Pagens, Wiccans and various other people of Non-Christian Faiths...Please read
By betsyraeduke
@betsyraeduke (2670)
United States
December 17, 2007 7:30pm CST
Hello to you all! Let me start by saying that this is not a rant, nor a judgement, nor a tirade of my beliefs and why you should believe them, so please bear with me. I am Christian and I do not know much about the beliefs of non-Christians. I am not one of those narrow/closed minded Christians who insist that I am right and everyone else is wrong and or going to hell or whatever. One belief I hold highly though, is that every religion, faith, etc. holds at least a little bit of the truth and that if everyone could come together and discuss their beliefs open and honestly, without fear of ridicule or persecution, then we could all get a little closer to what the truth really is. For this reason, I am very interested in learning about the beliefs of other religions and faiths. I could read about them in some dry text book, however, I feel that I miss out on some of the more personal aspects of the beliefs that way. So I am asking all Pagens, Wiccans and others of various non-Christian faiths, would you please share with me what some of your beliefs are and what lead you to believe them? Please include holidays of your faith and the meanings of them; traditions and customs associated with your faith/beliefs and the reasons for them, etc.? Also, this is a discussion intended to learn about and from one another. It is not a discussion for bashing others or disrespecting others beliefs, faiths or anything else. Therefore, I ask that anyone who responds to this to please keep your responses positive and respectful and do not attack others for their responses or beliefs, thank you.
4 people like this
6 responses
@sabbathandruth (567)
• Canada
18 Dec 07
i am an ebionite, which used to be the first jewish believers in the messiah
who believe in monotheism one god NOT a human god,
we dont celebrate any pagan holidays only biblical feasts, we dont accpet the whole NT as scripture, we keep the laws of YAH all of them as best we can
and we dont believe in paul the apostle, we see him as a false apostle.
1 person likes this
@urbandekay (18278)
•
20 Dec 07
I think some Christians have doubts about Paul as well, though for somewhat different reasons perhaps.
all the best urban
@betsyraeduke (2670)
• United States
18 Dec 07
Hi sabbathandruth. Thanks for sharing your beliefs.
1 person likes this
@Harley009 (1416)
• India
18 Dec 07
Islamic belief is based on pure Monotheism, One and only one God, worship & pray only to him, accept his directions, live good and do good deeds.
God created universe, mankind, and assigned many prophets in earth and all of them taught the same message with minor change in rules applicable to their society.
Those who do good deeds and believe in god's message will be admitted to everlasting paradise here after.
Also See my REPLY in the following discussions:-
http://www.mylot.com/w/discussions/1355249.aspx
http://www.mylot.com/w/discussions/1350859.aspx?p=2
http://www.mylot.com/w/discussions/1257576.aspx
http://www.mylot.com/w/discussions/1352816.aspx
http://www.mylot.com/w/discussions/1326658.aspx
Cheers!
@Harley009 (1416)
• India
18 Dec 07
Hi,
Thanks for understanding!
Many people really misunderstand about Islam, also some Americans, It will be great if one say about Islam after meeting a good Muslim in their real life.
Many think that 911 is a Muslim act, We Muslims aren't responsible for the terrorist attacks.
Also have a look at my new discussion about Terrorism & Extremism
http://www.mylot.com/w/discussions/1357284.aspx
Merry Christmas!
1 person likes this
@betsyraeduke (2670)
• United States
18 Dec 07
Thank you, Harley009. I have read all of your responses to the discussions which you gave me links to. They were most enlightening in the fact that they showed me that many Islamic beliefs are the same or similiar to my own Christian beliefs, although, until now, I was lead to believe otherwise. I did, untill now, confuse Islamic faith/beliefs with those of Binladin, terrorist and dirty politics of the nation, (though I never believed that all people of the country were bad), because I was lead to believe that Binladin and his followers were Islamic. Thanks for your most informative reply.
1 person likes this
@betsyraeduke (2670)
• United States
18 Dec 07
No problem, Harley009. To understand is easy, one must only be willing to listen and do so with an open mind.
2 people like this
@eyewitness (1575)
• Netherlands
18 Dec 07
This is very interesting i'm a christian too and i totally agree with you.I was grown up in a family with a father who's muslim and a mom who's catholic.My dad always told me that in every religion there's some truth just like you said.That's why it's easy for me to accept someone's religion,also because i 've learned about their religions.
