Showing posts with label Essay Spirituality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Essay Spirituality. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Curious do a bible search

As a seminary student, I am always looking for more information about the Bible. As I study to become a pastor for other people, it is extremely important that I learn all I can about the Bible and that I utilize all of the resources that are available to me. I had never heard of a Bible search until recently, but doing them has radically changed my ability to learn and process information about the Bible. What I love about studying the Bible is that I am always curious and hungry to learn more. I am a firm believer that people should spend their lives doing things of value that they deeply enjoy. So when the change came for me to further my education with seminary I jumped at it. Just a few months into my classes, the Bible search tools that I have been taught have by far been the most valuable source of new knowledge that I have discovered. Are you curious to learn more about the Bible? Perhaps you are taking a Bible class or are just wanting to learn for your own benefit. It doesn't matter why you want to know more, it simply matters that you can know more by doing a Bible search or two on the information you are seeking. I love that a Bible search can both satisfy my curiousity and yet leave me desiring more knowledge. What a great thing! A Bible search can happen in many ways. There are many great tools to be used, but by far some of the best can be found in libraries, at bookshops, or even on the internet. Basically, a Bible search is done whenever a learner uses tools to try to gain more knowledge about a particular passage or theme in Scripture. The Bible search doesn't have to be official, it simply has to be helpful in teaching you more about the Bible. If you are curious about learning more about a Bible search tool or two, find someone to talk with. This may mean talking with a pastor or setting up a time to meet with a Bible professor at a local college. Do whatever you can to be proactive about doing a Bible search to do more. You will be so glad that you did and the knowledge you learn will be the most helpful thing in the world for you and your future.


Wednesday, August 31, 2016

The history of wicca where did the craft originate

The history of Wicca or “The Craft” is complex but traditional Wicca is rooted in the so called "British Mystery Traditions", for example the Picts, who existed before the rise of Celtic consciousness, the Celts, and some Celtic Druidism. Wicca predates Christianity by about 28 000 years. A variety of archaeological discoveries, reveal that the history of Wicca can be traced as far back as the Paleolithic peoples who worshipped a Hunter God and a Fertility Goddess. Cave paintings, that are dated at around 30,000 years old, depict a man with the head of a stag, and a pregnant woman standing in a circle with eleven other people. Modern American Wicca has its roots in British Wicca, brought to the United States in the late 1950's by English and American initiates of Gardnerian, Alexandrian and Celtic Wicca. These are different forms of Wiccan tradition. All of these cultures form part and parcel of the history of Wicca. The ancient Greek Mysteries of Eleusis, Italian Mysteries of Rome, Etruria and the general countryside, Mysteries of Egypt and Persia before Islam, and various Babylonian, Assyrian and other mid-eastern Mysteries also find a place in the history of Wicca and its beliefs and traditional practices. Perhaps the best way to describe Wicca is to call it a modern religion, based on ancient witchcraft traditions. But do bear in mind that not all those who practice witchcraft today are Wiccas. Wicca is a both a belief system and a way of life. Over the years information about how Wiccan ancestors lived and worshipped has been lost due to actions of the medieval church. However, modern Wiccas have tried to reconstruct the history of Wicca in an effort to lay the foundation for their practices. During ancient times Wicca was called "The Craft of the Wise". This name was derived from the fact that most Wiccas aligned themselves with the forces of nature. They also had knowledge of herbs and medicines, gave council and were important in the village and community as Shamanic healers and leaders. The history of Wicca indicates that Wiccas once had a prized place in society which is quite a contrast to how they are viewed today. Ancient Wiccas felt that man was not superior to nature, the earth and its creatures. Instead they were only one aspect of the world. The idea of sustainable development to maintain balance and equilibrium was central to the belief systems of the ancient Wicca. The history of Wicca is a far cry from the way that man views the earth today. In the last several hundred years, witchcraft and witches have been incorrectly labeled as evil and unrighteous. Where do these ideas that form so much a part of the history of Wicca originate? Some Wiccas believe that the medieval church of the 15th through 18th centuries created these myths. This was done in an effort to covert people to Christianity. The history of Wicca contains many stories of the persecution of witches based on so called “evil” practices. Another theory about the history of Wicca is that as medical science became more prominent in society those who did these initial studies did not understand female physiology, especially menstruation. This “mystery” seemed to fit in with the churches agenda in labeling healers as evil heathens and placing power and respect in the hands of male physicians. Many of these myths and superstitions have survived in modern times giving The Craft a bad name. While Wicca is essentially witchcraft, those who practice it usually do not refer to it as such because of these negative connotations. The history of Wicca is important since it is the persecution of those who practiced it that has led to its current ethic of “religious freedom first”.