Posts Tagged ‘christianity’

Posted on December 6, 2009 - by Andrew

Devout Christian jailed for torturing his own ‘witch’ daughter

A father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced in Coventry Crown Court, was jailed for 8 years for torturing his own daughter. His partner, who watched the torture, was sentenced for 4 years.

Why did this legally protected man torture his own daughter? He believed she was a witch. She would sometimes talk to herself and he felt he couldn’t always ‘get through to her’.

The girl, who also can’t be named but who is under 16 years old, was beaten with a wooden stick. Her father would stuff cloth into her mouth to prevent her from screaming. Her hands and feet were burned with candle wax and drippings from a melting plastic bag.

The regular churchgoer forced his daughter to drink olive oil, whacked her legs with a cable and stamped on her head before banging it against the wall in an effort to rid of her evil spirits.

The man told the court that he believed his daughter had the power to send him to sleep. The judge refused requests to have the man sent for psychiatric testing.

In Pure Spirit

Isn’t this another horrible story – is religion to blame for this one? Is there something about religion-gone-wrong that can bring out the worst in human nature or will mankind use any handy focus?

Posted on October 23, 2009 - by Andrew

The Beast, To Mega Therion and 666

The Beast is not one figure from the Bible – but two.  In the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament, the First Beast comes from the sea, has seven heads and ten horns. The Second Beast comes the earth, looks like a lamb but talks like a dragon.

The Second Beast acts as an ambassador for the first. It has people make an image of the First Beast and pray to it. The Second Beast is able to make the image come to life and strike down anyone who refuses to worship the First Beast.

Revelation 16, 19 and 20 refers to the Second Beast as the False Prophet. It forms one third of the unholy trinity along with the Dragon/Satan and the First Beast/the Antichrist.

Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), the British occultist, adopted the name To Mega Therion for himself.  This phrase, Greek for “The Great Beast” comes from the Book of Revelation

And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast [θηρίον, therion] rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

Crowley used isopsephy, the art and science of adding up the numeric values of letters, to point out that the name translates to 666.

The Roman emperor Domitian is said to have been secretly called “The Beast” by Romans, Greeks, Christians and Jews according to theologian Ethelbert Stauffer.  Domitian’s office title was Imperator Caesar Domitianus Augustus Germanicus or, in Greek, Autokrator Kaisar Dometianos Sebastos Germanikos. This meant the coins of his empire, in Greek, would carry the abbreviation A.KAI.DOMET.SEB.GE. Once again, using isopsephy, the letters tally up to 666.

In the Bible itself, in the Book of Revelation, 666 is described as “the number of a man” associated with The Beast.

In Pure Spirit

Are you afraid of the number 666? Do you think there’s now too much hype around it and too many possible interpretations?

Posted on June 17, 2009 - by Andrew

Crystal Cauldron witches thrown out of the Our Lady’s Social Club

Witches coven, the Crystal Cauldron, had booked the Our Lady’S Social Club in the Dioceses of Shrewsbury to host their annual ball but where blocked by the Catholic church at the last minute.

Reverend John Joyce, told press: “Parish centres under our auspices let their premises on the understanding users and their organisations are compatible with the ethos and teachings of the Catholic church. In this instance, we aren’t satisfied such requirements are met.”

High Priestess Sandra Davis, of the Crystal Cauldron, only discovered the Church’s decision when she phoned to complete the £175 payment for the booking. She had already printed tickets for the event.

Davis, 61, was also able to communicate to the press; “I’m appalled. My congregation is shocked that in this day and age there can be such religious discrimination. We’re normal people who follow an earth-based religion and want to enjoy ourselves.

“We thought we were bridging the gap with other religions but misconceptions still exist, like we sacrifice animals. Does the church check everyone’s beliefs before allowing them in the club?”

Sandra aspires to turn the Crystal Cauldron from a pagan meeting place into a temple.

In Pure Spirit

What do you think? Should the Catholic Church not be able to regulate who uses their resources as they see fit?

Did they just handle this booking in a very bad way or is this simply religious discrimination?

