witchcraft..

hatedbyall said:

Thank you.

not accusing Stan of this, but it seems some folks think if they say Greek (this/that) and etc.. everyone is suppsed to believe them. Well, Jesus spoke Aramaic and Hebrew, not Greek, for one thing. For another, the Bible is far more complicated (in some ways) than most non-PhD holders realize, which is why we need a church to infallibly interpret psgs when there are different human interpretations..

Are we to believe Jesus didn't know this beforehand? (that we humans would struggle to understand certain difficult psgs?) Yes, He knew. He is God (as well as human)

Click to expand...

Hello hatedbyall,
I realize you would consider me a malcontent for also being one of the hundreds of thousands to leave the Catholic Church over the last 50 years or so, but I did that when I was 13 years old and at that age I couldn't stomach open hypocrisy in a church (you'll notice that I didn't say "the church" as the RCC was never the first church, a historically verifiable fact.)
Why would you want an interpreter of scripture when Jesus Himself promised to send "the helper" or Holy Spirit to lead those that receive Him into all truth? Don't you trust God? If you've placed your faith entirely in Christ and His sacrifice for your sin (all of it, past, present and future) and just ask Him for His Holy Spirit, He will give it abundantly. You'll find that in scripture as well. All men are fallible, but the Holy Spirit can and will open the eyes of your understanding. Its just a simple matter of faith. I'm not saying that you'd instantly understand everything or even have a perfect understanding of anything, but this is one of the ways in which the Lord has fellowship with us, teaching us truth from His word. Don't you think that spending time with God is preferable to listening to what men have to say?

With regard to the OP, I worked with a member of the Crowley cult back when I was in the USAF (they aren't wiccan, but just believe that "Do as thou wilt shall be the whole of the law," and practice a number of things which the Lord calls abominable.)
I think that one of my sister-in-laws may have dabbled a bit with things considered witchcraft (she once gave me a divining rod as a gift) but she preferred to embrace things of her Gaelic heritage rather than her Catholicism.
I met some young folks at a local carnival engaged in Tarot reading that claimed to be Catholics, but apparently were ignorant of biblical prohibitions upon such practices (and I dabbled in it myself before I received the gospel and placed my faith in Christ.)
I knew a young man who was the town psychic (also before being born again) from my bar fly days, who was able to direct a "weighty force" upon my chest with nothing more than his will (but I learned how to do such things through my practice of Tai Chi Chuan, also prior to receiving the Spirit of our Lord.)
I also knew quite a few "go-go" dancers back in those days of dissipation that I called witches, because they practiced a kind of sex magic related to the previously mentioned psychic phenomenon, but Angelina is right when it comes to their power over a believer that has received Christ by faith. The demons can try to play tricks with our minds, but the Spirit of God gives us sound minds when we've believed Christ and root ourselves in the word of truth.

"when I was 13 years old and at that age I couldn't stomach open hypocrisy in a church" - Funny you should mention that, that's my exact experience as well. Suddenly this 'religious party' was over, under the new influence of the Holy Spirit everything was tested and found to be a collection of questionable practises, like for example the 'confession' when I suddenly ran out of sins to confess and still got a hundred Ave Marias, that was just not fair - lol. On the other hand people develop sometimes a really deep kind of faith during that time, that just needs the right instruction to flourish and fully grow. What happened many years later.

That faith of and in Jesus Christ suddenly grew strongly in times of great distress, like in a life threatening situation that could kill a man unless someone of real authority that has power over life and death intervenes. Or in a situation where a 'black spirit' followed us from one city to another, and let all the light bulbs explode in our house at home. One prayer in Jesus name and he was gone, left under the great howling of all the neighborhood dogs. That's when my newly wedded wife first prayed a prayer of faith and then understood that there really is a power much higher than any unclean spirit.

Tropical Islander said:

. That's when my newly wedded wife first prayed a prayer of faith and then understood that there really is a power much higher than any unclean spirit.

