I was raised Protestant myself, and am still a member of the United Methodist church. I don't see any problem with me reading tarot cards. I just think of it as prayer backwards.
As a Christian I often hear people say we must not only tell God things, but let God tell us things too. So I think of the cards as God's instant messages. Before reading the cards, I pray for the ability to understand God's message.
In this thread I've read a bit about people being distrustful of or simply disliking organized religion, Christianity in particular. For me though, I've met a few Bible-thumpers, some fundamentalists and other crazies, but growing up, in general I was surrounded by non-hypocritical, kind, loving Christians. My parents never berated gays and lesbians or people of other religions, quite the contrary. My mom took me to meet a gay friend of hers when I was little. I can't remember my pastor ever mentioning hell, nor was there pressure to be "righteous" or whatever.
For me organized religion is a stable foundation, it's something strong and sturdy when things around me (or in me) are shaky. A lot of my spiritual ideas have changed and grown, but my religion is stable. It gives me comfort to know there's a religious community out there to support me. The age and timelessness of the rituals (Communion, Baptism, etc) provide a connection between me and the ancient roots of the church, not to mention God.
Lexie said:
No, I don't agree it's the same..when you pray you just hope God will give you what you want.. when you do a spell you try to turn things in your favor, you're active not pathetic..does it make any sense?
Pathetic? Wow. I don't see asking for help from one with more ability and know-how than you "pathetic," perse.
Of course, I don't see anything wrong with casting spells either, as long as you aren't calling on "dark powers" or whatever you'd like to call it. Actually, I've considered trying spell casting before instead of just praying, but I feel that I don't have the understanding and vision that God does. What I want might not actually be good for me; what I want might not actually turn out to be what I thought I wanted to begin with! Also, I don't always clearly understand how my desires affect others. I don't really know everything that's going on in the world--past, present, or future.
So I tell God what I want, adding that ultimately I trust God will do what's best for all, even if it means I won't get what I want.
I don't just "hope" God will give me what I want, I have
faith in God's omniscience, omnipotence, and benevolence. Faith is different than hope. If you want to call that "passive" or "pathetic," then that's fine, but I think of myself as wise.