Yes, although I do not believe God will honor rituatlistic formula type prayers. God will only answer the prayers that are in line with his will. If someone is oppressed by a denomnic spirit, I believe it is God's will for that spirit to be cast out. That is why I believe occult power is real, because I have actually prayed for people to be delivered from thoses spirits and seen the spirits resist and manifest during the process. It is also why I believe Jesus is more than just a prophet, since I have witnessed the power of praying in the name of Jesus.So, our prayers would be powerful too as the counterpart of the occult ritual.
Secularists would think like you.Occult rituals are empowering, just like most rituals are empowering. When you go to court, and everyone is obliged to stand as an announcer rattles off an "Oh-Yey-Oh-Yey all rise for the Honorable Whoever-Whoever of the Queen's Justice' etc. etc., it empowers the judge by reinforcing their authority in the minds of all present. When a priest stands in front of a huge crowd and directs everybody to repeat his words, it empowers the priest by reinforcing their authority and perceived connection to the divine in the minds of all present. When an Occultist rattles off some jibber-jabber with some archaic symbols on the floor and a chicken to kill/babe to grope, it empowers the occultist by reinforcing their authority and perceived connection to big mojo in the minds of all their cultists.
Show me a ritual, occult or otherwise, that can so much as levitate a pencil two inches and I'll eat my hat. There is no innate 'power' in any of it, and magic is bogus.
I used to love going into abandoned buildings and supposedly 'haunted' areas with my friends as a teenager, as the irrational fear of my buddies made these ventures far more exciting than just 'hanging out' somewhere.Secularists would think like you.
They may be brave to sleep one night in a haunted house or to play ouija board.
Care to elaborate?That's why people don't believe. You think of magic as having to break the laws of physics. IE they are expecting way too much. Don't think of it as having to levitate a pencil. Think of a car crash. The brakes may or may not work in any given capacity, depending on variables. Well what I'm saying is that magical influences can play out, changing the outcome just slightly.
In either case you are a dark wizard wielding magic. You are making a wish, you are attempting to contact unseen entities. And you were right in your post when you talked about psychological empowerment. That is what most "magic" actually is. Things we do to make ourselves feel better, but when they start impacted the world around us. You have to admit it's not just empowering your psychology, it's empowering your whole life.Care to elaborate?
I mean, if I say to myself, 'Man, I really wish something bad would happen to that guy!' and then something bad happens to that guy (because bad things happen to everybody), am I dark wizard wielding magic? Obviously not, right? But if I make a pentagram of salt on my floor, light some candles, and intone 'Glycon the Snake-God, I bequeath thee! Bring down your wrath.. upon THAT GUY!' while wanking onto a photo of him or something, and then something bad happens to him, THEN I'm a dark wizard wielding magic?
Well shit. In that case...In either case you are a dark wizard wielding magic.
What you're talking about here is very different from psychological empowerment, and once more I'm lost in how you define 'magic'. Are you suggesting there are occultists responsible for extreme weather events? That WOULD be a magical power.I totally understand what it's like to be skeptical. But when it comes to the cults of America I have lost my sense of skepticism. When you see the night before the U.S President gets sworn in, a 4 star hotel gets flattened by an avalanche. Or a Russian plane crash where everyone survives. Tornadoes hitting certain areas in certain patterns. Earthquakes and other abnormal behavior from the weather or people in general.
Sure it could all be a coincidence. Everything could be just fine in America...
Occult rituals are empowering, just like most rituals are empowering. When you go to court, and everyone is obliged to stand as an announcer rattles off an "Oh-Yey-Oh-Yey all rise for the Honorable Whoever-Whoever of the Queen's Justice' etc. etc., it empowers the judge by reinforcing their authority in the minds of all present. When a priest stands in front of a huge crowd and directs everybody to repeat his words, it empowers the priest by reinforcing their authority and perceived connection to the divine in the minds of all present. When an Occultist rattles off some jibber-jabber with some archaic symbols on the floor and a chicken to kill/babe to grope, it empowers the occultist by reinforcing their authority and perceived connection to big mojo in the minds of all their cultists.
Show me a ritual, occult or otherwise, that can so much as levitate a pencil two inches and I'll eat my hat. There is no innate 'power' in any of it, and magic is bogus.