Curiosity dictates a question like this...

Juniper

Have any of you out there ever taken the "opposite route" and studied paganism or Wicca?

I know of some that practice that. I don't myself. But I've been thinking about what a strange irony that would be, right? From JW to Wiccan!

BabaYaga

It might be an irony, but it is not at all unusual. There are many.

bubble

I haven't but I'm sure some have. Whatever floats your boat eh!

fullofdoubtnow

Not personally, I have no interest in any other type of religion or belief, 25 years in jw land was more than enough for me, but there are a few on this forum who have.

daystar

There are actually quite a few here that are involved with your less... Christian systems of practices and beliefs.

Other than your stated curiousity, did anything else prompt your query?

For what it's worth, despite how many from both sides may protest, paganism is not quite completely "opposite" to Christianity. They're both, generally, humanistic in nature, if rather antagonistic to each others methods.

parakeet

I've never practiced, but I've read extensively about paganism/wicca and other earth-based religions. If you take away the trappings (some of which are just silly) and look at the underlying beliefs, you'll see that they're very compassionate and reasonable.

Three good books to read about this subject: "Drawing Down the Moon" by Margot Adler, "Contemporary Paganisn" by Graham Harvey, and "Pagans & Christians" by Gus DiZerega.

These are not "how-to" books; they explain the origins and trends of contemporary paganism.

Brigid

Sometimes I will tell people I'm Wiccan for lack of a better word or categorization under which to place myself (when people seem to need to categorize). I connect to the Divine in many ways that Wiccans do and go to my fair share of "circles" when I'm invited--but I've never officially "joined" anything. Only privately dedicated myself to a path of Wisdom and Self discovery--whatever that means.
And yes, it is an interesting contrast from JW to "pagan". However, the further one delves into the "deeper" things of any belief system, the more one finds that they are all the same. (i.e., Sufiism to Kabbalistic Judaism/Gnostic Christianity to "paganism"). The Mysteries lie at the base of every path, methinks. And I myself do not ever want to fully know "the truth" (I do not believe that there is any One universal truth) Just many different paths and gods leading into the same hub--god, if you will (I stole that from a Catholic nun who taught me how to meditate in the contemplative tradition).

just my two cents,

~B

Tuesday

Yeah I actually did think of getting into Wicca for a little while. For the exact reason you stated, I was involved in Witnessism for so long that I wanted to go the exact opposite route, or what I percieved as the exact opposite route (in a positive way, I didn't view Satanism as a positive life route). In the end I felt like Bobby in King Of The Hill when his older friends that are Wiccan are basically revealed to him. I felt really stupid thinking of lighting a candle then chanting things over and over again, or taking a bath with herbs and so forth. In the end it to me was the same as worshipping Jehovah because there was no guarantee or anything, if I pray for Jehovah's help there's a 9/10ths chance that nothing is going to happen, and it turned out the same with Wiccanism for me. Just my expirience, anyone who wants to practice wicca by all means do so, it wasn't for me though.

parakeet

Tuesday: "In the end it to me was the same as worshipping Jehovah because there was no guarantee or anything ..."

No matter what path you take, there's only one guarantee in life. Keep exploring your options -- you'll find a path that works for you.

esw1966

Nope...

Curiosity dictates a question like this...

Share this