I believe in God wholeheartedly, but I also believe in the occult such as ghosts, spirits, spells, meditation, ritual, and a touch of Buddhism.
I have dived into wicca and paganism and I like it very much, but I do believe in a "Goddess" type figure much like the Native American's in the view of Mother Nature.
So, can I be both? Can I just be a spiritualist? What are your views!!!
2007-10-30 01:18:49 · 34 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Wow, getting a lot of good and weird answers here, let me go into somemore detail...
I was rasied Catholic, went to a Catholic school, and I think that is why I don't believe a word of the bible anymore. We have to remember that the bible was created by man, some never even met Jesus. And when someone says, Jesus said no... did HE actually talk to you? No, a book did...
The reasons for my beliefs is that I have seen spirits, have seen ghosts, been out-of-body, have BEEN an angel in a very real dream. I believe that there are many things out there that no one can ever ponder.
My philosophy is, God created man, ALL of man, including the mind to think, the spirit to feel, and the means to be closer to the Divine essence that He (God, not Jesus) resonates from...
2007-10-30 02:32:08 · update #1
Hmm, seems I am not a Christian then, ok, how about this question...
Can you believe in God AND be a Witch?
(GOD, not Jesus)
2007-10-30 03:49:44 · update #2
Randy...
I just have to say... wow; I honestly really wish I had your faith... But when you see the head priest of your church go into a strip club while you were at the next door McDonalds, wouldn't you rethink the whole Christian thing? Happened to me!!
I guess I just don't understand the whole "close-minded" thing that most Christians have, do you actually think that YOU are the ONLY one that is going to Heaven??? If that is the case, I wouldn't want to be there anyway because I get enough Christianity here on earth..
All I know is that there are things in this world that a book written a long time ago cannot prove. Have you ever read a book that wasn't the bible? Do you know who Gandhi was? Do you know why there are other cultures, religions, and people on this earth? Do you think a Chinese guy is going to follow some guy on a donkey? All I ask is that you look at other possibilities and not just what the bible says...
2007-10-30 04:21:44 · update #3
As salaamu 'alaikym, my friend.
Insha'Allah, as Allah, Subhanna wa Ta'ala, have given every human being free will to choose the path that he or she will follow, and He has said in the Holy Qur'an that there will be Jews, Christains and Sabians who enter paradise, which seems to imply that persons of righteous practices may also be judged so worthy, you may do as you feel is best.
Insha'Allah, you may choose to mix and match you faith beliefs so as to construct your own personal brand of a faith system.
Insha'Allah, the reality is however, that doing so, as is your right under and with your free will to so choose, does not and will not make the same accepteable to God, whether you address Him as YHWH, Trintiy Father, or Trinity Jeus or Allah, Subhanna wa Ta'ala.
Insha'Allah, in the Torah and the other scriptural writing of the Jews, in the accepted scriptures of the Christians and in the Holy Qur'an, such a possible mixture of practices as you have described if forbidden.
In reality, although you can mix such, I would personally imagine that you would find yourself in actuality being "true" to none of them and I would opine that many "half faiths" do not add up to "one" whole faith. I would referrence the saying in the Gospels of the Prophet Essa (sallaahu 'alaihi wasallaam) about serving "two masters" or in your case, many, many more.
I am not saying that your practice will make you an immoral person, nor evil, etc. I will not and do not judge you as only Allah, Subhanna wa Ta'ala, has the ability to do so with justice, fairness, mercy and compassion as well as rightly. In fact, it may lead you to a very real understanding of many other persons, cultures and systems but you will find, I am very sure, in the end, that you will not have been a Jew, a Christian, a Muslim, a Sabian, or Buddhist, HIndu, Wiccan practicioner, etc.
My prayer for you is that Allah, Subhanna wa Ta'ala, will guide you to the truth for you own salavation and for the benefit of others.
Ma'a salaam.
2007-10-30 09:49:32 · answer #1 · answered by Big Bill 7 · 3⤊ 3⤋
Well, if you think that the people whom God hand picked to write the Bible made mistakes, then how do you know that YOU are not making mistakes in YOUR assumptions about God? Are you somehow better, or smarter, than everyone else? Pardon me for being blunt, but this sounds a bit arrogant.
More to the point, you didn't meet Jesus either, so what makes you think that you know more about Jesus than the people who lived during his own lifetime, who actually heard about Jesus from his own friends and family (even if they never met him personally)? The people who wrote the New Testament at least knew the friends and family of Jesus, and many actually did meet him personally. They are obviously more familar with who and what Jesus was like than any of us living in the 21st century, including you.
If you do not believe in the Christian Bible, then in what sense are you Christian anyway? You might as well be honest about it and say that you no longer believe in Jesus or Christianity and be done with it.
But to directly answer your question, both the Old & New Testements condem witchcraft, using magic spells, and mixing other religions with Christianity. Jesus made it clear that you cannot serve both God and sin at the same time. So the answer is "no".
2007-10-30 03:54:00 · answer #2 · answered by Randy G 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Wow.
If you saw a church member (priest or otherwise) going into a strip club, and base your beliefs on that, then you have been duped. All of us are subject to sin. Being good will not buy a ticket into heaven.
It's easy to become interested in the unknown. I did at one time, and could probably write a story about it. But then, I became more aware of my faith in God, and realized the Bible explicitly tells me to stay away from fortune tellers and such.
