How do you express your....

[gurlygurl2004]

To all other Christian witches/Christo-pagans, etc, how do you express your faith? For example, how do you divide it, are you like 50/50, or is it more like you don't see it as two seperate religions within you but one blended, happy faith? I see mine divided, like lately I've felt 75% or more Christian and less of the pagan.

[LostSheep]

Interesting question. Though I'm not a witch, I do think of myself as pagan in that my views of God are more closely pagan (God/Goddess/Godde, whatever, is both male and female, he/she/they/it are part of the earth rather than 'out there', etc), but lately I've been thinking that there isn't as much of a contradiction between what Jesus really said and the pagan way of looking at things as I once thought, so I think I'd say I'm maybe 60/40 Christian/Pagan in that in beleive in Jesus but not the great majority of the Bible, and I beleive in the God and Goddess as aspects of the same thing but don't follow pagan rituals or do magic(k). I don't divide it into separate Christian and Pagan boxes, though, as i think it fits together without needing to make too many compromises.

:)

[LacyRoze]

I guess I would say I'm 60/40. I believe in Jesus, I believe in God, but I do think there is a feminine aspect that is missing. I don't believe that modern Christianity is what Jesus taught, it's far from it in my opinion. I don't take the bible literally, I realize it was written by man and as we all know man is not perfect. I believe God is in everything around us and in us, not out there somewhere. I don't call myself a witch as I don't do spells and such but then again I guess my prayers could be called spells. I tend not to really label myself at all, I am who I am...

[Jolantru]

I don't divide my faith/belief system into 50/50. To me, it's a blend, an intersection. I believe in God. I also believe in the Goddess. So, I celebrate the Wheel of the Year and the usual Christian feast-days/holidays. How I express it? Well, it's pretty much nature-related, earth-based, as you will, as I do see the Goddess imminent in the Earth.

Hope that makes sense,
Jolantru

[Christo Pagan]

My beliefs are essentially Gnostic (which itself was basically a Christain/Pagan hybrid) and I use Wicca as a means of expressing those beliefs.

[LadyCelt]

If I disclose fully, I saw I"m Chirstian Pagan with a bit of Buddhism.

[LordHelmet]

I think that faith is a bad term, like when I read it I start pictureing that everybody's talking about where their brainwashing and self deceptions lie.

I'm definatly a little bit gnostic and a little bit Pagan. I suppose they're mostly the same little bit.

[shuvanilu]

My beliefs are essentially Gnostic (which itself was basically a Christain/Pagan hybrid) and I use Wicca as a means of expressing those beliefs.

You and I should have tea.----shuvanilu

[Ninjakitten]

I say that I'm a Christian witch, in that my core ideas about Diety and the mission of the Christ are central to my faith, but I take things from pagan paths (especially from the Craft and from Wicca) and see how they apply to how I feel the Christ walked the Earth and how they reflect the principles he taught. I feel that to limit my truth to a certain group's idea of what the actual truth is in the world is to limit my ability to understand and/or experience what actual truth is. Since a core belief of mine is that to get closer to Godde is to try to seek knowledge and truth in as much as possible (a Sophiatic belief from what I understand, and I belief in the Sophia as being the feminine Divine within Christianity), I simply can't just take one church's word for it on what the truth about Godde and the Christ is.

[GnosticCMoore]

I also am Gnostic and for me the Christian and the Witch are the same all happy and cozing bundled together._inlove_ One would be the same without the other.

[gurlygurl2004]

To all other Christian witches/Christo-pagans, etc, how do you express your faith? For example, how do you divide it, are you like 50/50, or is it more like you don't see it as two seperate religions within you but one blended, happy faith? I see mine divided, like lately I've felt 75% or more Christian and less of the pagan.


But now I feel a 60/40 pull. I'm really feeling my pagan side lately especially dealing the divination thing, I want to explore all or a lot of pagan paths as well as Christian. Right now each path is pretty nuetral, not choosing seperate branches in each religion.

