I heard this tale a few months ago from a pal: years ago in my town, way out in the woods, was a Satanic church and suddenly it burst into flames and disappeared. Now the tale goes that on Halloween night if u can find the ruins of the church (no one has ever found it) the church will be fully rebuilt and on the porch there will be a black book. If you spend the night in the church or on the grounds and when u wake up the next morning u can look in the book and it will tell you when you're going to die. \nMy friend is a dead fast beleiver in this tale and every Halloween he searches for the church but has never found it. I'm just wondering who all will respond to this question - Christains and Wiccans and whomever alike.
211952
Considering I believe in a great many things, this one does seem a tad on the far-fetched side; but considering that a great many things also can't be explained, why not?\nEvery one of us is going to die, but knowing the date of one's death is both a blessing and a curse. You can set your affairs in order but how badly might one freak when the time draws closer?\nBesides, why does it have to be a satanic church? Why not one of the Protestant or Catholic ones? Either way it would still be a church (ooo this might annoy some people....apologies) Bye the Bye, my Child, I happen to be a nondenominational Happy Heathen.
115855
I tried to give up Zombies for lent... Not doing so well am I? Nah... Looks like he was something close... I'm thinking hybred. His father was God and all so he had all the good in him. But there was that life after death thing... Hmmmm. \n\nWhat THE HELL? Lightning just taged the building! Wow... That was weird... Huh...
338327
Why, just the other day, on my way to Sunday school, to teach the cute little kids lies and fire and brimstone .. I noticed MY carnation was all wilted, on my suit jacket.\n\nIt MAY have been a sin, but I stopped at the widow Simpson's flower bed and got a new one out of the ground, and reincarnated myself!\n\nSo, Jim (Welcome back).. it IS possible, this re in carnation stuff.\n\nand there you are too .. so it MUST be true, since we all know miracles do not really happen!
474520
Fireworks,  I can't say that I really believe in ghosts but I have a friend who does.  In fact, I had to admit this, but sometimes, I've had that same feeling, peripherally, seeing someone and distinctively FEELING it but turning to face it and there's nothing there.  I told her this and she told me that perhaps I was visited by a spirit.  Of course, I listened to her but I was thinking, wow, she's crazy.  But...I'm not so sure.  So, she  belonged to this group that met, spiritually.  Some of them were gifted to see these spirits.  I know this might sound crazy but they went around the room and "saw" these spirits, which were normally spirits of someone that person knew.  For me, the woman was seeing my aunt who had just recently passed and told me that everything was okay and for me to stop worrying about her.  \n\nThe English word "spirit" comes from the Latin spiritus, meaning breath.\n\nI know that these "spiritual" sightings can be a lot of hogwash but you know, I have to say that I do believe it is possible.  I was frightened by this when it first began to happen but I really believe that what you see is not imagined.  I'm serious.  I still see them (not as often as before) but I think I am no longer afraid since my friend had me go to one of those meetings.  \n\nYes, I think it's normal.  I also think people will not admit they see it too.  Honestly, I won't admit it either.  Just here....because I think only a few close to you will believe you.  I do have another friend who believes in ghost.  So does my husband.  I don't admit it with them because - I think I'm too scared to open up the realization that this can be true and I'll be seeing them all the time.    \n\nI think if I didn't watch scary movies so often, I would be afraid of these spirits. :)
99565
I've been told more times than I can count that because I am Wiccan I am worshiping Satan and going to hell.  I had a person I worked with once they found out I was Wiccan spent every time we had to deal with each other trying to convert me and tell me I was wrong and it was false.  This person went so far as to send their pastor in to talk to me and try to convert me.  It didn't work I told them bluntly I was happy with my religion.  After open circle one night several of us had a car load of what we call 'attack Christians' follow us home and sermonize us the whole way over a loud speaker from our car!  Things got so bad for us when we held open circle we had to get a restraining order because of protesters who shouted the worst things you can imagine!
