Lately, I've picked up my habit of reading again. From literary to romantic fiction, I've been consuming books left, right and center. It all started on the Wednesday afternoon I walked into our central public Library in Tin Hau. When I came back out, it was already 8pm - the library had stealthly stolen my daylight hours!! But oh, what a pleasurable few hours it was. :)
Whilst perusing the philosophy section, I managed to stumble upon a rack of shelves completely dedicated to witchcraft and the like. Ever curious (as usual), I skimmed over a few titles only to come across a particular book titled Dewitched. What truly struck my fancy about this book was the little text attached underneath the title as a sort of subtitle: What you need to know about the dangers of wicca & witchcraft. Does that perk your interest? It certainly did mine. It practically sang to me from its quaint little perch wedged between two larger sized books. The sad thing was, I realized albeit a little belatedly, that this book was written by a Christian looking to evangelize the world starting with the average ignorant teenager who is still in the midst of forming their own personality and character, never mind religious or moral beliefs. And in doing so, the author Baker has chosen to propaganda aforementioned earthy matriarchical religion of witchcraft side by side with what is seen to be evil cults such as Satanism.
First of all, let me clarify that Satanism is no more evil than your next door neighbor's three year old child. Perception can be a funny thing sometimes. As human beings, we are all malleable and easily influenced by what our friends, family, teachers, etc. all say to us. In today's society, it is extraordinarily easy to be a sheep when it comes to beliefs and acceptability. However, as the Buddha teaches...
That aside, Google Satanism and the first 5-10 hits will all be pro-Christian sites trying to evangelise the world with their notion of what is right. The perfect example lies within Dewitched. After reading the first few pages (approximately 4 pages past the preface - which, by the way is complete bollocks), I was appalled to the point of disbelief. Disbelief in the sense of: who on earth would publish such rubbish which batardizes the English language like so.* It was the prime example of an utterly disguisting use of literature - both grammatically and topically. Nevertheless, I managed to soldier on and read all the way up to page 25. Frankly, I am thoroughly proud of myself for being able to keep at it for so long especially when I had to plow through contemptible phrases such as "scads" and "downing you." Will someone please teach this author the appropriate use of the English language?!?!
That aside, after reading a portion of the book, I am able to recognize that the beauty of this book lies in the fact that it tries to disguise its bias and evangelical ideas with half-truths. A wonderful way to convince the uncertain of their path to Christian enlightenment. Oh, and by the way, in the preface, Baker blatantly states that if one is not an evangelical Christian, it is likely that one will find oneself "frustrated" but have no fear, as he is not "downing us" for being speculative of our religious morals, he is, without a doubt "praying for us" as we "read this book with another person." For of course, one should note that the knowledge in this book is considered extremely "dangerous" and we are forewarned that "No one is immune to attack" in this "spiritual warfare" once you start reading this book. Ladies and gentlemen, I kid you not. These quotes have been taken directly from the preface of Dewitched straight out of the authors own mouth (or hand, in this case). Oh, and did I mention that Baker claims a number of physical manifestations during his research into the dark beliefs specially for this book? Someone, please, I beg you kind souls, bring this man a doctor!
NB - Dewitched: What you need to know about the dangers of wicca & witchcraft is the work of Christian author Tim Baker
NBII - the quote from Buddha was taken from Think Exist
NBIII - * as per D. Richards
Whilst perusing the philosophy section, I managed to stumble upon a rack of shelves completely dedicated to witchcraft and the like. Ever curious (as usual), I skimmed over a few titles only to come across a particular book titled Dewitched. What truly struck my fancy about this book was the little text attached underneath the title as a sort of subtitle: What you need to know about the dangers of wicca & witchcraft. Does that perk your interest? It certainly did mine. It practically sang to me from its quaint little perch wedged between two larger sized books. The sad thing was, I realized albeit a little belatedly, that this book was written by a Christian looking to evangelize the world starting with the average ignorant teenager who is still in the midst of forming their own personality and character, never mind religious or moral beliefs. And in doing so, the author Baker has chosen to propaganda aforementioned earthy matriarchical religion of witchcraft side by side with what is seen to be evil cults such as Satanism.
First of all, let me clarify that Satanism is no more evil than your next door neighbor's three year old child. Perception can be a funny thing sometimes. As human beings, we are all malleable and easily influenced by what our friends, family, teachers, etc. all say to us. In today's society, it is extraordinarily easy to be a sheep when it comes to beliefs and acceptability. However, as the Buddha teaches...
"Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it
Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many
Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books
Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders
Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations
But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it."
(Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta, the founder of Buddhism 563-483 BC)That aside, Google Satanism and the first 5-10 hits will all be pro-Christian sites trying to evangelise the world with their notion of what is right. The perfect example lies within Dewitched. After reading the first few pages (approximately 4 pages past the preface - which, by the way is complete bollocks), I was appalled to the point of disbelief. Disbelief in the sense of: who on earth would publish such rubbish which batardizes the English language like so.* It was the prime example of an utterly disguisting use of literature - both grammatically and topically. Nevertheless, I managed to soldier on and read all the way up to page 25. Frankly, I am thoroughly proud of myself for being able to keep at it for so long especially when I had to plow through contemptible phrases such as "scads" and "downing you." Will someone please teach this author the appropriate use of the English language?!?!
That aside, after reading a portion of the book, I am able to recognize that the beauty of this book lies in the fact that it tries to disguise its bias and evangelical ideas with half-truths. A wonderful way to convince the uncertain of their path to Christian enlightenment. Oh, and by the way, in the preface, Baker blatantly states that if one is not an evangelical Christian, it is likely that one will find oneself "frustrated" but have no fear, as he is not "downing us" for being speculative of our religious morals, he is, without a doubt "praying for us" as we "read this book with another person." For of course, one should note that the knowledge in this book is considered extremely "dangerous" and we are forewarned that "No one is immune to attack" in this "spiritual warfare" once you start reading this book. Ladies and gentlemen, I kid you not. These quotes have been taken directly from the preface of Dewitched straight out of the authors own mouth (or hand, in this case). Oh, and did I mention that Baker claims a number of physical manifestations during his research into the dark beliefs specially for this book? Someone, please, I beg you kind souls, bring this man a doctor!
NB - Dewitched: What you need to know about the dangers of wicca & witchcraft is the work of Christian author Tim Baker
NBII - the quote from Buddha was taken from Think Exist
NBIII - * as per D. Richards
1 comment:
A stereotypical, uneducated american with their head stuck so far up their own ass they actually believe their own bullshit
and feel it necessary to bastardize our beautiful language with this drivel.
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