Posted by deirdrehbrt on February 18, 2006, at 15:40:44
In reply to X Files and Charmed, posted by Dinah on February 17, 2006, at 14:39:44
Dinah,
Having been a Christian, and now a Pagan, I'm not sure what my opinion will be worth, but I'll give it a shot.
First, the Biblical admonition is to not have any false Gods before the heavenly father. That makes sense as Christianity is a monotheistic faith.
Many Christian missionaries are taught to avoid learning too much about the faiths (pagan or otherwise) of the population they are working with. I can only presume that the point is to prevent the Christian faith, or perhaps to prevent the missionaries from adopting the pagan faith.
What happens, especially with movies and such is that witchcraft (which in the case of Charmed is not well represented at all) present paganism or witchcraft in a positive light.
I have heard from some preachers that things such as the Ouija board, etc. can open up a channel for the demonic. Personally, I think, that if the Christian position is correct, and that a believer is indwelt with the Holy Spirit, that a demonic presence cannot push aside the Holy Spirit. It just goes against Biblical sense. The Holy Spirit is God, and God is stronger than any demonic presence.
The X-Files is not (for the most part) occult. It is science fiction. Sometimes it deals with people who may have some dealings with the occult, but it is not instructive or anything. A bit scary at times, spooky, and such, but no more occult than a newspaper article dealing with a supposed ritualistic killing.
The occult encompasses a great deal. Mostly, it includes that which we do not by any other means understand. Telepathy, spiritism, psychic healing, fortune telling, astrology, etc. The Christian faith seems to be fearful of all of this. Personally, I think that if such a thing as telepathy and psychic powers actually exist, that they must have been imparted to us by divinity. They are a natural function of our brain, just as is women's intuition.
I also have trouble with the fundamental prohibition against astrology, as the celebrated Three Wise Men were astrologers, "We saw his star...".
Also, it might be good to look in your concordance and see what the words originally meant. One word that I know of, I don't remember the verse, but it was translated as witch, but originally meant someone who poisons another. Many words in the KJV don't reflect the original intent with complete accuracy.
Anyway, Not being Christian, I think the best I can offer is some things to think about. It's certainly not my place to in any way try to sway you from your faith.
I can tell you a couple things though. Wicca, and paganism are not correctly presented in Christian churches. We're described as demonic, worshipers of satan, often we are accused of animal sacrifices, etc. Programs such as Charmed, or Bewitched have been maligned as romancing our religion in order to gain members. In actuality, it takes a bit of work to join a group or a coven. Paganism is not about proslytizing.
I'm rambling now. My main point is that I don't think you should be afraid of the X-Files, or Charmed. The X-Files is mostly the spooky side of Sci-Fi, and Charmed, with the exception of a couple of the terms they use has nothing to do with witchcraft. It's more in the realm of fantasy. Knowing the truth about the paranormal or the occult can take away alot of the fear surrounding it, but most churches discourage that.
Anyway, I hope I was of some help.
Blessings,
--Dee
poster:deirdrehbrt
thread:610629
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faith/20051105/msgs/610923.html