Why is it alright for Christians to say Paganism is evil..........

Wonderful comment! Sounds like a TRUE CHRISTIAN to MEE!! I am glad to hear that there are others out there that think for themselves. Following the example set by Yahshua, it is not the people that are Evil, but rather the actions! Have a great day! Enjoy your OOMPA LOOMPAS!!

I completely agree. See I was raised in a strictly religious family. I always asked questions and sought out the answers. I was not content with what “Christianity” taught so I sought out other religions. In my searches I found “Occultism” which has a bad taste in most people’s mouths as “Evil” when really what it is is the study of the hidden (Esoteric Study). When I took my Esoteric Studying and applied it to the Bible then the words of II Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” came to life for me. Not only am I to “Study to shew myself approved unto God” but also “rightly dividing the word of truth”. What this says to MEE is not to take things at face value but to break it down as everything has a reason. To sum my views up perfectly I must quote William Blake ”Tho both read Bible day and night, where you read Black I read White.” Thank you for the response and HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!

Thank you! The oompa loompa thing was based off a discussion i had started lol. I do believe though that people need to stop for a moment and think for themselves and not blindly follow or listen to what they are just told. Not just religion but news as well. Most people I have run into durning my life are what I like to call Sheeple. They don't ask questions just believe what ever they are told to believe. I was kicked out of Catholic school for asking too many questions. I still believe in God, I don't push my beliefs onto others but am able to discuss them without belitting others for their beliefs. we may disagree, but as long as we can discuss our different views and talk about them there is no reason that people of different beliefs can't be friends.

You are exactly right with the “Harm None” as that can be in word, action, or deed. But opinions are like a$$holes as everyone has one but simply because we have one does not mean that we have to show it!! Yes there is good and bad in ALL RELIGIONS, but as a esotericist, we all know that it is pure intent that causes an action to be good or evil. Those that step out of the bounds of their “religion” are the evil doers… the Pagans that purposely harm, Priests that molest, Christians that hate, etc… When you go against your ascribed beliefs/code of ethics you step into a realm of evil. As for the Animal Sacrifice religions…. If that animal sacrifice is part of their code of ethics then it would not be EVIL as their intention is for good. The intention is the cause of it all and your comment about Animal Sacrifice could be placed among the Christians that say Paganism is EVIL since you are condemning something that does not fit into your beliefs. Do not get MEE wrong as this is not an attack only drawing attention as to how easy it is to condemn. As for God asking his son to sacrifice himself…. That was an act to fill the gap of the Old Testament as NOONE can live up to the Laws given by God so Yahshua came to bridge that gap and gave himself so that all can be acceptable. See God never changes (or so it is said) so in order to fulfill the Law there had to be a perfect sacrifice thus allowing forgiveness to all, Jew and Gentile alike, thus a God of FORGIVNESS rather than the RACE GOD of the past. Looking at it from a Esoteric prospective… Yahshua allowed himself to go through the horror he did to teach us tolerance. See he did not die for just the Saints but sinners as well, not just his people but for all people… it was the perfect act of altruism …… SETTING AN EXAMPLE!! HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!!!

The action of the sacrifice TO YOU is evil but to them it is what is called for to appease their God/Godess. So therefore it is the action that is evil TO YOU as I have said up ^^^ there not the people nor the religion as that sacrifice is only one aspect of their religion. I do not believe in harming anyone nor anything and I try to live by that rule but just because I do not believe in their ways… it does not make them EVIL. So we are in essence in agreement. Discussions like this remind me of a quote from the movie Ever After, actually a quote of Thomas More: “If you suffer your people to be ill-educated, and their manners corrupted from infancy, and then punish them for those crimes to which their first education disposed them, what else is to be concluded, sire, but that you first make thieves and then punish them?” See they know nothing but Animal Sacrifice so that is what they do and it is not their fault as they are trying to follow the ethics they were taught, thus they are doing good. They are doing righteous actions according to what they were taught, sure the action may be wrong in our eyes but it is being done by those that know no better. It is like condemning a child for touching themselves not knowing what they are doing and that it is wrong. Anyways, thank you for your response and have a great day!!

In this instance we will have to agree to disagree. I'm sorry, but I do not (and refuse to) believe that any religion that requires a sacrifice of a living being is practicing good by doing so. I'm not saying the individual or their entire religious concept is evil. I'm just saying that I do not believe that we have the right to sacrifice anything for a religious ritual.

just a thought, isnt there something in your book about suffering not ye a witch to live?

Darn it if I can't cut and paste. I thought Christians were supposed to read their Bibles? These verses, and many others, were drilled into my head by time I was 5. I'm a lifelong witch and went to church cause my parents choose to send me there so I have know the persecution for many, many years. www.keyway.ca/htm2002/witch.htm

Esk, it is there. But it was during the time of Old Testament. Nobody follows that now, at least not those who follow the teaching of the New Testament. Blessings!

Actually Wicca is under the umbrella of Paganism, so you do know a Pagan.

