Is the qabalistic tree of life a form of satanic occult practice or is it truly a way to reach GOD?
490773
The Eitz Chaiym (Tree of Life) has nothing whatsoever to do with satanic practice (unless you are reading from pagan sources, which I rather suspect you are.)\n\nThe Eitz Chaiym consists of the 10 eminations of God, which are called the Ein Sof. They are arrainged in 3 columns called "The Father", "The Son" and "The Mother". They are various attributes of God: Wisdom, Insight, Strength, Mercy, Kingship, Glory, etc.\n\nThere are some pagan false Kabbalah sources out there which have commited grave deception in this matter and have attempted to label each of these eminations with the names of pagan gods.  That is most certainly an occult practice and you should cease reading any such material immeadiately.\n\nAgain, not everything claiming to be Kabbalah is genuine legitimate Jewish Kabbalah.  Avoid every imitation. And unless you are over 40 and have been Torah Observant for many years you should avoid Kabbalah entirely.
646547
That line, 'once saved always saved' is an incorrect teaching. One can lose their salvation by turning away from God and denying Him, which many people who have tasted both baptisms of fire and water have done because the occult draws them back to their old behaviors. But one does not have to be in the occult to have this experience. If you look at the parable of the five soils, it demonstrates how the word of God flourishes or not in the Christian. It depends on how one is cultivated and nurtured with the things of God. Comes down to obedience. We are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling and not sit back and believe that one is safe completely without further growth. A tree must grow and bear fruit so must a Christian.
711875
Witchcraft is not a religion!  You do NOT have to be Wiccan to practice witchcraft! With that said, there are many types of magic that are forbidden in the bible, such as sorcery, trafficking in spirits, divination, poisoning, even ledger demain. However  there is one form of magic that is not taboo in the christian faith.  That type of magic is Theurgy, a type of magic in which you invoke the power of the divine and direct that power to accopmlish goals & aspirations.   A common form of theurgy is prayer, also healing circles, some pentacostal practices use a ritualized practice of theurgy which often results in strange occurances such as speaking in tounges, trance possession by the holy spirit, even siezure like activity.  This is all theurgy.  Witches use theurgy too, you dont have to "worship nature" to be a witch, you can worship or work with whom ever you want, to be honest! Including the Christian God, Jesus, Mary< the saints, pagan gods, ancestors, land deva's or land wights, what have you.  Theurgy invokes the power of the divine force,\nhowever you percive it.  If your perception of divinty is JHVH, or Jesus then you can practice theurgy and still remain a faithful christan.  You commit no sin in that aspect.  If you wish to practice other forms of magic that are taboo in the bible then confess your sins, do your penance, or simply ask God's forgiveness... He is supposedly a loving father after all... \n\nAs for the person who said "suffer not a witch to live"... You do realize that the bible was not originally penned in English? right?  It has been translated from hebrew to aramaic,  to latin, to german to english... and sometimes mis-translations occur.  The original intent of that statement was "suffer not a poisoner to live." Please try to educate yourself on your own religion before trying to force it down someones throat...
128622
It is called the "Church of God with Signs Following."  It is one of the many spin-offs of the Church of God, a holiness movement church.  It began in Tennessee when a preacher was in the middle of a sermon, and someone set free a bunch of rattlesnakes right before him.  He picked them up and reminded his congregation of the verse which states that believers will not be harmed by the venom of a snake.\n\nThis ended up becoming a regular practice, and now it is actually somewhat of a sacrament among them.  The people do often get bitten, and in fact, the preacher who started the custom eventually died of a snakebite, so I have heard.\n\nDrinking poison is another one of the "signs" they believe in.  They basically believe that a Christian is protected from the harm of poison and venom, and so the test of a true Christian is to be able to survive these ordeals.  But there is a psychological issue here.  The venom and the whole spectacle of having rattlesnakes set free amidst a bunch of people stirs up a frenzy and the people apparently experience some sort of ecstasy.\n\nI don't believe that the Scriptures meant to suggest this sort of worship practice.  The Scripture meant to say only that if one were subjected to persecutions such as snake bite and poison, the Lord would protect them, but the Scripture does not advise actively seeking such experiences!  The Scripture says not to test the Lord in such ways.  So that's my 2 cents on the whole thing!
1023529
First off...I say no.\n\nSecond of all, perhaps there's more to consider.  \n\nAsk yourself WHY satan appeared as a serpent in the garden?  (hit...satan always tries to decieve).\n\nIn Exodus, when the children of Israel are being afflicted by the "flying serpents" moses puts a serpent on a cross (um...symbolic) and says "look to the serpent to live".\n\nThis is not doctrine of my faith, however I sincerly believe that at one point the serpent was a symbol of christ rather than of satan.  Satan appeared in a manner trying to mimick christ and therefore decieve eve.  Moses knew this symbology but it's since been forgotten.\n\nI believe the snake was originally a symbol of Christ.
