Fox News has a Wiccan/Pagan Bashing Session

[Osama bin Bambi]

I've actually heard people refer to witchcraft as their religion. But if you want lots of holidays, you should try Judaism. Not only do we have several, but we also have better food.

"Neopaganism" and "Witchcraft" fall roughly under the same umbrella religion-wise. My impression was that Neopaganism tries to reconstruct an old pagan belief while Witchcraft does not necessarily draw from historical sources.

[Witchyjoshy]

Witchcraft is not so much a religion as it is a "way of life."

You can basically append it to any other religion (or philosophy even) and theoretically the two should be able to coexist.

Such as Christian Witches, Jewish Witches, Buddhist Witches, what have you.

Wicca is a "Witch-Cult" but at the same time not all wiccans are actually witches.  (Or maybe they are -- I've heard wiccans say both)

Of course, when a religion specifically has compunctions against witchcraft, the question is whether it's wise for them to call themselves such

[Vypernight]

http://www.themaneater.com/stories/2013/2/19/fox-news-attack-mu-religious-tolerance-insulting/

Also, the main idea of the article, Wiccans being allowed to miss tests during their holidays, is also utter bullshit.  According to that article, they are still respnsible for all work that needs to be done.  Nobody gets any free pass. 

I don't know what shocks me more, that Fox news spews this crap, or that people believe it.  I'm not even Wiccan and it pisses me off.

Of course, when I was younger and playing D&D, I was accused of practicing witchcraft and summoning demons.  However, I never 'practiced' anything; I just read a bunch of witchcraft books.  And, unfortunately, none of them has demon-summoning spells, not even the Satanic Bible.

[Osama bin Bambi]

http://www.themaneater.com/stories/2013/2/19/fox-news-attack-mu-religious-tolerance-insulting/

Also, the main idea of the article, Wiccans being allowed to miss tests during their holidays, is also utter bullshit.  According to that article, they are still respnsible for all work that needs to be done.  Nobody gets any free pass. 

I don't know what shocks me more, that Fox news spews this crap, or that people believe it.  I'm not even Wiccan and it pisses me off.

Of course, when I was younger and playing D&D, I was accused of practicing witchcraft and summoning demons.  However, I never 'practiced' anything; I just read a bunch of witchcraft books.  And, unfortunately, none of them has demon-summoning spells, not even the Satanic Bible.

Every year for the past three years my school has scheduled the parent-teacher night on Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur (due to the fluctuation of the Jewish calendar), despite our repeated requests each year to hold it on a more convenient evening. Now, my family's not so strict that they refuse to do anything else on those holidays, but there are other families at the school who take it a lot more seriously and would really like to just celebrate their holiday in peace without having to go to meet the teachers that night, thank you very much.

I mean, everyone should at least get a pass for the most important holidays of the year.

[Material Defender]

Oh god, the stupid. I'd say more, but I know nothing about Wicca as a religion... just that even how little I know, these people are just dumb.

[ThunderWulf]

http://www.themaneater.com/stories/2013/2/19/fox-news-attack-mu-religious-tolerance-insulting/

Also, the main idea of the article, Wiccans being allowed to miss tests during their holidays, is also utter bullshit.  According to that article, they are still respnsible for all work that needs to be done.  Nobody gets any free pass. 

I don't know what shocks me more, that Fox news spews this crap, or that people believe it.  I'm not even Wiccan and it pisses me off.

Of course, when I was younger and playing D&D, I was accused of practicing witchcraft and summoning demons.  However, I never 'practiced' anything; I just read a bunch of witchcraft books.  And, unfortunately, none of them has demon-summoning spells, not even the Satanic Bible.

The Satanic bible is actually fairly atheistic if you actually read some of the philosophies.

[Vypernight]

I know.  It was a joke based on the the Satanic scare years ago.  Also, I saw a Youtube video about a 'former Satanist,' who claimed the Satanic Bible appeared magically on a shelf in front of him at the book store.  When I commented that the book has nothing magical, people went nuts, pointing to the spells at the end.  I never got a reply when I pointed out the spells about as much magical potential as those cast in Wizards of Waverly Place.

[SpaceProg]

LaVeyan Satanists are pretty much just Athiests who concentrate on pleasuring the self and the baser parts of life because if you only live once, you may as well have fun.  They DO have a code of honor/ethics though.
The spells and stuff are just bullshit.  Confirmed by LaVey himself.

[ScrappyB]

Uh, isn't Halloween one of those pagan holidays that got "taken over" like Christmas and Easter?

[SpaceProg]

Yes.  Samhain.

[Witchyjoshy]

Uh, isn't Halloween one of those pagan holidays that got "taken over" like Christmas and Easter?

That's how the story goes, pretty much.

Samhain, as a harvest festival, was also considered the time when the veil between worlds was thin.  So people would wear masks (I forget why at the moment and I can't be arsed to look it up) and leave gifts of food for the mischievous spirits and such.  Or, in essence, treats were given to prevent tricks.

Then it became Hallowed Eve due to Christian influence and somehow information got put into a blender and mixed up, and commercialism kicked in.  And now it's Halloween.

The Samhain that pagans practice is different from the Samhain that was practiced in the past, because it takes an entire town to practice the old Samhain.

Christmas is an amalgamation of several holy days, though.  One of them being Saturnalia (which is... Roman I think?), and another being Yule.

Still, even commercialized holidays can be celebrated without the commercialism.  Sometimes the best Christmas is the Christmas where the presents were opened on Christmas Eve and you get to spend the day as a family, eating warm good food.

[Osama bin Bambi]

LaVeyan Satanists are pretty much just Athiests who concentrate on pleasuring the self and the baser parts of life because if you only live once, you may as well have fun.  They DO have a code of honor/ethics though.
The spells and stuff are just bullshit.  Confirmed by LaVey himself.

My impression that they only do spells and ceremonies for show and not because they think they have any actual effect. Like, you can pull some bullshit theatrics all you want, but unless you actually accompany it with action and go out and do it for yourself, nothing is accomplished.

[Auggziliary]

Uh, isn't Halloween one of those pagan holidays that got "taken over" like Christmas and Easter?

That's how the story goes, pretty much.

Samhain, as a harvest festival, was also considered the time when the veil between worlds was thin.  So people would wear masks (I forget why at the moment and I can't be arsed to look it up) and leave gifts of food for the mischievous spirits and such.  Or, in essence, treats were given to prevent tricks.

Then it became Hallowed Eve due to Christian influence and somehow information got put into a blender and mixed up, and commercialism kicked in.  And now it's Halloween.

The Samhain that pagans practice is different from the Samhain that was practiced in the past, because it takes an entire town to practice the old Samhain.

Christmas is an amalgamation of several holy days, though.  One of them being Saturnalia (which is... Roman I think?), and another being Yule.

Still, even commercialized holidays can be celebrated without the commercialism.  Sometimes the best Christmas is the Christmas where the presents were opened on Christmas Eve and you get to spend the day as a family, eating warm good food.

Didn't trick or treating start when douchebag kids went around pretending to be demons to get medieval candy? (Seriously they didn't have anything fun back then, so you would have to give them like a dead butterfly or a daisy to chew on).