Can anyone tell me whether Mysticism is recognised officially as a religion in its own right?  Thanks Elane?
144382
I am pretty sure it is not a religion in it's own right. I understand mysticism as a religious method or approach that could be one aspect of just about any religion.
87401
Voodoo is a legitimate religion like any other and that is why people practice it.  It is a mixture of christianity and african tribal religions and was common during slavery in the south.  Now, it is still a religion that mixes mysticism and religion and is as legitimate as any, including christianity.
1151320
A good point. Religions are supposedly faith-based, but then tack on requirements to keep that particular label. Even an agnostic has to meet the requirement of believing there is no God, so I guess the answer is no religion meets the parameter of not requiring anything to be a part of it.
1090273
The nature of religion means that everyone thinks that their belief is correct. So all of the different cultures and religions which claim Isreal as their own do so with a conviction based on their own beliefs - it is an unending circle!
802004
To what religion are you referring? It sounds alot like you're a wicca.. If you practice "The Craft" , GREAT!!! Blessed Be to you. As far as the "false" gods are concerned, my question in response is this... the Bible clearly shows God saying to Lot " I am a jealouse God "... jealouse of what exactly? Other gods?!! Why? If there is only one god there's nothing to be jealouse of. Furthermore, the first two COMMAND-ments refer to the existance of other god-forms, eg."Thou shalt have no other gods before me","Thou shalt have no graven images". If no other gods exist, why is it such a big concern for christians? The answer is simple. Acknowledging the existance of other gods weakens the position of THE ONE GOD of the christians. \nArchiological PROOF of the pervasive worship of gods not connected to the god of Abraham is all around us and goes as far back as 5000-10,000 YEARS!!! The evidence of judeism only goes to 2500-3000 years. In short, babies get jealouse easy.\nSatanism is a subject which raises alot of confusion for christians. While THE CHRISTIANS were killing villagers for not converting, they came across the star within a circle. Upright pointed, the star represents the four elements, earth, wind, fire, and water, with the upward point represents SPIRITUALITY ABOVE ALL!! The center of the star represents all of mankind and the circle surrounding it all represents the universe which is all encompassing. In an effort to defame paganism, to make it something to avoid and to vilify those who practiced it, christians turned the star upside-down and said it stands for the devil.\nAnd no, the bible doesnt say our religion is a myth, in fact it acknowledges witches as very real. Unforunately, in Gods love, He supposedly ordered "Suffer not a witch to live.."
721652
Yes its a proper religion, I filled out my Census form to state that I was a member of the order. Pretty much it was a bunch of bored p****d-up students that decided to make up the Religion but since so many of us actually admitted on the Census forms to being part of the group, the goverment has to officially recognise it.
4829
Mysticism is not a part of science, and is science is not a part of mysticism.  The early sciences, however, had some mysticism.  And, some mysticism has the looks of science.
326605
Nope. Home recovering from surgery. I just wanted to say, I really liked your take on spirituality! So many people turn away from God (or whatever you prefer to call it) when what they should be questioning are the religions created by man. God does not equal religion. When it comes to teachings, take what rings true to you! I'd love to see more people understand the difference!
939137
a)  Nope.  100% Neo-pagan, which makes sense since I'm Wiccan.  The next closest matches were New Age and Buddhism.\nb)  I've explored all three.  I was raised Protestant.\nc)  I'm extremely happy with where I am in my life.  I would advise anyone else to look at what they truly believe - not what they have been told to believe, but what they actually think "explains things" when they look at life and how it works.  I was very unhappy until I finally let go of the fear that I would be punished if I said, thanks Jesus, but I'm going over here.  Thus far, things have been much better since I realized I was on the wrong path.  Above all, I think maintaining a balance in life helps breed happiness.
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Your family is truely blessed!  I am Wiccan and I believe that there is a higher power but it is within each of us.  When I call upon The God and Goddess I feel that I am calling them out of me and out of the universe.  We are all part of the universe and everything in the universe is part of the collective energy that drives everything. \n\nWhatever belief one has is valid.  It doesn't matter what it is as long as it is true to you. I do not think that there is just one true path.  All religions are valid and I think that anyone true to thier faith will reach whatever they aspire to get to.\n\nContinued Blessings!\n)O(
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http://www.wicca.org/\n\nhttp://www.religioustolerance.org/witchcra.htm\n\nHere you go...enjoy.\n:)\n\nFor anyone reading and doesn't want to go to the site... here is what they say it is...\n"This previously underground religion has much to teach every human about survival and about the ethical use of natural innate powers.\n     The Craft is a way of life that investigates every potential that you have.  The Craft draws its strength from the diversity of Nature itself; indeed it rejoices in diversity. Your views and interests are just as valid as anyone else's, and we hope that you too will help to push back the artificial barriers that surround many religious dogmas.\n     As we will mention several times on this website, \nWitches are not Satanists. The negativity in that offshoot of Christianity is not for harmonious thinkers such as Witches."
