Black Witch

I had recently come back from break and had to clean out my mailbox. In there was a strange letter basically blind pitching Christianity for reasons I don’t know. All pics taken in crappy fashion because I seriously did not care about this letter.

It says in the address panel “to a friend”, I’ve no clue what “friend” would send this to me since I’m pretty sure all know that a) I’m Pagan and b) I’m not very appreciative of being steered out of it. They may be a friend but certainly not a good one. Because that’s not cool. So, I’m gonna assume this “friend” doesn’t exist.

Flip onto the back, it shows this:

Really? Really? They’re basically trying to fence me something. This type of help is not one that I need in life, it doesn’t even make room for the fact I already have a religion. I doubt this is a sign from above. And what are the three most pressing needs?

Inside is a pretty thick pack of papers:

First, the back said that I had three pressing needs, now the inside is trying to ask me what they are. And how will they help me? They coooould respect my different religion, for a start instead of trying to barge in with their own beliefs. And while 1951 is more than half a century ago (still can’t believe it, but it is), these folks are trying to paint it like the number was 1651. It’s actually not that old. How do I know? Wicca was made in 1957 and people use that as a way to discredit Wicca – by the way, I’m not Wiccan, I’m Pagan, which predates Christianity by at least 50,000 years. That’s actually old.

In the first sheet of paper, which turns out is not a sheet but a couple pages folded together in hope I get duped into the prayer rug shtick they have. Dude, I’m sure if I show this to my Muslim friends, they’d rightfully fuss for days. Especially because of this particular bit:

It’s awfully…materialistic. You want people to ask divinity for a car? Money? It’s God, not Santa. Yes, a better car would help folks in their lives and so would a better job but it doesn’t seem to play towards that, just “ask God for stuff and you’ll get it”, nothing really holistic. And if they got a sign from above to send this letter to me, it should have included also, “Maaaaaybe take into consideration they’re not Christian and might not appreciate this”.

And the testimony section read cringe-worthy if you’re actually spiritual. Or, hopefully, a Christian that knows better.

Dude, it sounds like I can ask the Christian god for a Lotus car, half a million and a mansion that could make the White house look measly. Thaaaaat don’t sound right.

I’m not going through every piece of paper (and accompanying empty envelope for me to send back) they sent to me because it’s so much but, goodness, this simply doesn’t sound right. The paper feels charged, that’s for fact, but still something doesn’t feel right because of how materialistic it is. It’s mainly about jobs, money, car – money, basically. Money and more money. It is good to know you can keep your bills paid, for certain, but the Christian deity is not just for that. Some of it just seemed to be a matter of excess such as asking for a bigger (not safer) house or a better (not more functional) car. It basically all boiled down to material goods, mainly.

Money, in and of itself, isn’t bad or evil (didn’t I just talk about a money spell not too long ago?) but when that’s all you got to pitch your deity to someone, that’s not good. And what about people who are currently doing well but want some guidance in life, also known as “something money can’t buy”? Since you can’t go down the “God’s gonna give you a car and some cheddar” route, what does the letter really have then? It doesn’t seem much. This, everyone, is basically trying to prey on people during their low periods. That’s not what religion should do because while that can bolster numbers, it’s a misuse of hope. People need hope, not some metaphysical quick fix. Religion shouldn’t be about boosting their numbers but helping people in all parts of life, not simply the physical parts because how will the people feel when things start to go wrong again? And I have the feeling this church would eventually ask for money with a “We helped you when no one else would so give us money, lots o’ it” slant, in opposed to the “we’re a church that tries to do great by the people but to keep that going, we have to maintain our house enable to serve others. We’ve given more than hope: we’ve given beds to the sleepy and homeless, food to the hungry, services to those in need” route.  It just doesn’t ring right at all and that’s bothersome. It just sounds like an over-promising blackhole preying on whoever is having a bad enough day or life.

And this is pretty glaring but here it is: I’ve only received media like this from churches, Christian organizations. No other religion goes this route, unless the whole religion wants to be seen as a cult because it won’t be that only faction named such.