Views on Paganism/witchcraft/the occult

[Kdtym10]

There’s been quite a few reports of Christian protesters at a large gathering of practitioners/followers/followers/scholars of paganism/witchcraft/the occult/magic in London recently. Apparently telling people (including children) they were going to hell. I wasn’t there, I’ve just heard this off quite a few different people.

Personally, I know many Christians (generally not that orthodox-with a small o) who practice magic and work with the occult sciences. I’ve never really come across anyone objecting to my practices.

But I know many in the US have met with quite a bit of opposition where there’s more fundamentalist mentality.

Im interested to hear what Christians really think of these things. Were these people just loons with megaphones or do they represent a general perception amongst Christians.

Yes there is much contradiction in the bible

Yes there is much contradiction in the bible

@Kdtym10 but that is not really a contradiction. It's merely saying that it's important to communicate the truth but not everyone will accept it and they might hate you for it if it conflicts with their own world view.

We should always help those who seek the path towards the light. This is embedded in many occult initiatory paths

So why the secrecy? Why not say, 'There's so much to learn and explain in order to be able to employ these safeguards, I can't do it in one post. This is a starting point "...text..." rather than "Well there’s certain ways of checking which I can’t disclose. "

Personally, I'd rather focus on Christ and get my supernatural experience through Him, lead by Him than attempt to navigate my way through other non Christian religions and belief systems and rituals, discerning what is good and evil in each off my own volition.

I don't know much about your practice, maybe you are lead by Christ as a Gnostic Christian or maybe you are more of a gnostic than a Christian... I don't know you and have not much to go on. However I would always question anything profoundly esoteric as that can spill over into elitism. Is esotericism for those who are childlike?

Maybe we need a Gnosticism for dummies! 😁

@Kdtym10

Regarding safeguards, discerning spirits and all that I can tell you my own now. 🙂

1. = The Lord's Prayer

2. = This Novena prayer: entitled "The Unity Prayer"

My adorable Jesus,
May our feet journey together.
May our hands gather in unity.
May our hearts beat in unison.
May our souls be in harmony.
May our thoughts be as one.
May our ears listen to the silence together.
May our glances profoundly penetrate each other.
May our lips pray together to gain mercy from the Eternal Father.

@CrunchyCarrot can you name one way in which following Christ (not a specific church) will result in you being hated?

People definitely don't like it when you say that the only way to get to Heaven is through faith in Jesus, even though that's exactly what Jesus said. People get really angry about that.

Jesus also talked about Hell, which people don't like and also the need to repent, which many also find somewhat triggering.

Esotericism is very much for the humble. Maybe look at the journey set out in the Major Arcana of the Tarot.

Im sorry my descriptions aren’t set out how you would like them to be, but I believe I’ve set out the position and why.

Theres nothing elite about the occult, no one is actively excluded, it’s just not for everyone at every stage.

yes everyone finds their own path that’s fine and right. But it’s also helpful to understand what other views are.

Im sorry my descriptions aren’t set out how you would like them to be, but I believe I’ve set out the position and why.

Don't worry about it. It's just I sometimes think what people say can indicate an element of their beliefs that they might not have acknowledged or fully recognised or thought about themselves. It was from this angle I was asking. Thanks for the clarification & the extra info. 🙂

Last post @Kdtym10

@Kdtym10 are the prayers I mentioned something you would consider using?

I absolutely would use those prayers, especially the Lords prayer - it’s a perfect iteration of what is referred to as the Emerald Tablet (as above, so below) or on earth as it is in heaven which again is reflected in the Gospel of Thomas.

I also cross myself at least 4 times a day (although I use Hebrew terms for certain reasons but very similar to the catholic verbage). You’d be surprised,

I absolutely would use those prayers, especially the Lord's Prayer

@Kdtym10, so there we are in agreement. 🙂

Oh yes, as I’ve said all along there’s a lot of commonality

https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31462039999&ref_=ps_ggl_2039220669&cm_mmc=ggl--UK_Shopp_Tradestandard--product_id=UK9781592573882USED-_-keyword=&gclid=Cj0KCQiA35urBhDCARIsAOU7QwlvPpEWE_bb2tVb0J1iwJ_9QSv7q6qYUuL8OIfu-gN5ld4KpzxbeHsaAp-AEALw_wcB

Are we talking John 14? Because that’s pretty much a misreading (although a common one)

Thank you @Museum1066. That book looks interesting. I have seen some documentaries concerning the Gnostic gospels and done some reading online before. Fascinating stuff. Equally I have read a little about The Emerald Tablet and hermeticism. Those are not belief systems I actively pursue, though. I am interested in history generally and attempting to reconcile different belief systems with my own Christian beliefs. Not all can be easily reconciled though!

Your welcome, from a history aspect, out of place artifact's is an interesting subject.

It’s all a load of complete & utter bollocks, in exactly the same way conventional religion is a load of bollocks.

As an aside, I studied English literature and linguistics for my degree. There were many topics and areas of study as you can imagine needed in order to provide context to much of the texts we analysed. We covered the Enlightenment, the Renaissance, Calvinism, Alchemy, folklore, Norse religions, Ancient Greek to name but a few topics.

It’s all a load of complete & utter bollocks, in exactly the same way conventional religion is a load of bollocks.

@MargaritaThyme, even if you don't believe any of it yourself you cannot escape the fact that beliefs shape human culture which in turn shapes the way we understand the world and brain development. (Interesting studies of linguistics with regard to cultural/religious belief affecting language and communication. )

That sounds very interesting, I’ve recently been to
s course run by an English department looking at certain esoteric positions and there was much talk about the growing need for scholar/practitioners and practitioner/scholars as it was increasingly seen that these sorts of areas needed to be experienced in order to fully understand them.

I would certainly agree. I think Elizabethan literature was often written against this kind of background due to the activities of the intellectual elite.

What do you think of Blake. Personally I think he’s probably one of the best in merging the esoteric with literature and art

Excellent
well, with that kind of erudite enlightened argument what’s the point in discussion😂

What do you think of Blake. Personally I think he’s probably one of the best in merging the esoteric with literature and art

@Kdtym10, not sure, I'm talking over 30 years ago now since I was studying this ! I'd have to review his work.

@Kdtym10 I think I recognise you from a previous thread, talking about studying symbols. The Atheism and Nihilism one. 🙂

Quite possibly😂