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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo#Influence

Jean Bethke Elshtain in Augustine and the Limits of Politics finds likeness between Augustine and Arendt in their concepts of evil: "Augustine did not see evil as glamorously demonic but rather as absence of good, something which paradoxically is really nothing.

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ORIGINAL: BenevolentM

Hey you with the supercomputer. Give me a hand here.

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ORIGINAL: chatterbox24

Feel free to believe whatever you want.

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ORIGINAL: freedomdwarf1

My brother is a Wiccan high priest.
That side of the family have a recognised coven.
I sent him your opening post and the one thing he absolutely exploded about was the tarot cards.
Basically he said, no proper and decent Wiccan would indulge in tarot because it belongs in the Black Arts, not Wiccan.

I myself, loosely follow the ways of Pagan and more druid than neo.
No doubt you'll get the bible bashers on here too.
So you'll probably need a thick skin to be tolerant of them as they can be quite vociferous.

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ORIGINAL: Kirata

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ORIGINAL: TNDommeK

I've recently become very interested in candle magic and tarot.
My wife labels me as a witch. She knows more about this stuff than me.
I asked how I can be such and follow the Christian or Christ like faith.
She explains magic isn't a religion.

The Crowley Tarot (The Book of Thoth) is based on the Tree of Life (as some would argue all versions are), about which the following:

In Christian Cabala, Tiphereth is especially associated with Jesus Christ, 'God the Son' (as opposed to Kether, which is God the father, and Yesod, the Holy Spirit). This is because this is the Sephirah in which the divine force 'sacrifices' itself, transmutating into the forces of energy and matter, in order that creation might come to be. It is the sephirah in which 'God becomes a mortal man'. Illustrative of the process of Tipharet is Jesus' teaching in the Book of John, "No one comes to the Father except through me". Kether is raw energy as the Godhead and is as such unknowable by the conscious mind; Tiphareth (the son) balances the force and form of Kether and Yesod respectively allowing Kether to assume a knowable form. A Christian mystic, in relating to Jesus, repeats the process in the other direction, by transmutating that which is lower, in order to achieve the divine. In terms of the Kabbalah, Tipharet encompasses not only "God the Son" but also the related myths of Osiris and other sacrificial gods. ~Source

K.

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ORIGINAL: BenevolentM

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ORIGINAL: chatterbox24

Not for me.

Psalms 5 chapter 1 KJV

give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation .

Psalms 104 vs. 34

my meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord.

meditation can include God.

Does this sound like what a witch would talk about? Ha your silly!

I am only pressing you to consider the possibility. It is easy to find passages in the Bible to argue one's point. Meditation can include God.

Wrestling with chatterbox24. chatterbox24 is slippery! Surely, she is a witch! ha ha

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ORIGINAL: chatterbox24

Now Good Sir, if I am a witch, a slippery one at that, am I the Good witch or the Bad witch? Shall I ride a broom and cackle? Or should I wave a wand and smile?

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ORIGINAL: chatterbox24

I use what I believe in as argument, these words hold much more power then any I can recite. My words have not been in existence for centuries. My words are not published and distributed to the masses. Empowering Words.

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ORIGINAL: BenevolentM

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ORIGINAL: chatterbox24

Feel free to believe whatever you want.

chatterbox24 I am reproducing something freedomdwarf1 posted in

Pagan/Wiccan/Druidism Discussion
http://www.collarchat.com/m_4670514/mpage_1/tm.htm
Post 5

chiefly for your benefit since you accused him of being an atheist. Unfortunately, you goofed on this one. It reminds me of my early days when I asked girls to dance, I wouldn't always remember who I had already asked. I got better with experience.

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ORIGINAL: freedomdwarf1

My brother is a Wiccan high priest.
That side of the family have a recognised coven.
I sent him your opening post and the one thing he absolutely exploded about was the tarot cards.
Basically he said, no proper and decent Wiccan would indulge in tarot because it belongs in the Black Arts, not Wiccan.

I myself, loosely follow the ways of Pagan and more druid than neo.
No doubt you'll get the bible bashers on here too.
So you'll probably need a thick skin to be tolerant of them as they can be quite vociferous.

Oh please, give me a break.

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ORIGINAL: BenevolentM

On Free Choice of the Will
by Saint Augustine
Translated by Anna S. Benjamin
ISBN 0-672-60368-3

The first page is page 3. Is God the cause of evil?

Evodius. Tell me, please, whether God is not the cause of evil.

Augustine. I shall, if you explain what kind of evil you mean. For we usually speak of evil in two senses: one when we mean that someone has done evil; the other, when we mean that someone has suffered evil.

E. I want to know about both kinds.

A. But if you know or believe that God is good (and it is not right to believe otherwise), God does not do evil. Also, if we admit that God is just (and it is sacrilege to deny this), He assigns rewards to the righteous and punishments to the wicked--punishments that are indeed evil for those who suffer them. Therefore, if no one suffers punishment unjustly (this too we must believe, since we believe that the universe is governed by divine Providence), God is the cause of the second kind of evil, but not of the first.

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ORIGINAL: BenevolentM

One of the central questions is, Is your understanding of the Divine corrupt?

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ORIGINAL: Kirata

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ORIGINAL: GotSteel

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ORIGINAL: chatterbox24

Thats fine. Feel free to believe whatever you want. Life is good.

And there it is again, no ability to engage intellectually. That's not what a average IQ should look like the choices you've made come with noticeable negative consequences.

You are confusing a lack of interest with a lack of ability. And personally, at least, I can't see any negative consequences arising from declining to engage any further with you. The reality would seem to be that she's smarter than you thought.

K.

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ORIGINAL: chatterbox24

I read about this man. St Augustine as you requested. Boom, just like that, I felt he was sad. Sad for his past decisions.
I was suppose to be reading his knowledge correct? One thing did stand out of the reading, but remember I am a simpleton and my interpretation comes from somewhere else. WAY OUT THERE.
Self unity with God. I liked that part. That was the good part. I am sure there was more, but that was the jest of it. That is all, other then, he was a mama's boy and left his partner and child of many years, to pursue a BETTER SOCIAL STANDING. He tore his heart out, and injured and abandoned his family to what pursue a better worldly greedy knowledge based position? Me thinks he reasoned to much. Which leads me to believe it effected him adversely his entire life.
But of course, he was a brilliant man of study, a great mind, his work is basically what he had?
I do hope this doesn't insult you Ben, my take on St Augustine. ITs not personal.

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ORIGINAL: BenevolentM

The Protestants advocate that all men were created equal. If all men were created equal, then the title of Saint given to some men and women becomes a mere honorary title. As I see it the Saints make it possible for lesser men and women to achieve Salvation. They assist mankind in achieving Salvation even after death. The existence of a puritanical spectrum makes it all a lot more plausible. Since God is just those who have done more will have a greater standing in Heaven than those who have done little. If it is just, what compliant will you have?

The God is the man with the supercomputer analogy suggests that those who assist in working out the solution will be rewarded.