So Close!

2. So Close! ...And Yet So Far? Part 8: "Wicca & NeoPaganism"

3. “A friendly study of all the world’s religious scriptures is the sacred duty of every person.” ~ Mahatma Ghandi

4. “You and I, each and every one of us without exception, can be defined as an aching need for the infinite. Some people realize this; some do not.” ~ Thomas Dubay, The Evidential Power Of Beauty

5. About (neo-)paganism…

6. “The interest in Paganism today in the UK and USA may be interpreted as a response to an increased dissatisfaction with the way the world is going ecologically, spiritually and materially; people are disillusioned by mainstream religion and the realization that materialism leaves an internal emptiness.” ~ Charlotte Hardman, Pagan Misconceptions

7. “When one defines oneself as Pagan, it means she or he follows an earth or nature religion, one that sees the divine manifest in all creation. The cycles of nature are our holy days, the earth is our temple, its plants and creatures our partners and teachers. We worship a deity that is both male and female, a mother Goddess and father God, who together created all that is, was, or will be.” ~Edain McCoy, Pagan

8. About God…

9. “Most Witches don't believe in the Christian concept of God. As one Wiccan teacher put it, ‘My God does not have a beard nor does it hate women.’ They believe in an unknowable Ultimate Deity.” ~ Church & School of Wicca home page

10. About Lifestyle…

11. “If it harm none, do what you will.” ~ Wiccan Code Of Ethics

12. About Truth…

13. "Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away". ~ Philip K. Dick , philosopher

14. “Pagans believe that no one belief system is correct and that each person should have the freedom to chose the path that is right for them.” ~ Charlotte Hardman & Gram Harvey, "Paganism Today: Introduction“

15. “There area a multitude of appropriate religious paths and never will there be a single religious truth.” ~ Margot Adler, Wiccan author

16. “Who cares how old it is? It works.” ~ Ron Jaffe, Wiccan When dealing with the issue of the ancient or modern roots of Wicca

17. “Although it has many tried and true rituals and ways, the Craft remains experimental and ever growing. In short -- if it works, we use it.” ~ Church & School of Wicca homepage

18. About Wicca…

19. “Wicca is a celebration of the life-forces of nature as personified by the Goddess and her consort, the God. We do not believe that Wicca is the only way, only that it is our way.” ~ Wicca Web Site

20. “When a person performs a spell, often the desired result does not occur. Why is this? Ultimately, only the person performing the spell knows why. We have learned that if your life is out of balance and you are more interested in pragmatic results from the practice of Witchcraft then you will never see the spiritual results.” ~ Church & School of Wicca home page

21. “Magic is real and it works. My message is like the warning on a pack of cigarettes. Wicca is dangerous and could be hazardous to your health.” ~ Kathleen Atchason, former Wiccan

22. About Christianity…

23. “Paganism is making a comeback. Someday people may speak of the past 2000 years as the Christian interlude.” ~ Tom Williams, Wiccan Priest

24. “I know that everything God does will remain forever.” ~ Ecclesiastes 3:14 (NASB)

25. “There is no accepted scientific evidence to support he existence of past lives let alone the validity of past life regression therapy.” ~ Dr. Mel Sabshin, American Psychological Association

26. “A dead leaf on the ground is no longer something just to rake, but instead it is part of a cycle of life that has just finished and which will begin anew by providing nourishment to the trees so that other leaves may be born and flourish.” ~ Ron Jaffe, Wiccan

27. “Go to the ant, oh sluggard, Observe her ways, and be wise.” ~ Proverbs 6:6 (NASB)

28. “There is no concern these days more important than the environment – not gun control, violence in the media, campaign-finance reform, not even poverty, war, refugees or the curing of fatal diseases.” ~ Time, Spring 2000

29. “When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.” ~ 1 Corinthians 14:26 (NASB)

30. “If it harm none, do what you will.” ~ Wiccan Code Of Ethics

31. “He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities.” ~ Isaiah 53:5 (NASB)

32. “When a person performs a spell, often the desired result does not occur. Why is this? Ultimately, only the person performing the spell knows why. We have learned that if your life is out of balance and you are more interested in pragmatic results from the practice of Witchcraft then you will never see the spiritual results.” ~ Church & School of Wicca home page

33. “Do not let your people practice fortune-telling or sorcery, or allow them to interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, | or cast spells or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead.” ~ Deuteronomy 18:10-11 (NLT)

34. “Most Witches don't believe in the Christian concept of God. As one Wiccan teacher put it, ‘My God does not have a beard nor does it hate women.’ They believe in an unknowable Ultimate Deity.” ~ Church & School of Wicca home page

35. So Close! ...And Yet So Far? Part 8: "Wicca & NeoPaganism"