Clipmarks | boniface's 'witchcraft' clips

Near stadium, Cowboys have a new rival: Satan

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:37:26 GMT

clipped by: boniface

ARLINGTON — A wee bit o’ Scotland has come to the outskirts of Cowboys Stadium, and with it a foggy auld controversy over whether a Scottish sculpture park is also a pagan shrine that might hex the Dallas Cowboys.

City leaders and the family of late philanthropist Jane Mathes Kelton gathered Thursday to rededicate Caelum Moor, a former $3 million corporate sculpture park now relocated as public art along the bonny banks of Johnson Creek.

The letter was headlined, "No Witchcraft Park in Arlington."

In a Thursday phone interview, Tummillo called Caelum Moor "a mockery of Christianity" and said those near the park — including the Cowboys — are "in a dance with the devil."

Tummillo was a youth pastor with the now-disbanded Redeeming Love Covenant Church when the Rev. Danny Smith and his wife, Dena, took their witchcraft warnings nationwide on CNN and even to the syndicated TV entertainment show Strange Universe.

A scouting organization founded by Pagans

Tue, 06 May 2008 16:22:26 GMT

clipped by: boniface

Clip Source: abclocal.go.com

The local troop leader of Spiral Scouts says it's dedicated to reverence for nature and religious tolerance. Becky Tatrault says for her son and daughter it's an alternative to Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. She says," Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts tend to separate boys and girls and I wanted them to be able to scout together. "

The National Spiral Scouting organization was started by Wiccans, who believe in an Earth God and Goddess, and practice witchcraft. But Spiral Scouts is open to all faiths. That's one reason Angela Rahn says she wants her kids in Spiral Scouts. "I would just like to have my children involved with other children who are being raised the way my children are, which is being open to all religions even ones that are outside of the Christian faith."

Scottish pagan gathering spells worry for some Christians

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 15:14:57 GMT

clipped by: boniface

Clip Source: www.ekklesia.co.uk

Some Christian groups in Scotland are anxious about druids, wiccans and other traditional religionists from across the UK gathering in a small north-east community this summer, reports the Scotsman newspaper.

The Rev Graham Swanson of Elgin Baptist Church, told the newspaper: "I have grave concerns and reservations about this event taking place. As a Christian I believe the Bible warns us about dabbling in such things as witchcraft."

But Moray resident Joanne Campbell, who is behind the event, said: "People like to sensationalise our gathering and speculate that we are up to all sorts of strange things. But the reality is that we really just want to get together and socialise with friends and like-minded people.

Along with humanists, pagans in Britain are denied official membership of many inter-faith bodies. The dispute is over the meaning and antecedence of 'belief', and the question as to the representativeness of bodies such as the PF.

Religious Youth

Sat, 29 Sep 2007 17:48:47 GMT

clipped by: boniface

Clip Source: www.smh.com.au

Teenagers place faith in witchcraft

MORE and more teenagers are signing up as trainee witches.

Witchcraft was once treated lightly in sitcoms such as Sabrina, The Teenage Witch and Bewitched, or demonised in horror films, but it is becoming increasingly mainstream.

In the last census more than 9000 Australians listed their religion as Wicca, the witchcraft branch of paganism.

Tags: teenagers, place, faith, witchcraft

Witchcraft not wicked

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 22:51:06 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks:

"The overall finding was that teenage witches are engaging in witchcraft for positive life affirming reasons. (It) helps them make sense of the issues they are experiencing," Professor Ezzy said.

"They are not fighting demons, as is sometimes displayed in popular media. Really there is nothing to be afraid of. The amount of witches is now roughly the same size as Mormons."

Clip Source: www.theaustralian.news.com.au

Two researchers have interviewed 90 teenage witches in Australia, England and the US to find out whether they have a broom in the cupboard, a cloak upstairs or any spells on the boil.

They found that teenage witches, including both girls and boys, use witchcraft positively to help deal with issues that young people face every day while growing up.

Professor Ezzy said witchcraft was a form of paganism, which worships nature and celebrated the harvest festivals.

He said that there was a huge increase in witchcraft in the late 1990s when Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed hit television screens. Professor Ezzy said the shows tapped into a need expressed by teenagers to find something more spiritual in life.