571958
It is a hoax.  And even if someone decided it would be a good story to tell, remember that Satan is the Prince of Darkness and has come only to steal, kill and destroy.  He will use any deception, lie or method he can to discredit God.  What a lovely way to divide God's children, believers and non-believers alike.  There is nothing that Satan can do to defeat God.  Satan is pretty dumb when you think about it.  He has read the end of the book (Revelation) and knows he will not defeat God, yet he keeps trying anyway.  \n\nInsanity is when you keep doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.  I'd say Satan is definitely hovering around insanity.  \n\nDon't forget the furor Passion of the Christ and Da Vinci Code caused.  Interestingly enough, there was much to say prior to the release of both movies, but once the movies were released, all the dialog stopped and nobody really gives a flip now.  \n\nBe well, be blessed and find your peace in God.
321113
I have seen the movie The Haunted and read some articles abou the Smurl case, but outside of that I haven't really studied the case in depth.  My reasons for this are varied, but it is largely because I personally do not believe in demons (some members of BCPR may think differently).  I am actually immediately skeptical of any demonology case because of this.  I do believe that ghosts (whatever they are) can be "bad" or evil, though.\n\nBut to the point, I honestly can't say whether the haunting was real or not.\n\nThere are several issues that make it hard for me to determine if the validity of the Smurl's case:\n\n1.  I have never been able to talk one on one with someone involved with the case.\n\n2.  Once the media becomes involved in a case things get out of hand very quickly.  Unfortunately, the media and movie industry has a tendency to take a story and run with it.  Sometimes the finished product can differ widely from the actual course of events.\n\n3.  Eyewitness testimony is notoriously fickle.  Psychological studies have suggested that people can be lead into believing they saw or experienced something they didn't.  I am not suggesting that this happened in the Smurl case, but it can't be removed from the list of possibilities.\n\n4.  Based upon my limited knowledge, the approach to the case did not seem to be largely scientific.  This could be because the Smurl's belief of what was going on was probably based largely on their religious beliefs.  Often in these types of cases faith trumps science.\n\n5.  I don't know if other causes outside of an actual haunting or demon were considered.  There are several "natural" causes for ghost and haunting activity that should be systematically ruled out.\n\n\nJaime\nPresident, BCPR
188272
This is a true story too... when I was 13, our school had taken us out for an overnight trip and this incident occured on the first night of our stay. We were housed in a dormritory. However, since we were not ready to sleep yet (you know how these trips be), at the insistence of one of our mates, we decided to swap ghost stories. The requestor loved ghost stories but was also scared by them. Finally, one by one, we fell asleep.\n\nThe setting was right... dark night... strange place... wind howling... Our mate who had requested for the ghost stories awoke in the middle of the night, slightly disoriented. Suddenly she saw this pale figure in white walking towards her. In fright, she grabbed the hand of the person next to her... and let out a scream... for she had grabbed at nothing and the figure next to her was also in white.\n\nWhat actually happened was that one of our clasmates sleep walked. Her white night dress and the moonlight gave her a ghostly effect. Also, her neighbour had covered herself completely with a white bedsheet. The combined effect left our mate thinking she had seen two ghosts! \n\nThis story went down in the annals of our class as the funniest ghost story ever. Hope you enjoyed it too. :)
56148
Summerland - Thoughts & Traditions\n\nWiccans and Pagans do not believe in the existence of the Christian “Hell”, as either a tangible place (one of fire and brimstone, of eternal torture and torment) or as a spiritual plane (out of “God’s sight” and being forsaken by and separated from God), where the damned or evil languish and suffer. I can’t even comprehend such a terrible idea of this sort, let alone imagine that a creative force that is supposed to be all-knowing, all-seeing, all-forgiving and all-loving could separate Itself from, and turn Its back on, Its creations. Essentially all Wiccans, myself included, assert that the existence of Hell is completely incompatible with their concept of a loving and forgiving Deity.