Nowadays, I like to call my own gifts, "discernment." I no longer seek out the answers. The answers come to me.
Good luck in your endeavor to find meaning. I have found my truth in Jesus. It doesn't mean I am free of sin, or ever will be. But as a Christian, I have found someone who loves me and believes in me. Just as I am.
May God give you wisdom in your journey. God bless you.
2007-10-30 07:48:24 · answer #3 · answered by C Sunshine 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There will be a few who will say it is possible. But the Person who really matters would say "no". Repeatedly Jesus speaks against such things, He says He is the only way. To be a Christian means that your faith, your belief is completely in Jesus and not a smorgasbord of selected preferences.
You can beleive in God wholeheartedly and try those other things, but at some point you will have to make a decision regarding Jesus. (Except for the dabble of Buddhism which says essentially there is no God).
That is (in part) why Christianity is such a volatile issue.
And because Jesus calls everyone to count the cost, to make a decision and it is a decision which affects your eternity, it is one to enter carefully, to come to thoughtfully and then when and if you accept Him, then do so wholeheartedly, not looking back to any of it.
As a former non-believer, now born-again I am content that I have made the wisest decision ever in my life, and I owe my life and my decision to Him. Jesus will prove Himself over and over.
2007-10-30 01:33:38 · answer #4 · answered by thankyou "iana" 6 · 8⤊ 2⤋
No.
Christian means that you have confessed Jesus Christ your Lord & Savior & you believed in your heart He raised from the dead. You believe in your heart Jesus is the promised Messiah & is the Only Begotten Son of the Living God. You believe Jesus shed His blood on the cross of Calvery for the remission of your sins. You believe in the God of the Holy Bible.
Witches disobey the Lord God of the Holy Bible & they go to other spiritual powers (other gods). In the bible it is written that witchcraft is the same as rebellion. So? Some real Christians in the Church who are rebellious could be considered as practicing witchcraft. But they get disciplined by God.
Believing in God doesn't make someone a Christian. Confessing Jesus Christ ones Lord & receiving the atonement for ones sins does. While believing in God. Believing in God is 'Faith'. The devils know God Is & tremble, but they rebel against God also.
You have to forsake all other gods & confess Jesus Christ your Lord & Savior if you want to be a Christian.
Born of His Spirit, cleansed by His Blood, joint heirs with King Jesus & be part of the family of God.
To inherit the Kingdom of God, you must be born again. Born from above. This only happens through faith in Jesus Christ & a miracle spiritual birth that one is born of God is not by mans will but by the will of God only. Gods way or no way at all.
2007-10-30 02:35:55 · answer #5 · answered by t_a_m_i_l 6 · 4⤊ 1⤋
Yes, in a word. There is nothing in Paganism that prevents you from honoring Jesus, Mary, and all the angels and saints among the various Gods you worship. Those who adhere to this belief system are known as Christo-Pagans. Roman Emperor Alexander Severus is said to have had a statue of Christ among the images of the Gods he worshipped. So, it's nothing new.
The challenge does not (and has not) come from the Pagan perspective, but rather the Christian one. Conservative Christians have always insisted upon being monotheistic. There is simply no room for other Gods. Some modern Christians seem open to appreciating other Gods in an archetypal sense, but perhaps not yet in a theological one. There is hope.
2007-10-30 02:57:36 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 4⤋
Yes you can be Christian and a Witch.
Being a witch means that you can pick whatever pantheon or mythology system which works for you. And whether Christians like to think of their system in that way or not, it is a specific pantheon which in time may get relegated to mythology.
As long as you are connected to The Divine, in whatever aspect, then you are where you need to be. It is all about your connection to The Divine, not necessarily the name you choose to call IT.
So if you are comfortable with even using Jesus in your rituals and spells because you connect with him, then do so.
Sometimes people think too closed-minded, even within the pagan religions.
What is important is your connection to The Divine, not the religion that you choose to use as the tool to connect. You can just be a spiritualist if you want.
Only you know the right path for you, and it may change later on down the road, and that is okay too. You are always on the path that is right for you at that precise moment in time.
Blessings on your Journey!
2007-10-30 05:19:48 · answer #7 · answered by Seafyre 3 · 3⤊ 4⤋
In order to be a Christian you must believe the Bible. Not to mention you can not be a witch too.
Don S gave you good scriptures to follow. But then again you don't believe the Bible.
Luke 16:13
No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
2007-10-30 03:45:56 · answer #8 · answered by Old Hickory 6 · 4⤊ 1⤋
You can be anything, or at least you can try to be anything (in my opinion).
You can be a spiritualist w/o having religion.
If i were you, I wud ask myself, what's my objective in life ( if I may choose) , then work from there.
As I get older I found that there's only one definite things happened to me: " It's not my will."
And the spirits etc, it's a fatamorgana or our own spiritual mirror.
2007-10-30 18:16:55 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
In this day and age, you can be anything you choose to be if you are content and get spiritual satisfaction form it, more power to you...however be prepared fopr the oppisition....Christains (not all christains, but the majority) and some other faiths say it tis their way and their way tis the only path....Paganism offers more acceptance and open-mindedness(tho again there are some christains who are the exception to the rule. However being a witch...study the burning times , look at the abuse down ot Native americans, all in the name of christainity...then ask youeself, can you be both when one did all it could to destroy the other...blessings
2007-10-30 05:25:48 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