[tmbchr]™

These people are geniuses



I am hard at work over here researching religious syncretism for an article that I want to write, and it has lead me on quite a wild goose chase around the internet. Apparently, a lot of people - all of them fundamentalist Christians, it seems - are really scared of syncretism, because it takes different religions and beliefs and creates an amalgam from them, blending them all together. Personally, I love it, but it seems to scare the bejeezus out of these people.

Anyway, I came across a site called Religion-Cults.com, which, before I read any of it too deeply, seemed like a mildly useful site. Then I uncovered a bunch of crazy Christian gobbledeegook. Butthen I realized that was in itself useful, because it would give me a decent source of first-hand accounts of the arguments and fears that these people have within themselves. And maybe ultimately, how to help them out with these things. Oh, they also have a cute little art section.

So, they have a really funny section about “The Occult” of course.

First, they say this, which is complete hogwash:

    “The ‘Occult’ is the oldest known religion. It is the secret doctrine and mysterious practice involving the action or influence of supernatural agencies or some secret knowledge of them, which transcend the natural senses, to seek their influence in our present or future lives, or the lives of others… The Bible teaches the Occult is from the Devil (Lev.20, Deut.18, Acts 16)”

Fucking, “the Occult” isn’t a religion. It isn’t anything. It’s just a gigantic group of loosely related stuff. I mean, it’s virtually impossible to define. One man’s occult is another man’s orthodoxy. Anyway, they of course have no trouble CLEARLY defining that the occult consists exclusive of three parts:

  • “Divination” - “The attempt to “foretell or explore the future”, to shape our lives according to what is coming”
  • “Magic” or “Magick” - “The attempt “to control the present”, our lives, the lives of others, or events of nature, by ceremonies, charms, or spells believed to have supernatural powers.”
  • “Spiritism”…”Spiritualism” - “”Spiritism” attempts “to communicate with the death”, to receive information and help from them. “Spiritualism” is the same, but with the sacrilege of using Christian prayers and rites.”

    Silly silly stuff. The occult is so so much more complicated and interesting than that. Goddamn. I’m not even going to try and describe that in a little blog entry. Thats what this whole site is about.

    They also talk a bunch about how the bible says that people who practice the above occult elements are to be stoned to death because they are committing “prostitution against god”. And they of course completely overlook all the concrete instances of the Bible where the main characters do exactly all of those things mentioned above.

    Pure poppycock! I think the Joker in the first Batman movie said it best when he said “This town needs an enema!”







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