***I used to be a Pagan and my best friend was a Christian.***
I agree with much in your post and disagree with a few things.
***People are not worshipping the old Greek Gods.***
The people in the article claim to be. Revival of the old religions is a bad sign for the Western world.
***I'd pay more attention to the worship of money of so many around you.***
Agree! You can not serve God an mammon.
***Are we engaging in idolotry when we celebrate Christmas?***
Well, to use your point, if you are consumed with the greedy, gift-oriented side of it... then yes! :)
***but I do have Pagan jewelry showing images of the Gods and if I thought for a minute that Jesus was offended by the contents of my jewelry box, I'd dump them on ebay.***
I too came out of deep spiritual darkness. As one how has seen the other side, I would seriously caution you about keeping (especially wearing) items from a Pagan (read demonic) background. I have done quite a bit of reading into the expericence of people coming out of the occult/paganism and seemingly harmless things can have unexpected consequences years later. Freepmail me if you want to know more.
>>I too came out of deep spiritual darkness. As one how has seen the other side, I would seriously caution you about keeping (especially wearing) items from a Pagan (read demonic) background. I have done quite a bit of reading into the expericence of people coming out of the occult/paganism and seemingly harmless things can have unexpected consequences years later. >>
While it is true that false religions come from the devil, the old Pagans did not know the word because it hadn't been spoken yet. Their intentions were not demonic, because they knew of no Christian devil at that time. Their religions were not based on any bible characters and that is what Christians don't understand. They didn't and don't believe in satan and their religion does not reflect him in its practice. They have their own evil deities, but few would worship or honor them. I detect some leftover Paganism in the old testament too, myths and characters from the region which parallel that of Pagan religions prior to knowledge of Yahweh. The Old testament was oral for so long, I find it hard to believe that every word was verbatum, and inspired by God.