Wiccan and proud to be...what is your religion?

[honey2005]

Christian, but not hardcore.

[Samson]

Hardcore, but not Christian.

[honey2005]

Hardcore, but not Christian.

 

[faux]

I don't really criticize religions too much. To me, worshipping multiple gods and/or goddesses is just as silly as worshipping one god. However, I have beliefs that may be silly to others as well. To each his own.

 

I'll readily admit that I feel religion is a silly topic, but I certainily won't bash anyone for claiming to be Wiccan, or Christian, or anything at all. It's entirely alright for someone, I think, to think your religion is ridiculous. It is another matter when they cannot keep those thoughts to themselves, or at least present them in a manner so as not to offend.

[RowanRavyn]

Originally posted by faux

I don't really criticize religions too much. To me, worshipping multiple gods and/or goddesses is just as silly as worshipping one god. However, I have beliefs that may be silly to others as well. To each his own.

 

I think worshiping multiple gods and goddesses no sillier than praying to multiple saints. I see a lot of pagan influence in Christian services. Especially the catholic ones.

 

I was raised Baptist, but my Daddy who was a Baptist minister always joked about me being his little pagan. I spent my time teaching Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, Bible Study, etc.

 

For me it boils down to a fundamental thing, something Christ himself said. Your relationship with "the one" is just that, YOURS. No one can tell you how or how not to worship.

 

As a child when the "if you don't accept Christ you will go to hell" bit of SS Class came up, I was deeply concerned about the kids that wouldn't hear about it. That didn't know about this son of God. When it kept me up at night, my Daddy took me outside to sit on the porch step, and explained to me that "God" appears to each and every person in a way they can understand, at a time that is right for them. He went on to say that it might not make sense to anyone else, but it would to them. When I questioned how they would know if this was the "real" God, he told me simply....if he teaches them to love....to truly love...their neighbors as they loved themselves (because Christ teaches that in this all the law, all those rules rests.) if it teaches them not to pass judgment then they could be sure that it was the "real" God.

 

Today, I do what I do. I enjoy the awe of Grace Cathedral, I love stepping into the redwoods, the sound of the ocean speaks to me....

 

I believe there is "The One". I believe it has worn many names and mantles over the years.

[YellowLioness]

Have you all read the Divinci Code? That book provides some interesting examples of how Goddess Worship influenced Christianity. The Roman's pretty much combined Christianity and Paganism to make a religion that Rome could stand behind, but that pagans would also accept.

 

As for holidays being superflous, Christmas (winter solstice) is a cornerstone of Christianity. Its when Jesus was born. We celebrate and recognize. I don't see how you can seperate holidays from religion, BH.

 

Personally, I am enjoying my own personal religion. I just sort of make sense of everything that I holistically believe. Hrm...

 

As for religion, no way, Jose! :-)

[DacaInaru]

Merry Meet!! I was wiccan for over 10 years.. although I am not actively practicing since I have tended to gear more towards hinduism wicca has helped me develop myself in ways that I cannot even begin to express.. It has allowed the true woman in me to emerge.. and I'll always be thankful for that..

 

so Merry Meet! and my you never stop searching through the paths of enlightenment

[seahorse]

Posted by Hokey

 

Agnosticism is not a religion and is more closely associated with atheism--the belief that there is no God.

 

Whereas a true atheist is anti-religion, an agnostic is a non-believer. I do not believe in creation. I do not believe in any of the Gods or organized religions. I don't know how humans, or any other life form, came to be. I don't believe that anyone knows. I think that Darwin's theory in Origin of the Species is probably the closest we have to the actual facts. I can see and prove evolution. Life evolves every day and every year and every generation, in a million different ways. Life is ever evolving. Put it on a scale of billions of years, and really understand how loooooooong a billion years IS, evolution makes sense to me.

 

But to go back even further than the development of life on the planet, and society and human thought, we have to talk about the beginnings of the planet itself. I'm not sure about the Big Bang theory--much of it makes sense, but there are a lot of holes in it too (no pun intended). I could be more sure if I research it more--I admittedly do not know much about the various theories. It's not that important to me.

 

I was raised in a succession of Christian-based churches. Baptist, Protestant, Methodist, Church of Christ, Lutheran, etc. I went to Sunday school. I was a member of the Campus Life Youth Christian club in High School. My mother is a baptist. My husband considers himself a Christian---most closely associated with Church of Christ, but he's not fond of organized religion. Too many human agendas get mixed up with God's message is what he thinks, so he worships in his own way and goes to different churches when he feels he should, and interprets the Bible himself because he feels that God speaks to him.

