Informing Your Worldview Series: Paganism Part 1 of 2

Owning Your Worldview Presents

The Context

• We are discussing Paganism to better understand the worldviews of many people around us.

• We are not promoting a Pagan worldview or in anyway trying to undermine the Christian worldview.

• We will show that Paganism is a tool used by Satan to deceive well meaning people and pull them away from a relationship with Christ.

• Paganism has a wide variety of views and beliefs. This will only be an overview and cannot be complete in all details.

What is Paganism?

• Define Paganism in your own words.

• Have you ever been around Pagans or Pagan practices?

• Have you ever participated in Pagan rites, rituals, etc.?

Paganism in Our Culture

• Pagan themes dominate the media, movies, and video games.

• Consider Harry Potter, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Wizard of Oz, World of Warcraft, Star Wars, Pokemon, Bewitched, Twilight, God of War, Guild Wars…and the list goes on!

Paganism in Our Culture

• Kali (The Black One)

• Hindu goddess of creation, change, preservation, and destruction.

• This image was projected on the Empire State Building.

Paganism in Our Culture

• NYC & London were scheduled to have stone replicas of an archway place in the cities.

• The arch is from the city of Palmyra, Syria and served as an entryway into the Temple of Baal.

• The Institute for Digital Archeology recreating elements of the arch.

• This was inspired by destruction caused by ISIS in the region.

• Public outcry led to the placement of The Arch of Triumph. A secular structure.

Paganism in Our Culture

• Eco-Friendliness and environmentalism taken to religious levels lead to “deep-environmentalism”.

• This is the worship of the earth as a mother goddess, also know as Gaia.

• This pantheistic worldview places the value of the mother goddess above the value of a human life.

Paganism in Our Culture

Watch TestTube - Paganism Clip

Historical Paganism

• Ancient Paganism

• Canaanite Paganism

• Shamanism

• Greek and Roman Paganism

• Druidic Paganism

• Indian Paganism

Historical Paganism

• Contemporary Paganism (1600s through 1900s)

• Voodoo / Vodun

• Santería

• Esoteric Religions (Freemasonry, RC, etc.)

• Luciferianism

Neo-Paganism

• The Path(s)

• Deep-Environmentalism

• The New Age

• Wicca / The Old Craft / Witchcraft

• Heathenism (Germanic Neo-Paganism)

• Dualism

• Satanism

Neo-Paganism

• Neo-Paganism recognizes and embraces two different paths.

• The Right Hand Path embraces light, nature, and community. Focused on the feminine and white magic.

• The Left Hand Path embraces darkness, power, and the individual. Focused on the masculine and black magic.

• There is no good and evil, only light and dark. Each path can be used for good or evil.

Neo-Paganism’s Notable Attributes

• Individualistic

• Decentralized

• Relative

• Inclusive (Recruiting)

• Exclusive (Membership)

• Ancient & Polytheistic

• Tolerant

• Spiritual / Mystical

• Communal

• Karma (no sin)

• Animists / Eco-Friendly

• No Scriptures

Christian & Neo-Pagan Comparison

Community Information Communion / Communication

Christian Church The Bible Prayer

Neo-PaganGroup, Clan,

Coven, or Grotto

Various Pagan Writings &

Publications

Magic (Rites, Rituals, and Ceremonies)

Magic, Magick, & Majik

•In today’s media, movies, music, and video games we have been so saturated with Pagan themes that we don’t take the concept of magic seriously.

•Magic provides the Pagan with a completely different framework for viewing the universe around them.

•Magic allows the practitioner (of the craft) a method for controlling the visible and invisible world around them.

Magic, Magick, & Majik

• Spell Casting

• Divination

• Astrology

• Elemental Magic

• Mental Magic

• Arcane Magic

• Necromancy

• Chaos Magic

Magic, Magick, & Majik

• Spell Casting

• Blessings

• Enchantments

• Charms

• Curses

• Hexes

• Sexual Magic

Magic, Magick, & Majik

• Divination

• Fortune Telling

• Viewing a Crystal Ball

• Tarot Card Reading

• Reading Palms

• Reading Tea Leaves

Magic, Magick, & Majik

• Astrology

• Horoscopes

• Divining the Future

• Personality Compatibility

• Dream Interpretation

Magic, Magick, & Majik

• Elemental Magic

• Pyrokinesis (manipulation of fire)

• Geokinesis (manipulation of Earth forces)

• Fulgerkinesis (manipulation of lightning)

• Aquakinesis (manipulation of water)

• Aerokinesis (manipulation of air or wind)

Magic, Magick, & Majik

• Mental Magic

• Telekinesis (manipulation of motion)

• Projection (causing something to be seen at a distant location)

• Remote Viewing (seeing something at a distant location)

• Therionology (communicating with animals)

• Harmonizing (manipulation of mood and environment)

• Elenchus (sensing truthfulness)

• Phsyconautics (manipulation of conscious states of mind)

Magic, Magick, & Majik

• Arcane Magic

• Enerkinesis (manipulation of magical energy)

• Animating (manipulation of inanimate objects)

• Evocation (summoning a familiar spirit, demon, god, or other supernatural being)

• Binding (control of a supernatural being)

• Banishing (removal of a supernatural being)

Magic, Magick, & Majik

• Necromancy

• Seances

• Mediumship

• Channeling

• Corpse Animation

Magic, Magick, & Majik

• Chaos Magic

• The blending of other magics in new and novel ways.

• This essentially a new concept from Neo-Paganism.

Magic, Magick, & Majik

•The Christian should take magic very seriously.

•The Christian should recognize that the source of magic and its actions are of a demonic origin.

•Practitioners (of the craft) are left feeling that magic actually works, thus confirming that their worldview is correct and God does not exist.

•Practitioners (of the craft) are deceived into believing that they are in control of the powers they call upon.

Offshoots of Neo-Paganism: Tulpamancy

Watch Real Future - Tulpas Clip

Deuteronomy 18:9-14 (HCSB)

“When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not imitate the detestable customs of those nations. No one among you is to make his son or daughter pass through the fire, practice divination, tell fortunes, interpret omens, practice sorcery, cast spells, consult a medium or a familiar spirit, or inquire of the dead. Everyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and the Lord your God is driving out the nations before you because of these detestable things. You must be blameless before the Lord your God. Though these nations you are about to drive out listen to fortune-tellers and diviners, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do this. The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Dt 18:9–14). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.

Informing Your Worldview Series: Paganism Part 1 of 2