Click to expand...

Amen, brother.

StanJ said:

, how long have you been saved and how long have you been studying the Bible? In my case that would be 45 years for both.

Click to expand...

length of years doesn't prove anything. In fact if you are in error that many yrs.. nuf said.. it just gets worse (your ignorance, possibly delusional-ness..)

how long have i been saved? I am not saved yet. I am on my way, but have nor arrived. If you were to study the Bible and u/stand it as God wants you to (I realize u do u/stand parts of it, but some parts are not easily u/stood by the uneducated), then you would realize salvation is a process.

he who endures.. will be saved-the Word says

will be saved.. those words are all over in the NT. St Paul said that.. he didn't even pronounce he was saved..

I do not personally have any experience with anyone who practices witchcraft. If I were to encounter someone, I would definitely stay away for fear of their beliefs.

Michael V Pardo said:

Why would you want an interpreter of scripture when Jesus Himself promised to send "the helper" or Holy Spirit to lead those that receive Him into all truth?

Click to expand...

Jesus went to Heaven. He established a Church on Earth, right? You do agree with Mt 16:18, that he would "build" his Church and the "gates of Hell would not prevail" against it?

Dont you think that Church is capable of having the Holy Spirit? capable of speaking for Christ?

Jesus does not establish Churches that humans can destroy (see again Mt 16:18)

Beloved212 said:

I do not personally have any experience with anyone who practices witchcraft. If I were to encounter someone, I would definitely stay away for fear of their beliefs.

Click to expand...

good idea

the rosary is powerful against them

ScaliaFan said:

Jesus went to Heaven. He established a Church on Earth, right? You do agree with Mt 16:18, that he would "build" his Church and the "gates of Hell would not prevail" against it?

Dont you think that Church is capable of having the Holy Spirit? capable of speaking for Christ?

Jesus does not establish Churches that humans can destroy (see again Mt 16:18)

Click to expand...

I think that you may not understand what a church is, but lets try to define it, just to be sure. A church is a congregation of believers in something and we usually take that to be the Christian faith, but it certainly doesn't have to be. People become a part of Christ's church by believing in Him (that He was born the Son of God by the power of the Holy Spirit, lived a sinless life, died on behalf of all that would believe in Him, and raised Himself from the dead as proof of His power and of the authority of His word (and so deserves our submission and obedience)). Christ's church is not an institution that you may join by your decision, but that you are born into spiritually. Born again believers may be part of a denomination, or attend some nondenominational church (or none at all for some reason), but people who have never believed Christ can also be a part of a denomination or a nondenominational congregation. People who have never believed Christ can even be Pastors, teachers, and priests (if your church has priests). I regularly see documentaries featuring comments by priests who have rejected Christ and are professing atheists. I've heard anecdotes from radio preachers telling about Pastors that they've met who don't believe Christ, yet hold their positions because they were able to give the right answers to a Pastoral search committee or board and they are too lazy (or don't have the skills) to find a "real job."
I have found at least one point of disagreement with every Pastor, priest, or biblical teacher that I've ever heard, and while I may have been incorrect on every point, I'm also sure that most of those pastors (etc.) would find some point of disagreement with each other. What I'm suggesting is that when you listen to men, you listen to fallible creatures that may or may not have an understanding which came from the Holy Spirit, and God Himself has promised to teach you if you believe Him. So, do you prefer listening to men to listening to God? When we're in His presence in glory, there won't be any other teachers or the need of one. Are you afraid of Him?
I've met more than one professing believer who justifies his disbelief in biblical doctrine, because some teacher told him that something couldn't be true and had to be understood another way. Disbelief in the "word" is disbelief in the God of the "word" who actually describes Himself as the living Word or Word made flesh, even Jesus called the Christ. Since all judgment is based upon what God has said and upon what we say in response to Him, why would you place your trust in anyone else but Him to teach you absolute truth (when He has promised to do so?)