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Have you examined other religions?\nHere is a true story: A woman was growing up in a very religious home, religion being a part of life for her. When her wonderful mother died too young from overmedication by physicians, she could not believe that there was a God. \n\nLater she studied sacred symbols from around the world and discovered that all ancient healing religions hold truth and have our main energy fields as common concern. She discovered that the Bible is filled with knowledge about our energy fields, nowadays often called "new age." She also found these energy fields mentioned in Mayan, Chinese, East Indian, ancient Egyptian, Germanic and other healing religions of yore. \n\nProfessor Herman Wirth Roeper Bosch pointed out that there had been a monotheistic religion in the stone age, the believe in the Great Mother. Of course, in time the role of the father came to mind and the father gods became more common. The question arose, is God male or female?\n\nThe woman thought about God, and concluded that "he" was actually "it" for if God exists before creation, God was not created, is above and beyond all creation, neither male nor female. Yet, God is also in creation itself. There is deus absconditus of the Hebrews, the God unknowable, the God before creation; and there is the other side of God, God the creator and in all creation.\n\nIt is interesting that the ancient symbols deliver the message the knowledge of which, we, the modern humans, have generally lost together with the faith in the one God and in our holy energy fields.\n\nThe book "The (W)Hole book on Mimbres Pots" (by Dr. Bara H. Fischer-Loveland) shows some of the symbolism in connection with some our energy fields, illustrated by ancient Native American symbolism. The book is sometimes available on the Internet (second hand, Amazon or Barnes and Noble). It will soon be available as e-book at www.biochakra.com. Expect more books on sacred symbols and their meaning in e-book form at www.biochakra.com.\n\nI have found a look at and into other religions fascinating! I have visited Russian-orthodox churches, Jewish synagogues, catholic churches, Episcopal churches of England, the domes of Europe, holy stone settings of the Celts, mosques, a stupa, ancient kivas etc. They are all holy places for me from the energy left by the prayers of the many. The holy places have often been built on very ancient sacred sites, and one can feel it!\n\nGod is in all creation.\nCordially,\nIndia.Magica
54543
It may not be "wrong," but it may be illogical. If you say you believe two religions that both claim to be the only true religion, you can't believe in one without contradicting the other. If you say you believe in both, you are then really saying that neither are true since you deny their claims of exclusive truth.
1090676
Its difficult to answer your question properly as you did not specify which Pagan religion, nor did you specify which definition of demon.  So, the most I can really say is:\n\nIt depends on the Pagan: how they define the term demon;  what they think of possession.\n\nIn some Pagan religions all spirits that are not Gods are demons, but demons are not necessarily good or bad.  In other Pagan religions, the view of demons is more similar to that of the Abrahamic religions.  And in still other Pagan religions, demons are not within the scope of their paradigm.\n\nIn some Pagan religions, possession by the Gods or trusted entities is seen as beneficial and a blessing.  In other Pagan religions, possession of any sort - whether by trusted entities or not - is seen as at best annoying and at worst maddening.  And for still other Pagans, they see tales of demonic possession as a testament to how backwards medicine was in the past - that most reports of demonic possession were attributed to those who were clearly mentally handicapped, mentally ill, suffering from siezures, etc.\n\nMix-and-match from column a and column b in any number and combination you choose.\n\n*shrug*\n\nHere's an interesting article though.\nhttp://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/d/demonic_possession.htm
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There is no direct correlation of any text of any other religion with with the Kabbalah.  The Kabballah, taken together with the Zohar (or Book of Splender, a commentary on the Kabbalah written in Aramaic), form the basis for the largest collective group of mystics in the world today.\n\nMost of Islam does not support mysticism with the exception of the Sufi branch.  Although much of the Sufi text is poetry, there are several works dealing with mystic topics but few of these have been translated into any foreign language.\n\nAbjad is not a book, but a term often used to describe Arabic Numerology.\n“The word abjad is an acronym derived from the first four consonantal shapes in the Arabic alphabet -- Alif, Bá, Jim, Dál.”
611338
I'm Wiccan, Celtic Generational Tradition.  My family, on my mothers side, have practiced Wicca for hundreds of years with PROOF to back that up!  While most now days are Gardierian there are traditions that date back before that, in some cases hundreds of years.  To make a blanket statement that we can't is a fabrication. Most of those in a generational tradition do not advertise or promote or even, in some cases, come out and say they are Wiccan because of harassment and persecution.  Those things still go on today because of the small mindedness of religions and what some of them teach.  There are traditions in Europe who can prove they go further back than some religions.  While, no days, there are many posers or people who claim to be Wiccan to be 'different' a large chunk of us out there are neither.  We take our religion just as serious as those of other religions do.  It is a part of who we are not just something we do.
1040320
I think that yes in time the religions of this society will be considered mythology.I do find it kind of strange that we refer to old religions as mythology. Maybe it's because we think we've disproved them as true. Won't that kick us in the butt when we find out that ours isn't the truth huh?