Taking Back Power
I've had a lot of pent up anger towards Christianity, for the last decade in particular, though it started much earlier when I was still serving as a full time minister. I think a lot of people coming from Christianity tend to feel similar. Why is that?
The hypocrisy and general nastiness that tends to infect most churches is certainly a part of it. After years of seeing "righteous" people harshly judge and preach at others, only to turn around and do the same types of crap themselves is infuriating. Seeing the "church" as a collective whole (for the most part) turn their backs on entire groups of people, even to the point of condoning outright hostility, is astounding to me. Over time, if you don't completely give in to it and get swept up in the sickness, it'll grind you down until you just can't stand it anymore. A majority of the guys I went to college with to study theology, all of them just as passionate and active in church work as I was, have all left the church, regardless of denomination. Just about every one of them left for the exact same reasons. At the end of the day, with all of this weighing on you, you feel powerless to do anything about it, and it feels as though God doesn't care.
And that is the core of the problem with Christianity- over time it's been designed specifically to take power away from the people. You're taught from day one, regardless of denomination, that all power is God's. As a human, you're powerless. Everything comes from God. You have to rely on Him for your strength. You have to thank Him for everything (except bad stuff- that's all you). Bad stuff happens- oh, that's too bad! Well, God has a plan. It wasn't His will. Or maybe you didn't pray enough? Have you been tithing?
But it wasn't always like that. That's not how it was originally intended. Over time, as Christianity grew, so did the leadership's power. They fell into the same trap, gave in to the same sickness, as the Pharisees and other teachers of the law before them. They used belief and faith as a means of control until it arguably came to a head in the middle ages. They slowly took over and adapted Pagan beliefs and customs. They began to outlaw other ways of thinking and magickal practices, deeming them evil and against God, when up until then practices like alchemy and "white magick" were considered perfectly acceptable and were even practiced by people who would later be canonized as Saints*. They were the educated. They could read. They alone could share the Word of God with the masses. They alone could act as intermediaries to God. You no longer needed priests to make a sacrifice in the Holy of Holies, but now you needed them to pardon you of your sins in confession.
The controls are still there today, ingrained in the system that's been perpetuated for hundreds of years. They may not have as direct a control on the people as they once did, but the damage has been done. You're still taught that you have no power, no agency, outside of that which you surrender to God. Or you can choose sin and evil. You've been conditioned to give away your power and believe that you can't get it back because it isn't yours.
Bullshit.
That power is a part of you. Always has been. Always will be. We are, all of us, divine beings. Within each of us is that common spark of the Source of all creation. A majority of learning magick is rediscovering that part of yourself and deprogramming all the mental and emotional blockage bullshit that's been built up and reinforced our whole lives. You don't need gods, angels, demons, spirits, or anything else outside of yourself. That's not to say they can't be great sources of wisdom, knowledge, and assistance. They absolutely can and are! That said, those with your best interests at heart will tell you the exact same thing. They want to see you grow in your own power, because ultimately helping you helps them. For many, helping beings on the physical plane spiritually evolve is their purpose and is key to their own growth. They don't want your worship; they want your respect. Anyone or anything telling you otherwise is selling you something. Humanity doesn't have the monopoly on selfishness and evil, after all; but that's a topic for another day.
