature.” The fact that elements of this
bundle of beliefs about reality is self-contradictory doesn’t
bother the neopagan or wiccan at all.
The practice of religion
The fact that there is no coherent belief system in wicca and
neopaganism doesn’t seem to concern wiccans in the slightest.
Again this reflects the spirit of our age, in which truth is
relative. What is true for me may not be true for you, and
what is true for you may not be true for me. In an age which
denies the objective nature of truth, it’s no surprise that
neopaganism can flourish.
Christianity claims that the view of reality provided in
Scripture is objectively true, and that therefore competing
views are false. Truth exists outside of the individual. Truth
is not defined by any individual’s or group’s beliefs. And
this brings Christianity into direct conflict with all neopagan
faiths. There is One and only One God, who revealed himself to
us in Scripture as Creator and Redeemer. The gods and goddesses
of neopaganism are fictions…or are demons masquerading as
deities.
The conflict of objective with relative Truth is a central
issue for Christians. But its not of concern to neopagans.
Their focus is not on theology but on practice.
The person I quoted earlier who says she sees the earth as a
living organism goes on to point out that she grows her own
herbs and vegetables, uses cosmetics that are “cruelty free,”
recycles paperand plastics, does a full moon ritual once a
month and celebrates the eight holidays in the wheel of the
year. What’s important to her is what she does, not the
consistency or truth value of her beliefs.
It’s the same for most wiccans and neopagans. Living in harmony
with the earth in an ecologically responsible way and taking
part in rituals seems to them the essence of their faith.
They see no valuein debating their particular view of “god.”
After all, another’s view may be true for him or her, and they
expect others to affirm the truth of their belief as well.
Wiccans and the Gospel
It’s difficult for Christians to try to reach neopagans. We
tend to try to convince them that our beliefs are true and
that their beliefs are wrong. This is viewed by wiccans
and other neopagans as a hostile attack. Unfortunately, too
many Christians have displayed actually hostility in trying
to present the Gospel. Because of this, and because wiccans
view themselves as witches and identify with the witches
tried and executed by Christians in history, many immediately
reject evangelistic efforts.
The best way to reach wiccans is to extablish a friendship
based on shared ecological concern. When God made humans
responsible to “rule” the earth, He charged us to care for
nature rather exploit it. Believers who are serious about
this responsiblity can find common ground with neopagans,
and build a relationship with them. When this relationship
has been established, we can share our experience with
Christ and how he impacts our daily lives. In the process
God’s Spirit can work within the heart of our wiccan friend
and woo him or her to Christ.
In future articles we’ll explore more about wicca and
neopaganism, and examine additional ways to share the Gospel
effectively.
Posted by owner on
September 24, 2008
Some call it “Wicca”
Call it Wicca, Witchcraft, New Age, Celtic religion or whatever, “it” boils down to a neopagan religious movement that’s growing rapidly in the United States.
One wiccan Internet site claims that adherents are doubling every 18 months, another that it doubles every 30 months. A third site notes that today neopagan faiths constitute the third most populous religion in the United States behind Christianity and Islam, with Judaism a fading fourth. Judging by the interest among high school and college students in wicca and other neopagan “paths”, there’s a basis for such claims.
To gain a sense of the movement www.Demondope.com went to www.Witchesvoice.com, a web site that tracks neopagan news and lists wiccan and neopagan “pride” days and other public gatherings. Witches Voice also maintains a city by city list of active covens (14 are listed in Raleigh where I live) and maintains profiles of over 70,000 witches and warlocks. Through Witches Voice neopagan young people and adults can connect with others in the same age group and tie into local events.
In the next few weeks www.demondope.com will feature a series of articles on wicca and neopaganism. While the movement has no agreed-on set of doctrines, and looks to no book as authoritative, there are characteristics common to most neopagan faiths. In these articles we’ll identify these common characteristics and evaluate them in the light of Scripture.
Common characteristics of neopagan faiths
* Neopagans practice a nature religion modeled on ancient religions.
* Neopagans rely on “guides,” both human and spirit.
* Neopagans typically practice magik.
* Neopagans’ ultimate deity is an “it” rather than a person.
* Neopagans have an individualistic moral code.
* Neopagans tend to believe in reincarnation.
In the coming articles we’ll look at each of these characteristics in depth. And we’ll look at legislation promoted by neopagans in their attempt to legal standing as a recognized religion.
At the same time we’ll compare and contrast neopagan religions with Old and New Testament faiths. Our goal will be to help you better understand wicca, to better understand the spiritual forces behind the movement, and to better understand adherents of neopagan faiths. Too few fail to understand the nature or the dangers of neopaganism. We want to equip you to better share your faith with them. And, if you have children or adolescents, we definitely want to help you understand a religion that your children have or certainly will come in contact with, in highschool and in college.
Please feel free to copy this and following articles and forward them to friends who my need this information. Any items published here can be reprinted or forwarded as long as www.demondope.com is credited as the source.