religion / praying a type of witchcraft?

[confused453]

According to Wikipedia, "Witchcraft broadly means the practice of, and belief in, magical skills and abilities that are able to be exercised by individuals and certain social groups."

Isn't this exactly what a prayer and beliefs in supernatural means?

 

[lovesong]

Magic is the manipulation of energy to create change. Prayer is speaking to or with some supernatural being, usually in hopes that they will do something for you, but not always. Prayer can be involved in magic for sure, and magic can be involved in prayer, but they aren't the same thing.

 

[Notanumber]

Does Allah understand English or do Islamists have to learn Arabic in order to communicate via prayer?

 

[allfoak]

Every thought and every deed is a manipulation of energy.
There isn't anything else.

 

[Brickjectivity]

Isn't this exactly what a prayer and beliefs in supernatural means?

This could be a description of prayer or beliefs of many people. Its not everyone. There are those who focus on personal transformation and good deeds, and they will establish traditions to help accomplish it. I see this everywhere. I think when society becomes very unhealthy that is when individuals strike up a new way of doing things with a hope of changing things. Among alchemists there are those who focus upon transforming themselves rather than making gold. There are all kinds of religions that have branches focused upon personal transformation, with prayers that are not about anything but that.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

According to Wikipedia, "Witchcraft broadly means the practice of, and belief in, magical skills and abilities that are able to be exercised by individuals and certain social groups."

Isn't this exactly what a prayer and beliefs in supernatural means?

I honestly feel the word witchcraft and magic are overplayed. People all around the world have superstitious traditions, different forms of prayer, rituals, and beliefs from believing their decease receives the offerings of money to our putting roses on our loved ones caskets, a card, and a kiss on the tomb stone. I wouldn't call these things magic nor supernatural (sounds like I'm watching the twilight zone) but just different superstitious (beliefs that can't be proven by objective evidence) that are weaved in family, society, and country as a whole.

Christianity brands them witchcraft but I think they'd be a bit more correct if they focused on traditions in Europe rather than saying all prayers/rituals/traditions worldwide fall under this label.

I don't like the word magic to refer to prayers, rituals, and beliefs. If a religion says they practice Ebo or sacrifice, that's what they do. To call it magic (generalizing it) is total disrespect to this religion as such as saying a Catholic priest consecrating bread and wine is practicing magic or witchcraft all because he is acting in the role of christ to make christ present through the body of the Church.

A lot of religions make sense if you get beyond the mystery of their practices and understand the culture that shapes them.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

According to Wikipedia, "Witchcraft broadly means the practice of, and belief in, magical skills and abilities that are able to be exercised by individuals and certain social groups."

Isn't this exactly what a prayer and beliefs in supernatural means?

It's hard to believe that you actually thought out this question before posting it.

There are many kinds of prayer. Even those serving as requests are precisely that, requests rather than instructions, and belief in preternatural agency in no way implies the belief that you or I can manipulate that agency.

If you wish to denigrate religion, try harder.

 

[1AOA1]

Prayer is speaking to or with some supernatural being

More so with the spiritual aspect of man.

I honestly feel the word witchcraft and magic are overplayed. People all around the world have superstitious traditions, different forms of prayer, rituals, and beliefs from believing their decease receives the offerings of money to our putting roses on our loved ones caskets, a card, and a kiss on the tomb stone. I wouldn't call these things magic nor supernatural (sounds like I'm watching the twilight zone) but just different superstitious (beliefs that can't be proven by objective evidence) that are weaved in family, society, and country as a whole.

The conventional use of "superstition" is as a reference to an act done physically to compel into motion a mental or non-physical change. Hence all actions would fall under those things.

 

[Quintessence]

Isn't this exactly what a prayer and beliefs in supernatural means?

Only if you want to ignore the nuances of how the terms witchcraft and Witchcraft are actually used, as well as ignore the perspectives of modern practitioners.

