Halloween Cults

[Pumpkin_Man]

I don't think anyone even pays that much attention to them. My niece is into wicca, and she usualy does something special on Halloween Night.

Oh, and while Halloween may be rooted in Peagan rituals, many Christians celebrate All Hallows Eve as the day before All Saints Day and All Souls Day. I consider it a 'holy day' for entirely different reasons then do Peagans or Wiccans.

Mike

[iHaunt]

I don't join any Halloween cults, neither am I, the Halloween cult follower... I only believe that Halloween holiday is great and fun for all of age from kids to adults.

[DemonSlayerMau]

Any and all cults are evil and should be avoided. I'm saying this plain and simple. These cults are dangerous, and once you get in, they grip ahold of you like thorns and make it near impossible to escape.
I don't believe in sacrificing of animals to some strange gods that could be demon spirits.
I see no harm in celebrating halloween, as long as you don't turn it into something that invites evil like this.

[tantraman]

there is so much stuff out there. Its hard to filter it all. I am not a part of anything and neither is anyone I know. Just do what you normally do on halloween and let nature take its course. There will always be stuff out there that no one agree with.

[Samhain]

I don't find the Wiccans to be a paticularly objectionable group of people.
Legitimate ones seem to be more concerned with celebrating nature than anything. Of course, there are goofy people out there who do all kinds of weird stuff on Halloween. They are in the minority, though.
Let's face it, some religious groups will never accept Halloween.
That's their problem.

[adrian]

I don't really know of any Halloween cults. especially around here. i just decorate and have fun

[wh2205]

i dont think halloween is affected by these cults. i also dont think to much of the church's trying to stop halloween from being celebrated. its a shame people cant just enjoy the holiday

[Pumpkin_Man]

DemonSlayer, Halloween has nothing to do with cults, or the sacrofice of animals. Besides that, the most dangerous cults are unfortunately based in Chrsitianity, and have an all out ban on the celebration of Halloween. I'm not going to name any in particular because I don't want to offend anyone, and I also don't want to turn this into a religious debate. Sufice it to say, that Halloween is actualy considered a holy day by many Christians, and especialy Catholics.

Mike

[ElMuertoMan17]

I don't think anyone really cares about those cults anymore, and I think they have diminished. I haven't heard of anything like that in a long time.

[hippieluvn]

i am a proud, halloween-loving, born again pagan-catholic and freethinker/humanist... i'm also a good person, too

“The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.”
~Thomas Paine

“You need not think alike to love alike.”
~Francis David

[WitchyMama]

When I hear cult I don't think of Wicca, witches, and the rituals we perform on Samhain. i think of idiots who go out and purposely make us pagans look bad who aren't even pagan.

And let me clarify, todays Witches and rituals do not include any sort of animal sacrifice. I would never and could never be a part of something where we killed an animal. The stories that come out now about such things occuring tend to be teenagers who don't know what the hell they are doing and want to create a fuss. It is true that in ancient times pagans did do animal sacrifice, that is a historical fact that cannot be ignored. However, people need to know that it doesn't occur anymore. And let me correct myself and mention that Santeria does still do animal sacrifice but honestly, I don't know any Santerians here. I think Santerians tend to be further south.

Many people don't realize how many pagans are actually in their town. We haven't diminished, we just don't feel a need to advertise what we are doing to non-pagans. We like to be left alone. Every year, we have this one pastor who gathers about 40 cohorts to come protest our rituals and he tries really hard to interrupt what we are doing. Quite silly if you ask me, we don't show up at churches protesting a service...why bother people who don't bother you?

Anyway, my point is. Don't assume that all Wiccans & Witches are out doing these horrible things. It's usually a poser.

[Rising Dead Man]

Is this paster one of those "God hates fags" guys?

[Pumpkin_Man]

WitchyMama, the vast majority, if not all cults, are based in Christianity, and not Peaganism. At least I don't know of any cults based in Wicca or Peaganism. As a Catholic I can tell you that I bare no malice what so ever against any other religion, be it Jewish, Islam, or Peagan. My niece is into Wicca, as are a lot of the students in the college where I work.

All I ask is that you don't get offended if I happen to use the expression "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Easter." Those Christian are a part of my tradition and culture, and I mean no disrespect of your culture by using them. I don't go along with 'political correctness,' but that does not mean that I can't see your right to be Peagan or Wiccan.

Mike

[WitchyMama]

He isn't with WBC (they are notorius for "God hates fags") but he is a Southern Baptist and in my area they tend to be the most vocal about condemning people to hell.

I NEVER take offense to anyone wishing me Merry Christmas or Happy Easter! I take it as a compliment. I find the whole arguing over who "owns" the holiday and who has the "right" to celebrate it quite silly. Both seasons are supposed to be expressed with love in our hearts regardless of what the actual holiday is we are celebrating, doesn't set a good example when people start yelling "OMG they actually said Merry Christmas to me!! HOW DARE THEY!" Kinda takes away from the fun....and then what about the kids? My 9 yo once asked me "why do adults try to tell kids what to do and how to behave when they don't do it themselves?". She asked me that after seeing a news report of someone being offended about a christmas tree in an airport. It's really sad that we have gotten so PC.

[jadewik]

The actual definition of "cult" has been tainted over the years... it actually means any group of people who are unified in a system of beliefs-- you could have a cult about Baseball or something... and technically ANY church is a cult. Saying "All cults are bad" is like saying "All blondes are dumb"... When the reality is that bad cults are bad and good cults are good. I only mention this because of the History Channel's special on Cults, which included one, specific organized religion but not others.

The word "cult" has lately been attached to groups like "The Family"... or the "Manson Family"... or that one guy who made people drink the "magic punch" (I forget his name). It has a negative stigma associated with the word... really it's not a bad word-- people have just associated it with negative things.

So... be careful when you use the word "cult".