 

I don't believe in life after death. This is it. I think that there might be some kind of energy signature left behind when our bodies cease. The energy contains "personality" traits of the individual--something unique like a fingerprint. It might last for years, or disappear right away like a wisp of fog. It might not exist at all. I think there is a ton of things about the function of the human brain that we do not understand, and I think that is where things like ghosts and second-sight, and premonitions, etc. come from. Not from outside us, but from within. I don't believe that God created man. I believe that Man created God.

 

Some people think that Agnostics are merely people who are searching for something to believe in and have not found their way to God. I was searching for a long time. I searched until I found my answer. The same way a person finds God or Jesus, and accepts them as their answer, I found my answer in evolution. I don't need anything further and I am no longer searching.

 

I am open-minded enough to realize that I may be totally wrong and that there is a God, or many Gods, who created us. I just don't believe it.

 

 

Hokey, I never thought I'd find someone else who thought the same way I do on religion, but girl, you've hit the nail right on the head. I couldn't have put it better myself. Welcome to the club.

[wideawake]

Originally posted by BlockHead

To call something a cornerstone implies a major fundamental influence. Holidays are aesthetic.

 

"Easter" is a new name for the Feast of Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, to whom the month of April was dedicated. The festival of Eostre was celebrated at the vernal equinox, when the day and night gets an equal share of the day.

 

The English name "Easter" is much newer. When the early English Christians wanted others to accept Christianity, they decided to use the name Easter for this holiday so that it would match the name of the old spring celebration. This made it more comfortable for other people to accept Christianity.

 

The Feast of Eostre was based around the fact that every year Eostre died and was resurrected whole three days later. Her followers celebrated by giving around painted eggs to symbolize the rebirth of life in the spring, as well as the rebirth of Eostre.

 

I would say the whole of idea of resurrection could be called a cornerstone, and a major fundamental influence. And that practice and belief structure was originally pagan, and later incorporated into the Christian faith to help with conversions and political goals.

 

Christmas is basically the same deal. Except there is probably a dozen or so pagan gods that celebrated their birth on that day.

 

Christianity is a fine hodge-podge of the various belief structures that pre-dated it.

[dyermaker]

Originally posted by wideawake

I would say the whole of idea of resurrection could be called a cornerstone, and a major fundamental influence. And that practice and belief structure was originally pagan, and later incorporated into the Christian faith to help with conversions and political goals.

: The belief that Jesus rose from the dead wasn't 'incorporated' into the Christian faith. The belief that Jesus rose from the dead was what motivated the early church to spread christianity. When Jesus died, they were all ready to give up. Whether Jesus rose, or they just *think* he rose, something motivated to get out there and spread the faith as much as they can. To say the Church added the belief in a ressurrection is not only historically inaccurate, but also implies that the Church is deceiving its followers on the *real* cornerstone of christianity--the ressurection of Jesus.

Christianity is a fine hodge-podge of the various belief structures that pre-dated it.

: Changing holidays to make them attractive, as mentioned, are not cornerstones of 'belief'.

[shortbus74]

still Jewish and loving it!

[Moose]

I attend and am a member of a Babtist Church. I however don't agree with all that is preached there. Their philosophy on drinking for instance; They preach that taking in alcohol, or smoking cigarettes is a big no no. I agree to a certain extent that we need to treat our bodies as temples, however, I also believe that it's not what goes into your mouth that makes you a terrible person, it's what comes out.

 

Religion, no matter what denomination, is healthy to have as long as it doesn't cause harm to anyone else.

 

Yes, I do believe that Jesus died and paid our sin debt, then rose again, as it was prophecied in scripture. And I also believe that we can't enter the kingdom of heaven unless we accept the fact that without Jesus' intervention we are too unclean to even be in God's presence.

 

Do I want everyone to believe this, well yes. But will it happen, no. I can only plant the seed and see if it takes. If it does, great, if not, well, I tried.

 

But again, all religions and faith I feel are healthy to have as long as it points to self improvement and love for the fellow man.

[YellowLioness]

That's a good attitude to have.

 

Honey draws more flies then vinegar, any day.

[dyermaker]

Originally posted by YellowLioness

That's a good attitude to have.

 

Honey draws more flies then vinegar, any day.

 

: Big incentive.

[shamen]

Originally posted by YellowLioness

 

I am religous, but not in the organized way ;-) [...]

 

Like reincarnation. I believe in soul recycling. I believe that all life is sacred. I pray to God and take comfort in him. I believe that God is everything. I believe in angels and demons.

 

I believe in magic... (ignore the fact that these are cheesy song lyrics ;-))

 

I believe that everyone has a gift, and that its up to them about whether they choose to accept it or no.

 

I do not believe that God is a man or a woman. I think he is more of an "it" and more of an "everything" then any type of seperate being. Therefore, I don't believe in the Christian sense of God, or the Wiccan God and Goddess.

 

I think we all have a life-map, and that we can choose about what we follow and don't follow on it... our conscience lets us know when we stray too far off course.

