Witchcraft is not a beneficial religion

Since we have yet to have a definition stated for "beneficial" we should get that right out of the way. beneficial[1] adjective favorable or advantageous; resulting in good. synonyms: advantageous, favorable, helpful, useful, of use, of benefit, of assistance, valuable, of value, profitable, rewarding, gainful"ladybugs and other species beneficial to the garden" A couple other definitions that should be made clear at this point are the definition of "Witchcraft" and its most closely associated religion "Wicca" and "Paganism". witchcraft[2] noun the practice of magic, especially black magic; the use of spells and the invocation of spirits. synonyms: sorcery, black magic, white magic, magic, witching, witchery, wizardry; spells, incantations; Wicca; rarethaumaturgy Wicca[3] noun the religious cult of modern witchcraft, especially an initiatory tradition founded in England in the mid 20th century and claiming its origins in pre-Christian pagan religions. paganism[4] noun the state of being pagan a religion that has many gods or goddesses, considers the earth holy, and does not have a central authority Since I have no believe in the supernatural, or spiritual world, I will for some parts of this debate suspend my disbelief of both the literal bibles as well as the world of magic. For the sake of the debate, both are equally plausible. What pro begins the debate with is what the bible says about the wishes of God. It is clear through pros cited verses that the God, as understood in Christian religion, does not want people preforming witchcraft. "...There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord,..." So, there is little denying that the God of the Bible would like people to not preform witchcraft. That, however, is not no way affirming the resolution, "Witchcraft is not a beneficial religion", only that God may not like it very much. "Saul had originally banished all people that had practiced witchcraft in the land, but in his most desperate hour, he turns to a witch to bring up the now deceased, previous prophet Samuel for instructions as to what he should do. Samuel tells him that Saul will die according to a previous prophecy that Samuel had made." In this case, Saul had a need, and the need was satisfied through the use of witchcraft. He was punished for using witchcraft later, but the benefit was realized before the punishment, and the benefit cannot be denied because of the later hostility displayed by the Lord. It would seem I have shown benefit (or pro actually showed the benefit) of witchcraft, I should at least provide one example of Wicca or paganism being beneficial. Christmas! I choose a religious site for this information to dismiss potential biases. "It is beyond doubt that Christmas was originally a pagan festival. The time of the year and the ceremonies with which it is still celebrated, prove its origin."[5] There are plenty of soft and hard benefits of Christmas, I only will point to one. Economic. "In the United States, it has been calculated that a quarter of all personal spending takes place during the Christmas/holiday shopping season."[6] It seems clear from the Bible that witchcraft has benefits. It is clear from Christmas that paganism has benefit. Back to pro. References [1] http://tinyurl.com... [2] http://tinyurl.com... [3] http://tinyurl.com... [4] http://tinyurl.com... [5] http://www.goodnewsaboutgod.com... [6] http://en.wikipedia.org...