He said that he and his co-author Helen Berger found that witchcraft was not seductive but instead empowering and offered personal development for teenagers.

Tags: witchcraft, wicca, paganism, religion, faith

The Little Guy Wins One!

Mon, 23 Jul 2007 18:19:04 GMT

clipped by: boniface

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Witches win shopping centre name battle

A coven of witches is claiming victory in its battle to get the name of a £350 million shopping centre changed.

The witches were outraged when developer Hammerson called the Leicester project - a huge extension of the city's Shires malls - the Highcross Quarter.

The coven wanted to set up an internet site to "break through the ignorance and misunderstanding, prejudice and stigma" attached to witchcraft.

But it was then forced, it claims, to turn down a number of unsolicited offers from Hammerson for its domain names Highcrossquarter.com and Highcrossquarter.co.uk.

When the group refused, the company began proceedings with the United Nation's World Intellectual Property Organisation, which adjudicates on internet domain names, to force the coven to hand over the online title, said Ms Wisecraft.

Tags: witch, witches, highcross, quarter, leicester

Still Killing Witches After All These Years?

Mon, 02 Jul 2007 18:05:37 GMT

clipped by: boniface
clipper's remarks: Truly unbelievable that this still happens in this day and age!

Clip Source: www.hindustantimes.com

Couple killed for practising witchcraft in Jharkhand

An old couple were killed in Jharkhand for allegedly practicing black magic, police officials said.

Police officials said on Monday that the couple's neighbour Deodhari Bhokta and his brother Surendra Bhokta dragged them out of their house on Sunday. The brothers tied the old couple to a tree and beat them to death with sticks. The men then hacked the dead bodies with sharp edged weapons and chopped off the hands and legs.

However, the brothers do not regret having killed the couple. "The couple were practising black magic and due to the impact of their black magic our family members were falling ill. We have no remorse," said Surendera Bhokta.

The couple are survived by their two daughters. One of them, Rupanti Kumari, 19, said: "We tried to save our parents but they did not show any mercy. Not a single villager turned up to help us".

Tags: witchcraft, murder, killed, witches

That "Old Time Religion"

Mon, 02 Jul 2007 04:36:34 GMT

clipped by: boniface

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Norway hosts witchcraft experts

Pro-witchcraft groups say discrimination is still widespread

More than 60 experts on witchcraft from across the world are gathering in a tiny Arctic town in northern Norway.

For three days in Vardo they will have discussions, lectures and the odd film show on ancient and modern sorcery.

The International Midnight Sun Witchcraft Conference is organised by Scandinavian and US universities.

As well as touching on these issues, the Norwegian conference will also discuss Shamanism - a practice that centres on communication with the spiritual world, mostly through animal spirits.

Some experts claim that Shamanism predates all other organised religions.

Tags: witch, witchcraft, norway, experts, conference

What does this say about the volunteers?

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 04:47:27 GMT

clipped by: boniface
clipper's remarks: In every case, the volunteers saw the books given as an indication of the likes of the donors, except in the case of the Wicca books. Here they must have become "disillusioned" or just doing "research." People! Is it possible they liked and/or practiced Wicca? Have you ever considered THIS as a possibility!

Clip Source: www.newtownbee.com

Volunteers Read Between The Lines Of The Donated Books

What people donate to a book sale and what people buy at a book sale can speak volumes about them, say volunteers from the Friends of the C.H. Booth Library Annual Book Sale.

There are some obvious interpretations, of course. A donation of a large number of cookbooks might suggest that the donor loved to cook. A collection of role-playing books suggests a love for games and pretense. A horse-lover might give boxes of books about horse breeds, horse care, and novels that feature the horse. There are subtleties within the donations, though, that give the sorters pause.

"We got in a couple of boxes with tons of books on witchcraft and the Wicca movement," said Ms Marshall. "We wondered if the person had become disillusioned with the whole Wicca thing, or had they just been doing research? The books were tossed in with a bunch of Dr Seuss books, and I thought, 'I'd like to meet that person!'" she said.

Tags: wicca, witchcraft, books, volunteers

What a Whiner!!!