 

I'm "sensitive" so I believe in ghosts, angels and demons. I think the first is a matter of stuck souls and unresolved karma; the latter two being expressions of some type of other worldly energy that I have yet to understand fully.

 

Wow, yellowlioness, it freaks me out that someone else out there has so many of the same beliefs! Craziness.

 

To add some of my own views, I think that god exists within all of us and all of nature. That the part of us within us that is godlike just needs to be explored so that we can become who we can be, or all that we are supposed to be. I believe that there is a universal consciousness and that karma exists.

 

Oh, I grew up in an Irish Roman Catholic family and left the church right after I was confirmed. Was an atheist for about five years. Now I just usually say that I'm agnostic, but maybe I should just say that I'm spiritual? Hmm, how do I classify this?

 

Hokey, I have always thought that an agnostic was someone who believed that something exists, but that they weren't quite sure what it was. Scary to think that I have misinterpreted it for so long. Now I have to go look it up!

[shamen]

OK, I checked out the definition of an agnostic... From the Merriam Webster dictionary...

 

"Function: noun

Etymology: Greek agnOstos unknown, unknowable, from a- + gnOstos known, from gignOskein to know -- more at KNOW

: a person who holds the view that any ultimate reality (as God) is unknown and prob. unknowable; broadly : one who is not committed to believing in either the existence or the nonexistence of God or a god"

 

Needless to say there was a lot of discussion on what an agnostic was exactly at http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=agnostic. Nor do all of the definitions agree.

 

I think that I will continue to just say that I am an agnostic.

[devyna]

I would like anyone here to prove what they feel is the truth. That's right, there is no way to prove a thing that may have happened thousands of years ago. I can accept that there was a man born, a prophet, a healer, a savior. The son of the one and only god? Who's to say either way? Most religions have a son of a God, or God of Gods, that descended to the earth to help humanity. Funny how most religions are basically the same when broken down. We all just give our deities different names, but deities they still remain.

 

I didn't start this post to start an argument about who's religion came first...there are history books for that. If you don't like to read, perhaps you should ask yourself if you really "want" to know the truth. The fact remains, the Pagan religion was here first and the Christian religion has an awful lot of familiarities to have been coincidence.

 

The main thing here, is that everyone have something to believe in. All religions have one very important thing in common and that one thing is the most important thing there can be. To have FAITH.

[RowanRavyn]

Yes, there are many similar stories that run through all cultures. It plays along with my belief system. There is ONE God. He/she/it has many names, many faces. What face you see, what name you call, is YOURs. Its personal.

 

IMO I don't want a deity that fits nicely in a little box that any dogma has constructed (be it Christian or Pagan), I want the creator of the known universe by my side. No box needed thank you.

[dyermaker]

Originally posted by devyna

the song remains the same

Originally posted by devyna

I didn't start this post to start an argument about who's religion came first...there are history books for that. If you don't like to read, perhaps you should ask yourself if you really "want" to know the truth. The fact remains, the Pagan religion was here first and the Christian religion has an awful lot of familiarities to have been coincidence.

No one claimed it was a coincidence.

 

You said that Paganism was a 'cornerstone' of Christianity, but you didn't support that statement well. Your evidence seems to be that we took our holidays from them. That's true, but it has nothing to do with belief systems. The reason Christians took Pagan holidays was simply to attract Pagans to Christianity. It was a PR move, not a theological one.

 

It's fine if you want to say that no religion is more legitimate than another, but that's clearly not what you're angling towards. You're trying to sell the fact that Christianity is based on Paganism, which is false-and the burden of Proof remains on you to prove that it is.

[wideawake]

Originally posted by shamen

OK, I checked out the definition of an agnostic...

 

Yo shamen!

 

Go check out the definition of "Deist" or "Deism".

 

Deism is defined in Webster's Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1941, as: "[From Latin Deus, God.Deity] The doctrine or creed of a Deist." And Deist is defined in the same dictionary as: "One who believes in the existence of a God or supreme being but denies revealed religion, basing his belief on the light of nature and reason."

 

This might not sum up your belief structure perfectly, but I think it might be a better fit.

 

Peace,

 

WA

[BlockHead]

wideawake

"Easter" is a new name for the Feast of Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, to whom the month of April was dedicated.

I find this interesting. Do you think people in Palestine, during the time of Jesus, knew about the Feast of Eostre?

 

You can also argue that the Aztecs inspired human sacrifice and ritual cannibalism known as Communion.

 

Don’t confuse correlation with causation.

wideawake

The Feast of Eostre was based around the fact that every year Eostre died and was resurrected whole three days later. Her followers celebrated by giving around painted eggs to symbolize the rebirth of life in the spring, as well as the rebirth of Eostre.

