How many of you would stand by your faith if it were made illegal?

Question

Think of the way witches were tortured and burnt at the stake.....
What do you think you would do if that happened to your brand of religion today? What if the penalty was death? Would you hide in the dark and keep practising? Or would you run and hide or stand proud?
Answer truthfully.....i don't know who you are after all!!!

Answer 1

Has only been legal to be Wiccan in Queensland (Australia) for less than a decade. I've been Wiccan for 20 years.

No I didn't hide, I just didn't scream about it from the hights. the Subtle approach/KISS principle seemed to work best.

Answer 2

I think I will have to hide because allot of people know that I am a witch.But I would keep practising and pass the wisdom down like my an sisters before me.To stand proud would be a suicidal act

Answer 3

There are three general options:

Stand proud: Nope, if it got to the point where it is actually made illegal, those who stand proud would already be a minority and it is one of the quickest ways to get yourself removed from the gene pool.

Abandon it: Nope, never! It took me too long to get here. I'm not going to let some ****-head tell me what to believe. I'll just pretend I'm being a good citizen till they get bored of looking at me.

Practice in secret: Choice I'd pick. I'd stash as much info as I can, infiltrate the current belief with as much of my belief as I can. Teach my children about what we believe and how evil those in power are. Maybe not in my lifetime but somewhere in the future the truth will rise from the ashes. It always does.

Answer 4

Sounds to me like you are from the UK.

Witches were burnt at the stake not really for their Religion, but because they were disturbing the "Powers that be" ... if you get what I mean.

I would always stand by my Religion.

It doesn't really matter what Religion you are .. be it Catholic, Protestant, Buddah, Mormon, Anglican .... we are all the same.

Who really knows what Religion is the only one?

Let's face it ... even the Indians prayed to the totem poles, the Maya prayed to the Sun .... all Religions in my mind the same because they are all from different countries.

Yep .... I pray .... but it doesn't matter what Faith you are.

Answer 5

i would do exactaly what my ancestors did.

i would convert to the religion of my oppressors.
as i make it a habit to study religions this would not be hard for me to fake.

then through subtile means, i would plant the seeds of my religion into the foundation of theirs.

then i would plant the seeds of chaos in the ears of the congregants and watch them rip each other apart over percieved insults and offences.

once they were sufficently weakened i would have a great revelation. and start a new church that mirrored my own ancient beliefs with just enough of theirs thrown in to make it seem on the up and up. causing a split in their congregation and a diminished state of power.

other folk of my ilk would already be in place to split the remaining halves into many to further disperse their power and focus.

a few years later they are worshiping a triune god, celebragting all of their holidays in pagan customs,
collecting massive ammounts of money with no real use for it keeping their people poor. and a new revelation of ancient beliefs and customs could emerge as a "white light" in the darkness....

Answer 6

North America was first settled by Christians seeking religious freedom. This is one reason why the US Constitution recognizes religious freedom.

Christianity was illegal in ancient Rome, and in many countries (past and present). It has been proven that Christianity survives and thrives under persection.

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News Reports
Thursday, 26 April 2007

TURKEY: Young Muslims Murder Three Christians

In a gruesome assault against Turkey's tiny Christian community, five young Muslim Turks entered a Christian publishing office in the southeastern province of Malatya 18 April and slit the throats of the three Protestant Christians present.

Two of the victims, Necati Aydin, 36, and Ugur Yuksel, 32, were Turkish converts from Islam. The third man, Tilmann Geske, 46, was a German citizen.

Today the Turkish press reported that four of the five young men, all 19 to 20 years of age, admitted during initial interrogations that they were motivated by both "nationalist and religious feelings." "We did this for our country," an identical note in the pockets of all five young men read, Channel D television station reported. "They are attacking our religion."

Compass Direct

Answer 7

All the time it still goes on today. Not here in America but there are many religions getting persecuted for their beliefs. I would have to say that I honestly would stand firm in my belief if it became illegal. I know where I stand and I think that God would reward my faith.

Answer 8

This is a difficult question to answer for me. I'm torn between my freedom to practice my own spiritual faith and the need to be around to raise my children.

I would probably hide in the dark and keep practicing but if I had no children I might handle it differently. I honestly think that I could worship by following whatever "religion" was allowed me without breaking any laws but still be able to incorporate my own beliefs within the layers and raise children who were tolerant and embracing of all spiritual paths.

Answer 9

Interesting question.

The Wiccans worshiped Mother Earth and were actually healers, with their knowledge of herbs and healing passed down through their maternal lines. Unfortunately, in the "olden times" people did not understand them and feared them -- thus they were persecuted.

As for what I would do if Christianity was declared illegal and punishable by death -- yes, I would still pray to God and keep my faith. But I would do so privately rather than in secret public meetings.

Answer 10

It is impossible to say for sure until one faces the actual situation. What one says in theory may not happen in practice.

I have had the experience of being threatened with a court martial and 3 years in detention barracks because of my faith. It is was not pleasant but God saved me from that fate and it strengthened my faith.