[Fatherman]

Well now, I feel very cozy on this thread. I call myself a Christian, but I consider myself a part of the emerging Christianity (as detailed by Marcus Borg in The Heart of Christianity). I also consider myself a New Age Christian. As a Christian, I see Christ as a physical embodiment of the Path. As a yogi, I see Christ as the ultimate christ-yogi. a true Avatar. As a witch, I see Christ as one of the most powerful witches of all time << gasp! >>. If Christ wasn't raising energy and casting spells, then I don't know what else he could have been doing!

[azzeenasman]

There is a conflict between pagan paths and christian paths,,to follow pagan paths and still call yourself a christian,,you will need to do (or be willing to do)the following,,,,,

Reject the bible as Gods word,and claim its full of errors,and has been tampered with throughout the male dominated ages.

Reject Jesus Christ as the ONLY way to heaven,the only way(path)to God.
He clearly said he was the only way to God,and anyone wanting to follow him would have to farsake all,,or he was not worthy to be his disciple.

Forget the many scriptures that talk about hell,the devil,and demons,and sin,and judgment,,,because 99 percent of all pagan paths do not believe in these (christian)beliefs.

Pretend when the bible condems witchcraft,sorcery,divination,talking to the dead,,and fortune telling,magic,and everything else that even looks occultish,that it doesnt really mean that.

And then the foundation of christianity,is the death of Christ,as an atonment for your sins,to save you from hell,and the righteous wrath and judgment of God.This is not any pagan path idea that I am aware of,this is christian doctrine,and the foundation of all of christianity,,that men needed to be saved from thier sins,from thier selves,and from hell,,because we could not aproach a Holy God in our sins,,so Christ died to pay that penalty,and his blood is an atonment for our sins.

Its called being born again,and Im not aware of any pagan path that reguires being born again to enter heaven.-Except a man be born again,he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven,but the wrath of God abideth on him,bible.
He that believeth not on me(Christ)shall NOT see life,,but the wrath of God abideth on him.Bible


So,trying to follow Christ,and walk a pagan path,will be a hard one to do,,you will most certainly need to let go of some of your christian beliefs,or water them down a great deal,or deny them alltogether.You will find yourself at odds with the scriptures on almost every page you read.

Is there a wiccan coven somewhere that prays in the name of the Father,son,and Holy Spirit?When you are initiated,will the bible be on the alter,and will those involved be quoting scriptures?Will they be calling on God,or the Lord and the Lady?Is baptism a part of your initiation?
What about communion?(the blood and body of Christ)

How can a person be wiccan and christian?Can a person be fat and skinny at the same time?How about a giant midget?Or a hot-cold person?

What about a Christo-satanist?Or a conservo-liberal?

While you walk a pagan path,one by one,you will be letting go of your christian beliefs,,one at a time,day by day,until one day you will not be a christian anymore,,,unless God yanks you back to himself,,,but you can not do both,,when you come to a fork in the road,,you must choose,,one way or the other,,but you cannot go both ways.

How many husbands will you be married to at the same time?(exceptions are given here for Mormons,but they arent into witchcraft)The bible says we are the bride of Christ,and he is our husband,and bridegroom,and his church is his Holy Bride.And Jesus never prayed to any God,or Goddess,anywhere in the bible,except to the God of Israel,whom he called his Father.

This is the way I see it.

[MysticWitch]

I am 100% Catholic because I was baptized, raised and confirmed in that faith.
I am also 100% Wiccan because I choose this path, its everything I am.. I live and breathe it and it comforts me and makes me feel complete. I respect both religions however If I had to say what I feel in side. It would be 25 % catholic and 75% Wiccan :lol:

[Fatherman]

azzeenasman,

I agree that one cannot be an orthodox/conservative/fundamentalist Christian and a Pagan, but I don't think anyone here is claiming that. Most religions contain Orthodox, Liberal, and Mystical sects. Try comparing Sufi Islam to Orthodox Islam. That's almost two different religions.

