If Wiccans/other miscellaneous pagans are 'getting their power from Satan'...?

*rolls eyes*

Bigoted stereotypes. How original.

Still... I've gotta star this question simply because it points out a big flaw in the "getting our powers from Satan!" assumption that a lot of Christians make.

Firearms. EDIT: In response to the added part, the fact humans came out of Africa doesn't really come into the equation. The early humans who migrated out of Africa were primitive hunter gatherers, not in a position to go forming big empires. And I don't say that to mean 'blacks are primitive', I say that to state the simple truth that the earliest humans were primitive. The Songhai empire was from the 15th and 16th Century, so hardly early. Mali from 13th to 15th. Ghana from around the 8th century. Timbuktu was at its height around the same time the Songhai empire existed. These weren't early empires, compared to Rome, Greece, Persia and as you mention, Egypt. But those empires were pre-firearms, so don't really impact on the age of European imperialism. The simple reality is if the big African empires, like the Songhai or the Zulu had had the military hardware the Europeans had then they'd have been the ones who took over the world.

What I want to know is, if Satan is giving them all this "power" why aren't they fabulously wealthy and lving in mansions and seducing goats, rather than dancing naked in the moonlight and seducing goats and going to college like most other young people? I have yet to see a Satanist with the power to make the hurricanes cease or stop the tides. Christians don't pretend to have this kind of power, but Satanists claim they do. What gives?

If anyone is interested, I happen to be a

Priestess of a pre-Christian ("pagan") religion...

and my duties consist of public speaking,

teaching, counseling, performing weddings

and funerals, and finally, I publish a monthly

newsletter whose focus is on history and

archeology.

Sorry... no crystals, tarot cards, or nude rituals

in the woods.

As to satan, I'm not aware of any support from

him... but if you can get him to make a donation

to our temple, I'll be glad to accept it.

I get special powers????? Damn no one told me that when I converted to Heathenism!!!!

And I am not dancing anywhere nude. I've had twins. I also don't use crystals (huh?) and on the rare occasion I let someone do tarot on me I simply see it as a way to find insight in myself, not magic.

I'm sorry to disappoint but I don't dance in the nude or own a tarot deck or even a webcam.

But the arguments for our power coming from the devil, whom we don't believe in, are admittedly very poor, even for fundie christian logic!

Well, God doesn't have much in his corner either 2000 year old myths. Why can't priests perform miracles like Aaron or Moses?

The forces of evil led by satan are, for the most part, in the deception business... they will do what they can, to keep as many as they can from learning The Truth of What God offers to all who will come to him... that is why the forces of evil encourage so many man invented religions... satan and his forces do have some limited "powers"... but deception is their stock-in-trade....

satan knows his fate is already sealed... he is not seeking followers... he is not seeking to "take over" earth... he is already the prince of this world... until it is time for him to meet his fate.

I see your point. but I don't dance naked or use healing crystals. I DO use a webcam though! :)

The faithful get all of that back. God sends rain over the good and the wicked.