So Voodoo is older than Judaism and Chritianity? Why is dark religions older thans "so called" light?
351434
i was going to say that voodoo developed from christianity, but fortunately i checked some sources first.  despite what i had believed, it does predate christianity.  thanks for teaching me something today...\n\nas for the rest of your question, i think that christianity considers all other religions, whether they are older or younger, to be "dark" (as in false and evil) religions.  \n\npersonally, i think that any religion which worships a god who commits the acts God does in the old testament, sentences people to eternal suffering because of their beliefs, allows so much pain in the world despite being all-powerful, and bribes people with the idea of heaven rather than doing good for its own sake is a "dark" religion.\n\nunlearn34: there is NOT a story of a great flood in all cultures.  it is true that many cultures have stories of major disasters in the past, but not all claim it was a flood.  its mostly mesopotamian cultures which have a story of a great flood.  likewise, it is mostly mesopotamian cultures which have religions so similar to christianity, as would be expected since ideas in close proximity to each other tend to share characteristics.  away from that region, however, there a religions which are nothing at all like judeo/christian beliefs. \n\ni think that the ubiquity of disaster stories probably partially comes from real events in the past which were passed down orally, and took on mythic proportions, and partially from a human love for stories of destruction, rebirth, and sharp dividing lines of eras.  also when you consider that there are relatively few avenues for a cataclysm to take - fire, earth, water, air, etc, it would be unlikely for cultures not to have roughly similar stories of past cataclysms.
645519
I believe the term is actually an occult state, not a cult state. I'm not 100% sure what that is, however, but I can tell you that occult literally means "hidden" if that helps.
1037874
I have researched this question for you:\n\nSimple answer yes. What I am giving you is information that may lead to a better understanding of 'Voodoo' instead. These are note from a previous answer I gave.:\n\nFor too many, the word “voodoo” conjures up some wild images. Weird curses involving bones and pins stuck in poppets. Secret societies making sacrifices to their demonic gods. Evil priests raising zombies. Media has given us a sensational but unrealistic view of the vodoun religion. Although some of these are mildly accurate (sacrifice, animal bones and voodoo dolls) they are but a small part of the religion that is practiced today. Just as in Wicca, the vodoun make charms and create spells for money, health, etc. In fact because of the images associated with this word, most practitioners prefer the term Vodou. Although media would have us believe the vodoun are strictly in it for self-gain, that’s not true. According to Vodou belief, magic shouldn’t be employed for selfish gain, especially if it would hurt someone else.\n\nVodou came form the tribal practices and beliefs of the slaves who were brought to Haiti from West Africa. In the 17th century, slaves bound for the West Indies were taken from over 100 different African ethnic groups. The beliefs and customs of all these groups combined to form Vodou. The two groups who had the greatest influence were the Fon and the Yoruba.\n\nThe most important religious practice was ancestor worship. By remembering their ancestors and passing down their knowledge from generation to generation ensuring that their religious traditions would live on.\n\nThe Fon believed in hundreds of immortal spirits called vodu. Because the people had personal relationships with the spirits, they needed to communicate with the vodu. Ritual enabled them to talk to the spirits. The most important elements of the tribal rituals were…\n- dancing, drumming and chanting to communicate with the spirits\n- animal sacrifices made as offerings to the spirits\n- a priest or priestess who interpreted messages from the spirits\n- possession of the bodies of participants in ritual by the spirits.\n\nThe main purpose of the ritual was to communicate with the vodu and receive their guidance in making important decisions. They did this by communicating indirectly with the spirits via the priest/priestess to help their followers determine who their personal vodu were and to interpret the messages for them.\nPriests and priestesses were chosen for their ability to connect with the spirits. They were said to have inherited this talent from their mothers or fathers. They were “born into priesthood”.\n\nPriests became the religious and community leaders of the slaves. Any rebellious priest was usually sold to prevent them from “sowing the seeds of dissent” in that empire. \n\nThese religious practices continue to thrive today for modern day Benin. Vodoun is the official religion. It is also the dominant religion in Togo and southwest Ghana.\n\nAs in every religion, there are those who use it for wrong. With any religion that deals with magic it is said these wrongful users practice black magic. Although legitimate priests and priestesses are taught both the good and the bad, they take an oath upon initiation not to cause harm to others.\n\nThe lwa most likely to assit in black magic are : Kalfou, Ezili Danto’, Marinette, Bosou, Ti-jean-petio, Maman Brijit, Ge’de’- Nibo, and Baron Krimine’l.\n\nOnce a priest/priestess begins to practice black magic, they are known as a bo’ko’. A bo’ko’ has no temple or devotees and does all his/her rituals in secret. Bo’ko’ are said to serve the lwa with both hands because they practice both white and black magic. When a bo’ko’ buys the powers of one of the dark lwa, he’she must pay a high price, usually life-long service to the lwa. This pact between the lwa and the bo’ko’ is called an angajan. An angajan is like a shortcut to quic
960243
Voodoo and black magic
762693
I am unsure about the Kabbalists beliefs in this sorry\nbut as a spiritualist medium i have to say that i disagree with the theory that some dont go to the light or that they have unfinished buisness\nwhat people get confused with is ghosts ... they are not spirit , they are simply energy that has remained\nwhen we die we are met by spirit , we would have no reason or want to cling to this life in my opinion xx
42128
I hate to tell you this, but, Voodoo is a monotheistic religion without spells (Non-African version) and the Voodoo doll everyone seems to know so much about is only used to do spells for themselves... different parts of the body are assigned to different things, like wealth and of the such. Only people who have no idea about Voodoo dolls use them for negative purposes... or... try. It doesn't actually work. As for African Voodoo, it's almost the same thing... just no doll used. Their spells are made in their native languages and are used to help their tribes. These are polytheistic practitioners. Voodoo originated in Africa, after all, where tribal religions still flourish bountifully. So, no. I have no experience with Voodoo spells, since I did not ship myself to Africa and learned the language of the area I was in along with their Voodoo... which is only actually PRACTICED by the MedicineMan/Woman/Shaman of the tribe.
