are Catholics practicing pagan traditions that lead straight to hell without being aware?
814870
Well they pray to statues.  That is a pagan tradition.
736967
A lot of torture and killing of"pagans" in the name of the holy church.
1034496
Absolutely not.   Pagan worship has nothing to do with the devil.  It is more about worshipping nature.
209423
Yes. I have had people put my religion down before they even knew anything about it. Wicca. People(Christians in particular) assume that I worship Satan. I don't even believe in God or Satan. Satanists worship Satan, and Satanists came about after Christianity was thought of. My religion was around long before Christianity. It's just a form of manipulating energy. That's the easiest way of describing it.
331771
The thing about being a Pagan is that you don't have to follow any traditions. I am a pagan because I am an individualist, and follow my heart.  I have been considered a solitary practitioner.  I read and learn about everything, and just try to enjoy life.   I don't feel comfortable with any strict practice... it smacks too muchy of Catholicism to me... I suffered enough under that.
364068
Just another pagan tradition!
20178
In the catholic religion it is considered sinful to display sexual feelings of any sort in public and anywhere other than the privacy of your bedroom. It's very funny because Catholics try so hard to put on a front like they aren't sexual freaks like the rest of us...but recently it has been discovered that the biggest cheaters on this earth is that of married catholic men and freakiest young chicks are those that belong to a catholic family. the most rebelious young man belongs to a catholic family and the most immoral "church figure" belongs to the catholic religion. Catholics seem like they have it all together on the outside but they are so meesed up on the inside....which is why they are so judgemental to anything that is different such as ..playing with yourself. According to Catholic methodology...playing with yourself is, in fact, a sin.
291156
prep_girl_nessa  what you know about pagans wouldn't cover the tip of a rats wiener!..Where did you hear that pagans engage in cannibalism or drinking blood?.. You been watching too many HollyWIERD movies...lol\n \n  You guys are talking about communion..It is Figurative, symbolic! There is no flesh eating or blood drinking.. not by Christians OR Pagans.. yikes.. the ignorance and stupidity that goes on out here.. sheeees
168543
The present form of popular witchcraft, renamed wicca, follows a tradition of wisdom that is as old as Druidism, if not more. Without going into great detail, modern. Witchcraft was re-popularised by the late British civil servant Gerald Gardner in books he published in the 1940's. \n\n     Those who practice it say that witchcraft is the worship of a comprehensive Earth Goddess, whose religion began in the late stone age, refined during classical civilizations such as Egypt, Sumer, and Babylon, (and presumably also by European civilizations like the Greeks and Proto-Celts) \n\n    Wicca has been wrongly branded as Satanism by zealous  medieval Christians, They used lies to create fear inciting others to  violently hunt us to near-extinction. This  prejudice continues to this day. From what I know of mainstream Christianity their basic strategy is "kill what you cannot convert" (or get others to do it for them) Christianity is completely unaccepting of ANYthing that doesn't follow the bible. It is a mob mentality. \n\n   What was originally called "witch craft" has been renamed wicca. You get a totally different response to "I'm wiccan" than you would " I practice witch craft. But you are right There is NO Satan or satanic rituals in wicca  or the craft. If you want to learn more you can go to WitchVox.com The site is built around traditional craft practices and there are many types of witches. I myself am a solitary practitioner. AS was my mother and her mother and so on clear back to Medieval Scotland. Maybe farther, but that's all we know genealogically.\n    \n     People tend to shy away from and are frightened by anything "different" They make up lies to account for their ignorance and stupidity. This fear and behavior, I believe stems from Christianity..Historically they have been one bloody hoard from the beginning. Christianity has been responsible for more bloodshed than ALL the wars in recorded history. True fact. So with a threat of a certain grizzly and ghastly death to even question Christianity (piked, burned alive, boiled in oil exc..) Who wouldn't be terrified and go along with this madness? I find it odd that so many still follow this arrogant and ignorant belief system.
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...
931763
I am not certain the two are linked, but if so, were probably done so by Christians, who had already made black cats bad luck through the creation of the witch, in order to stamp out all Pagan beliefs, which actually never fully occurred in Europe, especially in the northern European cultures.\nHowever, it is believed that Friday the 13 became unlucky, because that is the day the French King, (Philip, I believe) in need of money, swooped in and arrested the head of the Knights of Templar, who had, although they were monks, grown very wealthy and therefore were sitting ducks. Although reluctant, the Pope agreed and they were tortured until confessing to what some believe may have been actual worship of Sophia, the goddess of wisdom among other Roman Catholic nos nos. Of course if you are old enough to understand world events, you must realize torture does not get answers, it gets people to just answer whatever so as not to be tortured, so it is unlikely they were actually really guilty of anything other than having money desired by the King. And, as our current White House resident has just signed, returning us to the dark ages again, no writ of habeas corpus, I believe, but could be wrong, since I don't have dates in front of me, existed either.\nAt the time it was the equivalent to the government rounding up the business leaders of every corporation in the world. That's how big it was. And it occurred on Friday the 13, which is believed to be the origins of why this date is unlucky, because it was among the first although not the last time Christians would turn on their own.
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
656835
There are certain religion that have a long history of good or bad karma. Like one Paganism/Wicca people think of occult
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.
1046400
The catholic religion is in reality based on traditions created by the church, not Christ.  They do however claim that they follow Christ, but actions speak louder than words.  Catholicism is primarily a pagan religion.\n\nThis I believe; http://homelessheart.com/testimony.htm
996684
Why? Can a Pagan not follow Christ's teachings? Seems to me they can if they want to do so. Lots of people consider themselves 'christian' and probably are not. Who are we to judge?
775754
Seriously, I had a friend who was in seminary school, and one day he was visiting with me and our buddies when we ordered out for some Pizza and beer.  It started as a joke, but being all Catholics at the time, we simulated Communion using the Pizza as the host and the beer as the blood.  Just as we started out, a weird feeling came over us all, and the joke stopped and we performed the communion together taking it very seriously.  \n\nI will ring your doorbell and run away!!!