DD_3000 asked this question on 5/12/2000:

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

spiderchilde gave this response on 5/14/2000:

Yes, perhaps. But a LOT of religions think that, and a lot of religions have different names for their Gods. Who is to say that we are not are talking about the same deity. In every language there is a name for God: Dios, Allah, Shiva (to name just one of the Trinity), etc. etc. The irony of it all is that, from what I can recall from my readings, Christianity is the only religion whose holidays & many of its religion archetypes were derived/stolen...(or if we REALLY want to be politically correct)...ahem..."borrowed" from pagan religions:

For example:

Easter = Ostara ( approximately March 21st or the Spring Equinox) Ironically the SAME time that Christians newly dubbed their Easter: A celebration of rebirth & fertility. Where do you think the idea of the Easter Bunny came from..And Easter eggs? Pagan concept. Fertility and the womb of the Goddess being full with life

Christmas = Yule (approximately December 21st): Whoah..look at that! Christmas corresponds to the Pagan date for Yule. Yule is a celebration of the birth of the Holly King and the Death of the Oak King. A rebirthing Cycle). The Yule log is a Pagan invention ... as well as the sacrifice of an evergreen tree which THEN became the Christmas Tree.

Holy Communion comes from the ceremony of Cakes & Ales done at the end of a Pagan ritual to give thanks to the Gods and to share fellowship with your fellow witches...

My point is to not discredit Christianity ...just to show that essentially when you look at it, MANY Christian ideas derived from Pagan/Wiccan ideas...

Twelve disciples & Jesus = 13 (The traditional number of a Pagan coven)

The Holy Trinity (Father, Son, & Holy Spirit) = Maiden, Mother, & Crone???

I could probably go on forever about the remarkable similarities of these two faiths, but that would be moot. I could tell Christians to stop evangelizing to Wiccans, but their religion is filled with the contradictions: ( I paraphrase:) ..."spread the Good News"...and "He who has not sinned cast the first stone lest he be judged"...."Love thy neighbor as thyself"..etc etc. Spreading the "Good News" in my opinion is not shoving it down someone's' throat & having them CHOKE on it, but rather offering knowledge for them to "taste test" and if they enjoy the flavor, they'll come back for a second helping on their own. Who's to say that we're not all praying to the same deity...be us Wiccan, Christian, Hindu, Moslem, Jewish, or whatever we call "God." Live a happy life with peace and faith no matter what you call it. The world exists because it is meant to, and we humans only torture ourselves by trying to dissect something so vast as the origin of the Universe. Call it God or simply label it as something scientific as "The Big Bang." either way it A FORCE OUTSIDE THE REALM OF HUMAN CAPABILITIES...which makes it God by definition...no matter what name we call it.

DD_3000 asked this follow-up question on 5/15/2000:

Easter-Jesus was resurrected from the dead. Christmas-Jesus was born. I could probably go on forever,but what is the point?

spiderchilde gave this response on 5/15/2000:

I am not going to bash you or preach to YOU as you have done to us, but I seriously suggest that you do some research on Christianity. I can guarantee that you will learn a lot about the origins of the Christian holidays by looking up their definitions and synonyms. Obviously you have stuck to minimum sentence answers in the hopes of getting the upper hand in your responses by conveying superiority or wit, but you have failed miserably. You convey ignorance. I am not calling you ignorant. I am saying that you do not have WISDOM or KNOWLEDGE on the subject. I leave you with some questions that I know you will most definitely NOT answer:

1.) Do you think you are doing your God a service by behaving so non-loving to other people..people who...according to your religion's scriptures are your fellow "brothers and sisters" -People who are your "neighbors" -People who are considered to be "fellow creations" of your God?

2.) Jesus taught the Scriptures to his disciples with an openness and without force. He taught by action and deed...without judgment..(remember Mary Magdalene???) He also let people CHOOSE whether they wanted to follow him. He did not force and he did not persecute anyone. Why do you not follow these actions to be more like the Lord you honor?

I have nothing further to discuss with you. You do not respond to the answers people give you, but just merely retort what to me sounds like a pre-recorded answer from a brainwashed mind. I believe that you, like many evangelizing Christians are seriously in fear of expanding your mind beyond the sheltered island of your superiority complex that is the foundation of your faith. In my opinion and from what I have observed, you are the very antithesis of what Jesus & Christianity teaches. Enough already and show me that you have enough of a conscience and sense of self-worth to quit harassing the people on this board who belong to the Wiccan faith.

May God, by whatever name you call him/her shine light on your soul,

-SpiderChilde

The average rating for this answer is 5.