759702
I think they can be manifested in Santeria rituals.  A lot of bizarre magick is performed through Santerian rituals.  I'm looking to explore that after mastering Enochian magick.
1116645
the oldest that we can find and have full knowledge of it.is VEDA.\nit is about 7500 years old,with some fascinating transcript of general belief of this religion
861931
First of all, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob are not dead people. They are in heaven In Matthew 22 it is said: 29Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.....have you not read what God said to you, 32'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'[a]? He is not the God of the dead but of the living." \n\nSo I guess that replies to 1st part of your question. As for the second, I think you don't need a real answer, that was your funny way of asking. Isn't it?  If you would like to refer to Judah then go ahead but means you refer to their God: The Devil!!!
245754
christianity is not the oldest religion.\n\nit has been suggested that the wiccan religion is the oldest, and in truth, christian religion has borrowed alot from it. some people also claim that hinduism is the oldest religion because it has the earliest recorded roots which lie in dravidianism. \n\nto answer the first part of your question, people will hold on to what ever belief system that they understand best. not all countries and cultures have been introduced to christianity, so they have developed their own belief system that does not revolve around jesus christ, or christian rituals.\n_____________________\nmainworry, what precise evidence do you have to suggest that christianity is not a religion?
1113623
I think Wiccans don't worship the dark.\nYou might be looking for Aleister Crowley stuff. It's called High Magick or Ceremonial Magick, and it's more related to goth than anything truly Wiccan.\n\nJust google Aleister Crowley (or Yahoo it!! (=P)  )\n\nIf you're looking for Dark Magick like Willow from Buffy did, then I think you might as well come up with your own rules, because no one will admit to it... ever.\n\nDon't trust people who simply call it Black Magick. Trust even less those who call it Black Magic. They're wannabes for the most part and they probably know even less than you do.
132331
Druidism was the Original pagan religion. Actually the first religion that there is record of, ever. Druids were not evil, they were extremely wise it would take forever to explain the things they knew and were capable of. All this paganism equals devil worship stuff is untrue. Yes some pagan religions practice devil worship. But not Wiccans or those who practice witchcraft, we don't even believe in Satan. Satan came about with the Christian religions. The witching hour is at midnight because this is a time of change. The moon which is a powerful symbol to Wiccans is out as is the Goddess  who is there to guide us. It's also because most people are asleep by this time, or are not out and so the energies will not interfere with those we are attempting to direct.
1093717
Haiti is heavily involved with the religion of VooDoo, a combination of Christianity and "black magic." They worship the same god, but as with most Caribbean faiths, much folk lore is fed into the faiths.
898831
Dark Paganism is more of a psychological view... one who is a Dark Pagan confronts their "darker" side and tries to understand it.  Either by fixing what they view as a problem or learning to use it in a positive way.  There really isn't a Dark or White Path, even though many use these labels to describe themselves.  I think most of those who claim they are White Wiccans/Pagans are simply trying to dispell the bad image Wicca and Paganism has received (and therefore end up looking like "Whitelighters" to the rest of us).\n\nAs for who came up with the term, I'm not sure... though John Coughlin made an impact with his book about Dark Paganism (a good book too, in my lowly opinion).  Seems when his book came out, though, a lot of Pagans started using the term Dark Pagan, without reading the book itself.\n\nSometimes I wonder if some Pagans think Paganism is an amusement park, rather than valid spiritual paths.
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
152747
Actually religion is much older than science. What the ancients could not explain otherwise was attributed to a creation of a higher power (read God). Scientists are slowly discovering the different facets of this higher power by applying science and technology
488234
Voodoo is a derivative of the world’s oldest known religions which have been around in Africa since the beginning of human civilization. Some conservative estimates these civilizations and religions to be over 10 000 years old. This then identify Voodoo as probably the best example of African syncretism in the Americas. Although its essential wisdom originated in different parts of Africa long before the Europeans started the slave trade, the structure of Voodoo, as we know it today, was born in Haiti during the European colonization of Hispaniola. Ironically, it was the enforced immigration of enslaved African from different ethnic groups that provided the circumstances for the development of Voodoo. European colonists thought that by desolating the ethnic groups, these could not come together as a community. However, in the misery of slavery, the transplanted Africans found in their faith a common thread. \n\nThey began to invoke not only their own Gods, but to practice rites other than their own. In this process, they comingled and modified rituals of various ethnic groups. The result of such fusion was that the different religious groups integrated their beliefs, thereby creating a new religion: Voodoo. The word "voodoo" comes from the West African word "vodun," meaning spirit. This Afro-Caribbean religion mixed practices from many African ethnics groups such as the Fon, the Nago, the Ibos, Dahomeans, Congos, Senegalese, Haussars, Caplaous, Mondungues, Mandinge, Angolese, Libyans, Ethiopians, and the Malgaches.