 

[confused453]

Let's say christian bible really works. Your objective is to cure someone's illness. You read the book, believe every single thing, speak some words, and the illness is cured. And the same if you wish to harm someone.. Isn't that considered witchcraft?

 

[Jonathan Ainsley Bain]

According to Wikipedia, "Witchcraft broadly means the practice of, and belief in, magical skills and abilities that are able to be exercised by individuals and certain social groups."

Isn't this exactly what a prayer and beliefs in supernatural means?

In African societies, witchcraft is typically something else.
It is normally a word associated with a woman who uses her sexuality to unfair advantage over men.
(my own observations living in Africa)

In pre-Christian western societies, a witch was often a woman who did similar acts of guile and sexual treachery
(from reading Chaucer's middle-English narrative and other such literature)

 

[Jainarayan]

Let's say christian bible really works. Your objective is to cure someone's illness. You read the book, believe every single thing, speak some words, and the illness is cured. And the same if you wish to harm someone.. Isn't that considered witchcraft?

Say what!?

 

[Raahim]

Does Allah understand English or do Islamists have to learn Arabic in order to communicate via prayer?

Allah understands all languages but Muslims are encouraged to learn Arabic because Qur'an is given in that language.

Magic is the manipulation of energy to create change.

What you defined is not complete definition of magick (and yes it's very hard to define magick), it's more like definition on manifestation which is "low-magick" and what many Wiccans and newbies use (from what I've seen and heard from those people). Working with entities such as demons, angels and other spirits isn't manipulation of energies but of intelligent creatures - yes they are made of energy but they are not energy as one would think of when dealing with e.g planetary magick of Agrippa.

Let's say christian bible really works. Your objective is to cure someone's illness. You read the book, believe every single thing, speak some words, and the illness is cured. And the same if you wish to harm someone.. Isn't that considered witchcraft?

Similar thing in Islam is called 'ruqyah' and that's the recitation of the Qur'an for healing an illness or casting out negative energies or even entities from someone. The difference is that Muslims don't believe that ritual and words themselves work but that Allah is the one curing the ill and not the person doing ruqyah while in witchcraft the person doing the magick believes he/she is doing it by performing specific things and words.

All the best

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

No.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

According to Wikipedia, "Witchcraft broadly means the practice of, and belief in, magical skills and abilities that are able to be exercised by individuals and certain social groups."

Isn't this exactly what a prayer and beliefs in supernatural means?

Is belief in god a "skill or ability?"

 

[Notanumber]

Allah understands all languages but Muslims are encouraged to learn Arabic because Qur'an is given in that language.

I wonder why Allah chose an Arabic speaker like Muhammad from all the other people of the world including those that didn’t speak Arabic.

One would have thought that Allah could have chosen someone who could have written down the Koran at the time it was being dictated.

 

[Raahim]

I wonder why Allah chose an Arabic speaker like Muhammad from all the other people of the world including those that didn’t speak Arabic.

One would have thought that Allah could have chosen someone who could have written down the Koran at the time it was being dictated.

Why was Torah given in Hebrew? Because Moses عليه السلام spoke Hebrew. Allah knows the reasons for choosing His prophets. The Prophet عليه السلام recited the Qur'an as it was given and literal people around him would write it down and read it so that it could be confirmed of being exactly as to what the Prophet عليه السلام had recited.

 

[Notanumber]

Why was Torah given in Hebrew? Because Moses عليه السلام spoke Hebrew. Allah knows the reasons for choosing His prophets. The Prophet عليه السلام recited the Qur'an as it was given and literal people around him would write it down and read it so that it could be confirmed of being exactly as to what the Prophet عليه السلام had recited.

This wise man sheds some light on the problem.

 

[Raahim]

This wise man sheds some light on the problem.

Well the video points out valid issues - such as languages changing with time and people having issues with understanding older texts in their fullest light, but the problem is in humans not the book itself - don't you agree? I myself am a beginner in Arabic so I can't progress with this topic much but there are enough sources you can check out.

All the best

 

[confused453]

Is belief in god a "skill or ability?"

Delusion?