Fatherman

[gurlygurl2004]

azzeenasman,

I agree that one cannot be an orthodox/conservative/fundamentalist Christian and a Pagan, but I don't think anyone here is claiming that. Most religions contain Orthodox, Liberal, and Mystical sects. Try comparing Sufi Islam to Orthodox Islam. That's almost two different religions.

Fatherman


It blows my mind that Islam has a mystical side. I mean it seems even more contradictory to be pagan in the Islamic faith than in the Christian and Jewish faiths.

[gurlygurl2004]

There is a conflict between pagan paths and christian paths,,to follow pagan paths and still call yourself a christian,,you will need to do (or be willing to do)the following,,,,,

Reject the bible as Gods word,and claim its full of errors,and has been tampered with throughout the male dominated ages.

Reject Jesus Christ as the ONLY way to heaven,the only way(path)to God.
He clearly said he was the only way to God,and anyone wanting to follow him would have to farsake all,,or he was not worthy to be his disciple.

Forget the many scriptures that talk about hell,the devil,and demons,and sin,and judgment,,,because 99 percent of all pagan paths do not believe in these (christian)beliefs.

Pretend when the bible condems witchcraft,sorcery,divination,talking to the dead,,and fortune telling,magic,and everything else that even looks occultish,that it doesnt really mean that.

And then the foundation of christianity,is the death of Christ,as an atonment for your sins,to save you from hell,and the righteous wrath and judgment of God.This is not any pagan path idea that I am aware of,this is christian doctrine,and the foundation of all of christianity,,that men needed to be saved from thier sins,from thier selves,and from hell,,because we could not aproach a Holy God in our sins,,so Christ died to pay that penalty,and his blood is an atonment for our sins.

Its called being born again,and Im not aware of any pagan path that reguires being born again to enter heaven.-Except a man be born again,he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven,but the wrath of God abideth on him,bible.
He that believeth not on me(Christ)shall NOT see life,,but the wrath of God abideth on him.Bible


So,trying to follow Christ,and walk a pagan path,will be a hard one to do,,you will most certainly need to let go of some of your christian beliefs,or water them down a great deal,or deny them alltogether.You will find yourself at odds with the scriptures on almost every page you read.

Is there a wiccan coven somewhere that prays in the name of the Father,son,and Holy Spirit?When you are initiated,will the bible be on the alter,and will those involved be quoting scriptures?Will they be calling on God,or the Lord and the Lady?Is baptism a part of your initiation?
What about communion?(the blood and body of Christ)

How can a person be wiccan and christian?Can a person be fat and skinny at the same time?How about a giant midget?Or a hot-cold person?

What about a Christo-satanist?Or a conservo-liberal?

While you walk a pagan path,one by one,you will be letting go of your christian beliefs,,one at a time,day by day,until one day you will not be a christian anymore,,,unless God yanks you back to himself,,,but you can not do both,,when you come to a fork in the road,,you must choose,,one way or the other,,but you cannot go both ways.

How many husbands will you be married to at the same time?(exceptions are given here for Mormons,but they arent into witchcraft)The bible says we are the bride of Christ,and he is our husband,and bridegroom,and his church is his Holy Bride.And Jesus never prayed to any God,or Goddess,anywhere in the bible,except to the God of Israel,whom he called his Father.

This is the way I see it.


I personally decided I don't believe in a hell or Satan. I think that's the ultimate negativity of Christianity. I'm not saying that there isn't evil in the world because there is but it generates more from humans than from a supernatural being.

[Fatherman]

Maybe there's more to Christianity out there than you realize.

Check out www.tcpc.org (http://www.tcpc.org)

[Lady Valkyrie]

There is a conflict between pagan paths and christian paths,,to follow pagan paths and still call yourself a christian,,you will need to do (or be willing to do)the following,,,,,

Reject the bible as Gods word,and claim its full of errors,and has been tampered with throughout the male dominated ages.

