Originally posted by Anonymous ATS

Google Christoga - the 100% real, 100% ree-donk-u-lous attempt to make the scary occult practice of 'yoga' safe for god fearing xtians.

Good point. Ive seen some really odd contradictions come from stuff like that. Dont get me started on this....

Right, mesthinks I skipped about the last 4 pages, so apologies if this is repetition of anything anyone has said within those pages.

Well, you know what? For the majority of what I read, everyone has come up with good arguments/debates, albeit a few posts which did seem a little harsh and did not need the tone they were written with.

From what I read of the Occult in my teen years, I was never a fully-practitioning Wiccan, which I regret. I might add I got into it not from pop culture, but due to the fact my mum and dads side are all Catholics, however neither of my parents go to church and are basically non-practicing Catholics. My brother and I were never forced into anything Religion-wise, and I felt I wanted a bit of a basis in life, therefore went into my local book shop one day, and walking past the Mind, Body, Spirit section, proceeded to browse and just randomly bought a book (Scott Cunningham). And my fascination grew from there.

I never delved into anything I thought might be wrong, and I'm a perfectly sane person (as many of us are), therefore we know the basics, knowing to do what is Right instead of Wrong. We're all capable of making decisions, so it is up to the individual to either be 'Good' or 'Bad' (For lack of better descriptive words, haha!)

It did wind me up, however, my mum in particular, being so closed minded. She said that I best be careful, not to buy any more books (did I listen?! Hahaha!), all because of the unknown. She is happy in her comfort zone, denying the fact there is more outside the church and all your regular religions. When I managed to sit her down one day and tell her that 'Occult isn't bad, it's how the individual interprets it and how they wish to practice it themselves'. She didn't even realise there was a difference! And when I finally told her that Satanism is nothing to do with Wicca, she was even more surprised (Well, not the fact that Satanism is nothing to do with it, exactly, I had to explain the differences between all the different practices and she kind of clicked then!). I will make her read one of my books one day, just one offering information. I don't fancy converting her to becoming a Wiccan....that'll be an interesting sight

Anyways, I've waffled on long enough and am sure it'll just get skipped heh heh!
I'm just an avid believer in, as long as you know right from wrong, good from bad, and practice good things in life, then that's fine by me.
The End (for now..... )

Originally posted by Skyfloating
The "Ouroboros" or however its spelled. I was almost going to post one here but then I thought the serpent may offend some

Post a inverted goat pentagram, I don't care, I don't know anyone who would get red in the face and say, "That's teh devil!" Let's be adults here.

Originally posted by Skyfloating
"Please turn off that Led Zeppelin music! It will seduce me to the dark side!"

Response: You are that easily seduced to evil? When did you become such a wimp?

Ah, but you seem to wimp out on posting a snake. Interesting.

[edit on 23-12-2008 by saint4God]

Originally posted by liveandlearn
Has anyone considered that the God they worship could be the the bibllical "god of this world" aka Satan.

I think many believers had to 'check themselves' to be sure. For me it was a no-brainer. Having met the devil, I know what he looks like, his character was like, and his tactics. Then knowing God, is the most stark contrast one could ever come across.

[edit on 23-12-2008 by saint4God]

Originally posted by saint4God

Ah, but you seem to wimp out on posting a snake. Interesting.

[edit on 23-12-2008 by saint4God]

Its called "respecting others belief-systems".

Originally posted by Skyfloating
Its called "respecting others belief-systems".

Just found it interesting the enouragement to 'talk tough' and yet backing away from 'educating' others, as if Christians (let's face it, that's been your target since your thread title) are too scared of the belief. "It burns my eyes!" Please...

Originally posted by Cythraul
Hi saint4God. If you don't mind me asking, with all due respect, do you believe that all Occultism is Satanism?

One of the main issues I've had with this thread is a lack of definition. Is occultism watching a candle? (as the original poster has denoted along with the innocence thereof) No, watching a candle is not Satanism. Do many Satanists practice occultism? Of course. Again, specifics would be a great help in delineating which occult practices reach across the lines towards Satanism. It's actually an exploratory discussion when there isn't the interference of bitter assumptive, prejudicial bickering.

Originally posted by Cythraul
I don't think anyone in the thread has professed any kind of Satanic belief, so I'm just interested to know what your interest in the thread is.

I only wanted to make one post to this thread, which is to say that Satanists do use occultism, hence the association thereof. From there came the usual fray of how little I know and blind Christians are. I like the original poster and enjoy that dialogue for the most part, dodgey though it may be.

[edit on 23-12-2008 by saint4God]

Originally posted by saint4God
No, watching a candle is not Satanism. Do many Satanists practice occultism? Of course.

Then we agree. I'm glad. An important discussion Skyfloating has raised here though because most Christians - and I'm sure you know a few saint4God - do not realise that Occultism is not always Satanic.

As I mentioned in my first post of the thread, it's also important that Christians do not consider all Occultists their enemies with regards to fighting worldy injustices. Many (I'd probably say most) Occultists are opposed to the cold injustices perpetrated by our spiritually bankrupt leaders.

Originally posted by emmy
This is one persons belief. Note the last paragraph - even they don't even practice magic. Hmm. Does this help at all?

[EDIT: I'm finding a good few answers on google just by typing the OP question. Just for anyone who is curious! Gotta run, packing for 4 day crimbo holiday, back Saturday night my time! MERRY CRIMBO everyone! Enjoy it! xxx)

It's helpful to know about the different sects of Satanism for the board. No new info for me and was taking the position from a theistic Satanist's standpoint since this was the extent of my exposure in the past.

Merry Christ-mas to you as well.

[edit on 23-12-2008 by saint4God]

Wow, I must say, many of my preconceptions of occultism have been shattered by this thread. I thought it was all weird rituals and mentally disturbed people, but apparently not. Having read all the posts from the people supposedly informed on the subject, it seems like occultism is simply another take on the Vedas. Much of what has been said here can be found in one school of vedic religion (particularly monist hinduism (advaita vedanta) and Zen Buddhism) or another. Nevertheless, I now have a rather different view on occultism, so thanks to the OP for the thread and the others that have contributed.

Originally posted by pickles123
This is a great thread!

I understand your point of view, especially as one who does see some authority in the bible. However, I just wanted to further add, non-cannonical texts also pin-point that the occultic practice is a forbidden art. Please read 1 Enoch. It talks about how the fallen angels (nephilim/whose progeny were giants) taught these arts to the people. These "fallen angels/ufos/whatever"" learned this from somewhere whether it be from the heavens or another planet. It's possible that their progeny(if real) were the original sun-gods found all over the world. This may be explanation to the origins of the occullt.

Yes, but then the "good" angels give the knowledge to Enoch and he writes it all down in books! So the real moral of the story seems to be, "keep this information secret and out of the hands of the common people!"