i have always wandered this in my mind that ppl are thinking that witches are evil and of satan.we do not believe in satan and therefore how could we be evil?there are evil witches though but i have heard that if they are than they arent witches at all.so this is a question that has puzzled me for years in all of the beliefs that i believe.i am a witch myself though,and enjoy my path to the Goddess and respect Her all the way.i just dont understand why ppl wanna think like that for.please help.
blessed be,
Lord Ashka Darkness )O(
2006-10-21 17:36:51 · 13 answers · asked by ? 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
People think witches are evil thanks to Hollywood! Look at the movie the Craft. The girls did bad things and they professed to be witches. People in our society always want to believe the worst about everything. Look at our newspapers filled with bad things and tradgedies. Everything is doom and gloom. You don't see many happy articles anywhere as it doesn't sell papers.
You and I know being a witch is a good thing and I feel sorry for the ignorant people who don't. Blessed Be!
2006-10-21 17:43:16 · answer #1 · answered by elanabutcher 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
When the Christain Church was coming into power they began a quest to turn the symbols and traditions of Wicca into the symbols and practice of worshipping the devil so they could veer people away from the old pagan thoughts. They used fear and the unknown to get people to convert.
And Christains still believe the same thing today. They fear what they do not know or understand or even try to understand. They don't get that Wicca is the worship of Nature because of what they were told thousands of years ago.
They do not understand that the practice of magic is the centering of energy, and therefore do not know that these powers are not what is evil. It is the witch that tuns it to an evil power, not the power itself.
None of them have an open mind.
2006-10-21 18:28:46 · answer #2 · answered by kingelessar2 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Merry Meet!
I've always wondered this myself. The Christians and Pagans seem to have a rivalry going that could be compared to the Muslims and Jews.
It all goes back to a line in the Bible: "Thou shall not suffer a witch to live." I've also wondered why, if that is so, did a great king in the Bible summon the Witch of Endor to see how he would do in battle? Very fishy.
Plus, back when Christianity started to flourish, it needed a way to convert the people to it's ways, so it demonized the indigenous religions, which were Pagan. The smear campaign went so well that millions of people died all over Europe in the Burning Times. Holdovers of that craze still sleep in the teachings of Christianity. Christians are taught to not use divination, to not dance by a fire (some denominations are forbidden to dance at all), and to not summon spirits. Christians are taught that to do these things would put their immortal soul at risk. When they see someone, i.e., a modern-day Pagan, doing some of those things, the poor Christians think they are watching Satan incarnate. It's the holdover programming from long long ago that still permeates every branch of Christianity.
2006-10-21 17:52:42 · answer #3 · answered by Bastet's kitten 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ignorance breeds fear and people hate what they fear. It's easier for them to just chalk us up to being evil and damned to hell than to actually do some research. That takes a lot of work, which is something that most people are to lazy for. Most just take the easy way. After all it's built into a lot of other religions. "I can do whatever I want and ask God to forgive me on Sunday." How simple is that! You don't have to take any personal responsibility for that. Personal responsibility is huge in Wicca. I think that's part of why most of us do get what the problem is:)
Oh, and the "thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" thing. Again, something that maybe they should research. The word was mistranslated. It's not "witch", it's "poisoner".
2006-10-21 18:48:41 · answer #4 · answered by Belisama 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
They are often misconstrued as those haggly cartoon witches because of stereotyping. That's it, stereotypes happen to every religion. Wicca has only been around for like, 50 years or so. The bashing will get much worse, trust me on that. Of course ppl will be ignorant about it, because there isn't much knowledge out on wicca in the first place.
They are thought of as worshipping satan, because many many years ago the overly religious wanted to make the pagans look like bad guys. So the patron ancient pagan god had hooves and horns and the Christians twisted that image to today's image of satan.
I bet you've done it too, bashed on other religions like Christianity without literally swearing at them or hurting them. But you feel like they are wrong and silly and misguided and you are correct and enlightened...right? Well that's how they feel about you too...so get used to it. If you want to choose a path, stick to it and don't question ppls' ignorance, cuz it will always be there.
Hope I answered your Q.
Peace
2006-10-21 17:44:42 · answer #5 · answered by Stacey 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The world is full of ignorant people who will believe anything a person in authority tells them.The sad fact of the matter is that certain religions discourage critical thinking, and that is exactly what we have here: a lack of critical thinking..
2006-10-21 17:45:31 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
cause the god fearing white man is closed minded about different religions. I remeber whe i was back in grade school my mom tried to get be to convert my friend to christianity because he was a jew, that was wrong. you must choose your path believe what you want to and ignor people that oppose you.
hey you can AIM me some time if you want @ goodguitar5150
2006-10-21 17:43:53 · answer #7 · answered by goodguitar_5150 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
History. Started with Inquisition smear tactics and the superstition still hangs around today.
http://www.malleusmaleficarum.org/
2006-10-21 17:39:18 · answer #8 · answered by angk 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
people are like sheep, they follow what most believe to be stereo-typical versions, i think because its easier than trying to learn something they don't understand. You will never convince those type of anything else, they're already set in their ways and their minds are made up-do what makes you happy and don't waste your time trying to change the minds of those who don't want it changed-good luck hon;)
2006-10-21 18:11:05 · answer #9 · answered by qt pie 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
They fear what they do not understand. Much of the time the ignorance is willful. They would rather be told what to believe then to research it for themselves.
2006-10-21 17:40:11 · answer #10 · answered by The Chaos Within 3 · 4⤊ 0⤋