Thanks for the info, DarkDancer, I guess I do know a Pagan, too. Lavender_Breeze, I appreciate your comments but it's not as simple as not lumping myself in with the posters this discussion is directed at. Just because someone calls Pagans evil does not make it okay for my sacred book to be mocked or for my God to be referred to as barbaric. I did not view the post as an attempt at understanding but as an attack upon my beliefs, which is exactly how it started. Perhaps those comments should have stayed in the discussion where the dispute started so that only those participating, and who would have better understood the context, would have read it.

No, it's not 'all' Christians. I agree with you. Don't lump yourself in with those she is speaking of if you're not one of them. I believe that what she's trying to convey is that in a recent post a Christian flat out called Pagans 'evil' in a discussion about the events described in the first part of her post. I don't believe she was 'mocking', but simply trying to understand the mindset of certain people.

I agree, and I am doing something about it. I have put up this story on what happened on my web homepage, along with the NBC email address and a link to a petition to make NBC apologise for the NASTY PAGANS comment. Have a look at http://www.dowhatyewill.com and sign the petition. Blessings Di

but that is simply tyranny of the majority. If it is secure in its own belief then it can tollerate diversity, yet if it is scared and unsure then it will prevent debate and attack blessed be

I never said Christanity was evil at all. I just dont understand why the majority of Christians are so quick to judge a religion they know nothing about. I was raised under the Christian religion and had a very hard time understanding it. I could never understand why Christians say there God is so loving and just yet he decided to flood the earth killing people, plants and animals with the exception of the few in a darn boat. How is that Loving and Just?

You sure sound like you think Christianity is evil to me. The only thing I find 'evil' about pagan religions is that they teach that Jesus was not the messiah. Now, if Christ is the messiah then don't you think it's pretty evil to talk people out of accepting their only opportunity for salvation?

Thank you angel your words are very comforting. I have been fortunate enough to meet one or 2 who were and still are open minded enough to educate themselvs so that they know the truth. That is the one thing I ever aask of people is if you truly dont know about something and "THINK" it may be evil or bad just because someone else says so then the smart thing to do is pick up a book and learn something about it before passing judgement. Again thank you.

I have personally ever heard a Pagan call a Christian ignorant but the problem I have is that some not all Christians do choose to pass judgement on a religion they know nothing about. If they would just educate themselves on what they dont know then they would not be passing judgement based on hear-say but based on actual education.

"Us Christians only want to help you see the truth and save from the devils grips." How can I be saved from a creature I dont believe in? How is to say that what YOU see to be true is the only truth out there. To be quite honest I think there are truths in every religion, the thing is there are some false things in every religion as well. It is up to us to see the real from the fake.

darkjedi has a point (look at that a pagan and a christian getting along lol) The Old Testament of the bible gives examples of just that very thing. After all it was God that Destryoed the earth in a flood, and look what he did to Jonah to prove his faith was unshakeable. Not everyone believes the same as you choudhary. Look at the crusades, all the atroicites that were committed in the name of God. those people thought themselves to be true believers also. THe inquisitions, you name it and you can see what "true believers" did under the name of God.

Great Discussion! We got the Pagans attacking the Christians who attack the Pagans. Now we got the "true christians" also attaching the Catholics! Glad to see so much "religious tollerance" going around. I just also want to point out that to me, it looked like the person at the top of this reply was advocating more a "personal relationship" with God and not so much following a Bible, which may or may not be the word of God with the footprints of man and man's agenda all over it. So, quoting a Bible that you don't believe in as a rebuttal against someone who believes in God but not necessarily in "the Bible" kind of misses the point.

"placed a little one, called the devil, with two little horns" Hmmm the Devil you say? I would like to know how God placed in me something I dont believe in. How can I get nothing from a "saposid" creature that dosnt exist in my religion at all. To me the devil is a creatur created by man to make shure that the people of that time follow there rules and there church. The "Devil" is not real there are enough evil things going on in the world that we dont need a devil. Ooh and God gave us such a thing as FREE WILL to make our own choices so IF someone is born Gay it is there choice to act upon it WITHOUT someone telling them they are a sinner. The people of this world have NO right judging others what so ever and saying theyare evil because they choose a DIFFRENT life style thant you.

You are all right; you do got free will, but also you must choose bewteen two sides. They are good and evil, one is eternal life in havens; another the evil one, got nothings.

Here is somethinmg you are not realising I was raised in a Christian home and in a Christian church and still NEVER understood it completely. I did pray on it and still never understood it fully. Ever since I decided to be Pagan everything made sence to me. I am not saying ALL Christians think Pagans are evil all I am saying is that for those who DO think that pagans are evil they really should educate themselves a bit before passing judgement on us. I personally know a few Christians and even Catholics for that matter who know that Pagans are not evil but that is because they chose to be open minded and learn enough about the religion to realise that there original thoughts on the religion is not true.

"and we all know that halloween is an evil holiday all the way." Huh? In what religion is All Hallows Eve considered evil? I'm not starting anything, I'm just very curious as to where you got this concept/idea? Where did you find this information? In the Wiccan religion Halloween (we also call it Samhain) is not an evil holiday at all! Look up the word Samhain and see for yourself what the holiday involves. Thank you.

That's not one of the 10 commandments. I think what you were shooting for was Matt 7:1 "Judge not lest ye be judged."