\n\nWhile we’re on the subject of the loving Deity and the inexistence of Hell, I must state that Wiccans and Pagans do not believe in the existence of the Christian-concept of an entity called “Satan”. The idea that Witches worship this “Satan” is one of the most common misconceptions about us. This erroneous idea probably developed hundreds of years ago because some Christian leaders encouraged their followers to view non-Christians as anti-Christian. If you weren’t a believer in Christ, the embodiment of the good, you MUST be a believer in his evil opposite—Satan or the Devil. The all-evil Satan is a Christian concept that plays NO part in the Wiccan religion. Wiccans do not recognize the existence of the Christian quasi-deity, Satan; their pantheons of deities do not include an all-evil supernatural being. Wiccans do not believe that negativity or evil is an organized force.\n\nWiccans believe in the morals that are common to most faiths, but Wiccans don’t believe in the idea of “original sin”. We don’t believe we are “born sinners”, and no one can prove to us otherwise. Wiccans don’t need a “saviour”, we don’t have anything to be “saved” from to begin with. Personally, as an intelligent, sentient being, I find the ideas of original sin, being born a sinner and having to be “saved” not only completely ridiculous, but downright insulting. While Wiccans do not believe there is a hell to punish sinners, Wiccans do believe there is a universal law, called karma, that puts our behaviour on display so that we can learn from it.\n\nWHAT HAPPENS TO PAGANS AFTER DEATH\n\nThere are basically four major paths within mogern Paganism.\nThese are:\nWicca\nDruidism\nAsatru\nEclectic Paganism.\nWithing each there are many denomination, much the same as Protestantism. Virtually all of the various Pagan spiritual traditions have some place of rest, comfort and reward to which we expect we will go, even if only for a brief time before reincarnation, growing younger and younger until, eventually, we are again young enough to be reborn. We accept death as a necessary step in the cycles of life; Birth, death and rebirth. Most Pagan belief systems include the concept that it is our lives that are our most important purpose here and that we can make this life into a reward or a punishment by how we live and how we relate to those around us. We believe that our own sense of personal responsibility and morality is what controls our punishment or reward in this lifetime.\n\nFor Wiccans and Pagans, this place is known as the "Summerland". It is a place of eternal rest and comfort, or if we have not learned enough in this lifetime and are to be reincarnated, a restful and pleasant stop over between lives.\n\nTo the Northern European or Nordic Traditions, for warriors it is known as Valhalla. For other, it is called Noatun, where the sun meets the water, Asgaard and several others. There are at least 12 abodes for the dead, allowing each some choice in where they will meet and abide in eternal feasting with Odin. Oaht-breakers and others who dishonored their community or themselves, were sent to Nastrond, more to keep them away from the good golks in the other places t
668343
My friend, anyone considering ANY form of Christianity or worship of ANY Christ should do so only after reading the eye opening text The Hiram Key by Robert Lomas and Christopher Knight.  Their research into Masonic ritual has led them to uncover truths long kept secret by the Church for more than two thousand years.  The book is both frightening, and at the same time seems to be authentic.  It discusses the Illuminati (and NOT the Dan Brown Illuminati everyone seems to be so familiar with), Freemasonry, and their links to early Christianity; the origian teachings of Jesus Christ, before the Church decided what should be written.  The book is powerful, and revealing.  I reccomend it to anyone with an open mind who is seeking a high truth than whta is given to us by those who know nothing!\n\nAve,\nShawn
374149
absolutely right, id like to quote terry pratchetts "good omens"   ---  "you can't trust the churches to stamp out the devil and his minions.... if they succeeded they would be out of a job
327446
I have been visited by Gods and Godesses )0(\n\nAs for Fairies, I do believe in faeries, I do, I do! And so do many of my friends. Some even claim to have seen faeries When we sit around the fire telling faerie stories, They're all true. And we've all got our stories.\n\nHave you ever put something down when no one was around, and when you went back it wasn't there? Then a few days later it shows up exactly where you left it? That's what faeries do. Faeries are very playful. If you put out offerings, you get the stuff back sooner.\n\nOne time, on a camping trip, it was an especially magickal night. At some point, everyone in the camp noticed that something was missing, including a necklace from around one woman's neck. The area where we were camping was separate from any other areas and so no one came into the area. Suspecting activity of the Fae, everyone put out offerings, except for the woman who lost her necklace. She cursed the fairies. The next morning, everything was returned except the necklace. To this day, the necklace has never been found.