How Neo-paganism Deceives the World and the Church
Why Nature Religions Predominate
by Bob DeWaay
…Today, not only is God’s revealed truth rejected regarding spiritual and unseen things, but human reason also is rejected. Now, having neither valid revelation from God (according to neo-pagans) we also are without valid truth from general revelation. The only category remaining is the occult (secret spiritual knowledge). This is precisely what the Serpent offered in Genesis:
Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’? The woman said to the serpent, ‘From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’ The serpent said to the woman, ‘You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ (Genesis 3:1-5)
Eve rebelled, and after her, Adam. Eve added to what God said (He never mentioned “touch it”) and rebelled against what was said. She was deceived, believing lies from a wicked spiritual source (Satan). The Serpent offered secret, spiritual knowledge that he claimed would make them like God. The rejection of God and His revelation erases the distinction between the Creator and the creature and leaves the creature in spiritual darkness, unsure of what God has said. Occult knowledge comes from spiritually wicked sources and intends to destroy us. Yet neo-paganism has nothing but occult knowledge, having rejected divine revelation and compromised truth from general revelation (what can be known using our God-given senses and rationality). If Satan and evil spirits exist as the Bible says, then those who embrace neo-pagan occultism are at the mercy of these evil forces intent in destroying them. This is true despite the warm, romantic feelings that might deceptively accompany occult practices (bold mine-this is true of the pagan/papist “feels good” “holy” days with their decorated trees and eggs, imho. Please note that I’m not speaking for Bob DeWaay)…
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How the Church Becomes Pagan
Understanding that only authoritative, inerrant revelation stands as the alternative to paganism, we can see why the situation is so dire in the contemporary church. Several movements have driven clear, well articulated truth from churches. One such movement is the church growth movement. I have documented it and the other movements in previous issues of CIC. But here we shall see how they set the stage for paganism.
The seeker movement exists to please the religious sensibilities of the “unchurched.” Since the unconverted see no value in clear authoritative Bible teaching, it is pushed aside. Inasmuch as the services and ministries of the large numbers of churches that have been infected by these ideas minimize and marginalize divine revelation in Scripture, the pagan ideas of those who attend soon become the agenda of the church. The people come into the church as functional pagans and stay that way. The only possible mitigating influence has been taken away. This situation is dire and, quite frankly, sinful. (bold mine; again-imho, not speaking for Bob DeWaay, it was a “seeker-sensitive” move by the Church in Rome to “christianize” paganism -Christo-paganism- despite God’s Word warning us not to worship Him in such manner)
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The X Mass Blog 
Reblogged this on quotes and notes and opinions.
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We need to exercise caution and discernment when being taught the practice of meditation by supposed Christian teachers!
FTA: Meditation is the sine qua non (i.e. the indispensible, essential action, condition or ingredient) of neo-pagan religion. What these practitioners of meditation do not know is that a malevolent, spiritual force is behind their experience, however beneficial it may seem. As the Serpent deceived Eve in the Garden, claiming she would be like God, he continues to teach the same to neo-pagans today. Once the truth of God, revealed in the Bible, is rejected, the deception of Satan will take its place. Evil spirits give neo-paganism its spiritual power and reality. It truly is spiritual, in a most wicked sense of the word. The spiritual reality behind this is what drives it and is its Achilles heel. Liberal theologians who promote this monistic worldview cannot account for the possibility of a real Satan and real demons who deceive humans. If these exist, as the Bible says, then even the “good” experiences that people have in meditation are dangerous and damning. Wicked spirits have inhabited the spirit world for millennia. They know their way around, and they are intent to deceive. Meditation is the access humans have to these spirits, though they think they are contacting a panentheistic deity.
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FTA: While the evil of popular religion was exaggerated, St Clement omits all reference to its possible good. Today, we may admire Greek learning, art and literature without much reference to the myths and religion that produced them, but such discrimination was not to be found in the Second Century. In St Clement’s day, Christianity was still struggling for its existence, and popular religion, whose essence was the myths, was its deadliest enemy.
MYTHS OF GREECE AND ROME
‘Christian attitudes to pagan mythology in the period between 150 and 500 AD veered between extreme hostility and the desire to save as much as possible for continued use and enjoyment.’
http://www.academia.edu/1899184/Christian_Attitudes_to_Pagan_Mythology_c.150_-_500_A.D
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Also FTA: Christianity, at the end of the First Century, had completed a great leap from a Jewish to aHellenistic milieu, giving up a Jewish identity almost entirely for a Hellenistic one. This new world into which the Church had moved, however was viewed as hostile to itself and to true religion. Some Christians felt that this present world order – the religion, myths, philosophy and culture of the Hellenistic world were alien to the Christian identity, and to be entirely refuted, a thing destined for destruction. However, the Church also wished to convert this pagan world, and to do so, had to speak its language – the language of myth, philosophy and eloquence. Thus, in spite of the polemics against pagan literature, religion, and culture which fills the second- and third- century apologetic literature, Christianity began to present itself as a superior philosophy, a superior eloquence, and to argue with paganism in terms of pagan values! It still considered the pagan world to be a work of the devil, and yet, unless it was to remain an illiterate religion of the lower classes, it could do nothing else but adopt the culture of this world, being the only culture it knew.
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Great conclusion~
FTA: The whole story of how Christianity came to terms with a foreign mythology and assimilated it, makes us reflect on how a new society comes to terms with the unavoidable heritage of the centuries before. From the initial blind polemics of the early apologists, to the St Basil the Great’s Ad adulescentes, to the happy mix in Synesius’ poem, we can see that as the Roman empire converted to Christianity, Christianity itself was converted to the culture and ideals of the Roman world.
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~Christo-paganism, which creates an impure admixture of worship rejected by God. There’s a very good reason God tells the true Church to, “Come out from among them!”
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Seriously, the desire for the upper class with their riches to be contributors to the Church’s coffers may have been the beginning of the Church’s downward spiral into Christo-paganism. We see man’s way overruled God’s way-was He not the supplier of, and the increaser of, the Church without the help of the wealthy pagans? What could it be other than the greed of the Church leaders that they could not trust God for the growth, direction and well-being of the Church that they had to disobey God’s Word for “His sake?” Same as it is today…sadly.
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Just a note-the author says that Constantine was a convert to Christianity. Despite that common mistaken belief this is a fascinating read.
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