https://old.reddit.com/r/witchcraft/comments/17eqj3q/masturbation_as_an_offering
OP is both not a train and has an absolutely fascinating post history.
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Maybe they're like Gnostics and believe that God is evil and not omnipotent.
Edit: By "God", here I meant the Demiurge.
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Gnostics believe that there is a demiurge who is the greater of the material universe, rejecting him is the final test before one can join God.
Absolutely heretical
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How is that heretical? It's the dominant assumption in the New Testament (except sometimes he's not considered the original creator).
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What? Gnosticism contradicts Genesis 1:31, dispenses with "sin" and "repentance" in favor of "gnosis", and effectively adheres to a polytheistic theology.
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In more developed times yes, that did happen. But in the early days it wasn't all weird and eccentric like it became later.
Also, "gnosticism" was mostly a derogatory term for any denomination someone didn't like. It basically meant protestant in the church fathers' usage, at least in the old days.
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You said that a demiurge is the dominant assumption in the New Testament, which is not correct. The demiurge and gnosis are not at all congruent with the New Testament, even in the context of the early Church.
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Then why do the devil and demons have absolute power over the world, and the only way to get us out of their grip was with a payment? It doesn't matter that the term "demiurge" isn't used, it's obviously the same concept.
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In Christian belief the devil and demons don't have absolute power over the world and the way to get out of their grip is through prayer and sincere submission to God. Furthermore, Christian belief holds humans to be imperfect, so evil in the world isn't necessarily the work of demonic forces. It can also be the "absence of good" in mankind.
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Yes they do. If they didn't God could simply make them stop this operation. But in fact he had to go to great lengths just to make people able to leave, and even then only when they aren't currently living a life. And if demons don't control the world, explain Matthew 4:8-9.
There are also two times in the New Testament where the devil is referred to as "the god of this age". It seems clear to me. But it's hard to deny instincts, and it's also an uncomfortable truth about our condition, so people would rather ignore this and revere nature instead.
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And don't forget, almost all of our knowledge about it comes from the church fathers. Would you trust North Korea to give a reliable portrayal of America?
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That didn't last long, something I would hope you're familiar with
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That's actually kind of interesting. Where can I read more about gnostic theology? I'm not super religious myself but I like learning about other religions
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There's probably a 3 hr YouTube essay made by a fallout new Vegas fan.
Gnostics boilerplate view is that the word is bad, you shouldn't reproduce, and can defeat the demiurge with secret knowledge, or the gnosis
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Definitely not. Witches worship nature, which is the exact opposite theology.
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found the incel
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What?
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That's actually a pretty based belief system
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