Reject Jesus Christ as the ONLY way to heaven,the only way(path)to God.
He clearly said he was the only way to God,and anyone wanting to follow him would have to farsake all,,or he was not worthy to be his disciple.

Forget the many scriptures that talk about hell,the devil,and demons,and sin,and judgment,,,because 99 percent of all pagan paths do not believe in these (christian)beliefs.

Pretend when the bible condems witchcraft,sorcery,divination,talking to the dead,,and fortune telling,magic,and everything else that even looks occultish,that it doesnt really mean that.

And then the foundation of christianity,is the death of Christ,as an atonment for your sins,to save you from hell,and the righteous wrath and judgment of God.This is not any pagan path idea that I am aware of,this is christian doctrine,and the foundation of all of christianity,,that men needed to be saved from thier sins,from thier selves,and from hell,,because we could not aproach a Holy God in our sins,,so Christ died to pay that penalty,and his blood is an atonment for our sins.

Its called being born again,and Im not aware of any pagan path that reguires being born again to enter heaven.-Except a man be born again,he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven,but the wrath of God abideth on him,bible.
He that believeth not on me(Christ)shall NOT see life,,but the wrath of God abideth on him.Bible


So,trying to follow Christ,and walk a pagan path,will be a hard one to do,,you will most certainly need to let go of some of your christian beliefs,or water them down a great deal,or deny them alltogether.You will find yourself at odds with the scriptures on almost every page you read.

Is there a wiccan coven somewhere that prays in the name of the Father,son,and Holy Spirit?When you are initiated,will the bible be on the alter,and will those involved be quoting scriptures?Will they be calling on God,or the Lord and the Lady?Is baptism a part of your initiation?
What about communion?(the blood and body of Christ)

How can a person be wiccan and christian?Can a person be fat and skinny at the same time?How about a giant midget?Or a hot-cold person?

What about a Christo-satanist?Or a conservo-liberal?

While you walk a pagan path,one by one,you will be letting go of your christian beliefs,,one at a time,day by day,until one day you will not be a christian anymore,,,unless God yanks you back to himself,,,but you can not do both,,when you come to a fork in the road,,you must choose,,one way or the other,,but you cannot go both ways.

How many husbands will you be married to at the same time?(exceptions are given here for Mormons,but they arent into witchcraft)The bible says we are the bride of Christ,and he is our husband,and bridegroom,and his church is his Holy Bride.And Jesus never prayed to any God,or Goddess,anywhere in the bible,except to the God of Israel,whom he called his Father.

This is the way I see it.


Within Christianity, ALL Christians pick and choose what they want to acknowledge in the Bible and often ignore certain things in the Bible to suit their own personal beliefs. ALL Christians have their own personal interpretation of what the Bible is, where it came from, who wrote it, and what or who was it's inspirations. Don't believe these statements? Take a look at the many denominations that have broken away from the Roman Catholic Church since Martin Luther's days. Christians themselves can't seem to agree on certain key points within theology and doctrine. Such things are left to personal interpretation. The same can be said of those who choose to blend Christianity with Wicca, Witchcraft, or just Paganism in general, that Biblical theology and doctrine is up for personal interpretation.

[Lady Valkyrie]

azzeenasman,

I agree that one cannot be an orthodox/conservative/fundamentalist Christian and a Pagan, but I don't think anyone here is claiming that. Most religions contain Orthodox, Liberal, and Mystical sects. Try comparing Sufi Islam to Orthodox Islam. That's almost two different religions.

Fatherman

Sometimes some people either don't know or refuse to recognize that the mysticism that surrounds certain religions... take for instance Judaism there is much mysticism surrounding it's ancient beliefs and practices. Another is Gnostism... Pennsylvania Dutch Pow Wow... Santeria... But sometimes to acknowledge those types of things would be admitting that the occult, mysticism, magick, witchcraft, paganism, and even wicca can be blended with a religion like Christianity.