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 07:19:07 GMT

clipped by: boniface
clipper's remarks: A man lays down his life for his country and this man wants to deny him his choice of religion and keep him from using his own religious symbol on his own grave! I can't believe this. Then he whines about not being able to put artificial flowers on a grave. I guess honoring veterans is fine so long as he is able to put cheap flowers instead of the real thing.

Clip Source: www.chattanoogan.com

National Cemetery And Symbols

I am proud to have served my country for 20 years as a United States Marine. It greatly disturbs me to know that when I am laid to rest in the National Cemetery, my family will have the option of having a pentacle (five pointed star emblem of Wicca - Witchcraft) placed on my headstone but they will not have the option of placing silk flowers on my grave for six months out of every year because the National Cemetery is viewed as a “shrine" and the artificial flowers are said to detract from that image.

What is the next step? Will witches be allowed to conduct their rituals on the grounds of our national cemeteries? Why is it that we have to become politically correct in every facet of our life and now every facet of our death? The local newspaper stated that Wicca is a "nature based religion" (occult) and the points on the star represent earth, air, water, fire. Where is God? As in "God, corps, country, family" (Marine Corps philosophy).

Tags: marine, whiner, grave, veteran, wicca, symbol, pentacle

Starbucks vs. Wicca

Tue, 23 Jan 2007 14:55:55 GMT

clipped by: boniface

Clip Source: www.beliefnet.com

Wiccan Ex-barista Sues Starbucks Over Religion

By Brent Hunsberger
Religion News Service

PORTLAND

, Ore. (RNS) A former Starbucks barista in Hillsboro, Ore., has sued the coffee giant, saying it discriminated against her based on her Wiccan religion.

In a complaint filed Jan. 8 in U.S. District Court in Portland, Alicia Hedum said a manager at Starbucks' Hillsboro Landing cafe asked her to remove her Wiccan cross several times, even though other employees, including the manager, wore Christian crosses.

Hedum accused Starbucks of retaliating by refusing to promote or transfer her, reducing her hours and scrutinizing her "minor tardiness."

Tags: wicca, wiccan, pagan, witch, witchcraft, lawsuit

She's Baaack!

Mon, 22 Jan 2007 15:28:10 GMT

clipped by: boniface
clipper's remarks: A publisher couldn't ask for better publicity than a protest against your books. People will want to read the books for themselves and see what all the hub-bub is about, which amounts to more sales!

Clip Source: blog.washingtonpost.com

She's Back! Laura Mallory, OFF/beat's 2006 Idiot of the Year, appears undeterred in her quest to banish Harry Potter books from school libraries. The suburban-Atlanta mother announced, Wednesday, that she plans to appeal a Georgia court's dismissal of her contention that the best-selling novels are "evil" propaganda aimed at indoctrinating youngsters into witchcraft. Despite having never read the books herself, Ms. Mallory persistently maintains that she is "tak[ing] a stand for truth."

Now, without going so far as calling her an idiot (oh wait), it certainly shows a high level of ignorance to believe that a book you haven't even read is capable of converting people to a religion you know little about. Beyond the flawed logic though, Ms. Mallory's dogmatic persistence may actually end up driving more children to read Harry Potter. In a time when faith is mired by extremism, and reading is at an all time low, perhaps she feels the only way to teach the concepts of poetic justice and the dangers of close-minded fanaticism is through a polemic gesture. If not, she is demonstrating a line of thinking that makes the Salem Witch Trials seem almost rational.

Tags: wicca, wiccan, witchcraft, witch, pagan, harry, potter, idiot, moron

Really Pagans at Heart: the Mexicans.

Mon, 22 Jan 2007 01:59:05 GMT

clipped by: boniface

Clip Source: www.christianitytoday.com

One of the challenges the Garcias face, beyond schedule conflicts, is how to share an evangelical message with people who are coming out of paganish backgrounds. Oaxaca, where the majority of church members are from, is one of the states in Mexico with the largest number of indigenous tribal groups. For groups like the Zapotecans, who speak in an indigenous tongue, Spanish is itself a second language.

"The Roman Catholicism in Mexico is more like paganism because they have the ancient Mexican religious traditions like witchcraft or Mayan animism mixed with their Catholicism," Orel says. "It presents a challenge to witness Christ to them. You need to make sure they understand what salvation is about."

Tags: pagan, wicca, aztec, mexican, mexico, indigenious, religion