\n\nOn another camping trip, I put my tent right in the middle of a natural faery ring. When I camp, I always have a flashlight with me at all times. The only place I could have lost it was in my tent, so I searched my tent, and the flashlight was not in there. Then I had two friends search the tent, and they couldn't find the flashlight. I put out offerings to the fae, and the next morning, the flashlight was back in my tent.\n\nAnother camp-out, We had a tarp structure in the most wind protected part of a wind protected valley. I've put up a lot of tarp structures, and it was put up very well. I've put up hundreds of tents and tarp structures, and I know what I'm doing. In and around the tarp structure where etched glass tealight holders on stands averaging about 4 feet high (it was beautiful). That night, the structure blew over (in a wind protected area) but when it fell, somehow it completely missed all of the etched glass. About mid way through the day, with no one anywhere near the structure, about half of it spontaneously stood back up.\n\nA friend recently posted in her blog that she had lost a piece off her neclace, and it was no where to be found. One day her husband found it, right where he had been standing barefoot moments earlier, in plain sight, and in a spot where she had vacuumed earlier. There it was, in a place in plain sight where it hadn't been earlier\n\nThe trick is to make offerings to the fae OUTSIDE of your house. Preferably far outside your house, like at a nearby state park. They like honey. They also like shiny bobbles. Be sure to respect their sacred spaces, and possibly give them a little faery altar (which can be as simple as three flat rock placed on top of each other with something shiny sitting on it. They also like shiny things tied to trees.\n\nThese are just a few of my Faery stories. My friends have a great many more. We've seen many things which defy mundane explanations.
259796
Hi bellbree,\n\n I was walking to the corner market for a loaf of bread when I had to pass by a neighborhood church. I was somewhat acquainted with the structure as it was always mentioned in the newspaper's community section. Known as "The loft," folks would gather there on Thursday evenings for poetry readings. \nHowever, this day happened to be a Saturday afternoon and a pair of gentlemen greeted me as I walked by. They invited me inside to sample an hour of their presentation. Ok, I went inside and found myself to be a prospective new recruit for their brand of religion. \n\nMost of the pews were filled with hooded monks chanting a haunting rhythm. There were others who like me, were wearing their regular denims. The service began like most other church-goers would be familiar with. A grand master of ceremonies led the group through some songs and gave a sermon. Near the end of the hour it was time for their ritual of "laying on of the hands." Some of the parishioners would come forward and ask for prayers for their ailments or for a sick grand mum who fell down in the tub. All the hooded dudes whose faces could not readily be seen would all place a hand on the person and their combined energies were presumed to have a strength and expedite a solution to the problem. \n\nOK now, there was another new guy in the pews who was watching eagerly. I recognized Mark W. Reinhold from the wanted poster at the post office. When he saw a chance, he approached the ring of conspirators and described how he was never able to settle down. The hooded goons closed in upon him, all to make a physical connection. The master of ceremonies began a prayer, a dogmatic mix of logic and pure hocus-pocus. I immediately saw the effects as the tension went out of Mark's body. When the beseeching was near an end, the master asked, "Are the brothers ready?" \n\nA suspenseful few moments passed until he almost shouted, "NOW!" \n\nOn that cue, the brothers began to pummel their hapless victim. Continually delivering blows over head and to the solar plexus until Mark was down on the floor getting stomped. After another minute, the grand Pooh-Bah decided the treatment administered was sufficient to induce a relaxing calm that would assuage the nervousness in Mark for a long, long time. \n\nI can't say for certain that Mark W. Reinhold was apprehended and locked up because, I had a loaf of bread to buy and some other errands to do that day. I hope for you bellbree, that you find a sense of closure to this bad episode of life. \n\n-Bryce
117044
anyone who practices witcraft,whether it is white or black magic is an agent of darkness and worships satan. there is no neutral position,it is either you are for God or for the devil. pls RUN away from that person.Don't believe a word she says.
