Posted on 08/23/2004 6:34:52 AM PDT by missyme
In the UK, Brighton proudly wears the title these days -Capital of Occulture. This year's Occulture festivities began on July 19th and exhibited bigger than ever venues - sacred music and dance, clarivoyance, psychic and tarot readers, chakra, traditional witchcraft, tatooing, piercing, fetish satanism, shamanism, transcendent techniques, and lectures favoring paganism from the original Book of Shadows.
Marquee this year was the 'Pleasure Dome" where magicians, sorcerers and witches discussed their trade, including Mogg Morgon, founder of the Golden Dawn Occult Society, Ralph Harvey, a prominent Wiccan High Priest, and Emrys, a Shaman of the Cromlech Covenant.
According to the Occulture Festival's News Page, Mark Ramsden, an accomplished jazz musician with deep interest in the occult was this year's compere. "Old Occulture hands may remember Mark from the infamous Black Friday 2001 - 'a night of dark lascivious delights'" - the website says.
In the U.S., the number of earth-worshipping pagans at the Burning Man Festivals have grown to tens of thousands. People come from Canada, Brazil, Germany, Russia, and 25 other countries to an isolated corner of Black Rock Desert in Nevada, where other wiccans, satanists, goddesses, nudists, and a consortium of party-goers converge on the hot Nevada desert for a Labor Day weekend of "glorious Hell on earth."
Recent Burning Man festivals included The Floating World, based on the New Age concept that "Reality is so big we must protect ourselves from it.... Our little worlds, in truth, are ships that float upon a sea," the Chaos Cabaret, a dinner theater devoted to celebrating the two purest forms of chaos: the Maelstrom (a violent, disordered, turbulent state bursting with activity) and the Abyss ( an immeasurable place of the damned), "Motel 666", and "Crucifixion With a Celebrity" where one could purchase a picture of a crucified obese Elvis while eating hamburgers sold by devil-worshippers at the McSatan cafe wearing T-shirts that proudly proclaimed, "Praise The Whore!"
As in the past, this year's clothing-optional Burning Man offers a no-holds-barred "Woodstock" style festival where neo-pagans, wiccans, transvestitie entertainers, curiosity seekers, and old hippies can go to trance, perform rituals, burn sacrifices to deities, fornicate, and otherwise "express" themselves.
The 40-foot-high effigy Burning Man (the "Spirit Cave Man"-- sacred to local Indians and New Agers) will be torched as usual together with just about everything else at the close of the festivity.
UNDERSTANDING THE OCCULT FIRES PHENOMENON
The spirit of the occult has existed since the beginning of time. Like an insidious cancer—unseen, patient, deadly—it has grown. Indications of its presence have been felt occasionally, and confirmations of its actuality have been documented from Brighton to Washington D.C.
As we approach the culmination of the “new order of the ages,” cult experts forecast a continuing revival of such mysticism. While church attendance continues to decline across the United States and Britain, adherents of the occult expand their "services" to meet the desires and mystical interests of a spiritually hungry world.
New Age expert Judy Vorfeld says, “Dabbling in the realm of the occult is currently stylish. Even some Christians seem unable to avoid the attraction of this colorful, seductive world.”
She's right. From Burning Man festivals to public school Environmental Education to faddish television good-guys and bad-girls, today’s generation is lapping up as much New Age Occultianity as they can get their hands on. Whether it's comic book heroes that teach youth the dangerous Persephonian idea that a person can be in league with the devil and still be a good person, or the syncretistic goals of the Occulture Festival and Burning Man, the glowing fire of pagan revival can no longer be denied.
THE REAL BURNING MAN
From a Biblical point of view, powerful and ancient entities are behind the revival of paganism. In the air above and the earth beneath are nefarious progenitors of esoteric mysticism. “Demons” to some and “gods” to others, such forces have numerous titles. They can appear in hideous forms or as beautiful angels of light. They are the “wicked spirits” (poneria: the collective body of demon soldiers comprising Satan’s hordes), “rulers of darkness” (kosmokrators: governing spirits of darkness), “powers” (exousia: high ranking powers of evil), and “principalities” (arche: commanding generals over Satan’s fallen army) of Ephesians 6:12. As the "gods and goddesses" of the underworld, they live today and encourage mysticism among pagans, witches, New Agers and even church-goers.
later
I live fairly close to the Burning Man Festival site and can say with some certainty that the average BMF-goer is motivated by sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll.
(Don't be put off just because BJ Clinton was a Quigley fan too...)
In a word, it's just a stage of growth. Unfortunately, one of the terminal stages of growth ;)
Proably true, but that does not negate the fact that in other countries where people are leading Goldless lives, Paganism has had a massive growth.....
I guess the question is, what do you mean by "massive growth?"
How many pagans are there in the US?
I don't know that? Is the ACLU Pagans? are homosexuals that are trying to enforce there values on people that follow the Holy Scriptures Pagans? Pagans are idol worshippers and I guess they can manifest there forms of worship in many ways that would be considered paganism...
I have also read that many people around the globe that are dis-illusioned with the Bigggest Mainstream Religions of the world:
Christianity, Judiasm and Islam are beginning to think that they have failed, they bring no PEACE and only cause wars and dis-harmony in people's lives, saying that these people would be easliy swayed into Paganism.
Paganism is just one of may narcisitic, self-absorbed approaches to finding "meaning" or other fulfillment absent a set of well-grounded spiritual principals. Rather than worry about the "rise" of paganism, Churches and their members should focus on evangelizing and being better examples themselves.
Oh, I forgot, some of us are too busy complaining about the practices of the church next door to worry about spreading the Gospel to others.
That seems to be a pretty broad definition of pagan. One could be, for example, a Christian and a member of the ACLU. Similarly, one could be gay but also consider themselves Jewish etc.
I think you can only count people who consider themselves to be pagan as part of this group.
It's easy to paint this in such a way as to make it look like there is a new trend away from Christianity. All it is is a shift from evolution and "the age of reason" to a slightly more headonistic way to not be a Christian.
Many reports regarding Paganism is coming out of Europe, when you see such GODLESSNESS in many of those countries that endorse Homosexuality, Abortion on Command, Anti-Semitism, then it is no suprise that Paganism would be endorsed also..free for all for people to do there own thing with no repercussions from GOD Almighty....
I notice, as I always do, that anything related to paganism has a very strong gay sex slant to it. For so many of them paganism is just a fantacy or a dress code or a conversation piece but what they are really about is promiscous gay sex. I think what is really changing in society is that these Goddless queers and witches are becoming beyone acceptable and altogether vogue. My family has recently become fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the token paganism and gayness is all over the series.
it just means that they are less able to distinguish between genuine gospel and feel-good ritual??? yes but where does this eventually lead people to?
I agree..Acceptance of Homosexuality in Mainstream society is like opening up Pandora's Box...
Too often it leads people into New Age groups. I think that people who have been exposed to Christianity as children are more likely to return to it after experimenting with neo-paganism. Children who were not exposed to Christianity having a longer, harder road when neo-paganism fails them.
I don't know about Judisism or Islam but Christianity never was meant to bring peace to the world.
"Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." Matt 10:34
It's getting close to the day of the Lord. The end is near.
Luke 17:26
26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
(KJV)
Gen 6:5-8
5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
(KJV)
Christianity brings PEACE to your heart....
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