There is nothing new about “magic” numbers. The number 7 was significant in the Old Testament.

wideawake

I would say the whole of idea of resurrection could be called a cornerstone, and a major fundamental influence. And that practice and belief structure was originally pagan, and later incorporated into the Christian faith to help with conversions and political goals.

Paul, the earliest Christian writer, addressed the issue of resurrection.

 

http://www.nipissingu.ca/department/history/muhlberger/2425/l-06me.htm <- The Conversion of Britain

The dates are all much later than the actual Biblical writings.

devyna

I would like anyone here to prove what they feel is the truth. That's right, there is no way to prove a thing that may have happened thousands of years ago.

How much proof do you need?

devyna

Most religions have a son of a God, or God of Gods, that descended to the earth to help humanity.

The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings by Bart D. Ehrman

p66

The way that most people understand the terms “Son of God” and “Son of Man” today is probably at odds with how they would have been understood by many Jews in the first century. In our way of thinking, a “son of God” would be a god (or God) and a “son of man” would be a man. Thus, “Son of God refers to Jesus’ divinity and “Son of Man” to his humanity. But this is just the opposite of what the terms meant for many first-century Jews, for whom “son of God” commonly referred to a human (e.g., King Solomon; cf. 2 Sam 7:14) and “son of man” to someone divine (cf. Dan 7:13-14).

In the New Testament Gospels, Jesus uses the term “son of man” in three different ways. On some occasions he uses it simply as a circumlocution for himself; that is, rather than referring directly to himself, Jesus sometimes speaks obliquely of “the son of man” (e.g., Matt 8:31). Finally, he occasionally uses the term with reference to a cosmic figure who is coming to bring the judgment of God at the end of time (Mark 8:38), a judgment that Mark’s Gospel expects to be imminent (9:1, 13:30). For Mark himself, of course, the passages that speaks of the coming Son of Man refer to Jesus, the one who is returning soon as the as the judge of the earth. As we will see later, scholars debate which, if any, of these three uses of the term can be ascribed to the historical Jesus

[BlockHead]

Correct me if I am wrong, but Jesus was supposedly killed on a Friday over Passover.

Does anybody know what time of year Passover was celebrated during the first century?

[shamen]

Originally posted by wideawake

Yo shamen!

 

Go check out the definition of "Deist" or "Deism".

 

Deism is defined in Webster's Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1941, as: "[From Latin Deus, God.Deity] The doctrine or creed of a Deist." And Deist is defined in the same dictionary as: "One who believes in the existence of a God or supreme being but denies revealed religion, basing his belief on the light of nature and reason."

 

This might not sum up your belief structure perfectly, but I think it might be a better fit.

 

Interesting thought! Thanks for the input; it does indeed describe me a little better.

 

Now if only there was a real name for taking what people thought to be correct from a bunch of different religions and making it their own belief system... I'm sure that there are a lot of us out there. The only reason I mention this is that a deist "denies revealed religion." I'm certainly taking pieces from all over the place.

[Kloges123]

Hi I am also wiccan and proud of it but some of my family wishis that I wasnt. Thier are people at my school that try to convert me this is to all you people that dont respect my chioce if Jesus and god are the perfect being then woudnt they not send you to hell for being who you are if they are so perfect then they would respect people for who they are. And i am tired of christians always saying that they believe in peace then why is it that you ussally start the war like the holy crusade in gods name if I were god I would denounce them. Also christians stole are sabbaths christmas is winter solstice easter summer solstice. I just wish that people could live and let and let live hey that is pretty much my modo. Also my mom is no reliogen my dad morman my grandma is cathlic my other grandma is lots of stuff my ant is wiccan my sister is thinking about becomind buddist so I am not just repeting what my parents believe these are my own thought unlike so many people at my school that dont think for them selves they just repeat what they hear I might just be 13 but I know alot. so I just had to say this to someone so if any one wants to reply please do! :

[Moose]

Thier are people at my school that try to convert me this is to all you people that dont respect my chioce if Jesus and god are the perfect being then woudnt they not send you to hell for being who you are if they are so perfect then they would respect people for who they are.

 

I'm not sure you even know what you are saying young one.

 

What we Christians believe is:

 

God won't allow the unclean into heaven, therefore, they will go to hell. There is only one way to, "get in" if you will. That is to be cleansed with the blood of Jesus. No other way.

 

Keep in mind, I'm just stating what we believe, I'm not trying to convert you. If you feel wicca is for you, then go ahead. The people in your school, are you sure they aren't just explaining their faith to you? Are you 100% sure they are trying to get you to change your mind????

 

You say we don't respect your choice. Well, we may not agree with your choice, but we do respect your decision to go with it. Doesn't make it the right one though, ( In our eyes ), understand???

 

You have a lot to learn being only 13 years old. I'm not saying that you're not intellegent or that you're not old enough to make your own decisions......I'm just saying, be careful how large you make your ripples in this pond.