In fact every religion shows what God wants from us and what he doesn't want from us.
I also met people who do witchcraft as a believe of them and they do good things.
These are wonderful people.I think we all can live together if we would just listen to eachother.
1 person likes this
@betsyraeduke (2670)
• United States
18 Dec 07
Yep....if we would just listen to each other, exactly. Thanks
1 person likes this
@barehugs (8973)
• Canada
18 Dec 07
I believe that each person's belief is their personal Truth. If a belief was not a truth no one would believe it. So that's what truth really is.....Its each persons belief. Therefore there are as many personal truths as there are people to believe them. And as many people as there are personal beliefs. There can be no question about personal truths, because if the people believe their beliefs these must be their truths. So all beliefs are personal truths and all truths are somebodys personal beliefs. I've heard it said, its important to believe your beliefs and doubt your Doubts, but once again if you had doubts, these doubts would not be your personal truth, and you would not believe them. There is really no Question then that each persons truths really are their beliefs, and each persons beliefs really are their Truths! Amen!
@betsyraeduke (2670)
• United States
18 Dec 07
Yes, I understand and you make a lot of sense about a person's "personal" truths. However, it is not "personal" truths that I am referring to. It is more general truths, such as where/how life began, creation, and such. I understand that everyone has their own beliefs about these things and I respect everyones beliefs, but, on the other hand, for example, if 1000 different people each have a different belief about how or where life was created or came from, not all of them could be the actual facts or occurences that lead to life, as we are all human and therefore, all came from the same place. So while I do not believe that all 1000 different ideas/ beliefs on such a matter could be the actual facts as to what lead to life, I do believe that is possible that each of these 1000 people may process at least a small part of what actually did happen within their beliefs, and it is these actual facts from everyones beliefs, that I am searching for.
2 people like this
@devilsangel (1817)
• United States
18 Dec 07
First I'd like to say what a great topic. I myself am Pagan. I don't follow a specific path, I pratice more along the lines of the Native Americans. I believe in being one with nature and living thing has a life force. I am a true believer in Karma and whatever you put out comes back to you. So if you put out negitive engery then you'll get that in return. I do share many of the same beliefs that Wiccans do however, I'm not as passive or peaceful as they are lol. I do practice spell craft and candle magic, although I haven't in a bit.
1 person likes this
@betsyraeduke (2670)
• United States
18 Dec 07
Thank you, devilsangel. I think that being one with nature is a good thing as nature is a powerful force in itself. I agree with you about the karma, I think many true Christians have the same or similiar belief, they just don't refer to it as karma or anything else, but more of a principle, basically, though I have heard the term karma before and it matters not to me, if it is called that or not. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. Would you mind telling me more about spell craft and candle magic? Such as what is the true purpose for it and things of that nature?
2 people like this
@devilsangel (1817)
• United States
18 Dec 07
I guess the easiest way for me to explain it is.. its like the christian version of prayer. Only I'm not waiting around for something or someone to do something for me I'm doing things to make it happen.
1 person likes this
@thetruesatanist (18)
• United States
19 Dec 07
I am Satanist (don't worry it isn't what most Christians think) I believe in Satan as a force inside of every person that is there desires and the position of god is fulfilled by the satanist. Therefore the needs of worship, ritual, and religious/spiritual focus are directed inward to the Satanist instead of outward to and external god. Also Satanism does not encourage cruelty but the main concept is "Do unto others as they do unto you" so love, compassion, and sympathy are not to be wasted on ingrates; these are to be given only to those the practitioner sees worthy.
if you want you can learn a little more on this site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaVeyan_Satanism
@betsyraeduke (2670)
• United States
19 Dec 07
Hello thetruesatanist, welcome to mylot, I hope you enjoy it. I have read both your post, and the article in which you provided the link to. You are right, satanist does not mean what most people think. In all honesty, I actually agree with some of your beliefs, though there are some that I do not agree with(and those that I don't agree with, I do understand why you believe that way, but understanding and agreeing are not the same). Which are which is not important, as this is not a debate, simply a quest to learn from and about one another in order to gain better understanding and achieve greater knowledge. Regardless, I respect all of your beliefs. Thanks for sharing them with me.