Posted on May 26, 2009 - by Andrew

Pagan wins apology from doctor who ‘oozed Christianity’

Case files from General Practitioners across England which contained details of complaints from patients became public this week.

Right-wing English tabloids are heralding a case of a pagan patient winning an apology from her doctor for “oozing Christianity” as ridiculous as the case of a GP forced to apologise to a patient when he refused to write a sick note to cover for a hangover.

The case file from the pagan also notes that the patient expressed concerns that her GP had drastically changed her medication and had made condescending and threatening statements to her. The issue of the doctors Christianity had been raised simply because the patient found the religious differences an obstacle to forming a doctor-patient relationship.

In Pure Spirit

What do you think? Is this an example of Britain’s right-wing tabloids spinning the religious aspects of this Heathcare Commission into a larger issue than it really was? Was the pagan patient right to mention religion at all in her complaint against the doctor?

Posted on April 28, 2009 - by Andrew

Oxford hosts spiritual healing for pets

On Saturday spiritual healers turned their attention towards beloved family pets.  The North Oxford Christian Spiritualist Healing Church has run spiritual and holistic healing for a number of years but this year the session was opened up to pets.

The idea is credited to Oxford Brookes University tutor Humphrey Truswell. He told Oxford press, “Healing works for human beings, so I thought we could try it with animals.”

Families and pet lovers travelled for miles to attend the event. Lynwood and Lorraine Hagin travelled over 240 miles so that their dog Elbie could benefit from the healing. Elbie suffers from suspected mouth cancer.

Mrs Hagin said: “It was well worth the trip and hopefully it will have an impact on Elbie. It certainly had an impact on me – I found it very moving.
“We wanted to try every avenue we could to help him.”
It is reported that nearly two dozen pets received treatment in the church.

“We were pleasantly surprised by how many people came,” said healer Jane Blain.

Mrs Blain made the local news earlier this year when she launched a range of knitted jumpers for ex-battery chickens.

In Pure Spirit

What do you think? Is it good and appropriate for the church to open its doors in this way?

Posted on March 3, 2009 - by Andrew

Medieval witch to be given Christian funeral after decapitation 700 years ago

The remains of a teenage witch who was sentenced to death and her head removed for being a witch more than 700 years ago are to be given both a Christian funeral and burial.

Decapitation was used as a method to prevent eternal life in the dark ages. When the remains of the body were discovered two years ago, in unconsecreated ground near Hoo Saint Werburgh church, experts suggested that the teenage girl had been executed for being a witch.

Rev Andy Hardy, the vicar of Hoo, requested that the remains be given a Christian burial after he heard the story. It is also possible that the girl killed herself and killed up to die.

The Daily Mail has quotes from Harding;

‘We don’t know exactly what happened to her but what we do know is that her life came to an horrific end and even in death she was treated appallingly.

‘When I found out about it, I thought it was a tragic story and I felt a need to give her what had clearly been denied to her all those years ago, and that is a proper burial.

‘We want to put her back where she should have been when she first died, and we will be placing her with her head on her shoulders as it should be.

‘There was a belief in those days that you were buried facing east so that you were facing the resurrected Christ but in this case her head was removed to prevent her from eternal life.

‘Execution in those days would have been for such things as witchcraft, so if they had gone so far as to take her head off, she would have had to have committed a mortal sin.’

In Pure Spirit

What do you think? Is Andy Hardy doing the right thing by giving the remains a Christian burial?

Posted on January 19, 2009 - by Andrew

Severed head found during Christian water ritual

Workers in Russia found a severed head in a frozen river while they were preparing for an Orthodox Christian ritual.

The 19th of January is a day on the Julian calendar, according to the Russian Orthodox Church, when all water is holy. The celebration is marks the Epiphany and baptism of Christ.

An ice hole was being prepared in the river Jordan as it flows by the city of Saratov when the morbid discovery was made.

Local rescue services told a Russian news agency,  “Around noon yesterday, rescuers and divers submerged to check the water ahead of Epiphany bathing, and discovered a bag containing a ball-like object.” The Emergencies Ministry, however, has not yet been able to confirm the report.

