i mean can a christian involve in those things
2007-04-11 22:14:18 · 24 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
they are not evil at all. infact i my fiance's mother is christian as well as my fiance and they practice witchcraft and buddhism...
2007-04-11 22:21:37 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Well here is the problem with what you ask, voodoo, witchcraft and Paganism are not evil nor are they devil worship as the devil is a part of Christianity and therefore not a part of the others. The devil fits into Paganism as Zeus fits into Christianity, neither is a part of the other, they are from different religions.
Now with regard to "can a Christian" be involved in those things, a vast majority of Christians disdain magic, However, I have heard of Christian Wicca, which merges magic rites with Christianity. Unfortunately, I have no experience with anyone that does this and I am not familiar with it myself. I would think that this might be something that you are interested or at least curious about and might want to try to find out more about it.
Just doing a quick web search for Christian Wicca turned up roughly 2 million websites of course you will have to pick and choose through them to find one that will answer all your questions.... or at least offer you more questions
Bright Blessings )O(
2007-04-11 23:23:18 · answer #2 · answered by Stephen 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
As a Pagan, and a practitioner of Magick myself, I would have to say "no" to both questions. Voodoo, Witchcraft, and Paganism are not evil, nor are they devil worship. But they ain't Christian, neither.
Now, every religion has it's magick, and Christianity is no exception. So, there is such a thing as Christian Magick -- typically it involves Angels, Archangels, the Saints, prayers, and the recitation of psalms. I would consider this a form of Magick, or spell-work, or even "witchcraft" with a small "w." The Medieval Grimoires are the classical texts on magick, and many of them were written by Christian monks. Keep in mind, however, that according to more mainstream Christians, practicing magick or any kind of divination is strictly forbidden by your Bible.
Voodoo is basically African tribal religion. They make use of Christian Saints, but they use the statues and pictures of the saints to represent African gods and goddesses, so it's anything but Christian.
As for Christian Wiccans -- I've heard people use this term, and describe themselves this way, and I personally think it's silly. To be a Christian Wiccan, in my opinion, missess the point entirely, both of Christianity and Wicca. For one thing, Christianity is monotheistic, while Wicca is either duotheistic (two divinities) or polytheistic, depending on the individual Witch. Christianity teaches that there is a Heaven and a Hell, that Jesus is the Only Way to Heaven, and that you only get one chance to get it right. Wicca teaches reincarnation, and accepts all religions as being equally valid. Also, one definition of the word "Pagan" is "not a Christian," so it's impossible to be a Christian Pagan.
Not that there's anything wrong with Wicca, or Christianity. They are just different (and in my opinion, incompatable) belief systems.
But, as I've mentioned above, there is still a way to practice Magick and still be a Christian. Just be prepared to catch some flack from your more orthodox friends.
2007-04-12 13:09:04 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
There are Christian witches but I am not sure how that works.
I am a Witch! We don't recognize the existance of demons or the devil, so how could we worship something that isn't? Evil exists, that is a given, but it is of MAN not of nature. Doing anything even remotely evil goes against our principles. We do our best for humanity and the environment. If we were being influenced or led by the devil, why would he teach us how to use healing herbs and why would he want us to advocate saving the earth? Why would he want us to use our very being to help others? Doesn't that sound more like of "God" than of "Satan"? Can we be so mislead that we spend our entire lives doing good things for people & nature and helping in any way that we can that we are actually doing the work of the "devil"?!? Get real.
It has been pointed out that unicorns are also mentioned in the bible so they must exist, but strange thing is that CATS are not to be found in the bible, therefore they must not exist?
I also suggest you stop using aspirin (willow bark), valium (valerian), digitalis (foxglove) plus inummerable other "drugs" because they are based on herbal knowledge (which is one of our specialties). And I don't think you will find them in the bible either! And Please! Don't get a mid-wife to bring you child into the world, because that is another practice attributed to witches! Oh! Don't forget aromatherapy! Don't forget that the field of medicine was also originated by witches if you want to get down to basics. The cadeuces (the medical symbol) is ancient Celtic in origin, it is 2 serpents entwined on a staff signifying knowledge & wisdom. I am sure that is not in the bible either!!! Especially since the actual symbol predates Christ.
Witchcraft is not evil and has absoloutly nothing to do with Satan, and if people would open their minds and hearts and books (other than the bible) they would see this.
Sorry for the ranting, but sometimes the Religious Reich gets to me.
