A Christian Speaks of Wicca and Witchcraft

[Sephiroth]

A Christian Speaks of Wicca and Witchcraft
by James Clement Taylor
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I am a Christian and not a Wiccan. A Christian is one who has been baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and who has made a personal, free-will decision to commit himself and all his or her life to our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Both of these things are true of me. I am a member of St. Mary's Eastern Orthodox Church, Calhan, Colorado. In this paper, I am not speaking as agent for any church, but I am, entirely on my own responsibility, speaking the truth in love, as we Christians are supposed to do.

A Situation of Strife and Shame:

There are many Christians today who believe that anyone who is not a Christian is doomed to an eternity of suffering in hell. Any decent person, believing this, would be compelled to try to save as many people from this fate as possible. But is this belief correct? Jesus Christ, having noted the faith and righteousness of a Roman centurion, a Pagan, proclaimed:

"Assuredly I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 8:10-12)

If we accept these words as true, and surely we should, then it is clear that heaven will contain many who are not Christians, and hell will contain many who are! Clearly, throughout the Gospels, Jesus Christ sets forth the criteria for entrance into the kingdom of heaven, and those criteria include love, kindness, forgiveness, and a refusal to judge others:

"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matthew 6:14-15)

"For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you." (Matthew 7:2)

"But go and learn what this means: `I desire mercy and not sacrifice.'" (Matthew 9:13)

"Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven." (Luke 6:36-38)

Is it not clear? Anyone who fails in these things, will calling himself a Christian save him? Anyone who obeys God in these things, will being unbaptized condemn him? Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." (Matthew 7:21)

Yet it is not by good works that we earn our way into heaven, because there is no way we can earn the free gift of God's mercy and grace, which alone can save us. But it is clear that it is not by faith, in the sense of sharing the Christian faith, that we are saved, either. The faith which saves us is not faith in the goodness of our works, nor faith that we have the right theology and/or belong to the right church. Rather, it is faith in God, and in His mercy:

"So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who has mercy." (Romans 9:16)

But the Wiccans, you will say, do not have faith in God. Yet by their own theology, they certainly do. Those who call them Satan-worshippers are entirely wrong. They do not worship Satan, or even believe that Satan exists. Instead, they worship a Goddess and a God whom they understand as manifestations of a higher and unknown Deity.

Now if you are a Christian, this will sound familiar to you, and it should. In the Bible we find the following:

"Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, `Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, The One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you" (Acts 17:22-23)

The Wiccans worship the Unknown God, as manifested to them in the form of a Goddess and a God. Therefore, our Bible tells us they worship the same God we do; and if they do not know this, we should know it!

For those of us who are unable to simply stand on God's Word, and must prove to themselves the truth of what it proclaims the holy Apostle John has given us the method for doing this. You have only to attend any public Wiccan ceremony, and test the spirits which are there, to see "whether they are of God" (1 John 4:1). You will find that, while the power manifested there may be less than what you have experienced as a Christian, that power is clearly the power of God.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, these people of Wicca have been terribly slandered by us. They have lost jobs, and homes, and places of business because we have assured others that they worship Satan, which they do not. We have persecuted them, and God will hold us accountable for this, you may be sure, for He has said, "Assuredly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." (Matthew 25:40)

Let us, from this point onward, repent of our misdeeds and declare that henceforth we shall obey Christ our God, and not judge others or condemn them, so that He will not have to judge and condemn us for our sins.

[MistOfTheSea86]

This is a wonderful writing! It is so Beautiful.

[sarhea]

Outstanding! And amazingly well thought out. I strive to be so accepting of those who believe differently than me.*smile*

[Merrie]

Great minds think alike!!!!
I just posted a link to this in the "Tolerance going both ways" thread.

[Sephiroth]

just like to say i didnt right this i found it

[Mairwen]

I know the man who wrote this. Wonderful human being. One of my favorite people. Excellent writing, and beautiful point. He used this as a sermon one Sunday morning, and I applaud him for it.

[rantnraven]

In this, I feel the Burning Times are trully on the way to recovery - not over - but tolerance is in sight. However, let us keep in mind that there are still others that we need to work on in the name of Tolerance. If there was a God/dess with such a name S/He would be on my alter. I would meditate and pray over Him/Her daily.

Blessings to all and thank you for this post. Hatred just has no business here. And I will say this, this could very well be the ammunition I need to tell my parents and sibling. They'll fight, no doubt but, with this?? Who knows.

I'm tired of hiding.

Blessed Be,
Rant, RnR, Thoma - Your Brother in Spirit.

[Rævyn Cigány]

Funny....I just sent a link to this article to my mother, who is utterly heartbroken that she's got two devil-worshipping, heathen, will-never-make-it-to-heaven children (my brother and I). Cross your fingers it will turn her head just enough to see that we're not doomed to eternal damnation (can I say that? ).

BB

Rae )0(

[Salanthos]

absolutly wonderful. this reflects a lot of my own personal beleifs, that we all worsip the same god but see this in diffrent ways, singular/plural/male/female according to the way we think. even though I was never xtian, I like much of the basics of the religion. it's nice to know that our paths are not as exclusive as I sadly thought.

[Rowan MoonDragon]

Thank you so much for posting this. My parents are moving to Calhan at the end of the month and while my parents dont necessarily share my beliefs, they are supportive. Its reassuring to know that the small town they are moving to has some level headed individuals that accepts all forms of faith......especially since in August there was the whole to-do about the Samhain celebration to happen in Ramah this month. I'm glad this was in in the paper. Maybe it will open some more eyes with this TRUE gentlemans help. He used the bible to make his points and you cant get any stronger than that. My hat is off to him and he has forever earned my respect. I hope I have the pleasure of meeting him when I visit my parents. It would truly be an honor.