580654
ok here's the low-down. spells that help people or dont do harm are usually in the white magic catagory. spells that harm people or are done with the intention of doing someone wrong are in the dark magic. black magic is that sort of thing that uses blood and is in the realm of Satanic worship/magic. this is part personal experience (not the satanic stuff...) and part listening to others. that pretty much covers the magic except that in the wiccan world  "love spells/potions" are illegal and those that make them are looked down on. as for the BIBLE's take on magic... it is the work of the devil is not accurate. "witchcraft" (in the biblical sense) is the work of the devil because it came from the main power other than God. this would be the Devil. so anyways God's work can be done by anyone. this means that what looks to be magic, say healing the lame (i mean the kind who cant walk, sheesh people!!) can actually be from someone other than the devil. still it's not good to get into that kind thing so i hope i have satisfied your curiosity enough that you do not need to delve deeper into that world. if you have any other questions send me a messege telling me about it so i can try and help and maybe even get some points in the process. *yay points!!* \nBryan
666951
I think most of the people who have answered this question were confused by the fact that you said "discipline", not "religion". \n\nThere are tons to choose from. As far as religions go, Buddhism has already been mentioned. There is also Taoism. The Tao is not a god, it is more of, well, it's pretty comparable to the Force in Star Wars. There are various animistic religions, wherein one does not praise gods, but acknowledges the spiritual in everything. Closest thing to worship with this mindset that one does is leave food for the spirits. \n\nSatanism, of the Church of Satan variety, does not actually hold Satan as divine, but rather the self. It's all about taking control and becoming powerful on one's own. \n\nAs for magical systems, The Golden Dawn may have contributed to the foundations of Wicca, but it is not actually a religion. It is a magical system. Other beings make appearances, but more as representations of power. \n\nAlong those lines, if you want to work with other entities, but not worship them, you might consider demonology. There are altogether too few people in this world with a working knowledge of demons. \n\nIf you want to leave other beings out of it entirely, even as figureheads, there is always Chaos Magic. This is strictly about magic, not about gods. The best place to start on this, I'm told, is the book _Liber Chaos_.\n\nAnyway, Wiccans would have you believe that magic is inherently tied into the divine, and this is just not true. Although I am very devoted to my gods, when I do magic, I generally leave them out of it. I've heard magic compared to prayer, which it isn't. Prayer, even to a pagan deity, is still prayer. Magic, on the other hand, SHOULD be treated as a science. It is understandable, and works on certain principles. I see nothing wrong with using the scientific method when doing magic.\n\nSites that may be useful to you are in the sources section.
1061038
I think it is an interesting theory surround man. As all theories are. It touches on truth.\n\nThe tree of life and sacred geometrey are fascinating points of debate
243720
The Satanic Bible by Anton LeVey.  There is also the Satanic Ritual and The Black Book of Satan, also by Anton LeVey.
719277
First of all there is no such thing as black or white magic.  Before you start to practice anything, get it straight... Magic is not about black or white, good and evil... It is about NATURAL BALANCE and harmony with the universe.  If you are really interested in "The Old Ways", e-mail me and I would be happy to discuss it with you.  Don't be influenced by the Christians... to them, if it's not what they believe in, it is evil. Nothing about nature is evil.  There are good and bad choices, there is negative and positive energy.  If you wish to practice "The Old Ways" realize there is more to it than what it appears to people with narrow minds.\n\nSorry, I just have been bombarded with insults for my beliefs lately.  Anyway, here is a site that may be of help... tells exactly how to build your voodoo altar: http://www.livingspirits.com/education.cfm?id=21     this is the exact link for creating your own altar.  Good Luck.
902673
My mom told me that Lucifer was the only arch angel that God shared his wisdom with. And the result of it caused Lucifer to believe he was better and more wise than God, So God challenged him and sent him to the underworld. \nThat is why we were not allowed to eat the apple from the tree of knowlesdge, also why Lucifer tempted us with it. \nSometimes we think that we know more than God, and that is a result of the apple and the tree of knowledge.
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I believe we have one life on earth (no reincarnation) followed ultimately by the judgment after which we receive eternal life with God (sometimes called heaven) or separation from God (i.e., the negative afterlife, sometimes called hell).\n\nFor those who enter the positive afterlife, I think we will continue to grow and progress.\n\nCordially,\nJohn\nhttp://www.GodSci.org
72425
The Christians had their Gnostics and Mystics and the Hebrews have the Kabbalah and those who study it.  Once the domain of only the inner circle, recent developments have prompted the study of the Kabbalah through new translations of The Zohar (originally written in Aramaic, but now translated into English among other languages).  To the most conservative Hebrews, this is close to (or is) blasphemous.  To the rank and file member, it is more of an amusement.\n\nThe Kabbalah is the source of the mystic information on the “Tree of Life” and the interactions of Divinity with Humanity.  It is thought to be the basis for the Tarot cards and many other European mystic traditions.
53025
A Christian should be mindful to avoid the occult lest Satan gain a foothold in your life. Not that Jesus couldn't overcome him, but why invite evil into your life willingly?
711237
Absolutely not !!!\n\nForget religion.\n\nChrist is the path of salvation.\nChrist is the truth of God's Word.\nChrist is the life eternal.\n\nJoh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. \n\nChrist is the tree of life.\n\nGen 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
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Which Pagan path do you want to hear about? It is an umbrella term or a general name placed to someone who practices an earth based religion but no specific path beyond that.\n\nA short list of a few pagan paths so you can refine your search. This is not quite all of them and some can have variations within themselves as well.\nSanteria\nVoodum(the religion behind the practice of Voodoo)\nWicca\nAsatru(spelling may be off0\nOdin-ism\nSatanism\nDruidism\nBuddhism
617151
For thousands of years, Satan has been working to convince mankind that we can "be like God". What's so bad about living here on earth, especially if it's forever in paradise?!\n\n(Genesis 3:4-5) the serpent said to the woman [Eve]: “you positively will not die. For God knows that in the very day of your eating from it your eyes are bound to be opened and you are bound to be like God