Witchcraft QUESTION from Daniel English March 16, 2000 Why is it that the church can judge people for their beliefs? Witchcraft not that old pagan style that was practiced in the times of the Bible is not the same type of witchcraft that deals with black magic or sorcery. I have spent my life fighting those ideas that are based on centuries of being uneducated. I have practiced this form of paganism, but I have also practiced demon invocation. Which I assume you would already know about! The Spanish Inquisition led to the murder of thousands all in the name of your Christ. The fathers of that time were so full of them selves and their political connections that some would even make contracts with the dark one. The church and its history is filled with those who crossed over to the dark side not even your holy mother could save them. Now in this time the church has lost most of its power the youth themselves rebel just as the first angel rebelled. A penny for your thoughts!
Daniel
ANSWER by John-Paul Ignatius, O.L.S.M. on Tuesday, March 21, 2000 Dear Mr. English:
The Church can make such judgments because it is the representative of God on this planet and has been given the authority by God Himself to make infallible judgments on faith and morals. (i.e. Matt 16, Isaiah 22)
The Church is the pillar and foundation of Truth (1 Tim 3:15) and its Apostles speak with the voice of the Holy Spirit (Acts 15:28) and her priest are God's messengers to whom we seek instruction (Malachi 2:9)
St. Irenaeus (c. 200) said: For where the Church is, there is the Spirit of God, and where the Spirit of God, there the Church and every grace. The Spirit, however, is Truth.
The True God, the Creator of the universe, has always communicated with His People. Many peoples have sought him and in their attempt began to worship the creation, rather than the Creator. Once this mistake is done, it opens the door to all sorts of debachery and evil and error. St. Paul speaks of this:
Romans 1:17-25 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith. The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desire of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen.
St. Paul described how ALL people have a knowledge of the true God, but many fall astray from that knowledge and mistakenly begin to worship the creation instead of the creator. When this happens.... Paul continues....
Romans 1:26-32 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. n the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.
They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
This is not to say that every PERSON who is not Christian and believing in the True God becomes homosexual, depraved or any of the other things listed here per se, or approving of those things, but rather when the culture is one that denies the True God, these things will be predominate. Vis-a-vis, our own culture today.
This sort of culture is to be condemned because God Himself judges it to be condemned. All that runs counter to God's Truth, which is THEE Truth is to be judged.
Jesus established his Prime Minister in Peter, the Chair of Peter. It was upon this rock that the Church was built (Matt 16).
Jesus said that whoever hears the Church, hears Him (Luke 10:16).
The Church is God's judge and guide and teacher and governor and the Pope His Prime Minister on this earth. The Keys to the Kingdom of Christ are given to the Pope and the Magisterium (Matt 16, Isa. 22).
That is why the Church can judge.
As far as witchcraft in days gone by and that practiced today, you are wrong and right at the same time.
In todays New Age world there are forms of witchcraft that do not resemble the witchcraft of old. However, there are still witches who use herbs to mix potions for spells (this is what sorcery is). There are other kinds of witches who conjure spirits and communicate with the dead. These are all condemned (see. Deut. 18).
But even if we are talking about the most harmless of witches who are not much more than nature lovers, we are still talking about a condemned activity -- worshiping the creation rather than the creator, denying Christ and His teachings, for a naturalistic philosophy, turning one's back upon the Body of Christ, His Church. For that and that alone, condemnation is worthy.
As to the Spanish Inquisition, that was condemned by the Pope. It did not have Church approval and thus was NOT done in the name of the Church.
As for Christians who crossed over to the dark side. Yes, there have been many, and those who have done so will likely be in hell. The Church is full of sinners. Guess what, we are all sinners.
The Church on earth is not a place of perfect people, but a hospital of broken, sick, and sinful people. Jesus God is our physician.
Yes, even though Jesus offers healing and eternal life, some are so sinful that they abandon the faith and go to the dark side (sometimes even under the guise of being a good Catholic).
But there are many who remain faithful to the True God. God be praised!!
The issue is not numbers. Jesus Himself that the way to God is narrow and FEW would find it. The issue here is TRUTH and ETERNAL LIFE. That is found ONLY through the True God and His Son Jesus Christ.
You end with the most amusing statement: Now in this time the church has lost most of its power the youth themselves rebel just as the first angel rebelled.
I suspect that when you posted this question you lied when the question was asked, Are you 19 or over? Only a child would make this comment you end with.
First off, the Church has not lost its power. Its power is the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is ALL POWERFUL.
Secondly, the youth are not rebelling as they were. In fact the youth are re-discovering the True God and the Church in droves.
Thirdly, you are correct when you say that those rebel like the first angel did. Rebellion comes from unmitigated stupidity, arrogance, and pride, just as the Lucifer was stupid, arrogant and prideful and thus lost his place in heaven.
Only an idiot would purposely lose heaven.
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