BB
)O(
2007-04-12 16:31:30 · answer #4 · answered by Enchanted Gypsy 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
None of the above are evil. It is the person that practices that makes it evil. Witchraft is the practice of manipulating the natural energies around you and focusing it on your intent. Paganism is a broad term that encompasses all facetes of nature worship or reverence. Satanism depending on the type is about personal gain only. I know of two types of Satanism one that actually worships the Devil and what he is about and the other that does not worship any diety but the main goal is gaining personal power, their motto being survival of the fittest. Again not totally evil. Vodou is not evil at all. It is actually a monotheistist religion that work with lwa (similar to saints or angels) and believe that Bondye (God) is the one that created us and the lwa.
Not there are extremeist in all these religions including Christianity. These will take the spiritual teachings to a dark side. All religions have a good and bad side it is all up to the intent of the person practicing the religion.
A Vodou example is people trying to create zombi and working curses to hurt people. With witchraft it is the same magic to hurt people. In Satanism were people use the concept of the devil as inheirently evil (which it is not, used to be God's favorite angel) and using all the sick ideas to kill and hurt people. In the Christian religion is the people that will uphold Gods laws even to the extent of killing or harming people because the bible says they are sinful or live adversly to the teachings of the bible.
So with all that being said there are Chrisitan's that can practice witchcraft as thier are christian witches. Please refer to my previous answer on this. Answerer 19 is my answer. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070408131929AAY1iGM&r=w&pa=AptqD2bwHTHf6eeDYKgwvZqeStyNFsS3tmE9AcmaI_tHpBhj9wX3mgJPu0HIr7eFPfW41k_d2eXJRA--&paid=voted
Many Vodou practitioners are also Catholics. Many pagans are also still Chrisitans main reason being those pagans are Christian witches. I dont think you can be a Satanist and be Chrisitan as the views of the satanist are totally opposite the views of the christian.
It should be entirely up to you to determine wether you can practice like that. I hope I have given you something to think about.
2007-04-12 09:38:30 · answer #5 · answered by Nelly 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Witchcraft, Paganism, Wicca and all the other names they go by are not evil or devil worshipers because they do not believe in the existance of the devil or Satan. I've heard of Christians being involved in the practice, but knowing how it works I don't see how it is possible... too much conflict in beliefs.
2007-04-11 22:26:16 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sure sounds offensive!
No, Vodun is not evil nor it is devil worship. It's an African religion.
Witchcraft is not inherently evil either. I can be practiced with in the context of any religion for good or ill.
Paganism is an umbrella term for just about all Non-Abrahamic religions. Most folks nowadays think of people who practice Pre-Christian nature based religions as being Pagan. It is no were near evil and has nothing to do with worshiping their Christian devil.
2007-04-11 22:22:34 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Voodoo, witchcraft, and paganism are not about Satan, and are definately not evil. Unless of course you are a Christian who feels threatened by it, then it is evil. I am neither pagan nor christian, but I can say that the Pagans I know seem to act more like Christ than Christians do. From what I hear, Satanism isn't all about evil either.
2007-04-11 22:31:47 · answer #8 · answered by Lancaid 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I am a wiccan.
I do not believe in the devil, so how could i worship him???
There are christian witches, although i think that's a bit of a joke as our beliefs are so different!
And as for evil...the main law of wicca, is "DO AS YE WILL BUT HARM YE NONE" no evil intent there!!
Also there is the rule of three to consider, what ever you put out will come back to you times three. You wouldn't find me doing a spell that may come back and bite me on the backside!
PLEASE!!!....look into it a bit so that you dont continue to think we are devil worshipers or evil!
Blessed Be
)o(
2007-04-11 22:25:06 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
They actually can, but its very unlikely that they will because most Christians are taught to follow the ceremonies and instructions from the Church/Vatican City. Since the ceremonies from the other religions are not 'officially' recognized by the Vatican, a person who called themselves a Christian would have to do so without the support of the church.
You can be a 'Christian' and still do those things, but you can't be considered an 'official' Catholic.
2007-04-11 22:34:37 · answer #10 · answered by Khnopff71 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I guess some people would argue that while a "pagan" calls it "psychic" a "Christian" calls it "prophecy."
Doing "witchcraft" is instead called doing "miracles."
I guess people would argue that it's just a matter of doing it for evil reasons (in support of the devil) or doing it for good (in support of God). If you are going it for God then people usually use the "Christian" labels like "miracles" and "prophecy."
My opinion - Christian or pagan... it's all just a way for people to get attention. It's not real, it's not possible (even the Bible says that these things went away once the church was established in the 1st century). Because of this many churches will not support people who try to do things like "miracles." But, in some churches (like the ones you see on TV) they actually encourage people to use their "spiritual gifts" or whatever they are called. To me, these people just look crazy. But hey, who am I to judge people?
2007-04-11 22:24:02 · answer #11 · answered by Matt 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