Despite temperatures getting as low as -30c thousands of Orthodox Christians plunge themselves into winter waters throughout Eastern Europe. Viktor Yushchenko, President of Ukraine, took part in the icy Epiphany ritual in the Dniper river by Kiev.

In Pure Spirit

Would you bathe in freezing waters in order to take part in a rite?

Posted on January 19, 2009 - by Andrew

The meaning of the number 3

Christian numerologists see the number three as scared. It represents the holy trinity; the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. It represents divine perfection.

Many non-Christians also consider the number three to be lucky.

Personality traits of the number 3

People associated with the number 3 are often creative and playful. The number 3 suggests verbal talent and self expression.

Letter numeric values for the number 3

The number 3 is associated with the letter C and sometimes the letters L and U.

In the Chaldean method the number 3 is associated with the letters C, G, L and S.

In Cantonese numerology the number 3 means ‘live’.

In Pure Spirit

What does the number three mean to you? Is it a lucky number?

Posted on January 3, 2009 - by Andrew

Why is it unlucky to leave the Christmas decorations up after 5th January?

The 5th of January is the 12th night of Christmas. It is considered unlucky to leave the Christmas decorations up beyond the night of the 5th. If the decorations are still up after the 5th then superstition advices it is best to leave them up all year.

The 12th night of Christmas is Epiphany Eve. The Epiphany, on the 6th of January, is the day Christian’s record as the day Jesus Christ was revealed as God in human form. The day is also celebrated by some Christians to commemorate the Magi visiting the child Jesus.

The Epiphany has other names and other local customs. It is sometimes known as Little Christmas (or Women’s Christmas ‘Nollaig na mBan in Irish) or Dia dos Reis (Portuguese for the ‘day of the kings’). The Epiphany marks the start of the Mardi Gras season in Louisiana.

In many ways the 12th night marks the end of the Christmas season. The Christmas decorations need to be removed in time to mark the Epiphany.

Candlemas is also a significant event in this tradition. Candlemas, also known as the Meeting of the Lord or the Feast of Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, normally occurs around the 2nd of February although some Churches will have this feast on the Sunday between the 28th of January and the 3rd of February. Once again Churches would require Christmas decorations to be down in time for the new Candlemas decorations to be put up.

It is thought by many than Candlemas is a Christianization of the Celtic festival of Imbolc. Imbolc (or Là Fhèill Brìghde in Scotland) is the day halfway between the Spring Equinox and the Winter Solstice and originally dedicated to the healing and smith-craft goddess Brigid. Imbolc is also the day the hag goddess Ceilleach gathers her firewood. Households would be ill-advised to still be decorated with greenery and while Ceilleach is out gathering.

In Pure Spirit

If you celebrate Christmas or Yule do you make sure all the decorations are down before the end of the 12th night?

Posted on December 25, 2008 - by Andrew

Yule

The tradition of Yule pre-dates Christianity. It is now celebrated on December the 25th by many but on December 21st or 22nd on the solstice by some Wicca.

Yule is a celebration and a feast which marks the darkest point of the winter and the returning of the light.

The word Yule may come from the word Yoole which, in turn, derives from the Old English geōla. It may also come from the Old Norse word Jōl for a 12 day feast which Christian missionaries later turned into Christmas.

Yule on the solstice heralds the rebirth of the Oak King on the longest night. It represents not just rebirth but planning for the future.

One type of Yule log would be a large log given or harvested but never bought that was taken into the house, decorated and lit. Decorations would traditionally be greenery, reds and gold colours with a dusting of flour. The log is then doused in cider and lit from the smouldering remains of last year’s yule log. After 12 days the log would be ceremonially doused.

Today, a more common form of Yule log is one which holds three candles. The first candle should be green, red or white to represent the season. The second candle should be green, gold or black to represent the Sun God and the third candle should be white, red or black to represent the Great Goddess.

Dagda and Brighid are deities most suited to Yule. Dagda’s cauldron is symbolic of provision and warmth. Brighid’s work to teach the smiths the techniques of metal work and fire tending is associated with the light returning from the darkness and the rebirth.

In Pure Spirit

We would like to wish every visitor a happy Yule for this year and the next. Please share your thoughts; what does Yule mean to you?