393951
I do have books on the subject, but they are England and American versions. I implore you to use ultimate caution if you become able to conjur the spirits, you may open a portal that you cannot control and the consequences be devastating.
633639
Here is a famous story in my city, almost everyone here knows it\n\nIn the Downtown area, there is a bell tower over 120 years old\n\nOne night only two workers were working on the tower which was still being built. One worker had an accident with one of the large boulders he was working with and got himself killed. the other worker was afraid that people would believe he killed the other worker since no one else was around, so he took the workers body and buried it in the bell tower wall and he left for mexico the next day.\n\neventually, the tower was finsihed, but wierd things would happen in it such as moaning and things moving, no one knew why. A long time passed, and the other worker when on his deathbed told about how he had buried a fellow workers body in a bell tower in Cheyenne, WY after he died. Much later, in the mid 1990's, two local radio reporters got the courage to spend halloween night in the bell tower. They reported live from the bell tower, i listened to it myself,and everything at first was running smoothly up untill midnight. when it was midnight the reporters started to hear a bunch of wierd noises, bangs off in other rooms. Eventually really wierd things started to happen, like equipment moving on its own, moaning noises where heard, and the reporters got so freaked out they ran for the door which was locked and they couldnt get out. Luckily, one of the churche's janitors was listening to the report and drove down and unlocked the door for them. they ran out leaving all ther equipment and everything.\n\nAfter that, the city got curious as to how true the stroy of the body i the wall was, so they took some sort of x-ray machine to the bell tower and sure enough, there were bones in it.\n\nalso after this, all the teachers at my school were talking about it and i listened to them one time during detention\n\nSometimes, at night, when the church is all locked up, people walking by at 4 in the morining or people wh live nearby will here the organ playing.\n\nyou can see pictures of this church in the 1800s here, sometime after construction on it was completed:\n\nhttp://www.wyomingtalesandtrails.com/cap...\n\nnotice its tall bell tower, in the left of the picture
565375
OK. You say you're a pagan and a witch. I'm not sure if by witch you mean Wiccan, some make a point of it being two different thing while others don't. Anyway, I think I know where you're coming from. I'm Native American, and walk Red Road. I think that qualifies me as pagan. Shamans, or medicine men/women conjure, cast "spells", work with herbs to heal, etc. & etc. From just that short description I think you'll see we have things in common. MY experience with the same question you ask ... Christian belief is based on ancient texts that have been mistranslated and so changed over the hundreds of years they've existed as to, in all probability, have very little resembelance to any original documents. That, plus the fact that these are read within cultural contexts altogether foriegn to those of the original authors coupled with dire ignorance of the culture & etc. OF the authors makes for a totally misunderstood, and perhaps totally "misunderstandable", book. But its all they know. They never really study other faiths. And when they do they almost never go to the source, but rather read books by Christians ABOUT other faiths. Which thing is biased, because nearly all of those books seek out whats WRONG with the other faith, from a "Christian" perspective, rather than highlighting whats good or pointing out any common ground. The result of all this? Ignorance. Both of their own faith, and the faiths of others. Now, add this ... Scriptural quotes such as ... "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." And add to THAT sort of thing an over powering desire to see the other poor devil (pun intended) saved from eternal hell fire! The result of all THIS? Everything from witch burning to strong arm evangelization. I know its un-cool. But ... It just is what it is. The current version of Christianism simply fosters the sort of thing your question describes. Happily not all segments of "Churchanity" fall into this trap, and neither do all Christians. But enough of them do that, well, I know exactly how you feel. Its ignorance and bigotry, I sincerely believe, based primarily on the above. A simple come back might be, if you're in a situation where you feel safe in doing this, to reply to such hatred with ... "I'll pray to the Goddess that your soul be saved from hateful depravity." Smile, and walk away ... Real fast. ;-) ~ Peace & Blessings ~