[Lady Valkyrie]

To all other Christian witches/Christo-pagans, etc, how do you express your faith? For example, how do you divide it, are you like 50/50, or is it more like you don't see it as two seperate religions within you but one blended, happy faith? I see mine divided, like lately I've felt 75% or more Christian and less of the pagan.

Now to answer the actual question presented in this thread... My Spiritual Beliefs Explained (http://www.lady-valkyrie-37.net/ReligiousBeliefs.html)

[Bliss]

after a long hiatus i have returned to my path. although i once followed traditional hereditary witchcraft i do not consider myself a witch. nor would i call myself christian per se even though i was raised and baptized roman catholic and have studied a variety of traditions.

i suppose i have never considered applying a numerological figure to who and what i am. i believe this forces me to categorize things that are not stagnant and are always evolving. my belief system includes an adherence to and preference towards certain eastern teachings. particularly those on chakras, meditation, yoga, and tantra.

my foundation will always be rooted in christianity and this is manifested in my burgeoning interest and study of hermeticism and thelema. however, i have chosen to continue to acknowledge the esbats and sabbats going forward, as they offer a wonderful opportunity to give thanks to the creator for the things i've received.

i do not have a patron god or goddess, but did in the past. i don't know if this will change in the near future or not. i am thoroughly enjoying the exploration of kabbalah from a judaic viewpoint and employ the torah in my studies for an indepth understanding of the subject matter.

i am without label or distinction, merely a seeker hoping to gain knowledge and my own slice of nirvana someday.

~bliss

:flowers:

[Lovehound]

In Scandinavian countries, in the early Christian times, there was a practice of being "prime signed." This meant that a Heathen could go to a priest and be anointed with the sign of the cross with the holy oil and promise at some point to be baptized. This largely enabled Christian and Heathen merchants to do business with each other, but allowed for greater interaction between people of different faiths.

(And yes, I LIKE the word faith; I think it is a beautiful word.)

So I consider myself "prime signed." I attend the Episcopal church and receive communion and the oil once a week. I was baptized as a 13 year old anyway, so that's taken care of already.

Not a problem.

[ViolinGoddess]

I am about 85% Christian and 15% Pagan. Basically, I'm completely christian except that I practice magick. Other than I beleive in in Faeries and reincarnation, my christianity hasn't changed at all. SOmetimes I practice pagan magick (folk magick) and sometimes I practice christian magick (using the christian God/angels in my spells).

Violin Goddess

[Neosnoia]

To all other Christian witches/Christo-pagans, etc, how do you express your faith? For example, how do you divide it, are you like 50/50, or is it more like you don't see it as two seperate religions within you but one blended, happy faith? I see mine divided, like lately I've felt 75% or more Christian and less of the pagan.

I feel 100% Christian, but doubt that other "Christians" would see me that way at all.

[Neosnoia]

It blows my mind that Islam has a mystical side. I mean it seems even more contradictory to be pagan in the Islamic faith than in the Christian and Jewish faiths.

It's not quite a blend of paganism with Islam or paganism with Judaism, as much as it is the esoteric, mystical core of those religions coming through.

I don't mind if someone calls me a pagan Christian, but it would be more correct to call me a mystical Christian. :)

[Neosnoia]

Sometimes some people either don't know or refuse to recognize that the mysticism that surrounds certain religions... take for instance Judaism there is much mysticism surrounding it's ancient beliefs and practices.
It's taken me my whole life to come to that realization, but as I have, it's been very liberating.

I try not to, but sometimes I get so damn mad at fundamentalism for literalizing the mystical (in many traditions).

[ViolinGoddess]

I feel 100% Christian, but doubt that other "Christians" would see me that way at all.

What makes you say that?

Violin Goddess

[Neosnoia]

What makes you say that?

Violin Goddess

Try wandering over to crosswalk.com and posting on their board. See how long it takes them to tell you that you are not a "true Christian." (tm) :hehehehe: