Hi Kelly-Ann. My sweet boyfriend spent 75 days in the hospital before he died. His early childhood was spent in Christianity, but from the time we met until he passed he was a devout atheist. On many occasions he would send the hospital chaplain away. One day as I came back from lunch the chaplain was in his room and they were praying together. That would’ve been fine with me, he was the one who was dying.I would have made no judgment, but I couldn’t resist saying,so sweetie what’s up with the chaplain? He replied, I could see how much pain he was in because I would not pray with him. Since it doesn’t matter to me, I wanted to make him feel better. What a guy! I was so fortunate to share the planet with him for a brief moment in time. Thank you for the video.
I am sitting here in tears reading your comment. Even at that moment in his life, he was showing concern for that chaplain's feelings even though it should have been the other way around. Your boyfriend sounds like he was super high vibe, living by a high code.. Amazing. X
Kelly-Ann Maddox thank you. I thought maybe with your recent quest you might enjoy this passage I found: Witch of Endor. In the Hebrew Bible, the Witch of Endor is a woman Saul consulted to summon the spirit of prophet Samuel in the 28th chapter of the First Book of Samuel in order to receive advice against the Philistines in battle after his prior attempts to consult God through sacred lots and prophets had failed. I thought it was a bit interesting that after God failed a witch came through. Although, I guess it doesn’t say what happen next.
Sounds like a really cool guy. I’m glad you got to share your lives together for a little bit. Thank you for sharing your story! ❤️ Also, I’m gonna be on a verse hunt now. The Witch of Endor sounds cool!
Natalie Colbert Hi Natalie, I wanted to say sorry for your loss, it’s not much I can say, yet I do feel terribly sorry that this happened. Your boyfriend sounds like very cool. considerate, filled with compassion and humanity guy. I do hope you are keeping well. I wanted to ask you how did you manage to keep your practice going ? ?? After your loved one died?, for me it’s a reason for this ( my practice) to be shaken and I go through sth similar but it’s more direct, it’s is me who is very ill, and I see no protection or help anymore from those whom I have worshipped. I have never been as lost as I am now, in my entire life, /I am not that young so I lived a bit. The core of me crumbled away, and I can’t put it all together. Witchcraft gave me sense of being and it was something to hold on to, definitely , now it’s in pieces so I am in pieces. It’s unbearable.
Thank you for your video. I am an open minded Christian (theologian in fact) who left the institutionalized christianity and am studying and learning many things with earth based spiritualities. I know the framed, dogmatic, dualistic and exclusive nature of christianity as understood by many, and that in fact is not Christ consciousness IMHO. The dualism is one of the biggest problems. And the omnipresent resulting legalism. Be blessed.
Thanks for your humor, you’re authenticity, your thoughtfulness on this subject. Wanted to give you a hug in your vulnerable moments. I appreciate where you come from miss Maddox. 😁 ((hugs))
Im so glad I am not a Christian anymore. Life is better when you don't think you are better than everybody else. When you don't want to convert the entire planet. When you actually LOVE humans regardless of their beliefs and sexual orientation. Blessed be sisters and brothers!!
As a recent "new age to Jesus" person myself, I really enjoyed your video and agree with many of your points. I am totally one of those who misses some of the practices I used to do + the community + the aesthetic, however I have to be true to myself and none of these things felt right to me and I was becoming someone I was not. It was not an easy conversion for me, even after dealing with paranormal activities, I was having (and still do) a hard time surrendering myself to God. I never owned or read the Bible so I depended a lot on these New age to Jesus testimonies and preachers on youtube, some I related to, others gave me so much anxiety about coming to Christ. One thing that stressed me out was how it was necessary to preach the word of God and to serve God at all times or else. I realized that I need to build my relationship with God and He will guide me, not some christians on youtube telling me to cut off everything and everyone that is not "of God" and change who I am overnight. People will all have their own journey and discoveries, some will be led to God and others won't and no human gets to decide who goes to hell or not.
When I was in elementary school I found the Greek gods. I feel in love and devoted myself to them. We moved and mom dragged us to church in elementary and junior high. I was picked out and bullied in the church. I left when I hit college. My faith died then came back with vengeance in the new age Norse/ Greek pantheon. Those uppity Christians, if heaven is full of those two faced bullies I rather not spend eternity with them.
For many years I was a seeker. I have studied philosophy and different religions for many years. I was a practicing Buddhist for 6 years. Then during a very dark time in my life when I went to a food bank while out of work, I met some lovely people that kept asking me to go to their Evangelical church. I did. They were beautiful people. They made me feel like I belonged. They let me help at the food bank - and I was so eager to serve. I have always wanted to help people. Well, I started going to the church. People there hugged me when I had not been shown love for years. Eventually, I went to work for the church. And then I began to truly see - and the Bible says "The truth will set you free". And it did. The gossip was thick and constant. The arrogance was through the roof. Everyone there was certain that they were the 'chosen ones' and everyone else was dog doo. They openly talked about how they personally had brought the dead back to life. The last straw was when my daughter came home from Youth Group crying because they told her she was a fool and going to hell for believing that dinosaurs existed. O.O I am not making this up. So I got a real job, and never stopped reading the bible. I also now read many other spiritual and religious texts. And I kept seeking. I personally believe that there is only one Creator but that he/she has many aspects. He/She has no gender or has both - but you can call God either she or him or change pronouns. I believe that God has many names - Jehovah, Odin, Krishna, Diana, Hecate... so many names - but the greatest of these names is LOVE. If the Creator is honestly omnipotent we are selling the Creator short by using only one name, or one aspect, or one gender. So - I still read my bible. I also have an alter filled with crystals, another dedicated to the elements and Spirit. I perform rituals with herbs, and essential oils and I practice love and joy. This is my way - this is what I believe now - and it will change as I grow and learn - and your truth is also beautiful and real!!!! And I try and forgive those christians who made me feel small, and not good enough. Who accused me of many terrible things that were not true. I pray for them the ability to see the truth. My journey seeking the Creator goes on, and it always will. We can't know the Creator's mind because it is omnipotent. But I'll keep trying. Thank you for your videos. This one is spot on, and you were much kinder than I would have been.
Oof this was a tough one for me having come from Christianity to witchcraft about 7 years ago. I was raised very Christian and actually decided to be a missionary at 18. All of the manipulation tactics you mentioned about knowing how and when to convert vulnerable people were methods I was taught and that I consciously used. I didn’t view it as manipulative at the time, but I am horrified now with the things I did. This video definitely made me realize I have some leftover guilt I need to process. What actually “converted” me from Christianity was being on the mission field and realizing the cultures I was destroying, and the people I was manipulating had beautiful, rich, lives and spiritual beliefs. I realized I was doing harm, I was not necessary or helpful. It was very humbling. I’m beyond grateful that I can to that realization, but I do have to recognize and live with the fact it came at others expense.
whoa! me too!!! Im a PK in an evangelical christian family and i also was a missionary at 18. (we did manual work, and even then i was NOT about the evangalism part and wanted notjing to do with that. i just wanted to help people and i couldnt get my familys blessing on a peace corp thing). And it was in Equador that like you solidified my position on evangelism. i havent chucked my king james. matter of fact it sits right next to my copy of holistic tarot and the only book on astrology youll ever need. That said, i am still very much in the woo closet with my family. ive already ensured an attempted excorsism, thank you very much. anyway, thanks for sharing. your words really speak to my experience too. Blessings!
Jessy Scott They must be a difficult thing to bear, these feelings, but they brought you to a point of real empathy and realization, and I for one value that, for sure.
I had the same thought! As a teenager I became very uncomfortable dismissing and discouraging other spiritual practices. It was one of my first realizations that Christianity and church specifically were likely not going to be my path as soon as I could make my own choices. 💜💜💜
Jessy Scott Me too! My mission trips were a huge factor in my decision to move on. It was very eye opening. I’m glad that’s not just me. I still feel a lot of remorse around any harm I may have caused during that time.
I am an ex Christian on a new/reawakened spiritual journey, so interested in these videos and your contribution. As a frightened gay boy who hated myself, I was drawn to Jesus because of the message of love and forgiveness as per the gospels. As time went on I became very spiritual and even thought to become a priest. In university I became involved in evangelical (very biblical) church communities. I pushed my sexuality even deeper and hid my shame, pleading to God to change me. It was torture. I was so twisted, damaged, broken and deeply hurt. My communities encouraged me to hide my sexuality and pray it away. The Church deeply and hurtfully damaged me. Eventually I escaped and enjoyed a decade of living life to the full on my terms. I escaped the Church, but I always felt that I was missing spirituality in my life. I lived a decade on atheistic terms as (to be honest) I needed time out just to have a break from it all. Through maturing, growing and dealing with shame, I have come so far. I became spiritually activated again about 2 yrs ago, after exploring healing via a shamanic healing practitioner. Since then I have felt that I am coming home to my true spiritual self, discovering my beautiful energetic self, connected to all life and open to the divine all around us. I am so glad I left Christianity and I am bewildered why anyone would choose to go into Church as an adult. I really appreciate your video here and recognising these issues. Thank you. Just to conclude I am in a much better place, I have lived as an open gay man for the last 12 years now and in a great relationship with my man for many years now. We have a brilliant life together. Now this next phase of my life is going to be about me going deeper and wider into spiritual life, health, healing and love.
This is why I just love you so much. You were on point in my perspective. I grew up in the church. Catholic until I was 12 yrs old (made my first communion and everything) and then my mother became a "born again Christian" and then I spent my teen years and all my 20's in the Pentecostal churches where there were demons and devils behind every broomstick and door knob. In my experience, it was the opposite of the new converted Christian stories are. I felt unworthy, not enough, and only loved conditionally. I also lived feeling oppressed, suppressed, and in fear of going to hell for even the smallest things like enjoying secular mainstream music or actually liking a person who was homosexual or "not saved". I had night terrors all the time about demons attacking me or coming to drag me to hell and would be told that I needed prayed over and needed to confess what I did to open the door to those demons in the first place. I was the most miserable and unhappy until I finally left the church. It took me a few years in the healing process. Leaving the church made me feel like what the newly converted Christians feel like. I felt free like a weight lifted from my shoulders, I could breathe and the night terrors stopped immediately. I felt at peace and more comfortable in my own skin. I felt worthy of love and I realized I had more questions while living a religious life. I found truth in everything, not one thing. I found it in nature, my experiences, in all kinds of people of all walks of life, in all cultures, and more. I could go on and on about this but honestly, I don't judge people who convert but I do cringe as I listen to them. I don't hate Jesus or my past experiences. I learned much from it and appreciated who I've become today. But it is heart breaking to see the hurtful things said about no one is worthy for being themselves. Thank you for sharing this! You aren't alone in your thoughts! 🙏❤️✨😀
I found you via that video a year ago!IExtreme christian once, abused via the bible by my "mother" and her tribe. I published a Goddess Oracle Deck 2 years ago and as a witchy, shamanic New Ager, they stopped talking to me 4 years ago and recently turned my own son against me. As a teen, I was made to undergo abuse in the name of the bible and more. Awful things.Thank you y gracias. Important topic. I went from being an extreme christian boggled down with guilt, shame and fear....to now a FREE happy being aware of my own power and beauty and that of ALL beings that surround me no matter what they look like, think like, worship, etc.... I once was given a sticker that said "I LOVE THE BIBLE" by them, I cut of "the bible" part - simply because I was a 16 year old in love with the world... they told me it was "bad" that I could not love "all" because Satan is out there actively and we can not love everything, plus, others may think I am a whore. I had to park my car 2 blocks away so nobody knew it was my car. I was made out to feel like I was a piece of crap all my life... and it has continued. The evangelicals do nothing but perpetuate lies and control for their own "perceived"power - to make themselves feel better. It is very narcissistic, punitive and SUPER judgemental. I am following my bliss now Kelly-Ann, and sharing the joy and love with others so we may all live in freedom and blissful power and oneness
I feel you on the tossing the New Age paraphernalia in the trash. 💔 Yet, after her conversion, I let go of Doreen Virtue cards exactly that way - unrepentantly. Their light for me simply dimmed.
I think it's more about making everyone afraid of the devil so they stay inline. It's easier to control people when they are afraid and they see you (the church) as the only thing that's safe. It also validates them and makes them feel more secure when others agree with them. I had foster parents who were evangelical and fundamental Christians so I know about the guilt and fear trips pushed on people. You're right...it's not loving! Thank you for sharing!
I think its wrong and sorry you came across some bad Christians. I believe a true Christians is suppose to be loving, patience and gentle. Not force or judge anything on anyone. We are suppoae to preach the good news about Jesus. The bible is the truth it is very deep but sadly its gotten a bad rap. I've never felt so much peace in my life when I found out the truth and lies of this world and how Jesus is the the truth and the way but its a personal relationship not a religion sadly its not preached well and someone ppl will feel repulsed by it but you need to study for yourself and not man. I am an ex new ager and coming to Jesus is way better new age occult is empty and not fulfilling. It is sadly demonic im sorry to say because I've done lots of research on it.
@@julie9541 I've also done a lot of research on this over my life, as well as a degree in psychology and a lot of self-study of various religions. I agree with part of what you're saying, that Christians are supposed to be patient and loving, as well as donate all they can to the poor and work with the sick, since those are very clearly laid out by Jesus himself. However, it's just not possible to know for sure that Jesus is the only right way for everyone- even many Christian authors and theologians have grappled with the problems of "what about good people who do objectively good works who believe the 'wrong' things?" or "how specific is the 'right' belief system, and what happens if we get almost all of it right but miss one detail?" among others. I tend to think that as long as you get the support and sense of something higher that you need, then as long as you aren't being forced into a path you don't like or hurting others, that path is working well enough for you at that time. Sadly, my own (and many others') experiences with Christianity have included a huge lack of support, being forced into things I didn't like, and even seeing justifications for hurting others "for their own good" although I was always very resistant to these.
So I’ve been watching your videos for ages as a curious atheist (I also find the shadow work stuff really useful), and maaaan I feel this one. I’ve seen a lot of Christian videos (again, curious atheist) and the parts that really get to me are the bits where it’s clear they’re having a crisis of conscience but that they’re labelling their conscience and other normal human emotions and desires as sinful or evil. I saw a video by a young musician I liked in which she answered questions about her beliefs and she was in tears talking about how she didn’t understand why being LGBTQIA+ was a sin but that it was in the Bible and God knows best... it’s such a huge contrast from the witchy ideas about doing what makes sense to you, about following your own intuition and conscience. That video in particular seriously upset me in a way that most Christian videos don’t - usually I just feel annoyed or angry but that one just filled me with despair.
Hi Kelly Ann. I'm one of those who was raised christian (or catholic, which often translates to atheist/agnostic), then moved into more new age beliefs. I bounced around a lot of new age ideas in my teenage years, from studying wicca, to looking deeper into the esoteric side of world religions, but while opening my eyes quite a bit nothing ever quite "stuck" with me. In my 20's I got a bit deeper into chaos magic and then western hermetic magic, and for the last six years or so have been a practicing ceremonial magician. The reason I'm sharing this is because I feel, in my experience from my journey anyway, that often while trying to find myself in the sea of new age philosophies available I often found myself a bit lost as to where to go and how to identify. I landed in ceremonial magic because it both satisfied my inner desire for structure in my practice AND actually connecting with that "something more" in the universe. When I hear stories about ex new agers, ex witches, etc, converting to or back to Christianity, I often think back to that time in my life where I was struggling to piece together my own personal practice in a way that satisfied me, and how much I wished that structured religion could satisfy that need. Because while I personally feel that exoteric Christianity feels hollow of deeper spiritual connection, it *does* provide structure by telling you exactly what to believe, how you should feel, how you should worship, and surrounds you with people who will reinforce the same ideas and give you that sense of security. TLDR: I feel that those who convert from the new age back to Christianity find solace in community, structure, and relief from the pressure of needing to search for their own truths. Love hearing your opinions and rambles, love your energy and your light.
Hi Kelly-Ann I love your videos. I left Christianity a while back because of the meanness of American Christianity. It has been my experience, especially in American Christianity, that fear and finances play a major factor in the religion. Since leaving, I have been studying and am about to start practicing witchcraft. Sadly, I have to remain in the broom closet because my entire family is made up of Christians and it will cause me a lot of grief if they found out.
This video made me realize how incredibly lucky I am that my family has stopped trying to convince me to come back to Catholicism, and that my Christian friends are the all-embracing, live and let live type. ❤️
What u rant about is my life in America! It's against the law to discriminate against religion in the workplace, but I know many Pagans who have to hide their beliefs & claim to be christian just to keep a job. B/C the moment a christian finds out they have a Pagan at work, they actively conspire to fire the Pagan. UR Rant was Perfect & helped me to release the pent up frustration of being a American Pagan, Thank you & Blessed Be )O( 🧙♀️🧹💜💙🖤
You are so right about this. I live in the Washington DC area and business here is SO conservative that to reveal one's Wiccan/Pagan spirituality would easily lead to dismissal. I am a spiritualist and Wiccan and appeared on a TV show about Spiritualism several years ago. I had never discussed my spiritual practices in the workplace, and did the TV show on my own time and it had no reference to my work. The next day, the president of the company asked me to come to his office and he wanted to discuss my TV appearance. I was amazed that he had seen it. He was acting quite cagey about it all, and a week later I was terminated. It is sad, but true that this is quite common in America. Thanks for sharing your insight. I just want to back you up with this confirmation. Blessed be!
@@spiritchannel It's as if we are living in the fictional "Man in the High Castle!" Sorry you went through that situation and Thank you for your empathy! Blessed Be )O(
It’s so upsetting that this is still happening today. They’re also not realizing that this is against their own tenet of loving your neighbor. Thank you so much for sharing your stories. I’m hoping to make some positive social change as an interfaith minister so that people can focus on living happy and healthy spiritual lives.
I do have to say growing up in a pentecostal church from the Bible belt I was told that being gay was wrong and how I felt was invalid, shameful,sinful,and disgusting and that I would burn in hell for just being me. So I prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed and begged and begged this God to take this away from me in the blood of Jesus take this away from me and never once did I ever stop Feeling being or thinking as a gay man and I still to this day I'm gay and I'm proud of who I am. And now as a Proud Gay pagan. It really messed me up during the most important years of my life I was so depressed and scared of going to burn that I used drug became addicted and threw so may years away. It took paganism to heal all that to help me get clean and be who I am today.
I'm new to exploring some "new age" stuff, as I have come from being raised deep in Christianity, to being what I consider an "agnostic theist/deist" (if I MUST give it a name), and one thing that I actually found interesting as I've been learning more about the Tarot, specifically the RWS imagery, is that I actually find comfort in many of my original Christian beliefs, and specifically the beliefs that I held as an individual within the context of my understanding of what Jesus was teaching that was at odds with what the church would preach. It's probably strange to some, but the Tarot essentially brought me back to my relationship with the Holy Spirit, like I pray more now than I have in years, and the Tarot helps me hear more clearly. All that to say, I recently watched a testimony about going from the New Age and witchraft to Christianity and the lady was talking about how she ended up possessed by demons and she told her exorcism story. But all of the things she was saying she was doing in her witchy days were all things that occurred to me as extremely dangerous for anyone to be doing without proper training, like based on my limited knowledge, very low vibrational stuff. Like acid party orgies and reckless astral travelling and such. Even though her stories shook me up a bit at first as a newbie, like "what if that happens to me?", I had to pull myself back and remember that her intentions were entirely different than mine, all about controlling others and "seeking hidden information" etc, AND that she was clearly doing these things so recklessly, without doing the shadow work, and without protecting after cleansing, etc. Something I've noticed about a lot of "Witchraft to Christ" testimonies is that many of these people are reckless...they become enticed and dive head first without really properly learning about how to practice safely. Which makes me very sad, although I do also feel happy for them that they were able to be "delivered" in a way that gives them peace. I just with they had better understanding to begin with, because the stuff they describe that they did DOES make Witchraft sound pretty demonic, because they lacked the precautions and discernment to stay safe.
Back in high school, one of my best friends gave me all his death metal CDs because he had just gotten "saved" and they were "Satanic". About a year later it was quite apparent he suffered from severe schizophrenia and wasn't getting good help from his family (or his church!). I was too young to even have the first clue of how to help him. Over the years we drifted apart, as I had moved away and got tired of trying to stay in touch with him. Since then, I had run into him a couple of times out and about, and not much had changed about him - still completely out of touch with reality and difficult to be around. It was upsetting to see what had been a good friend lose his mind and then get no help from his dysfunctional family... half of which expected him to work it out for himself and "grow up", and the other half which were religious zealots who seemed to think he'd be just fine if he'd only make the effort to be a "better christian", etc... Then I hear from friends a couple years ago that he has died. I find the obituary and there's no mention of how he died, only blah blah blah nonsense about how he loved Jesus and all this religious shit. I have no doubt that his untimely death was either from drugs or alcohol or suicide, or possibly all three at once. Yes, christianity really "saved" him all right... It's been over 20 years, but I still have those CDs he gave me back in high school, and I still listen to them. And I'll never forget.
It’s so refreshing to hear someone talk about this with a fresh perspective. If you grew up in the US you would feel like people were creating these type of presentations specifically for you on a regular basis. It’s totally normal for people to say these types of things in real life all the time. It’s really validating to hear someone talk about how bizarre that is. Thank you Kelly-Ann
My 19 yr old daughter has opened up with us that she is bi sexual. We used to be very indoctrinated in Christianity and walked away from it about a year ago. She kept her life style choices private due to the fact that her “friends” would no longer speak to her again if they knew. Well, she finally decided that if they can’t love her as she is they really aren’t friends. A few months later her old youth pastor messaged her asking her to return to church, she told him point blank that she knew she would no longer be accepted. He didn’t support her, he only told her that she was living in sin and she needed to return to church to see the truth. It broke her heart to have someone that she looked up to pretty much tell her that everything she felt was a lie and just sin.
this is fantastic! so many of the reasons that moved me from christianity to the new age/pagan community! I grew up with it and now the dogma is just ttoooooooo much! too much judgement, hatred, and pressing their message onto people who never asked for it. oppressive. I'm so thankful for the freedom and openness of new age and I love that!
So much YES! To this video. Kelly-Ann I have also dredged down that rabbit hole. Myself being a survivor of organized religion (Fundamentalist Christian). I still have to unlearn and unpack the feeling of being evil, or bad. It may work for some, but for people like me it kills the spirit. I find it quite fascinating from a psychological perspective. And see many factors that repeat thought each testimony. I feel most people who "convert" were really looking for a belief that was going to tell them exactly what to do, a perfect prescription for salvation. Just be a good little follower and OBEY and your good! I think this is a psychosis for individuals that don't want to be bothered with having to delve into divinity and who they are at a core level and find the truth within. It really chaps my ass, honestly. And thank you for touching on the predatory aspect of christian recruiting. Can you imagine if I ran around town trying to bless and pray for people in the name of Hekate or Kernnunos? No little old ladies would run over glowing and telling me what a good little girl I am, probably call the cops on me! But they can run a muck! And its completely permitted by society. My partner was raised Mormon and still has struggles with my beliefs, and he is really open minded. I have to censor myself with his family. So much is so frustrating.
Wow! I was struck by your statement that the behavior of trying to get everyone to believe the same way you do shows a mistrust for the plan that God has. That was such a striking statement to make. It is absolutely true.
Its the mental and emotional abuse through the tools of "love" and "assistance" that really upset me. It very hard to resist those things when youre in crisis. Its the blind acceptance of faith that frightens me because they have no qualms about harming another human being. How can they be so sure that they arent working Satan's deception? On another note I remember being about 5/6yrs old and my JW dad burning all of our belongings in the back garden. I'll forever be pissed he burned my mums Diana Ross albums that I had enjoyed dancing with her to 😠
'Its the mental and emotional abuse through the tools of "love" and "assistance" that really upset me. It very hard to resist those things when youre in crisis.' Yes, very good point. It seems so appealing.. But we should give these things freely, without expecting anyone to accept a religious belief structure as their own.
@Kara Dunlap yeah ive noticed spamming on the comments from people with the intentions ive said im against, so in fact you wish to continue the abuse i said im recovering from. Thanks. This is the proof that your beliefs hold nothing of value to me. Goodbye
After leaving Christianity, I tried my best to just forget about that part of my life. I am just now confronting my past to work through it and forgive myself. Your videos are so helpful in allowing me to do that. In fact, I just recently watched the video you mentioned in the beginning so this came at the perfect time. Coming from that bible-thumping christian background, my church's mantra was "Love god, love people, make disciples." They preached that every week that we should be going out and saving souls. There was so much guilt around this issue, which explains why christians hang around other christians. They feel guilty that they are not "saving your soul." The christians that do go out "to the sinners" and share the gospel are known as saints doing the lord's work. Looking at those people now, they specifically targeted low income areas. You were more likely to find people desperate for something or someone to save them. Richer areas were more likely to already go to church or be "too distracted" to worry about god. In fact, if you drive by church in session, you will see so many nice and new cars. I can imagine that people from the low income areas would feel so out of place going to my old church. My church building was $13 million and cost over $1 million for upkeep in an area where living expenses were very low. That building is actually their second church building. It is vacant on the weekdays, completely empty. I think this fact is a great metaphor for what those people are really like.
Kelly-Ann, I have never felt so heard and understood as I did in this video. The moments when you really let your emotion show through about how Christianity treats homosexuality really brought me back into the enormity of that situation. I am an ex Catholic who is gay and I spend so much time avoiding thinking about what that was like for me... I am so scared of being brainwashed and going back into that Catholic thought process of thinking that I'm not allowed to ever be in a loving relationship. Seeing you so clearly feel into the difficult emotions around this that I struggle to let myself feel gave me almost a sense of relief.. I had a bit of a cry along with you
I fucking love your perspective on things! I live in a small town, Tennessee, USA. I was raised Christian, and still am to some degree. I attend a non denomination church to learn about the word, but I am also an aspiring tarot reader and developing medium. I try to bring healing and understanding to those around me. What I always hated about Christianity was that pushiness side of it. A personal relationship with God is just that... Personal. In my humble opinion. ❤️ Love to you girl ❤️
I really feel you there. The truth to me is that I never really saw Jesus as a “savior from sins”, but rather as more of a spiritual mentor figure behind my witchcraft practices. Just because I turned to the Craft doesn’t mean I “threw the baby out with the bath water” so to speak. Jesus is the root source of my practices. Mainstream Christians can give me the same “you can’t serve two masters” excuse all they want, but if I’m not using it to cause harm to myself or anyone, then what’s the real problem?
I am 20, moved away from my parents 6 months ago and decided I didn't believe Christianity anymore 4 years ago. It has been an ever ongoing struggle especially since I had to sit through 2 church services every sunday when I was still living with my parents. The fear of hell never really leaves, not yet at least. I've done hundreds of hours of research on the bible and to be honest reading the bible really is the best cure for Christianity, due to all the contradictions and fucked up stuff. So anyway, somewhere along the way I got interested in New Age and Paganism and especially recently I was getting the feeling that I was getting somewhere. I haven't really had any experiences yet but I feel that something is moving me in a certain direction, and it's definitely a positive direction. I'm very passionate about my well being now, about losing weight, about becoming a better person. Now enter all the Christian testimonies that are on TH-cam. There's thousands of them and I wondered why there's so few of them the other way around. I could really only find 1 or 2. This really brought back a lot of doubt and fear. You did a great job explaining why that is and brought me back to what I was feeling previously. The born again Christians claim to have found real love and happiness in Christ. However I only really feel hatred coming from them when they tell their story. While I don't think the doubts will be going away anytime soon, I do really feel love on this side of the fence. And I'll hold on to that, because that is what I need. Thank you for this video :)
I was raised Christian but it didn't stick. It didn't for my sister either and when she went to visit my dad on his death bed last year, she asked him, "How do you feel about it?" (him knowing he was about to pop his clogs) and his response was basically, "I'm ecstatic because I know I'm going to heaven... you're not though, you're going to hell." No mention of "sorry for being an arsehole my entire life", or "look after your mum when I'm gone..." He had 'temper issues'. A few years ago he merrily told everyone that Jesus had healed him and taken his temper away. Firstly, that was a fucking lie because he still bullied anyone that would stand still long enough, but secondly, what a fucking cop out. He took no responsibility for it and he never apologised for anything. It was like his 'get out of jail free card'. He could be as much of an arsehole as he liked because god was on his side. I did not visit him in hospital to say goodbye and I don't regret that decision. They say christians are the worst advertisement for christianity. (I realise this isn't about testimony videos but I feel better for getting that off my chest.)
39:00 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 Thank you for this wonderful video. I laughed and cried along with you, Kelly-Ann! This topic always holds a painful place in my heart. Always. Love you, girl! 🌬✨
Kelly-Ann! Good Lord (pun intended) your title freaked me out! Former Christian here. I have an advanced degree from a Christian University. Although my area of study was not religion, those courses were also required. I think many Christians would benefit from being taught the bible from scholars in the field and wade out of the pool of ignorance and indoctrination that happens. Many extremist pastors have no scholarly education. Seminary maybe has some, but many have no qualifications. Being "called by God" is sufficient for extremists. Education would reduce the need and knee jerk reaction to spout cognitive distortions when in the presence of people that trigger them. You are right about the predatory aspects of certain types of Xtian. A friend of mine was killed and the first thing someone said to me was "was she a christian" - she was, but what if she hadn't been? What about comforting someone who just lost a friend? Or if someone survives a mass shooting "the Lord protected them because they follow him." What kind of sick God would be like that? It's dark. About quoting the bible - the verses they learn are hackneyed. I use to think I'd write a Christian to English dictionary and commentary along with the evolution of the idea of hell and the devil. About King James Version - it's one of the worst translations due to King James having quite an agenda that shows through. You might like it for the language and I get that though. This video is THE BEST! THANK YOU! The video you made last year on this topic was perfect. It heals my heart to hear you talk about this. You are a compassionate person. Winning souls to xtianity is like Pokemon Go, it's one of the few dark things they are allowed to do. Destroy a person's identity and culture without a second thought, provide humanitarian aid like food for the homeless as long as the recipients sit for the pyramid scheme spiel for conversion in their weakened state. Being convinced that they are homeless because they aren't xtian. All that dark behavior is what seems "Satanic" to me. The more moderate Christians are just doing the best they can and aren't like the ones I described above. The extreme ones even convince the moderates that their church isn't "spirit filled" if they aren't extreme. The extreme ones create quite a hierarchy - the top level seems to be focused on battling Satan by thought control and conversion. It seems their version of Satan is more powerful than God. Conversion also puts more butts in the seats which means more money for the church. Some people choose between paying a necessary bill or "giving to god." I heard it put once that Christianity can be viewed as either eternal love assurance or eternal fire insurance. I have so many thoughts and it's the middle of the night so I have to stop. I'll probably delete this in the morning thinking I'm being too brutal with this. I have just seen the damage the fall out from the conversion high has. There is a whole process of emotional manipulation to accomplish conversion. The inevitable crash afterwards is really hard on some people. And when you're a Christian you can only blame yourself for letting Satan win by making you depressed right? There's some of my thoughts driven by my anger that comes from a desire to protect people's hearts. There are many wonderful people who are Christian and I wouldn't want to take away something that gives them comfort. I have seen people break down when their beliefs are challenged. It's the only tool they have to get through life. Even if it hurts them, many know no other way. Other ways are only presented as examples of Satan's work so it feels hopeless to them. I just grieve for those that feel they are in that situation.
Please don't delete your comment! I found myself nodding along with everything you said. I agree that people would benefit from actually studying translations that are closer to the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. They would also benefit from looking at each book through the lens of the historical and cultural context in which they were written.
Ha!! Love this!! My fundamentalist mom recently told me, in a very shocked voice, about a well-known evangelist who has "fallen away" and been disfellowshipped. His crime? He says he no longer believes in hell and that "God is not a monster." Ah, the irony! (Tho I can't cackle too loudly. I'm embarrassed to admit that I used to be a fundamentalist myself... 😳) Later edit... just got to the part where you are talking about the fundamentalist denouncements of homosexuality. It was actually this very thing that was the first crack in the armor for me. I had reconnected with an old friend from high school who told me that he was gay. He was then, and still is, one of the kindest, most loving people I have ever known. But my religion told me he was going to hell. And the people making these types of pronouncements at my church were often self-righteous, narcissistic, and cruel. The disparity I witnessed was my first baby step away from that cult! Thank you, sweet baby Jesus! Ha! 😄
Thanks so much for sharing your experience about your gay friend. I think this is how many people come to the realisation that thinking of it as a sin is just so wonky.. x
That was a brilliant video, thank you Kelly-Ann! I was a Christian for a long time and now I'm very much planted in the new age. So much of this video chimed with me, especially when you were talking about evangelism being predatory behaviour. I could not agree more! I came to the Church when I was at my lowest ebb mentally, I was struggling with post-natal depression and massive anxiety and looking back I can clearly see that the church took advantage of me in that stage of my life and fed me something that was not good for me. A lot of these evangelical churches tell you that you are not good enough and you need Jesus to fix you and that really resonated with how I felt about myself at that time. So I spent a lot of years carrying guilt and self-loathing that according to my church was totally justified. I currently live in China and there is a massive community of missionaries here pushing that same guilt soaked paradigm and it wasn't until I saw from the outside them pushing it on my friends and students that I realised I'd been stuck in some really shady shit. It makes me so angry when my students show me messages and letters that they've received saying they're sinners, they're not whole and they're going to hell. These kids have never even heard of Jesus before and it really frightens them and it just made me realise that any religion that uses vile scare tactics to frighten young girls into joining their club is not something I want to be involved in. You might get upset with me for this but the day I hoofed all my Bibles and Christian books into the bin was the most freeing day of my life! Anyway, those are just some thoughts that came to me while I was watching. I love all your videos! Blessed be!
Keeley Wheelz yeah the church definitely takes advantage of when people are at their lowest. I went back to Christianity because of depression and trauma not realizing that I am my own savior. Now I’m free though
Thanks for the video. You share many of my own thoughts,feelings and observations. I'm someone of witchy tendencies, working for a Christian homeless organisation and as such have had ample opportunity to observe the fear and anger in colleagues when the "one true way" thing is challenged for them by someone (me) choosing another path. Sparks recently flew at me when I mentioned some shadow work I was doing around Samhain. I shouldn't be suprised but... What was evident was that some feared going back to darker experiences from their past and that security from that was reliant on Christianity being the one truth. Therefore tolerence of difference, let alone celebration of it, is a source of fear and insecurity for them. Misinterpreting me or others as the source of that insecurity, it's little wonder that some go on the attack or attempt to save with no empathy.
Firstly, thank you for the important work you do for homelessness. Secondly, damn, that must be a hotbed of intensity sometimes! What you say here is so right on: 'What was evident was that some feared going back to darker experiences from their past and that security from that was reliant on Christianity being the one truth.' I defo think that might be part of what I was trying to get at about fear and how it makes some Christians behave when faced with different views or even with the idea that some don't believe the same way.. I do have a lot of sympathy for people who are grappling with difficult pasts and are holding on tightly to something that helps.. It's just so shitty when those same people won't let others do the same in their own way. Thanks for your comment!
It's definately shitty when other's can't find it in their hearts to show tolerance and seriously challenging to be confronted by that. My hope is that by showing tolerance, self honesty and love it might inspire others to feel comfortable looking at their fears. When they are ready. Thanks for showing those same principles in your video and your emotional honesty aroundhow this stuff challenges you.It inspires me to share my own struggles. Good to know I'm not alone with this.
i appreciate this type of video. There is something very cathartic about being able to see someone else express similar opinions on this subject. Something i found very interesting when i started getting into the new age/ witchy relm was that i became MORE tolerant than ever of my christian family. And as you pointed out, there was no one there to try to convert me to new age/witchcraft, it's something that i just happened to find. And that is the biggest issue with Christianity that i still hold, that its the one and only answer for every single person . That is what i find so insidious , because converting others is written into the very fabric of the christian faith, therefore it's their duty to try to convince others and if they don't then they're not being a proper christian. But in reality, it's just disrespectful behavior. Its very sad when people say they love you, but also believe your soul is going to burn in hell for all eternity because you don't happen to agree with them. Can you truly love someone you disrespect in such a way?
I love you kelly-ann! I love reading and watching things that I disagree with or that are the opposite or just different from my beliefs... like.. I can spend so much time reading stuff from the "manosphere" of like.. pick up artists and incels and etc... it's so fascinating in the weirdest way.
Glad I'm not the only one who's intrigued by Christian testimonies. Here are a few consistencies I've noticed: a) Usually there is a Christian in the person's life who is influencing them, usually a family member. So we can only assume that this person has been trying to sway them for a long time until they finally cave. b) A lot of the people I've watched admit to using drugs when they were in the New Age. While there are responsible ways to use drugs, it's also true that these substances can negatively alter your brain chemistry, especially if you're misusing them. Perhaps this makes these people mentally fragile and more susceptible to ideas like being possessed or haunted by demons. c) Trauma. Everyone experiences some level of trauma throughout their life, but I notice trauma being such a cornerstone in most Christian testimonies. When the new age cannot heal their pain, they swing in the other direction towards Christ. And in regards to the bigger name New Age to Christian teachers my question is always, "WHO IS PAYING YOU?"
Yes. Yes. Yes. So much yes to all of this. And it really is a shame that so many of those who consider themselves to be enlightened are really just sitting in the passenger seat letting fear do all of the driving.
It gets even stickier when you consider how many people of African descent are doing missionary work and coming after me and other Black magickal practitioners saying “come back to Jesus sister”! It makes me a little crazy because of how Christianity even attached to Africans as a result of slavery... the very system that sold us a lie about our worth and the value of our ancestral spirituality. They don’t even see the paradox...
I just recently told a very dear friend of mind that I walked away from Christianity and became a pagan and practiced magick, and I broke her poor heart. She’s not the type to be pushy or preachy, which I’m very grateful about, and although she was sad (she told me that I was the one who kept her grounded in her faith when she was weak and I’m sure that she’s scared now), she also is very adamant about maintaining and preserving and deepening our friendship. I regret to admit that I was one of the Christians that tried to spread the word, and I feel really guilty about that now especially as I no longer follow the very paradigm I pushed on others. Its been quite the journey
Linguistic habit nearly had me saying 'hallelujah' to half of this... Amazing how that happens even when you're not raised Christian and in spite of your own beliefs, eh? I'll go with, 'bravo' instead. Bravo! This was a Fab episode of RW.
I remember one of my teachers saying "THEY want you to do this" "They want you to do that" "They want you to..." every frickin' lesson. One time I just asked him who "THEY" are and he wasn't able to answer. One thing I regret is that I never just get up, packed my stuff and walked out of the classroom. Not so long ago I went for a coffee with my ex co-worker and she began to invite me to her church. I told her that I really appreciate that she thought about me, but unless her church welcomes pagans with respect and open arms I don't think it's good idea. She said "I don't think anyone is pagan". When I explained it to her, her jaw dropped so low I almost laughed. She kept saying "Really?! Really?!" and at some point I found it a bit rude. Finally she told me to read the Bible. I told her that I, in fact, did and that's why I'm not Christian anymore. I wanted to keep in contact with her but after that day I thought it wasn't a good idea. What I noticed from people (especially teenagers) coming from Christianity to paganism or whatever is great, great anger and feeling of hurt. I never saw them trying to convince anyone to ditch Christianity but rather looking for understanding. Some stories I heard were really sad. Fun thing is, I looked through "How to recognise a cult" on my parish website and realized Christian churches usually tick most (if not all) of the boxes!
I am newly pagan. And I was raised in a Christian household where my father was a preacher. Looking back a Christianity I have found the same thing! Hahaha sounds like a cult to me
As a born and raised atheist in a very Catholic country (I'm Italian), where being not only non-Christian but more specifically non-Catholic is seen as "weird" and "quirky", I am very much used to the Christ/Satan dycotomy, and I've learned to embrace being called a servant of the devil at a very young age (I am also a feminist and a metalhead, so it was either that or nothing). What I really don't understand is the sheer fundamentalism of reborn Christians, who most likely are of the Protestant confession. Not even my very Catholic brother in law (who may or may not start the process of becoming a priest in the near future and is always at church) would ever be pushy and harassing people with his faith, not even with me - a non-baptized chaos witch. The rise of fundamentalism is awful in every religion, and now it's the turn of Christianity, again. I hope that in the future everyone will be able to live their religion/spirituality just accepting different views in peace.
Love this comment.. Damn though, no one should have to 'learn to embrace being called a servant of the devil at a very young age'. It's so messed up. I hope being a metalhead helped you own it! x
@@kelly-annmaddox It's like the egg and the chicken paradox, no one knows who came first. Luckily, I'm surrounded by friends like me (I recently read an article stating that civil weddings surpassed religious ones in 2018, so maybe us millennials are not that rigid with religion and customs than previous generations), and we joke about that constantly. By the way, I find myself being much more accepting with anyone's spirituality (as long as it doesn't interfere with those of the others) than my ex-Catholic friends and family members. My fiancé is very vocal against his family's beliefs, but I find them normal, not culty. The real danger is the cult mentality, which may occur in many contexts within and without religion (I experienced it in a student political organization, for example). Maybe the hatred towards new age that you describe in this video comes from the same point of view.
I was just thinking how Italy seems super Catholic, but it's just in the sense that the Church here holds a lot of political power. I was born here and I wasn't raised Catholic. I've never even met an active Catholic in my life I think, except from my grandma I guess. The vast majority of people I've met in Italy are atheist or agnostic. So reading this comment was kind of weird. I guess not everyone's experience is the same and there are probably areas where the Catholic hold is stronger. It's also true that our flavor of Catholicism is far from being as pushy and obnoxious as some American evangelicals, even though there are groups here there are a bit over the top as well. Hope we can move forward and realize that love and compassion are the things a religious person should focus on.
Just wanted to add that lots of people still marry in church because it "looks more beautiful" or because their family prefer "a traditional wedding", but many people that do that absolutely aren't Catholic or if they present as such they don't go to church or do anything else religion-related. So I think the vast majority of people do it to maintain some tradition or because it's the norm, but it doesn't indicate that they're fervent Catholics. Just like I was baptized because it's something that you just do, but my parents were never religious. Still, it probably doesn't work the same in all areas, but I would argue this is the most prevalent cause. Just my two cents.
I'm from the South, maybe that's why I had some weird encounters with religion teachers at school and family members, but all of them were more on the "ooo, so quirky" fashion than on the "I exorcise you, spawn of Satan" one. Last year I was with my best friend in a bridal shop for her wedding dress and we were completely weirded out by the lady who was helping her who said: "A wedding not in a Church?! It's so strange and uncommon!" We left wondering what kind of world does this lady live in. EDIT: what you wrote in the second comment is the absolute truth, but for a non-baptized child in the 90s things were just a bit different. Especially at the age of the first communion, it was quite hard for me to acknowledge that I wasn't getting the pretty dress as the other girls, and my religion teacher tried to lure me into getting baptized with that excuse. I realized that I was only interested in the dress and didn't go on with the process, and that's where it all started (then things spiraled in high school because I went metal, but that wasn't related to religion, most people just thought that I was a drug addict).
Sooo much to say on this topic but will keep it focused...🤭😁. Having been brought up as Christian and now am not, I find it so interesting that some Christians embrace the oneness, acceptance, and love of JC then want to exclude others based on their orientation as if JC made this a law. I remember that text saying something about above all things, love. Interesting how the people of JC still "cherry pick" and contradict and not understanding that 'text' is full of contradictions because of how it has been presented, translated, and interpreted; a very western-Eurocentric approach to christ consciousness and not a full north-east African, non-linear cosmology of culture and tradition from which JC comes. I'm with you Kelly-Ann, live and let live.
All those metal comments - claiming the blood, armour of God, etc - and I was looking for a lighter to hold up in the air, so I just turned on the torch function of my phone instead. While making the sign of the horns with the other hand. :)
I love you for saying all this! My dad, before his death was a zealot level christian. He was also a judgmental, horrible person. He was the woman in your story. THANK YOU! Your thoughts were accurate. I truly appreciate the hard work, and the genuine emotions involved in making this video. Much love & gratitude. 🦄💝🌛😘
Something I've noticed with both my mom and my mother in law is they both have a natural gift towards witchy ways, buts its smushed into this repressive strainer of christianity where this pagan sortof energy still creeps out in their expression, but its something difficult to accept and nurture. Once I got angry cause my mom had these old republican church elders come anoint her over her chronic pain, my thoughts were she has more spiritual power in her pinky toe than all those old men combined.
I've been watching TH-cam videos for some time now and, at least from my perspective, this is one of the best TH-cam videos I've ever watched. It's so frank and honest! Many people are very afraid to be this vulnerable with their audience because they fear negative feedback, but I'm so grateful you were willing be open with us. So thank you!
I sometimes watch the "Why I'm No Longer a Christian" videos because that's what I can relate to more. I still feel a connection to Christ, so I haven't felt comfortable making that kind of video yet, but I'm disgruntled by pretty much everything else related to Christianity and church.
There's a channel called your simple path that I think you would benefit from. Don't feel like you have to give up a relationship with Jesus to belong here, either :-)
Kristin's channel, yes, I'm subscribed! :) I don't see myself giving up my relationship with Christ. It's an anchor of sorts for me. Thanks for reaching out.
God has been here with me every step of the way throughout my spiritual journey. Truly, it’s been so beautiful. Also, I’m going to check out that channel as well! Much Love & Many Blessings to you, both! 🤍🖤✨
When you mentioned the blood of God I thought "Ok Osbourne" 😂 I've dealt with mental illness my entire life and witchcraft (and finding my Gods I guess too) have helped me with my mental Illnesses, I should practice more often to help more. Like last month or so me and my Dad had a cab pick us up to go back home, the first thing she said was "Do you know of Jesus Christ?". When she said that I was thinking "Oh great it's going to be like this the whole ride....oh no" and so she kept on talking about Job, and other things from the Bible, which made me feel extremely uncomfortable. Then the best part happens, we pull to our house and she asked if she could pray for my Dad and we said sure...now I was thinking that she was just going to say it in her head or at home but she literally turned around in her chair made us hold hands and prayed for my Dad. While we were praying I was praying to Apollo since I'm a Hellenic Polytheist. Then this lady asked us if it was ok to speak in tongues, we said ok and I kid you not she spoke in tongues. I was thinking WTF! The prayer lasted roughly 5 minutes. Through the entire ride I was thinking "Isn't this against some sort of rule of rules?" Like how would she like if I was saying that Poseidon was our Lord and savior? (Lol jk...I meeeeeaaan...😂😂😂) She wouldn't like it. I might not be Christian but one of the things I'm going to inherit from my Mom when she dies is her big Golden Bible that she worked VERY hard to get, she paid it off in like a year and I'm excited to inherit it because of how hard she worked to get it...it's not because it's a holy item but because of her dedication to get that bible. I saw this website that had the contradictions of the bible and it was a long page. I'm glad that that guy broke up with her because that's toxic. I agree with EVERYTHING you said. Here's a witchy affirmation for the Ex-witches, May all the items they through away be found by witches and the like to help them out on there path.
This video really speaks to me😁. I remember that video very well from a year ago. I am the same occasionally I watch those videos of new age to Christian back to back and some of them are actually quite funny others I can’t even watch till the end because .... Jesus isn’t the only saviour, there are much older religions where they talk about their own saviours!!! Do they not know that? I am having a good laugh 😆, thanks for this Kelly-Ann.
I loved watching your rambling video from a year ago, regarding the Ex-witch Christian convert. It’s the first time I’d ever watched you! You were f**king brilliant! Every point you made was so clearly articulated. You’re clearly f**king SUPER intelligent!! I loved it! It was a long video but I relished very minute of it. You’re a fully charged Everyday Energiser battery!! 💪🏻You are such a delight to watch and listen too! I follow Jessi Huntenburg and she put a link to your channel; that’s how I found you. I’m now a part of your witchy following. Subscribed. ❤️❤️👍🏻👍🏻💪🏻💪🏻😍
What I’ve noticed about these “new age to Jesus” videos sound more like a desperate need for attention and views, which is kinda suss to me. If it’s real, that’s great and power to them. But if they’re just posting these kind of videos as a means of trying to get attention, I’d advise against posting them in the first place.
I had a similar conversation with my brother recently. When I moved in with he and my sister-in-law after relocating I tried to say as little as possible without going into detail due to some activity that I’d been experiencing. He was a bit freaked out and immediately jumped to the negative conclusions that share “other” spiritual beliefs. I then asked him “witch or Christian, etc...what is the difference? We both pray/make requests to A Being for health, happiness, love, so on and so forth. I just happen to use candles as a point to focus in doing so. He replied that “witchcraft comes with a price aside from those prayers bc you are speaking to spirits and ancestors. But is God/Jesus not a spirit? And if we are requesting help in life from those who have been here and existed before us and we literally share bloodlines why would you automatically believe they are evil. His next argument was it’s because it’s a different energy when you place a bunch of witches together conjuring the same thing. My response was aren’t Christians and everyone else gathering in sacred places praying for the same things... Regardless of who we pray to and look to for strength, it’s all the same 🙏🏽☪️🔅
This was so wonderful to listen to, I wish I could express my thoughts as intelligently as you. I live in a rural area of the US and pass churches one after the other, I drive by and read their signs and the little catch phrase to draw in the "flock", to scare people with the threat of a damned soul. I don't understand either. There is a bunch more swirling in my head that I can't break down into sentences but much love to everyone...Thank you.
My grandfather a pastor my father a decon. I was raised Christian and left the church after realizing it was not about God's love and Jesus's teaching. Christianity is not of love and light as a group practice. Possibly personally 🤔 but that is why I am open to the holy trinity coming through my witchcraft if they choose.
Hello Kelly-Ann, First of all, great video. I've been marching to the beat of my own drum the past seven years, and mid last year, after seeing the ugly side of those within the New Age community, I began to veer towards Christianity. One night I was on LSD in the back of an Uber, the Uber driver and I were talking about what we did for work and at the time I was a tarot reader. I naively told them I was doing spiritual guidance as my work, and they turned out to be Christian and started preaching to me. Being on LSD absolutely freaked me out in this circumstance, and it stuck with me. I began watching all the testimonies and this made me become very paranoid, I got rid of some of my crystals and books and card decks. I had no religious upbringing, so this was totally new to me, it scared the living SHIT out of me. Honestly I would have panic attacks and still do have panic attacks most nights about going to hell. Having demonic hellish visions and being convinced I was doomed to hell. As I went further into Christianity, I noticed my personality becoming dry, not being able to do anything I enjoyed without seeing the 'evil' occult themes (tv shows, books, concepts, friendships, weed, music, games). Satan was in everything everywhere. I'm quite young (22 years) so I met up with a christian to understand more about their beliefs, they suggested that I burn all my occult items. I haven't done that, just temporarily removed them from my room and put them in storage while I figure out where I stand. I found all the testimonies I watched to have a real condescending and melodramatic tone, they upset me. Seeing your raw emotion here really assisted me. I was also beginning to feel homophobic and developing an anger towards fellow New Age friends. I have been absolutely terrified of being washed 'clean' and turned into a boring, bland walking bible robot and never in my life have I experienced this kind of fear. Gradually im using my mind and listening to my heart and finding I dont agree with the indoctrination that has been placed upon me especially when Ive been vulnerable. I absolutely believe Im experiencing this so I can assist others in the future, I LOVE that you made a video on this. It can be really scary for someone who is not solid on their belief system and path to see all these people converting to Christianity and feeling alone or like they are going to be left behind if they dont convert to. Big thumbs UP! I have subscribed. Lots of Love, Maxwell
Thank you for bringing this to light. Here in small town U.S.A we are over run with this type of thing. Christians trying to cram the Bible down everyone throats. I have a 13 year who has decided to follow a witchy path like us and she spends every day wondering and worrying about how many friends she will loose if they find out she is a witch. She tells me that she feels all alone and fake because they will never know who she truly is. It breaks my heart. Why can't they just except us like we do them?
I laughed and cried along with you in this. I was Christian until I was 17 and found witchcraft. Im 39 now. I do remember worrying about people I loved going to hell when I was Christian. I never pushed it on anyone else though at all. I had far too many of my own questions and doubts about Christianity. I eventually concluded that I wanted to nothing to do with a god or religion that was so judgemental of others and trying to change them. It started of with all the God is love stuff but as I got older it was clear that there was in fact a major lack of love for anyone who didn't believe the same as us or behave the same as us. It really was us and them. It's been 22 years now since I left Christianity and I've never had even a second of doubt over that. Very happy with my own personal spiritual path.
I grew up in the United Methodist Church in midwest America. In high school I was "born again" and became very active in my church. At one point I planned to go into full time ministry. The funny thing is that it was the love and forgiveness aspects that drew me. A song that still pops in my head to this day is "and they'll know we are Christians by our love." I believed all of that. Unfortunately, a very vocal and determined type of Christian exists in America who make a mockery of these things. I refuse to be part of it. The bigots don't speak for all Christians, but the fact that they are so loud woke me up to things that were and are not right under the surface. The part at the end about the person who harassed her bandmate about testifying to his dying wife infuriates me. There were several moments in this video when I just wanted to reach through the screen and offer a hug. Health & Light to you.
The spiritual path for everyone is different. If they are better persons its good. I am a better person when I left religion, as I try not to judge people. Went from catholic, to atheist, to Agnostic, now into Astrology, Tarot and Witchcraft. I feel astrology answers a lot of things, the astral chart, and a deep understanding of how people are the way they are, and the struggles they have in life. I find astrology very illuminating and I am constantly testing it, with Astral charts of friends and looking at the astral chart of important events. I feel if witchcraft and new age give you a lot of signs, serendipities, syncronicities etc. its like the movie Avatar..they had their spiritual practice and they had response. Also, people in other religions have answers, syncronicities, signs, healing, etc. So I think God/Universe is so benign, that if the person really believes, it doesn't deny the help. I had a computer game where I was the god of an island, different cultures venerated me, with different practices, it is called Black and White. I realized it doesn't matter the way, just the pure intent. So, I am exploring, going to make spells soon to improve my weaknesses buy I am not denying I could go back to Christianity, I am open. I say, I believe in nothing and in everything. But hey Tarot is a wonderful tool, it has helped me and the people I have read to.
@@kelly-annmaddox It was right up my alley, to be honest! Now that I think of it, there's something so very dystopian about "New Age to Christian" testimony videos. And ngl I'm still giggling about "dancing with us by the light of the Full Moon with Satan" 😂 Also, your look was just *chef's kiss* 💖
I love your analysis. And I just watched her second testimony. And she starts by saying that this video is not meant to preach, she just wants to give testimony in a loving way, and then she goes into full preacher-mode. Go figure. And she talks about how we have to take responsibility for our own lives, which is something "new agers" (don't like the term) don't seem to be doing enough, but then goes on about how the big guy does everything for her, makes all the decisions, she just has to follow. Yah right. Do these people not hear themselves? If they were at least consistent in what they said I would be able to take them seriously.
Thank you for this video Kelly Ann. This is a really heavy topic for me as someone who was raised within a very extreme Christian cult and de-converted from that to Atheist and then eventually to Secular Paganism. I was more depressed than I had ever been growing up in that cult because every aspect of my life was controlled by someone else. I wasn't allowed to dress the way I wanted to, wasn't allowed to talk the way I wanted to, wasn't allowed to pursue the things that I wanted because it was "worldly" or "sinful" and I can't imagine the people that are still struggling within their religions, thinking, as I did, that I was a sinful and an awful person for just.... trying to be myself. There is so much toxicity in extremist Christian circles because everything is Satanic or demonic or sinful. It allows so much room for rejecting the simple fact that we are all equal and we are all part of the divine and that really does wear on a person I think.
I honestly agree. My family is Catholic, and we’ve been back and forth with born again Christians. I also have a class mate who is such a good person, funny, and kind. But she is on that band wagon of toxic Christianity I think. She’s trying to tell me that because I believe in chakras and energy work, AND the Virgin Mary that I’m wrong . And jc is the only way. 🤷🏻♀️ Im trying to be patient with her but I might end up having to be straight up and say, we can’t talk about this anymore. Because although I want to repair my idea of JC, I still love the Virgin Mary and saints, and goddesses and eastern thought. And I don’t think it’s a bad thing, I’m well rounded and care for all beings. So I think that’s enough for JC. Blessings, and may we all have the patience to not cuss someone out 🤣
I can relate. I was raised Catholic, but I found that my parents were so openminded about my more heterodox practices. I think it's because they grew up with people who practiced witchcraft. However, I grew up around a lot of people who are Born Again Christians. I've had the same experience you are dealing with your friend, but with several friends. And unfortunately, I had to cut most of them off because they would constantly censure me. I was tired of being told that my Virgin Mary and Buddha mini statues and my tarot/ oracle cards were forms of idolatry. Or that I was "deceived" by Satan when I'd read books on eastern philosophy or religious/ spiritual texts. I was tired of them "rebuking" everything I believed and practiced. So eventually, I just cut them out of my life. I have two friends who are still in that circle who are quite loving. They do not try to force their beliefs on me or lecture me about needing to renounce my sinful ways and turning to Jesus.
Thank you for posting this ... As someone who was raised in a cultish Christian background and who's parents have returned to an extreme form of Christianity this deeply resonated with me. 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
I appreciate this video and your perspective. I was a Christian of the fundamental sort until 2010 and started my path of witchcraft in 2012 - something your videos were a huge part of! I consider them a treasure along with other YT witches I was able to learn with. I wholeheartedly agree that you CANNOT reason with those types of Christians. You just cannot; it’s like trying to talk a blind person into seeing. I tried several times and quickly saw that...I saw how I had been. I have never in my life been so happy as I am now. A million Thank you’s to you for posting all your rambles and wisdom with the world 🖤
I've not witnessed the "New Age" angle of this, but I LIVED this life with my family who are intensely zealous. You're absolutely right on all accounts: they want to do what interests them, but they are afraid. Ultimately, they're not secure in themselves or what they believe, so they try to get others to believe (Safety in numbers or "if enough people believe, then it must be true"). It is absolutely fear-based and predatory religion, and I lived that growing up. Consequentially, I've been an anxious wreck ever since I can remember, and I recently broke away less than a year ago. Talking to "family" IS talking to a brick wall, or worse, because they denigrate/mock you for everything you do and believe. They do intertwine sexuality/gender issues especially with evil (unless you're asexual, in which it's accepted under the celibacy paradigm, and can be interpreted as a gift). I've always been drawn to New Age/Occult. I struggled with that for a long time. We were not allowed to read Lord of the Rings, or Harry Potter, precisely because of "the occult". "Opening the mind" to different ideas meant letting in demons and the devil. "Make Believe" could especially be dangerous. Those types of Christians WANT you to be an empty shell. I wish I was exaggerating.
I agree with every word.i have been tempted to chuck away all my books ,cards etc though fear caused by these videos. I still have moments of doubt which i hate.i look at these millionaire preachers in america who run the mega churches and it makes me so sick at how hypocritical they are telling their flock to get rid of their wealth and give to the poor. Id love to know your feelings on Steven Bancarz.i love your videos they are always so well thought out.xxx
Atheist here. Yeah, I'm the curious type, and you guys seem pretty nice. I can understand what it's like when Christians get pushy with their beliefs. Most recently was in class while chatting with a friend of mine. Another classmate came over to dump all her emotional baggage on me (people like that, energy vampires, tend to zero in on me pretty quickly all the time), and when I explained that I really couldn't deal with it that day, or any day really, due to the PTSD I suffered from, she immediately lit up and suggested I go to church. After telling her no, I'm not religious, she kept pushing. I told her religion would not help me, and still, she wouldn't take no as an answer. My friend spoke up, and I told her I had to get back to work. When I was younger, my little brother called me devil girl. I'm very sure that he told the priests at the Catholic school he was going to that I was an atheist, and they gave him the idea that my parents should kidnap me, take me to the church and tie me up, and then keep me there until I repent. He told me this almost non-stop. He was 10.
Hey K-A, I've been watching your channel for just over a year and have never chimed in, but this subject just really chaps my hide. I have a theory as to why the sudden conversion to christianity and I truly believe that the timing says it all. I believe that with all my heart, because it is EXACTLY when, I, shall we say, "Opted Out" of christianity. Every thing that you have observed in those vids and more is why my husband and I said WTF!!! Long story short, I have never in my life felt so free and just kinda wild, if you will. My best friend who has been calling me "Witch" for 26 yrs freaked out when I threw off that very heavy cloak of christianity. She called me "ridiculous", I was not offended by that because we are Mexican and that means Catholic, it's a given. Anyway, I'll leave the rambling to you "Chica". I adore you, I'm a 64 yr old BORN AGAIN WITCH and I love it. Maybe we born again Witches should testify, what do you think??? In a respectful way, of course.
Iam on my new journey as a Pagan from Christianity and I feel iam in control of my life more now and I feel the Devine has drawn me to this change thank you for doing this video good information ❤️
I can soooo relate when I see these kind of videos too. I’m an eclectic witch now, but I was a Christian in my late teens early 20’s. I was one of those Righteous ones, but realized what was going on when my grandma passed away and they asked my how I felt about now saving her, and her going to hell, ( when she wasn’t even cremated.) Then They called me a demon when I gave them a bible verse saying only God knows who is saved or not. They responded by saying, “ Even Demons know the scriptures.” Smh 🤦♀️
I really agree with your opinion about this! My family is Christian and they like to mock me when I'm around and make me feel like my spirituality is not valid. So now I only visit them 2 times a year.
Greetings from Chicago :). I rarely make comments, but let me just say that I cannot explain how much I needed this video and I am sure many others feel the same. It was so on point in every way. I am a Psych major and totally appreciate the mental analysis aspect of your research. I had a few light bulb moments while watching. I grew up Christian (not hardcore which I am so grateful for). I had a lot of freedom to explore my spirituality (I did a little, but fell in to the fear mongering trap). I can honestly say that I felt so many internal contradictions when I was a Christian . I look back at my childhood and further, I always knew there was much more to the story and something always felt off. Many of my spiritual experiences did not align with the Bible and would be labeled as demonic trickery. Thankfully none of those negative comments came from close family. I realized that I stuck with it solely on fear of “Hell”. Well let’s just say I have been through some major life changes which caused an awakening which resulted in exploring spirituality away from Christianity. It wasn’t easy and fear was involved. I tried incorporating some of the Christian belief system and realized I only did that as a back plan, again fear. I recently realized that I cannot truly embrace my true and authentic self with fear standing on my shoulders. I had way too many signs showing and telling me to rip that bandaid off and I finally did just that. I am finally at the point where I don’t really give a hoot what anyone thinks of my spiritual choices. It amazes me when people are so concerned about everyone else’s spiritual practice and life. If it is not harming anyone why waste your energy to convince people to believe in your truth. I realized that you miss out on so much in life including learning about your own self, which is detrimental. I seriously wish I listened to my intuition years ago, better late than never lol. Again, I absolutely appreciate your content as it has helped me tremendously, Blessings.
I consider myself a Christian and you are right about the extremism. I would have asked what the wife's favorite food is and take it over and hang out of she wanted to chat or wanted me to read a book to her... It whatever.. Ultimately, Jesus' testimony was love. The law of love is supreme. Think about the story in the Bible of the guy who found someone in the side of the road who had been mugged and left for dead. A man picked this victim up, put him in their version of a hotel and payed for this person's recovery. That's Christianity. I do a lot of things that Christianity considers witchcraft. I believe I am using what our creator left for us to use to heal people. Everything is vibration. The whole of the earth including the rocks praise the creator through vibration.i feel it work I'm in nature. We can tap into that for healing.
I went down that YT rabbit hole awhile ago and thought about making a video of it but never got around to it. I’m so glad that you decided to go for it. I went from Christianity to “new age” myself and find it really fascinating that folks would go in the other direction. Of course, I support people making whatever decisions meet their needs and I do worry that these videos spread a fair amount of misinformation and can be confusing to the vulnerable. Also, I find it odd that they talk about it like there’s just one way to be “new age” and everyone believes the same exact stuff. Like it is such a reductive term for a large number of belief systems, philosophies and religions. I could rant about this for awhile. Thanks for speaking your piece on it.
I have no dog in the fight, but I as usual am aligned with your perspective. I have a friend/client, who is super duper catholic, and I have no issue at all with it. I find some of the rituals, saints and icons beautiful and inspiring, but on more than one occasion, she has aggressively made attempts to pull me in, to go to church, and to become catholic. I did my best to remain neutral and loving, because I know that she was coming from a place of true love for her belief and that she wants me to experience that same joy. I also try to speak about spirit in a way, to whom ever I am talking to, that is not going to cause controversy, or step on anyones toes, so the language I use around certain people may vary, because I know, that the divine source, is big enough for all of us, and presents in ways for us all. I don't have to school others on this or attempt to sway or become angry that they are trying to sway me, if that be the case. The best thing I can do, is cultivate my own relationship to that divinity, and drop my defenses. For a long time, I had my particular understandings, and yet I was feeling and fearing the influence of others. I had (still do) have strong intuition, and yet was really torn up and let the fears that I may be wrong torture me, and while I would get angry at anyone dogmatic, and actively rebel or try to school them, that kept me from that truth within. I still bristle when I hear testimony like the ones you described, but I am also growing along spiritual lines, and I feel no need to fight or worry any more. I have some amazing people in my life, and within those people, there is a variety of belief. Belief gives us somtihing to work with. That makes me think about some of your earlier videos about using belief as a tool. Belief is not knowing, and belief is not reliance on divine intelligence. Preaching is not inherently spiritual, it is intellectual and it keeps one from getting into the truth and knowing, the reliance then falls on the preacher and not the spirit of the universe. People can have what they have and when I see possible harm being done, I do what you did and send prayers of love and good will, peace and freedom to all involved, because all of that comes from fear, and if there is a devil, then it would be fear. Those are just my thoughts.
I loved listening to this venting video! And you being investigative is so.... exciting😆😅 Made packing my gazillion crystals for a move so much more enjoyable😍
Thank You, Kelly-Ann. I laughed, cried and ranted right along with you as I also have PMS. I will watch it again in 28 days I think. Blessed Be Dear Sister
The particular conversion you spoke of when starting this video is what brought me to your channel. I followed her when I first realized youtube had more than just planner videos and was super bummed when she left the way she did, but her leaving led me to you and Ethony, Avalon, etc so I am grateful for that. I think these testimonies, or many of them, are from people who have hit a rock bottom of some sort and in my experience, those people turn out to be zealots who dont really think of anything other than their brand of christianity. Christian's I know who have not hit a rock bottom but are still very spiritual dont tend to behave in that manner and are usually, again in my experience, a hell of a lot more mellow, tolerant, inclusive, etc. Its a very odd phenomenon
Hi Kelly-Ann. My sweet boyfriend spent 75 days in the hospital before he died. His early childhood was spent in Christianity, but from the time we met until he passed he was a devout atheist. On many occasions he would send the hospital chaplain away. One day as I came back from lunch the chaplain was in his room and they were praying together. That would’ve been fine with me, he was the one who was dying.I would have made no judgment, but I couldn’t resist saying,so sweetie what’s up with the chaplain? He replied, I could see how much pain he was in because I would not pray with him. Since it doesn’t matter to me, I wanted to make him feel better. What a guy! I was so fortunate to share the planet with him for a brief moment in time. Thank you for the video.
I am sitting here in tears reading your comment. Even at that moment in his life, he was showing concern for that chaplain's feelings even though it should have been the other way around. Your boyfriend sounds like he was super high vibe, living by a high code.. Amazing. X
Kelly-Ann Maddox thank you. I thought maybe with your recent quest you might enjoy this passage I found:
Witch of Endor. In the Hebrew Bible, the Witch of Endor is a woman Saul consulted to summon the spirit of prophet Samuel in the 28th chapter of the First Book of Samuel in order to receive advice against the Philistines in battle after his prior attempts to consult God through sacred lots and prophets had failed.
I thought it was a bit interesting that after God failed a witch came through. Although, I guess it doesn’t say what happen next.
Sounds like a really cool guy. I’m glad you got to share your lives together for a little bit. Thank you for sharing your story! ❤️
Also, I’m gonna be on a verse hunt now. The Witch of Endor sounds cool!
Wow.
Natalie Colbert Hi Natalie, I wanted to say sorry for your loss, it’s not much I can say, yet I do feel terribly sorry that this happened. Your boyfriend sounds like very cool. considerate, filled with compassion and humanity guy. I do hope you are keeping well. I wanted to ask you how did you manage to keep your practice going ? ?? After your loved one died?, for me it’s a reason for this ( my practice) to be shaken and I go through sth similar but it’s more direct, it’s is me who is very ill, and I see no protection or help anymore from those whom I have worshipped. I have never been as lost as I am now, in my entire life, /I am not that young so I lived a bit. The core of me crumbled away, and I can’t put it all together. Witchcraft gave me sense of being and it was something to hold on to, definitely , now it’s in pieces so I am in pieces. It’s unbearable.
My heart goes out to those who are under the pressure of Christian dogma. It is not easy when there are others around you who judge your beliefs!
Thank you for your video. I am an open minded Christian (theologian in fact) who left the institutionalized christianity and am studying and learning many things with earth based spiritualities. I know the framed, dogmatic, dualistic and exclusive nature of christianity as understood by many, and that in fact is not Christ consciousness IMHO. The dualism is one of the biggest problems. And the omnipresent resulting legalism. Be blessed.
Thanks for your humor, you’re authenticity, your thoughtfulness on this subject. Wanted to give you a hug in your vulnerable moments. I appreciate where you come from miss Maddox. 😁 ((hugs))
Im so glad I am not a Christian anymore. Life is better when you don't think you are better than everybody else. When you don't want to convert the entire planet. When you actually LOVE humans regardless of their beliefs and sexual orientation. Blessed be sisters and brothers!!
As a recent "new age to Jesus" person myself, I really enjoyed your video and agree with many of your points. I am totally one of those who misses some of the practices I used to do + the community + the aesthetic, however I have to be true to myself and none of these things felt right to me and I was becoming someone I was not. It was not an easy conversion for me, even after dealing with paranormal activities, I was having (and still do) a hard time surrendering myself to God. I never owned or read the Bible so I depended a lot on these New age to Jesus testimonies and preachers on youtube, some I related to, others gave me so much anxiety about coming to Christ. One thing that stressed me out was how it was necessary to preach the word of God and to serve God at all times or else.
I realized that I need to build my relationship with God and He will guide me, not some christians on youtube telling me to cut off everything and everyone that is not "of God" and change who I am overnight.
People will all have their own journey and discoveries, some will be led to God and others won't and no human gets to decide who goes to hell or not.
When I was in elementary school I found the Greek gods. I feel in love and devoted myself to them. We moved and mom dragged us to church in elementary and junior high. I was picked out and bullied in the church. I left when I hit college. My faith died then came back with vengeance in the new age Norse/ Greek pantheon. Those uppity Christians, if heaven is full of those two faced bullies I rather not spend eternity with them.
For many years I was a seeker. I have studied philosophy and different religions for many years. I was a practicing Buddhist for 6 years. Then during a very dark time in my life when I went to a food bank while out of work, I met some lovely people that kept asking me to go to their Evangelical church. I did. They were beautiful people. They made me feel like I belonged. They let me help at the food bank - and I was so eager to serve. I have always wanted to help people. Well, I started going to the church. People there hugged me when I had not been shown love for years. Eventually, I went to work for the church. And then I began to truly see - and the Bible says "The truth will set you free". And it did. The gossip was thick and constant. The arrogance was through the roof. Everyone there was certain that they were the 'chosen ones' and everyone else was dog doo. They openly talked about how they personally had brought the dead back to life. The last straw was when my daughter came home from Youth Group crying because they told her she was a fool and going to hell for believing that dinosaurs existed. O.O I am not making this up. So I got a real job, and never stopped reading the bible. I also now read many other spiritual and religious texts. And I kept seeking. I personally believe that there is only one Creator but that he/she has many aspects. He/She has no gender or has both - but you can call God either she or him or change pronouns. I believe that God has many names - Jehovah, Odin, Krishna, Diana, Hecate... so many names - but the greatest of these names is LOVE. If the Creator is honestly omnipotent we are selling the Creator short by using only one name, or one aspect, or one gender. So - I still read my bible. I also have an alter filled with crystals, another dedicated to the elements and Spirit. I perform rituals with herbs, and essential oils and I practice love and joy. This is my way - this is what I believe now - and it will change as I grow and learn - and your truth is also beautiful and real!!!! And I try and forgive those christians who made me feel small, and not good enough. Who accused me of many terrible things that were not true. I pray for them the ability to see the truth. My journey seeking the Creator goes on, and it always will. We can't know the Creator's mind because it is omnipotent. But I'll keep trying. Thank you for your videos. This one is spot on, and you were much kinder than I would have been.
Oof this was a tough one for me having come from Christianity to witchcraft about 7 years ago. I was raised very Christian and actually decided to be a missionary at 18. All of the manipulation tactics you mentioned about knowing how and when to convert vulnerable people were methods I was taught and that I consciously used. I didn’t view it as manipulative at the time, but I am horrified now with the things I did. This video definitely made me realize I have some leftover guilt I need to process.
What actually “converted” me from Christianity was being on the mission field and realizing the cultures I was destroying, and the people I was manipulating had beautiful, rich, lives and spiritual beliefs. I realized I was doing harm, I was not necessary or helpful. It was very humbling. I’m beyond grateful that I can to that realization, but I do have to recognize and live with the fact it came at others expense.
whoa! me too!!! Im a PK in an evangelical christian family and i also was a missionary at 18. (we did manual work, and even then i was NOT about the evangalism part and wanted notjing to do with that. i just wanted to help people and i couldnt get my familys blessing on a peace corp thing). And it was in Equador that like you solidified my position on evangelism. i havent chucked my king james. matter of fact it sits right next to my copy of holistic tarot and the only book on astrology youll ever need. That said, i am still very much in the woo closet with my family. ive already ensured an attempted excorsism, thank you very much. anyway, thanks for sharing. your words really speak to my experience too. Blessings!
Jessy Scott They must be a difficult thing to bear, these feelings, but they brought you to a point of real empathy and realization, and I for one value that, for sure.
I had the same thought! As a teenager I became very uncomfortable dismissing and discouraging other spiritual practices. It was one of my first realizations that Christianity and church specifically were likely not going to be my path as soon as I could make my own choices. 💜💜💜
Jessy Scott Me too! My mission trips were a huge factor in my decision to move on. It was very eye opening. I’m glad that’s not just me. I still feel a lot of remorse around any harm I may have caused during that time.
Is everyone one here witches
I am an ex Christian on a new/reawakened spiritual journey, so interested in these videos and your contribution. As a frightened gay boy who hated myself, I was drawn to Jesus because of the message of love and forgiveness as per the gospels. As time went on I became very spiritual and even thought to become a priest. In university I became involved in evangelical (very biblical) church communities. I pushed my sexuality even deeper and hid my shame, pleading to God to change me. It was torture. I was so twisted, damaged, broken and deeply hurt. My communities encouraged me to hide my sexuality and pray it away. The Church deeply and hurtfully damaged me. Eventually I escaped and enjoyed a decade of living life to the full on my terms. I escaped the Church, but I always felt that I was missing spirituality in my life. I lived a decade on atheistic terms as (to be honest) I needed time out just to have a break from it all. Through maturing, growing and dealing with shame, I have come so far. I became spiritually activated again about 2 yrs ago, after exploring healing via a shamanic healing practitioner. Since then I have felt that I am coming home to my true spiritual self, discovering my beautiful energetic self, connected to all life and open to the divine all around us. I am so glad I left Christianity and I am bewildered why anyone would choose to go into Church as an adult. I really appreciate your video here and recognising these issues. Thank you. Just to conclude I am in a much better place, I have lived as an open gay man for the last 12 years now and in a great relationship with my man for many years now. We have a brilliant life together. Now this next phase of my life is going to be about me going deeper and wider into spiritual life, health, healing and love.
This is why I just love you so much. You were on point in my perspective. I grew up in the church. Catholic until I was 12 yrs old (made my first communion and everything) and then my mother became a "born again Christian" and then I spent my teen years and all my 20's in the Pentecostal churches where there were demons and devils behind every broomstick and door knob. In my experience, it was the opposite of the new converted Christian stories are. I felt unworthy, not enough, and only loved conditionally. I also lived feeling oppressed, suppressed, and in fear of going to hell for even the smallest things like enjoying secular mainstream music or actually liking a person who was homosexual or "not saved". I had night terrors all the time about demons attacking me or coming to drag me to hell and would be told that I needed prayed over and needed to confess what I did to open the door to those demons in the first place. I was the most miserable and unhappy until I finally left the church. It took me a few years in the healing process. Leaving the church made me feel like what the newly converted Christians feel like. I felt free like a weight lifted from my shoulders, I could breathe and the night terrors stopped immediately. I felt at peace and more comfortable in my own skin. I felt worthy of love and I realized I had more questions while living a religious life. I found truth in everything, not one thing. I found it in nature, my experiences, in all kinds of people of all walks of life, in all cultures, and more. I could go on and on about this but honestly, I don't judge people who convert but I do cringe as I listen to them. I don't hate Jesus or my past experiences. I learned much from it and appreciated who I've become today. But it is heart breaking to see the hurtful things said about no one is worthy for being themselves. Thank you for sharing this! You aren't alone in your thoughts! 🙏❤️✨😀
I found you via that video a year ago!IExtreme christian once, abused via the bible by my "mother" and her tribe. I published a Goddess Oracle Deck 2 years ago and as a witchy, shamanic New Ager, they stopped talking to me 4 years ago and recently turned my own son against me. As a teen, I was made to undergo abuse in the name of the bible and more. Awful things.Thank you y gracias. Important topic. I went from being an extreme christian boggled down with guilt, shame and fear....to now a FREE happy being aware of my own power and beauty and that of ALL beings that surround me no matter what they look like, think like, worship, etc.... I once was given a sticker that said "I LOVE THE BIBLE" by them, I cut of "the bible" part - simply because I was a 16 year old in love with the world... they told me it was "bad" that I could not love "all" because Satan is out there actively and we can not love everything, plus, others may think I am a whore. I had to park my car 2 blocks away so nobody knew it was my car. I was made out to feel like I was a piece of crap all my life... and it has continued. The evangelicals do nothing but perpetuate lies and control for their own "perceived"power - to make themselves feel better. It is very narcissistic, punitive and SUPER judgemental. I am following my bliss now Kelly-Ann, and sharing the joy and love with others so we may all live in freedom and blissful power and oneness
I feel you on the tossing the New Age paraphernalia in the trash. 💔 Yet, after her conversion, I let go of Doreen Virtue cards exactly that way - unrepentantly. Their light for me simply dimmed.
I think it's more about making everyone afraid of the devil so they stay inline. It's easier to control people when they are afraid and they see you (the church) as the only thing that's safe. It also validates them and makes them feel more secure when others agree with them. I had foster parents who were evangelical and fundamental Christians so I know about the guilt and fear trips pushed on people. You're right...it's not loving! Thank you for sharing!
Really good points here! Fear equals subservience. Those who are being subservient always want others to follow suit.
Brilliant comment and I totally feel the same way. Governments do the same.
You are so right.
I think its wrong and sorry you came across some bad Christians. I believe a true Christians is suppose to be loving, patience and gentle. Not force or judge anything on anyone. We are suppoae to preach the good news about Jesus. The bible is the truth it is very deep but sadly its gotten a bad rap. I've never felt so much peace in my life when I found out the truth and lies of this world and how Jesus is the the truth and the way but its a personal relationship not a religion sadly its not preached well and someone ppl will feel repulsed by it but you need to study for yourself and not man. I am an ex new ager and coming to Jesus is way better new age occult is empty and not fulfilling. It is sadly demonic im sorry to say because I've done lots of research on it.
@@julie9541 I've also done a lot of research on this over my life, as well as a degree in psychology and a lot of self-study of various religions. I agree with part of what you're saying, that Christians are supposed to be patient and loving, as well as donate all they can to the poor and work with the sick, since those are very clearly laid out by Jesus himself. However, it's just not possible to know for sure that Jesus is the only right way for everyone- even many Christian authors and theologians have grappled with the problems of "what about good people who do objectively good works who believe the 'wrong' things?" or "how specific is the 'right' belief system, and what happens if we get almost all of it right but miss one detail?" among others. I tend to think that as long as you get the support and sense of something higher that you need, then as long as you aren't being forced into a path you don't like or hurting others, that path is working well enough for you at that time. Sadly, my own (and many others') experiences with Christianity have included a huge lack of support, being forced into things I didn't like, and even seeing justifications for hurting others "for their own good" although I was always very resistant to these.
So I’ve been watching your videos for ages as a curious atheist (I also find the shadow work stuff really useful), and maaaan I feel this one. I’ve seen a lot of Christian videos (again, curious atheist) and the parts that really get to me are the bits where it’s clear they’re having a crisis of conscience but that they’re labelling their conscience and other normal human emotions and desires as sinful or evil. I saw a video by a young musician I liked in which she answered questions about her beliefs and she was in tears talking about how she didn’t understand why being LGBTQIA+ was a sin but that it was in the Bible and God knows best... it’s such a huge contrast from the witchy ideas about doing what makes sense to you, about following your own intuition and conscience. That video in particular seriously upset me in a way that most Christian videos don’t - usually I just feel annoyed or angry but that one just filled me with despair.
Hi Kelly Ann. I'm one of those who was raised christian (or catholic, which often translates to atheist/agnostic), then moved into more new age beliefs. I bounced around a lot of new age ideas in my teenage years, from studying wicca, to looking deeper into the esoteric side of world religions, but while opening my eyes quite a bit nothing ever quite "stuck" with me. In my 20's I got a bit deeper into chaos magic and then western hermetic magic, and for the last six years or so have been a practicing ceremonial magician. The reason I'm sharing this is because I feel, in my experience from my journey anyway, that often while trying to find myself in the sea of new age philosophies available I often found myself a bit lost as to where to go and how to identify. I landed in ceremonial magic because it both satisfied my inner desire for structure in my practice AND actually connecting with that "something more" in the universe. When I hear stories about ex new agers, ex witches, etc, converting to or back to Christianity, I often think back to that time in my life where I was struggling to piece together my own personal practice in a way that satisfied me, and how much I wished that structured religion could satisfy that need. Because while I personally feel that exoteric Christianity feels hollow of deeper spiritual connection, it *does* provide structure by telling you exactly what to believe, how you should feel, how you should worship, and surrounds you with people who will reinforce the same ideas and give you that sense of security.
TLDR: I feel that those who convert from the new age back to Christianity find solace in community, structure, and relief from the pressure of needing to search for their own truths. Love hearing your opinions and rambles, love your energy and your light.
I left Christianity back in 2013, but kept my bible. I still have it sitting in my bedroom, with my witchy books lol.
Hi Kelly-Ann I love your videos. I left Christianity a while back because of the meanness of American Christianity. It has been my experience, especially in American Christianity, that fear and finances play a major factor in the religion.
Since leaving, I have been studying and am about to start practicing witchcraft. Sadly, I have to remain in the broom closet because my entire family is made up of Christians and it will cause me a lot of grief if they found out.
This video made me realize how incredibly lucky I am that my family has stopped trying to convince me to come back to Catholicism, and that my Christian friends are the all-embracing, live and let live type. ❤️
What u rant about is my life in America! It's against the law to discriminate against religion in the workplace, but I know many Pagans who have to hide their beliefs & claim to be christian just to keep a job. B/C the moment a christian finds out they have a Pagan at work, they actively conspire to fire the Pagan. UR Rant was Perfect & helped me to release the pent up frustration of being a American Pagan, Thank you & Blessed Be )O( 🧙♀️🧹💜💙🖤
You are so right about this. I live in the Washington DC area and business here is SO conservative that to reveal one's Wiccan/Pagan spirituality would easily lead to dismissal. I am a spiritualist and Wiccan and appeared on a TV show about Spiritualism several years ago. I had never discussed my spiritual practices in the workplace, and did the TV show on my own time and it had no reference to my work. The next day, the president of the company asked me to come to his office and he wanted to discuss my TV appearance. I was amazed that he had seen it. He was acting quite cagey about it all, and a week later I was terminated. It is sad, but true that this is quite common in America. Thanks for sharing your insight. I just want to back you up with this confirmation. Blessed be!
@@spiritchannel It's as if we are living in the fictional "Man in the High Castle!" Sorry you went through that situation and Thank you for your empathy! Blessed Be )O(
It’s so upsetting that this is still happening today. They’re also not realizing that this is against their own tenet of loving your neighbor.
Thank you so much for sharing your stories. I’m hoping to make some positive social change as an interfaith minister so that people can focus on living happy and healthy spiritual lives.
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@@spiritchannel Damn ssorry you went through this
I do have to say growing up in a pentecostal church from the Bible belt I was told that being gay was wrong and how I felt was invalid, shameful,sinful,and disgusting and that I would burn in hell for just being me. So I prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed and begged and begged this God to take this away from me in the blood of Jesus take this away from me and never once did I ever stop Feeling being or thinking as a gay man and I still to this day I'm gay and I'm proud of who I am. And now as a Proud Gay pagan. It really messed me up during the most important years of my life I was so depressed and scared of going to burn that I used drug became addicted and threw so may years away. It took paganism to heal all that to help me get clean and be who I am today.
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TH-cam recommendations reminds me of that 70 year old grandma who hears you talking about some random topic and then shows up with like 10 books on it
🤣
I'm new to exploring some "new age" stuff, as I have come from being raised deep in Christianity, to being what I consider an "agnostic theist/deist" (if I MUST give it a name), and one thing that I actually found interesting as I've been learning more about the Tarot, specifically the RWS imagery, is that I actually find comfort in many of my original Christian beliefs, and specifically the beliefs that I held as an individual within the context of my understanding of what Jesus was teaching that was at odds with what the church would preach. It's probably strange to some, but the Tarot essentially brought me back to my relationship with the Holy Spirit, like I pray more now than I have in years, and the Tarot helps me hear more clearly.
All that to say, I recently watched a testimony about going from the New Age and witchraft to Christianity and the lady was talking about how she ended up possessed by demons and she told her exorcism story. But all of the things she was saying she was doing in her witchy days were all things that occurred to me as extremely dangerous for anyone to be doing without proper training, like based on my limited knowledge, very low vibrational stuff. Like acid party orgies and reckless astral travelling and such. Even though her stories shook me up a bit at first as a newbie, like "what if that happens to me?", I had to pull myself back and remember that her intentions were entirely different than mine, all about controlling others and "seeking hidden information" etc, AND that she was clearly doing these things so recklessly, without doing the shadow work, and without protecting after cleansing, etc. Something I've noticed about a lot of "Witchraft to Christ" testimonies is that many of these people are reckless...they become enticed and dive head first without really properly learning about how to practice safely. Which makes me very sad, although I do also feel happy for them that they were able to be "delivered" in a way that gives them peace. I just with they had better understanding to begin with, because the stuff they describe that they did DOES make Witchraft sound pretty demonic, because they lacked the precautions and discernment to stay safe.
Back in high school, one of my best friends gave me all his death metal CDs because he had just gotten "saved" and they were "Satanic". About a year later it was quite apparent he suffered from severe schizophrenia and wasn't getting good help from his family (or his church!). I was too young to even have the first clue of how to help him. Over the years we drifted apart, as I had moved away and got tired of trying to stay in touch with him. Since then, I had run into him a couple of times out and about, and not much had changed about him - still completely out of touch with reality and difficult to be around. It was upsetting to see what had been a good friend lose his mind and then get no help from his dysfunctional family... half of which expected him to work it out for himself and "grow up", and the other half which were religious zealots who seemed to think he'd be just fine if he'd only make the effort to be a "better christian", etc... Then I hear from friends a couple years ago that he has died. I find the obituary and there's no mention of how he died, only blah blah blah nonsense about how he loved Jesus and all this religious shit. I have no doubt that his untimely death was either from drugs or alcohol or suicide, or possibly all three at once. Yes, christianity really "saved" him all right... It's been over 20 years, but I still have those CDs he gave me back in high school, and I still listen to them. And I'll never forget.
It’s so refreshing to hear someone talk about this with a fresh perspective. If you grew up in the US you would feel like people were creating these type of presentations specifically for you on a regular basis. It’s totally normal for people to say these types of things in real life all the time. It’s really validating to hear someone talk about how bizarre that is. Thank you Kelly-Ann
My 19 yr old daughter has opened up with us that she is bi sexual. We used to be very indoctrinated in Christianity and walked away from it about a year ago. She kept her life style choices private due to the fact that her “friends” would no longer speak to her again if they knew. Well, she finally decided that if they can’t love her as she is they really aren’t friends. A few months later her old youth pastor messaged her asking her to return to church, she told him point blank that she knew she would no longer be accepted. He didn’t support her, he only told her that she was living in sin and she needed to return to church to see the truth. It broke her heart to have someone that she looked up to pretty much tell her that everything she felt was a lie and just sin.
this is fantastic! so many of the reasons that moved me from christianity to the new age/pagan community! I grew up with it and now the dogma is just ttoooooooo much! too much judgement, hatred, and pressing their message onto people who never asked for it. oppressive. I'm so thankful for the freedom and openness of new age and I love that!
So much YES! To this video. Kelly-Ann I have also dredged down that rabbit hole. Myself being a survivor of organized religion (Fundamentalist Christian). I still have to unlearn and unpack the feeling of being evil, or bad. It may work for some, but for people like me it kills the spirit. I find it quite fascinating from a psychological perspective. And see many factors that repeat thought each testimony. I feel most people who "convert" were really looking for a belief that was going to tell them exactly what to do, a perfect prescription for salvation. Just be a good little follower and OBEY and your good! I think this is a psychosis for individuals that don't want to be bothered with having to delve into divinity and who they are at a core level and find the truth within. It really chaps my ass, honestly. And thank you for touching on the predatory aspect of christian recruiting. Can you imagine if I ran around town trying to bless and pray for people in the name of Hekate or Kernnunos? No little old ladies would run over glowing and telling me what a good little girl I am, probably call the cops on me! But they can run a muck! And its completely permitted by society. My partner was raised Mormon and still has struggles with my beliefs, and he is really open minded. I have to censor myself with his family. So much is so frustrating.
Wow! I was struck by your statement that the behavior of trying to get everyone to believe the same way you do shows a mistrust for the plan that God has. That was such a striking statement to make. It is absolutely true.
Its the mental and emotional abuse through the tools of "love" and "assistance" that really upset me. It very hard to resist those things when youre in crisis. Its the blind acceptance of faith that frightens me because they have no qualms about harming another human being. How can they be so sure that they arent working Satan's deception?
On another note I remember being about 5/6yrs old and my JW dad burning all of our belongings in the back garden. I'll forever be pissed he burned my mums Diana Ross albums that I had enjoyed dancing with her to 😠
'Its the mental and emotional abuse through the tools of "love" and "assistance" that really upset me. It very hard to resist those things when youre in crisis.'
Yes, very good point. It seems so appealing.. But we should give these things freely, without expecting anyone to accept a religious belief structure as their own.
@Kara Dunlap yeah ive noticed spamming on the comments from people with the intentions ive said im against, so in fact you wish to continue the abuse i said im recovering from. Thanks. This is the proof that your beliefs hold nothing of value to me. Goodbye
If the devil is involved at all he's the one making people feel that who they love is wrong. Love is love.
After leaving Christianity, I tried my best to just forget about that part of my life. I am just now
confronting my past to work through it and forgive myself. Your videos are so helpful in allowing me to do that. In fact, I just recently watched the video you mentioned in the beginning so this came at the perfect time.
Coming from that bible-thumping christian background, my church's mantra was "Love god, love people, make
disciples." They preached that every week that we should be going out and saving souls. There was so much guilt around this issue, which explains why christians hang around other christians. They feel guilty that they are not "saving your soul." The christians that do go out "to the sinners" and share the gospel are known as saints doing the lord's work. Looking at those people now, they specifically targeted low income areas. You were more likely to find people desperate for something or someone to save them. Richer areas were more likely to already go to church or be "too distracted" to worry about god. In fact, if you drive by church in session, you will see so many nice and new cars. I can imagine that people from the low income areas would feel so out of place going to my old church.
My church building was $13 million and cost over $1 million for upkeep in an area where living expenses
were very low. That building is actually their second church building.
It is vacant on the weekdays, completely empty. I think this fact is a great metaphor for what those people are really like.
Kelly-Ann, I have never felt so heard and understood as I did in this video. The moments when you really let your emotion show through about how Christianity treats homosexuality really brought me back into the enormity of that situation. I am an ex Catholic who is gay and I spend so much time avoiding thinking about what that was like for me... I am so scared of being brainwashed and going back into that Catholic thought process of thinking that I'm not allowed to ever be in a loving relationship. Seeing you so clearly feel into the difficult emotions around this that I struggle to let myself feel gave me almost a sense of relief.. I had a bit of a cry along with you
I fucking love your perspective on things! I live in a small town, Tennessee, USA. I was raised Christian, and still am to some degree. I attend a non denomination church to learn about the word, but I am also an aspiring tarot reader and developing medium. I try to bring healing and understanding to those around me. What I always hated about Christianity was that pushiness side of it. A personal relationship with God is just that... Personal. In my humble opinion. ❤️ Love to you girl ❤️
I really feel you there. The truth to me is that I never really saw Jesus as a “savior from sins”, but rather as more of a spiritual mentor figure behind my witchcraft practices. Just because I turned to the Craft doesn’t mean I “threw the baby out with the bath water” so to speak. Jesus is the root source of my practices. Mainstream Christians can give me the same “you can’t serve two masters” excuse all they want, but if I’m not using it to cause harm to myself or anyone, then what’s the real problem?
I am 20, moved away from my parents 6 months ago and decided I didn't believe Christianity anymore 4 years ago. It has been an ever ongoing struggle especially since I had to sit through 2 church services every sunday when I was still living with my parents. The fear of hell never really leaves, not yet at least. I've done hundreds of hours of research on the bible and to be honest reading the bible really is the best cure for Christianity, due to all the contradictions and fucked up stuff.
So anyway, somewhere along the way I got interested in New Age and Paganism and especially recently I was getting the feeling that I was getting somewhere. I haven't really had any experiences yet but I feel that something is moving me in a certain direction, and it's definitely a positive direction. I'm very passionate about my well being now, about losing weight, about becoming a better person. Now enter all the Christian testimonies that are on TH-cam. There's thousands of them and I wondered why there's so few of them the other way around. I could really only find 1 or 2. This really brought back a lot of doubt and fear.
You did a great job explaining why that is and brought me back to what I was feeling previously. The born again Christians claim to have found real love and happiness in Christ. However I only really feel hatred coming from them when they tell their story. While I don't think the doubts will be going away anytime soon, I do really feel love on this side of the fence. And I'll hold on to that, because that is what I need.
Thank you for this video :)
I was raised Christian but it didn't stick. It didn't for my sister either and when she went to visit my dad on his death bed last year, she asked him, "How do you feel about it?" (him knowing he was about to pop his clogs) and his response was basically, "I'm ecstatic because I know I'm going to heaven... you're not though, you're going to hell." No mention of "sorry for being an arsehole my entire life", or "look after your mum when I'm gone..." He had 'temper issues'. A few years ago he merrily told everyone that Jesus had healed him and taken his temper away. Firstly, that was a fucking lie because he still bullied anyone that would stand still long enough, but secondly, what a fucking cop out. He took no responsibility for it and he never apologised for anything. It was like his 'get out of jail free card'. He could be as much of an arsehole as he liked because god was on his side. I did not visit him in hospital to say goodbye and I don't regret that decision. They say christians are the worst advertisement for christianity. (I realise this isn't about testimony videos but I feel better for getting that off my chest.)
39:00 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 Thank you for this wonderful video. I laughed and cried along with you, Kelly-Ann! This topic always holds a painful place in my heart. Always. Love you, girl!
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Kelly-Ann! Good Lord (pun intended) your title freaked me out!
Former Christian here. I have an advanced degree from a Christian University. Although my area of study was not religion, those courses were also required. I think many Christians would benefit from being taught the bible from scholars in the field and wade out of the pool of ignorance and indoctrination that happens.
Many extremist pastors have no scholarly education. Seminary maybe has some, but many have no qualifications. Being "called by God" is sufficient for extremists.
Education would reduce the need and knee jerk reaction to spout cognitive distortions when in the presence of people that trigger them.
You are right about the predatory aspects of certain types of Xtian. A friend of mine was killed and the first thing someone said to me was "was she a christian" - she was, but what if she hadn't been? What about comforting someone who just lost a friend?
Or if someone survives a mass shooting "the Lord protected them because they follow him." What kind of sick God would be like that? It's dark.
About quoting the bible - the verses they learn are hackneyed. I use to think I'd write a Christian to English dictionary and commentary along with the evolution of the idea of hell and the devil.
About King James Version - it's one of the worst translations due to King James having quite an agenda that shows through. You might like it for the language and I get that though.
This video is THE BEST! THANK YOU!
The video you made last year on this topic was perfect. It heals my heart to hear you talk about this. You are a compassionate person.
Winning souls to xtianity is like Pokemon Go, it's one of the few dark things they are allowed to do. Destroy a person's identity and culture without a second thought, provide humanitarian aid like food for the homeless as long as the recipients sit for the pyramid scheme spiel for conversion in their weakened state. Being convinced that they are homeless because they aren't xtian.
All that dark behavior is what seems "Satanic" to me. The more moderate Christians are just doing the best they can and aren't like the ones I described above.
The extreme ones even convince the moderates that their church isn't "spirit filled" if they aren't extreme.
The extreme ones create quite a hierarchy - the top level seems to be focused on battling Satan by thought control and conversion. It seems their version of Satan is more powerful than God.
Conversion also puts more butts in the seats which means more money for the church. Some people choose between paying a necessary bill or "giving to god."
I heard it put once that Christianity can be viewed as either eternal love assurance or eternal fire insurance.
I have so many thoughts and it's the middle of the night so I have to stop. I'll probably delete this in the morning thinking I'm being too brutal with this.
I have just seen the damage the fall out from the conversion high has. There is a whole process of emotional manipulation to accomplish conversion. The inevitable crash afterwards is really hard on some people.
And when you're a Christian you can only blame yourself for letting Satan win by making you depressed right?
There's some of my thoughts driven by my anger that comes from a desire to protect people's hearts.
There are many wonderful people who are Christian and I wouldn't want to take away something that gives them comfort. I have seen people break down when their beliefs are challenged.
It's the only tool they have to get through life. Even if it hurts them, many know no other way. Other ways are only presented as examples of Satan's work so it feels hopeless to them.
I just grieve for those that feel they are in that situation.
Please don't delete your comment! I found myself nodding along with everything you said. I agree that people would benefit from actually studying translations that are closer to the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. They would also benefit from looking at each book through the lens of the historical and cultural context in which they were written.
@@thegreatotherD Oh thank you. Because of you I will leave it. Your comment is wonderful. The history and cultural context is very important. ❤
Ha!! Love this!!
My fundamentalist mom recently told me, in a very shocked voice, about a well-known evangelist who has "fallen away" and been disfellowshipped.
His crime? He says he no longer believes in hell and that "God is not a monster."
Ah, the irony!
(Tho I can't cackle too loudly. I'm embarrassed to admit that I used to be a fundamentalist myself... 😳)
Later edit... just got to the part where you are talking about the fundamentalist denouncements of homosexuality.
It was actually this very thing that was the first crack in the armor for me. I had reconnected with an old friend from high school who told me that he was gay.
He was then, and still is, one of the kindest, most loving people I have ever known. But my religion told me he was going to hell.
And the people making these types of pronouncements at my church were often self-righteous, narcissistic, and cruel.
The disparity I witnessed was my first baby step away from that cult! Thank you, sweet baby Jesus! Ha! 😄
Thanks so much for sharing your experience about your gay friend. I think this is how many people come to the realisation that thinking of it as a sin is just so wonky.. x
That was a brilliant video, thank you Kelly-Ann! I was a Christian for a long time and now I'm very much planted in the new age. So much of this video chimed with me, especially when you were talking about evangelism being predatory behaviour. I could not agree more! I came to the Church when I was at my lowest ebb mentally, I was struggling with post-natal depression and massive anxiety and looking back I can clearly see that the church took advantage of me in that stage of my life and fed me something that was not good for me. A lot of these evangelical churches tell you that you are not good enough and you need Jesus to fix you and that really resonated with how I felt about myself at that time. So I spent a lot of years carrying guilt and self-loathing that according to my church was totally justified.
I currently live in China and there is a massive community of missionaries here pushing that same guilt soaked paradigm and it wasn't until I saw from the outside them pushing it on my friends and students that I realised I'd been stuck in some really shady shit. It makes me so angry when my students show me messages and letters that they've received saying they're sinners, they're not whole and they're going to hell. These kids have never even heard of Jesus before and it really frightens them and it just made me realise that any religion that uses vile scare tactics to frighten young girls into joining their club is not something I want to be involved in.
You might get upset with me for this but the day I hoofed all my Bibles and Christian books into the bin was the most freeing day of my life!
Anyway, those are just some thoughts that came to me while I was watching.
I love all your videos! Blessed be!
Hugs to you 💜🌒🌑🌘💜
Keeley Wheelz yeah the church definitely takes advantage of when people are at their lowest. I went back to Christianity because of depression and trauma not realizing that I am my own savior. Now I’m free though
Thanks for the video. You share many of my own thoughts,feelings and observations.
I'm someone of witchy tendencies, working for a Christian homeless organisation and as such have had ample opportunity to observe the fear and anger in colleagues when the "one true way" thing is challenged for them by someone (me) choosing another path. Sparks recently flew at me when I mentioned some shadow work I was doing around Samhain. I shouldn't be suprised but...
What was evident was that some feared going back to darker experiences from their past and that security from that was reliant on Christianity being the one truth. Therefore tolerence of difference, let alone celebration of it, is a source of fear and insecurity for them. Misinterpreting me or others as the source of that insecurity, it's little wonder that some go on the attack or attempt to save with no empathy.
Firstly, thank you for the important work you do for homelessness. Secondly, damn, that must be a hotbed of intensity sometimes! What you say here is so right on:
'What was evident was that some feared going back to darker experiences from their past and that security from that was reliant on Christianity being the one truth.'
I defo think that might be part of what I was trying to get at about fear and how it makes some Christians behave when faced with different views or even with the idea that some don't believe the same way.. I do have a lot of sympathy for people who are grappling with difficult pasts and are holding on tightly to something that helps.. It's just so shitty when those same people won't let others do the same in their own way. Thanks for your comment!
It's definately shitty when other's can't find it in their hearts to show tolerance and seriously challenging to be confronted by that. My hope is that by showing tolerance, self honesty and love it might inspire others to feel comfortable looking at their fears. When they are ready.
Thanks for showing those same principles in your video and your emotional honesty aroundhow this stuff challenges you.It inspires me to share my own struggles. Good to know I'm not alone with this.
i appreciate this type of video. There is something very cathartic about being able to see someone else express similar opinions on this subject.
Something i found very interesting when i started getting into the new age/ witchy relm was that i became MORE tolerant than ever of my christian family. And as you pointed out, there was no one there to try to convert me to new age/witchcraft, it's something that i just happened to find.
And that is the biggest issue with Christianity that i still hold, that its the one and only answer for every single person . That is what i find so insidious , because converting others is written into the very fabric of the christian faith, therefore it's their duty to try to convince others and if they don't then they're not being a proper christian. But in reality, it's just disrespectful behavior.
Its very sad when people say they love you, but also believe your soul is going to burn in hell for all eternity because you don't happen to agree with them. Can you truly love someone you disrespect in such a way?
I love you kelly-ann!
I love reading and watching things that I disagree with or that are the opposite or just different from my beliefs... like.. I can spend so much time reading stuff from the "manosphere" of like.. pick up artists and incels and etc... it's so fascinating in the weirdest way.
Glad I'm not the only one who's intrigued by Christian testimonies. Here are a few consistencies I've noticed:
a) Usually there is a Christian in the person's life who is influencing them, usually a family member. So we can only assume that this person has been trying to sway them for a long time until they finally cave.
b) A lot of the people I've watched admit to using drugs when they were in the New Age. While there are responsible ways to use drugs, it's also true that these substances can negatively alter your brain chemistry, especially if you're misusing them. Perhaps this makes these people mentally fragile and more susceptible to ideas like being possessed or haunted by demons.
c) Trauma. Everyone experiences some level of trauma throughout their life, but I notice trauma being such a cornerstone in most Christian testimonies. When the new age cannot heal their pain, they swing in the other direction towards Christ.
And in regards to the bigger name New Age to Christian teachers my question is always, "WHO IS PAYING YOU?"
Ooooh these are all such cogent points! 👌
Yes. Yes. Yes. So much yes to all of this. And it really is a shame that so many of those who consider themselves to be enlightened are really just sitting in the passenger seat letting fear do all of the driving.
It gets even stickier when you consider how many people of African descent are doing missionary work and coming after me and other Black magickal practitioners saying “come back to Jesus sister”! It makes me a little crazy because of how Christianity even attached to Africans as a result of slavery... the very system that sold us a lie about our worth and the value of our ancestral spirituality. They don’t even see the paradox...
I just recently told a very dear friend of mind that I walked away from Christianity and became a pagan and practiced magick, and I broke her poor heart. She’s not the type to be pushy or preachy, which I’m very grateful about, and although she was sad (she told me that I was the one who kept her grounded in her faith when she was weak and I’m sure that she’s scared now), she also is very adamant about maintaining and preserving and deepening our friendship. I regret to admit that I was one of the Christians that tried to spread the word, and I feel really guilty about that now especially as I no longer follow the very paradigm I pushed on others. Its been quite the journey
Linguistic habit nearly had me saying 'hallelujah' to half of this... Amazing how that happens even when you're not raised Christian and in spite of your own beliefs, eh? I'll go with, 'bravo' instead. Bravo! This was a Fab episode of RW.
I did the opposite....I went from extreme Christian doing seminary and ministry thing to ....well I'm here lol
I remember one of my teachers saying "THEY want you to do this" "They want you to do that" "They want you to..." every frickin' lesson. One time I just asked him who "THEY" are and he wasn't able to answer.
One thing I regret is that I never just get up, packed my stuff and walked out of the classroom.
Not so long ago I went for a coffee with my ex co-worker and she began to invite me to her church. I told her that I really appreciate that she thought about me, but unless her church welcomes pagans with respect and open arms I don't think it's good idea. She said "I don't think anyone is pagan". When I explained it to her, her jaw dropped so low I almost laughed. She kept saying "Really?! Really?!" and at some point I found it a bit rude. Finally she told me to read the Bible. I told her that I, in fact, did and that's why I'm not Christian anymore. I wanted to keep in contact with her but after that day I thought it wasn't a good idea.
What I noticed from people (especially teenagers) coming from Christianity to paganism or whatever is great, great anger and feeling of hurt. I never saw them trying to convince anyone to ditch Christianity but rather looking for understanding. Some stories I heard were really sad.
Fun thing is, I looked through "How to recognise a cult" on my parish website and realized Christian churches usually tick most (if not all) of the boxes!
I am newly pagan. And I was raised in a Christian household where my father was a preacher.
Looking back a Christianity I have found the same thing! Hahaha sounds like a cult to me
You should check out the TH-cam channel Telltale he does lots of videos talking about which religions actually fit the cult model and why.
As a born and raised atheist in a very Catholic country (I'm Italian), where being not only non-Christian but more specifically non-Catholic is seen as "weird" and "quirky", I am very much used to the Christ/Satan dycotomy, and I've learned to embrace being called a servant of the devil at a very young age (I am also a feminist and a metalhead, so it was either that or nothing). What I really don't understand is the sheer fundamentalism of reborn Christians, who most likely are of the Protestant confession. Not even my very Catholic brother in law (who may or may not start the process of becoming a priest in the near future and is always at church) would ever be pushy and harassing people with his faith, not even with me - a non-baptized chaos witch. The rise of fundamentalism is awful in every religion, and now it's the turn of Christianity, again. I hope that in the future everyone will be able to live their religion/spirituality just accepting different views in peace.
Love this comment.. Damn though, no one should have to 'learn to embrace being called a servant of the devil at a very young age'. It's so messed up. I hope being a metalhead helped you own it! x
@@kelly-annmaddox It's like the egg and the chicken paradox, no one knows who came first. Luckily, I'm surrounded by friends like me (I recently read an article stating that civil weddings surpassed religious ones in 2018, so maybe us millennials are not that rigid with religion and customs than previous generations), and we joke about that constantly.
By the way, I find myself being much more accepting with anyone's spirituality (as long as it doesn't interfere with those of the others) than my ex-Catholic friends and family members. My fiancé is very vocal against his family's beliefs, but I find them normal, not culty. The real danger is the cult mentality, which may occur in many contexts within and without religion (I experienced it in a student political organization, for example). Maybe the hatred towards new age that you describe in this video comes from the same point of view.
I was just thinking how Italy seems super Catholic, but it's just in the sense that the Church here holds a lot of political power. I was born here and I wasn't raised Catholic. I've never even met an active Catholic in my life I think, except from my grandma I guess. The vast majority of people I've met in Italy are atheist or agnostic.
So reading this comment was kind of weird. I guess not everyone's experience is the same and there are probably areas where the Catholic hold is stronger.
It's also true that our flavor of Catholicism is far from being as pushy and obnoxious as some American evangelicals, even though there are groups here there are a bit over the top as well. Hope we can move forward and realize that love and compassion are the things a religious person should focus on.
Just wanted to add that lots of people still marry in church because it "looks more beautiful" or because their family prefer "a traditional wedding", but many people that do that absolutely aren't Catholic or if they present as such they don't go to church or do anything else religion-related.
So I think the vast majority of people do it to maintain some tradition or because it's the norm, but it doesn't indicate that they're fervent Catholics. Just like I was baptized because it's something that you just do, but my parents were never religious. Still, it probably doesn't work the same in all areas, but I would argue this is the most prevalent cause. Just my two cents.
I'm from the South, maybe that's why I had some weird encounters with religion teachers at school and family members, but all of them were more on the "ooo, so quirky" fashion than on the "I exorcise you, spawn of Satan" one. Last year I was with my best friend in a bridal shop for her wedding dress and we were completely weirded out by the lady who was helping her who said: "A wedding not in a Church?! It's so strange and uncommon!" We left wondering what kind of world does this lady live in.
EDIT: what you wrote in the second comment is the absolute truth, but for a non-baptized child in the 90s things were just a bit different. Especially at the age of the first communion, it was quite hard for me to acknowledge that I wasn't getting the pretty dress as the other girls, and my religion teacher tried to lure me into getting baptized with that excuse. I realized that I was only interested in the dress and didn't go on with the process, and that's where it all started (then things spiraled in high school because I went metal, but that wasn't related to religion, most people just thought that I was a drug addict).
Bless your PMT and bless your resistance to the hate💜
Sooo much to say on this topic but will keep it focused...🤭😁. Having been brought up as Christian and now am not, I find it so interesting that some Christians embrace the oneness, acceptance, and love of JC then want to exclude others based on their orientation as if JC made this a law. I remember that text saying something about above all things, love. Interesting how the people of JC still "cherry pick" and contradict and not understanding that 'text' is full of contradictions because of how it has been presented, translated, and interpreted; a very western-Eurocentric approach to christ consciousness and not a full north-east African, non-linear cosmology of culture and tradition from which JC comes. I'm with you Kelly-Ann, live and let live.
All those metal comments - claiming the blood, armour of God, etc - and I was looking for a lighter to hold up in the air, so I just turned on the torch function of my phone instead.
While making the sign of the horns with the other hand. :)
When you said “that is not sexy,” I almost died 😂
I love you for saying all this! My dad, before his death was a zealot level christian. He was also a judgmental, horrible person. He was the woman in your story.
THANK YOU! Your thoughts were accurate. I truly appreciate the hard work, and the genuine emotions involved in making this video. Much love & gratitude.
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Something I've noticed with both my mom and my mother in law is they both have a natural gift towards witchy ways, buts its smushed into this repressive strainer of christianity where this pagan sortof energy still creeps out in their expression, but its something difficult to accept and nurture. Once I got angry cause my mom had these old republican church elders come anoint her over her chronic pain, my thoughts were she has more spiritual power in her pinky toe than all those old men combined.
this comment is amazing
I've been watching TH-cam videos for some time now and, at least from my perspective, this is one of the best TH-cam videos I've ever watched. It's so frank and honest! Many people are very afraid to be this vulnerable with their audience because they fear negative feedback, but I'm so grateful you were willing be open with us. So thank you!
I really enjoyed listening to this so much. I agree with so much. As someone who came from Christianity to this, it’s fascinating.
I sometimes watch the "Why I'm No Longer a Christian" videos because that's what I can relate to more. I still feel a connection to Christ, so I haven't felt comfortable making that kind of video yet, but I'm disgruntled by pretty much everything else related to Christianity and church.
There's a channel called your simple path that I think you would benefit from. Don't feel like you have to give up a relationship with Jesus to belong here, either :-)
Kristin's channel, yes, I'm subscribed! :) I don't see myself giving up my relationship with Christ. It's an anchor of sorts for me. Thanks for reaching out.
God has been here with me every step of the way throughout my spiritual journey. Truly, it’s been so beautiful.
Also, I’m going to check out that channel as well!
Much Love & Many Blessings
to you, both! 🤍🖤✨
This was EXACTLY the right video for me to watch at EXACTLY the right time. Funny how that works :) Love your channel. Thank you !
I jack the language and call myself a "born again pagan" because of this sort of thing.
That's amazing, I'd like to claim that too haha
BORN AGAIN PAGAN! Luv it. Can I wear that? It makes sense that we are all first born pagan, then indoctrinated into fiction.
When you mentioned the blood of God I thought "Ok Osbourne" 😂 I've dealt with mental illness my entire life and witchcraft (and finding my Gods I guess too) have helped me with my mental Illnesses, I should practice more often to help more. Like last month or so me and my Dad had a cab pick us up to go back home, the first thing she said was "Do you know of Jesus Christ?". When she said that I was thinking "Oh great it's going to be like this the whole ride....oh no" and so she kept on talking about Job, and other things from the Bible, which made me feel extremely uncomfortable. Then the best part happens, we pull to our house and she asked if she could pray for my Dad and we said sure...now I was thinking that she was just going to say it in her head or at home but she literally turned around in her chair made us hold hands and prayed for my Dad. While we were praying I was praying to Apollo since I'm a Hellenic Polytheist. Then this lady asked us if it was ok to speak in tongues, we said ok and I kid you not she spoke in tongues. I was thinking WTF! The prayer lasted roughly 5 minutes. Through the entire ride I was thinking "Isn't this against some sort of rule of rules?" Like how would she like if I was saying that Poseidon was our Lord and savior? (Lol jk...I meeeeeaaan...😂😂😂) She wouldn't like it. I might not be Christian but one of the things I'm going to inherit from my Mom when she dies is her big Golden Bible that she worked VERY hard to get, she paid it off in like a year and I'm excited to inherit it because of how hard she worked to get it...it's not because it's a holy item but because of her dedication to get that bible. I saw this website that had the contradictions of the bible and it was a long page. I'm glad that that guy broke up with her because that's toxic. I agree with EVERYTHING you said.
Here's a witchy affirmation for the Ex-witches, May all the items they through away be found by witches and the like to help them out on there path.
This video really speaks to me😁.
I remember that video very well from a year ago.
I am the same occasionally I watch those videos of new age to Christian back to back and some of them are actually quite funny others I can’t even watch till the end because ....
Jesus isn’t the only saviour, there are much older religions where they talk about their own saviours!!! Do they not know that?
I am having a good laugh 😆, thanks for this Kelly-Ann.
I loved watching your rambling video from a year ago, regarding the Ex-witch Christian convert. It’s the first time I’d ever watched you! You were f**king brilliant! Every point you made was so clearly articulated. You’re clearly f**king SUPER intelligent!! I loved it! It was a long video but I relished very minute of it. You’re a fully charged Everyday Energiser battery!! 💪🏻You are such a delight to watch and listen too! I follow Jessi Huntenburg and she put a link to your channel; that’s how I found you. I’m now a part of your witchy following. Subscribed. ❤️❤️👍🏻👍🏻💪🏻💪🏻😍
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What I’ve noticed about these “new age to Jesus” videos sound more like a desperate need for attention and views, which is kinda suss to me. If it’s real, that’s great and power to them. But if they’re just posting these kind of videos as a means of trying to get attention, I’d advise against posting them in the first place.
I had a similar conversation with my brother recently. When I moved in with he and my sister-in-law after relocating I tried to say as little as possible without going into detail due to some activity that I’d been experiencing. He was a bit freaked out and immediately jumped to the negative conclusions that share “other” spiritual beliefs. I then asked him “witch or Christian, etc...what is the difference? We both pray/make requests to A Being for health, happiness, love, so on and so forth. I just happen to use candles as a point to focus in doing so. He replied that “witchcraft comes with a price aside from those prayers bc you are speaking to spirits and ancestors. But is God/Jesus not a spirit? And if we are requesting help in life from those who have been here and existed before us and we literally share bloodlines why would you automatically believe they are evil. His next argument was it’s because it’s a different energy when you place a bunch of witches together conjuring the same thing. My response was aren’t Christians and everyone else gathering in sacred places praying for the same things... Regardless of who we pray to and look to for strength, it’s all the same 🙏🏽☪️🔅
This was so wonderful to listen to, I wish I could express my thoughts as intelligently as you. I live in a rural area of the US and pass churches one after the other, I drive by and read their signs and the little catch phrase to draw in the "flock", to scare people with the threat of a damned soul. I don't understand either. There is a bunch more swirling in my head that I can't break down into sentences but much love to everyone...Thank you.
Your words are charitable and loving and I feel you. Thank you for the work of sharing your beautiful spirit!!
My grandfather a pastor my father a decon. I was raised Christian and left the church after realizing it was not about God's love and Jesus's teaching. Christianity is not of love and light as a group practice. Possibly personally 🤔 but that is why I am open to the holy trinity coming through my witchcraft if they choose.
Hello Kelly-Ann,
First of all, great video. I've been marching to the beat of my own drum the past seven years, and mid last year, after seeing the ugly side of those within the New Age community, I began to veer towards Christianity. One night I was on LSD in the back of an Uber, the Uber driver and I were talking about what we did for work and at the time I was a tarot reader. I naively told them I was doing spiritual guidance as my work, and they turned out to be Christian and started preaching to me. Being on LSD absolutely freaked me out in this circumstance, and it stuck with me. I began watching all the testimonies and this made me become very paranoid, I got rid of some of my crystals and books and card decks. I had no religious upbringing, so this was totally new to me, it scared the living SHIT out of me. Honestly I would have panic attacks and still do have panic attacks most nights about going to hell. Having demonic hellish visions and being convinced I was doomed to hell. As I went further into Christianity, I noticed my personality becoming dry, not being able to do anything I enjoyed without seeing the 'evil' occult themes (tv shows, books, concepts, friendships, weed, music, games). Satan was in everything everywhere. I'm quite young (22 years) so I met up with a christian to understand more about their beliefs, they suggested that I burn all my occult items. I haven't done that, just temporarily removed them from my room and put them in storage while I figure out where I stand. I found all the testimonies I watched to have a real condescending and melodramatic tone, they upset me. Seeing your raw emotion here really assisted me. I was also beginning to feel homophobic and developing an anger towards fellow New Age friends. I have been absolutely terrified of being washed 'clean' and turned into a boring, bland walking bible robot and never in my life have I experienced this kind of fear. Gradually im using my mind and listening to my heart and finding I dont agree with the indoctrination that has been placed upon me especially when Ive been vulnerable.
I absolutely believe Im experiencing this so I can assist others in the future, I LOVE that you made a video on this. It can be really scary for someone who is not solid on their belief system and path to see all these people converting to Christianity and feeling alone or like they are going to be left behind if they dont convert to.
Big thumbs UP! I have subscribed.
Lots of Love,
Maxwell
Thank you for bringing this to light. Here in small town U.S.A we are over run with this type of thing. Christians trying to cram the Bible down everyone throats. I have a 13 year who has decided to follow a witchy path like us and she spends every day wondering and worrying about how many friends she will loose if they find out she is a witch. She tells me that she feels all alone and fake because they will never know who she truly is. It breaks my heart. Why can't they just except us like we do them?
I laughed and cried along with you in this. I was Christian until I was 17 and found witchcraft. Im 39 now. I do remember worrying about people I loved going to hell when I was Christian. I never pushed it on anyone else though at all. I had far too many of my own questions and doubts about Christianity. I eventually concluded that I wanted to nothing to do with a god or religion that was so judgemental of others and trying to change them. It started of with all the God is love stuff but as I got older it was clear that there was in fact a major lack of love for anyone who didn't believe the same as us or behave the same as us. It really was us and them. It's been 22 years now since I left Christianity and I've never had even a second of doubt over that. Very happy with my own personal spiritual path.
I grew up in the United Methodist Church in midwest America. In high school I was "born again" and became very active in my church. At one point I planned to go into full time ministry. The funny thing is that it was the love and forgiveness aspects that drew me. A song that still pops in my head to this day is "and they'll know we are Christians by our love." I believed all of that.
Unfortunately, a very vocal and determined type of Christian exists in America who make a mockery of these things. I refuse to be part of it. The bigots don't speak for all Christians, but the fact that they are so loud woke me up to things that were and are not right under the surface.
The part at the end about the person who harassed her bandmate about testifying to his dying wife infuriates me. There were several moments in this video when I just wanted to reach through the screen and offer a hug. Health & Light to you.
The spiritual path for everyone is different. If they are better persons its good. I am a better person when I left religion, as I try not to judge people. Went from catholic, to atheist, to Agnostic, now into Astrology, Tarot and Witchcraft. I feel astrology answers a lot of things, the astral chart, and a deep understanding of how people are the way they are, and the struggles they have in life. I find astrology very illuminating and I am constantly testing it, with Astral charts of friends and looking at the astral chart of important events. I feel if witchcraft and new age give you a lot of signs, serendipities, syncronicities etc. its like the movie Avatar..they had their spiritual practice and they had response. Also, people in other religions have answers, syncronicities, signs, healing, etc. So I think God/Universe is so benign, that if the person really believes, it doesn't deny the help. I had a computer game where I was the god of an island, different cultures venerated me, with different practices, it is called Black and White. I realized it doesn't matter the way, just the pure intent. So, I am exploring, going to make spells soon to improve my weaknesses buy I am not denying I could go back to Christianity, I am open. I say, I believe in nothing and in everything. But hey Tarot is a wonderful tool, it has helped me and the people I have read to.
I think that particular Rambling Witch video from last year was the first ever video I watched on your channel!! 😄💕
Damn, you had a rocky start!! That shit was intense! 😅 Thanks for sticking around, babycakes!
Yes. Me too. I’ve loved Kelly Ann ever since.
@@kelly-annmaddox It was right up my alley, to be honest! Now that I think of it, there's something so very dystopian about "New Age to Christian" testimony videos. And ngl I'm still giggling about "dancing with us by the light of the Full Moon with Satan" 😂 Also, your look was just *chef's kiss* 💖
@@beameblue Oh yes *high five* 😄
Same immediately subscribed after
I love your analysis. And I just watched her second testimony. And she starts by saying that this video is not meant to preach, she just wants to give testimony in a loving way, and then she goes into full preacher-mode. Go figure. And she talks about how we have to take responsibility for our own lives, which is something "new agers" (don't like the term) don't seem to be doing enough, but then goes on about how the big guy does everything for her, makes all the decisions, she just has to follow. Yah right. Do these people not hear themselves? If they were at least consistent in what they said I would be able to take them seriously.
There is defo a consistency problem. So many contradictions..
Thank you for this video Kelly Ann. This is a really heavy topic for me as someone who was raised within a very extreme Christian cult and de-converted from that to Atheist and then eventually to Secular Paganism. I was more depressed than I had ever been growing up in that cult because every aspect of my life was controlled by someone else. I wasn't allowed to dress the way I wanted to, wasn't allowed to talk the way I wanted to, wasn't allowed to pursue the things that I wanted because it was "worldly" or "sinful" and I can't imagine the people that are still struggling within their religions, thinking, as I did, that I was a sinful and an awful person for just.... trying to be myself. There is so much toxicity in extremist Christian circles because everything is Satanic or demonic or sinful. It allows so much room for rejecting the simple fact that we are all equal and we are all part of the divine and that really does wear on a person I think.
I honestly agree. My family is Catholic, and we’ve been back and forth with born again Christians. I also have a class mate who is such a good person, funny, and kind. But she is on that band wagon of toxic Christianity I think. She’s trying to tell me that because I believe in chakras and energy work, AND the Virgin Mary that I’m wrong . And jc is the only way. 🤷🏻♀️ Im trying to be patient with her but I might end up having to be straight up and say, we can’t talk about this anymore. Because although I want to repair my idea of JC, I still love the Virgin Mary and saints, and goddesses and eastern thought. And I don’t think it’s a bad thing, I’m well rounded and care for all beings. So I think that’s enough for JC. Blessings, and may we all have the patience to not cuss someone out 🤣
I can relate. I was raised Catholic, but I found that my parents were so openminded about my more heterodox practices. I think it's because they grew up with people who practiced witchcraft. However, I grew up around a lot of people who are Born Again Christians. I've had the same experience you are dealing with your friend, but with several friends. And unfortunately, I had to cut most of them off because they would constantly censure me. I was tired of being told that my Virgin Mary and Buddha mini statues and my tarot/ oracle cards were forms of idolatry. Or that I was "deceived" by Satan when I'd read books on eastern philosophy or religious/ spiritual texts. I was tired of them "rebuking" everything I believed and practiced. So eventually, I just cut them out of my life. I have two friends who are still in that circle who are quite loving. They do not try to force their beliefs on me or lecture me about needing to renounce my sinful ways and turning to Jesus.
Thank you for posting this ... As someone who was raised in a cultish Christian background and who's parents have returned to an extreme form of Christianity this deeply resonated with me. 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
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I appreciate this video and your perspective. I was a Christian of the fundamental sort until 2010 and started my path of witchcraft in 2012 - something your videos were a huge part of! I consider them a treasure along with other YT witches I was able to learn with. I wholeheartedly agree that you CANNOT reason with those types of Christians. You just cannot; it’s like trying to talk a blind person into seeing. I tried several times and quickly saw that...I saw how I had been. I have never in my life been so happy as I am now. A million Thank you’s to you for posting all your rambles and wisdom with the world 🖤
Hats off to you!
You completely nailed it.
Especially the “Text book new age” bit. 👏👏👏
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I've not witnessed the "New Age" angle of this, but I LIVED this life with my family who are intensely zealous. You're absolutely right on all accounts: they want to do what interests them, but they are afraid. Ultimately, they're not secure in themselves or what they believe, so they try to get others to believe (Safety in numbers or "if enough people believe, then it must be true"). It is absolutely fear-based and predatory religion, and I lived that growing up. Consequentially, I've been an anxious wreck ever since I can remember, and I recently broke away less than a year ago. Talking to "family" IS talking to a brick wall, or worse, because they denigrate/mock you for everything you do and believe. They do intertwine sexuality/gender issues especially with evil (unless you're asexual, in which it's accepted under the celibacy paradigm, and can be interpreted as a gift).
I've always been drawn to New Age/Occult. I struggled with that for a long time. We were not allowed to read Lord of the Rings, or Harry Potter, precisely because of "the occult". "Opening the mind" to different ideas meant letting in demons and the devil. "Make Believe" could especially be dangerous. Those types of Christians WANT you to be an empty shell. I wish I was exaggerating.
I want to know what DV did with all of her dirty new age money. This is such a loaded topic. Thank you for tackling this. You’re amazing.
I agree with every word.i have been tempted to chuck away all my books ,cards etc though fear caused by these videos. I still have moments of doubt which i hate.i look at these millionaire preachers in america who run the mega churches and it makes me so sick at how hypocritical they are telling their flock to get rid of their wealth and give to the poor. Id love to know your feelings on Steven Bancarz.i love your videos they are always so well thought out.xxx
Karen Thompson his videos have scared me so much, I would love to hear her opinions on him as well!
@@hockey0013 glad I'm not the only one!! Xx
Atheist here. Yeah, I'm the curious type, and you guys seem pretty nice. I can understand what it's like when Christians get pushy with their beliefs. Most recently was in class while chatting with a friend of mine. Another classmate came over to dump all her emotional baggage on me (people like that, energy vampires, tend to zero in on me pretty quickly all the time), and when I explained that I really couldn't deal with it that day, or any day really, due to the PTSD I suffered from, she immediately lit up and suggested I go to church. After telling her no, I'm not religious, she kept pushing. I told her religion would not help me, and still, she wouldn't take no as an answer. My friend spoke up, and I told her I had to get back to work.
When I was younger, my little brother called me devil girl. I'm very sure that he told the priests at the Catholic school he was going to that I was an atheist, and they gave him the idea that my parents should kidnap me, take me to the church and tie me up, and then keep me there until I repent. He told me this almost non-stop. He was 10.
Hey K-A, I've been watching your channel for just over a year and have never chimed in, but this subject just really chaps my hide. I have a theory as to why the sudden conversion to christianity and I truly believe that the timing says it all. I believe that with all my heart, because it is EXACTLY when, I, shall we say, "Opted Out" of christianity. Every thing that you have observed in those vids and more is why my husband and I said WTF!!! Long story short, I have never in my life felt so free and just kinda wild, if you will. My best friend who has been calling me "Witch" for 26 yrs freaked out when I threw off that very heavy cloak of christianity. She called me "ridiculous", I was not offended by that because we are Mexican and that means Catholic, it's a given. Anyway, I'll leave the rambling to you "Chica". I adore you, I'm a 64 yr old BORN AGAIN WITCH and I love it. Maybe we born again Witches should testify, what do you think??? In a respectful way, of course.
I loved the video. Truly hope it will make certain people think a little more of their actions and words towards others
Iam on my new journey as a Pagan from Christianity and I feel iam in control of my life more now and I feel the Devine has drawn me to this change thank you for doing this video good information ❤️
Ooooo can't wait to dive into this video! Grabbing a cuppa and some biscuits! 💖
I can soooo relate when I see these kind of videos too. I’m an eclectic witch now, but I was a Christian in my late teens early 20’s. I was one of those Righteous ones, but realized what was going on when my grandma passed away and they asked my how I felt about now saving her, and her going to hell, ( when she wasn’t even cremated.) Then They called me a demon when I gave them a bible verse saying only God knows who is saved or not. They responded by saying, “ Even Demons know the scriptures.” Smh 🤦♀️
You had me from laughing to crying in like 2 minutes in this video. Damn girl. Powerful.
I really agree with your opinion about this! My family is Christian and they like to mock me when I'm around and make me feel like my spirituality is not valid. So now I only visit them 2 times a year.
YES! Deliciously delivered, Kelly-Ann. Brava! I will def watch this again so savour each slice. You are brilliant and I appreciate you so very much.
Greetings from Chicago :). I rarely make comments, but let me just say that I cannot explain how much I needed this video and I am sure many others feel the same. It was so on point in every way. I am a Psych major and totally appreciate the mental analysis aspect of your research. I had a few light bulb moments while watching. I grew up Christian (not hardcore which I am so grateful for). I had a lot of freedom to explore my spirituality (I did a little, but fell in to the fear mongering trap). I can honestly say that I felt so many internal contradictions when I was a Christian . I look back at my childhood and further, I always knew there was much more to the story and something always felt off. Many of my spiritual experiences did not align with the Bible and would be labeled as demonic trickery. Thankfully none of those negative comments came from close family. I realized that I stuck with it solely on fear of “Hell”. Well let’s just say I have been through some major life changes which caused an awakening which resulted in exploring spirituality away from Christianity. It wasn’t easy and fear was involved. I tried incorporating some of the Christian belief system and realized I only did that as a back plan, again fear. I recently realized that I cannot truly embrace my true and authentic self with fear standing on my shoulders. I had way too many signs showing and telling me to rip that bandaid off and I finally did just that. I am finally at the point where I don’t really give a hoot what anyone thinks of my spiritual choices. It amazes me when people are so concerned about everyone else’s spiritual practice and life. If it is not harming anyone why waste your energy to convince people to believe in your truth. I realized that you miss out on so much in life including learning about your own self, which is detrimental. I seriously wish I listened to my intuition years ago, better late than never lol. Again, I absolutely appreciate your content as it has helped me tremendously, Blessings.
I consider myself a Christian and you are right about the extremism. I would have asked what the wife's favorite food is and take it over and hang out of she wanted to chat or wanted me to read a book to her... It whatever.. Ultimately, Jesus' testimony was love. The law of love is supreme. Think about the story in the Bible of the guy who found someone in the side of the road who had been mugged and left for dead. A man picked this victim up, put him in their version of a hotel and payed for this person's recovery. That's Christianity. I do a lot of things that Christianity considers witchcraft. I believe I am using what our creator left for us to use to heal people. Everything is vibration. The whole of the earth including the rocks praise the creator through vibration.i feel it work I'm in nature. We can tap into that for healing.
I very much resonated with your comment! Wishing you Much Love & Many Blessings to you, sister!🤍🖤✨
I went down that YT rabbit hole awhile ago and thought about making a video of it but never got around to it. I’m so glad that you decided to go for it. I went from Christianity to “new age” myself and find it really fascinating that folks would go in the other direction. Of course, I support people making whatever decisions meet their needs and I do worry that these videos spread a fair amount of misinformation and can be confusing to the vulnerable. Also, I find it odd that they talk about it like there’s just one way to be “new age” and everyone believes the same exact stuff. Like it is such a reductive term for a large number of belief systems, philosophies and religions. I could rant about this for awhile. Thanks for speaking your piece on it.
I have no dog in the fight, but I as usual am aligned with your perspective. I have a friend/client, who is super duper catholic, and I have no issue at all with it. I find some of the rituals, saints and icons beautiful and inspiring, but on more than one occasion, she has aggressively made attempts to pull me in, to go to church, and to become catholic.
I did my best to remain neutral and loving, because I know that she was coming from a place of true love for her belief and that she wants me to experience that same joy.
I also try to speak about spirit in a way, to whom ever I am talking to, that is not going to cause controversy, or step on anyones toes, so the language I use around certain people may vary, because I know, that the divine source, is big enough for all of us, and presents in ways for us all. I don't have to school others on this or attempt to sway or become angry that they are trying to sway me, if that be the case.
The best thing I can do, is cultivate my own relationship to that divinity, and drop my defenses. For a long time, I had my particular understandings, and yet I was feeling and fearing the influence of others. I had (still do) have strong intuition, and yet was really torn up and let the fears that I may be wrong torture me, and while I would get angry at anyone dogmatic, and actively rebel or try to school them, that kept me from that truth within.
I still bristle when I hear testimony like the ones you described, but I am also growing along spiritual lines, and I feel no need to fight or worry any more.
I have some amazing people in my life, and within those people, there is a variety of belief. Belief gives us somtihing to work with. That makes me think about some of your earlier videos about using belief as a tool.
Belief is not knowing, and belief is not reliance on divine intelligence. Preaching is not inherently spiritual, it is intellectual and it keeps one from getting into the truth and knowing, the reliance then falls on the preacher and not the spirit of the universe.
People can have what they have and when I see possible harm being done, I do what you did and send prayers of love and good will, peace and freedom to all involved, because all of that comes from fear, and if there is a devil, then it would be fear.
Those are just my thoughts.
I loved listening to this venting video! And you being investigative is so.... exciting😆😅 Made packing my gazillion crystals for a move so much more enjoyable😍
Hehe, I did go a bit Columbo, didn't I?! 😅 Thanks for watching - hope the move goes well!
@@kelly-annmaddox 😘❤️💕
Thank You, Kelly-Ann. I laughed, cried and ranted right along with you as I also have PMS. I will watch it again in 28 days I think. Blessed Be Dear Sister
The particular conversion you spoke of when starting this video is what brought me to your channel. I followed her when I first realized youtube had more than just planner videos and was super bummed when she left the way she did, but her leaving led me to you and Ethony, Avalon, etc so I am grateful for that. I think these testimonies, or many of them, are from people who have hit a rock bottom of some sort and in my experience, those people turn out to be zealots who dont really think of anything other than their brand of christianity. Christian's I know who have not hit a rock bottom but are still very spiritual dont tend to behave in that manner and are usually, again in my experience, a hell of a lot more mellow, tolerant, inclusive, etc. Its a very odd phenomenon