bible-thumping witches?

I grew up in a christan family before finding my own path. I still believe there is a heaven, a hell, a purgatory, and that demons are in fact a thing. But more than that, i think that its good to take many teachings to heart.
The ten commandments for example, are a very good base on what is right or wrong. Including the bit about false idols. Even with the personal belief that dieties exist, plural, you do have to keep in mind and heart that with whatever tools you are using, you are worshipping them, and not the objects or the craft.
I also personally take loving others, forgiveness, loyalty, and giving nature very seriously. sometimes to a fault that kicks me in the butt later. But to me, it always feels like it gets repaid better later. Even if my better payment comes after death.
When i still went to a church, my old youth pastor taught us that to love god was to carry out his wishes and requests in our lives. And putting those together, i love people because i love my Gods.
And any god who doesnt want us to genuinely care selflessly, is not a god worth following in my eyes.
I dont go to church or read the bible. I didnt even read it when i told people i was christian that much to tell the truth. But flecks of truth and wisdom are found everywhere.
Ive even been told by other christians [three seperate times by three seperate people] that i tend to act in a way more like how they think of the prophet/son Jesus than anyone they know or that they ever could and get confused by it since im pagan. Its flattering i suppose...
Anyway im trailing off into random subject matter. But thats my three cents. :)

There's an entire market for books on the use of the Bible in magic(k). It's mainly aimed at practitioners of voodoo/vodou and hoodoo. Personally I use it in my practice. But everyone is different.

The Bible

I do not take the bible to be accurate, word for word. I do believe that the bible has knowledge contained within that is able to aid an individual with a wide variety of aspects. Take the Ten Commandments for example. The Bible is blatantly telling you what to do and what not to do. Not that this is exactly a bad thing, it's just been taken out of context over the course of the centuries. The world could be seen as a better place if there was no lust, greed, or adultery, and honouring your mother and father and recognising the sabbath day. Taking the Ten Commandments to heart is a recipe for disaster. Taking the bible as a whole to heart is a recipe for disaster. One you'd drive yourself mad if you tried to follow the instructions of every verse, and two you would drive everyone else crazy.

God/Yaweh

Before you ask, comment, opinionate, God and Yaweh are more-or-less one in the same. You all know who God is, but Yaweh is the national god of Israel and Judah. I find the idea of a white haired and thick bearded sage sitting on a cloud in the skies to be completely ludicrous, however I do believe that God is omnipresent and that he does listen to those who speak to him. If you speak enough and if you take the time to listen and really hear, you might receive divine guidance from him. When I say listen and hear, I mean take a step back, analyse the situation at hand, and see if you're missing something. If you find what was missing, it could be the work of divine guidance, or it could just be you finally figuring something out on your own.

I think that the concept of god raises more questions than answers. I've thought about God and The Bible almost every day for the last decade and a half, right alongside my thought processes of polytheism. I attempt the follow the Ten Commandments as closely as I can, and that is for my own personal satisfaction. It brings a certain level of satisfaction when I fulfill these commandments. We live in a world of greed, lust, and adultery, so when I do not commit these sins, or even think of committing them, I feel I am in God's light and his favour so long as I follow his Commandments.

I'm a Biblical Gnostic who believes the Bible was edited to suit the political agenda of the Council of Nicea and has been used improperly since. That being said, there's plenty of wisdom in the original texts in their original languages, this includes the books labelled non-canon by the church such as the Gospels of Thomas and Philip since it was the Council of Nicea's decision to remove them from the canon.

Sorry, I can't reconcile the two words "Christian Witches" It seems to be a contradiction of terms seeing that so many witches were burned and killed in the name of God.
It is hedgeing your bets. It's fluffy bunny! Let the howling begin....

Oro...a lot of the Witches 'killed in the name of God' were Christian/Protestant/Catholic.
Also they weren't really killed 'in the name of God' just people using their personal encounters with some Doctors, Cunning-Folk and their own Neighbour to fuel a fight to end some kind of petty dispute.

My studys are eclectic
The bible is just one of many
Books i have spent time reading
I never take any of them to literaly
Heaven or hell?
A state of mind you carry with you
As part of your energy

I take what i can to help me on my path
Its my path
No one can walk it for me

Witch in Hebrew more or less actually translated to "one who practices divination/necromancy". This was restricted specifically because the writers believed them to be committing fraud.

The bible itself is symbolic and literal, but also altered in many ways. Raised catholic but I dont identify with the religion itself but I do believe in God and the Bible.

There is no true religion. Each religion contains parts of a whole truth (including Wicca). Secondly, we all are made in his image. Meaning He (God) is a creator --- "He said let there be light". He is all knowing, all seeing, etc etc. If we are made in His image then we are able to do as he is. We can speak things into existence (i.e., spells/chants, etc), know things and see things (premonitions,etc). Third, it is not about WHO you praise or worship because all things are connected. Energy is connected and He has many names (i.e, Kali, Hera, etc).

The bible itself can be classified as a spell book. It contains prayers and chants for protection, strength, vengeance, and more. It contains the same stories that other religions' books have. Christianity is no different than any other religion. Its all connected.

People have misused the Bible and God for centuries for political and personal agendas which caused wars and deaths. Giving a wide belief that Christianity itself is wrong and full of BS.

In my experiences, magick and religion meld much more readily than one would expect. I'm a Roman Catholic, yet I study magick, other religions and philosophies, and all the like. It's very interesting work, in my opinion.

I appreciate the right of others to be skeptic about God and such, and frankly, I can understand why they might be too skeptic to really believe in him. It's just the nature of the modern world. It can be hard to see God through the fog, so to speak. Some people can't really see through the fog far enough to see him at all. Some see through the fog, but see a different part than others do. Thus, other religions exist. Though this is based on my hypothesis about how almost every religion may merge together in one way or another. A very work in progress hypothesis, mind you. Just figured I'd share the general sense of it.

Anyway, as for how I view God based within magick, it's fairly simple. God created us in his image, supposedly. Not in terms of our physical bodies, but rather in terms of who we are as beings. So it would make sense, then, that we have some degree of sway on the workings of the universe. In the modern day, this is a very tiny sway indeed. Yet if you take some passages of the Bible literally, it seems that our ancestors may have had more sway over the will of the universe than we do in the current day. Though considering the outlined circumstances of the passages where this can be seen, this may only be because these people were supposedly given the direct blessing of God, which in turn may have given them much greater power and knowledge in magick. But one part of the Bible I always like to use for this is the passage about the parting of the Red Sea, where Moses cries up to God for the power to part said sea. The interesting part is that God replies something along the lines of "Why do you cry out to me? I have already given you the power you need." And thus, he raised his staff, parting the sea. The phrase God says is what makes this one particularly interesting. Not the direct, situational meaning, but rather the potential implications of that statement. And of course, one could always reference the texts about the disciples healing those in need as additional examples, although I believe they are not detailed nearly as well.

Now perhaps our ancestors were more powerful than us in terms of magick, or perhaps it was simply the blessing of God amplifying the power of these certain individuals. Really, many may choose to not take these passages literally. And I can understand why, depending on their way of thinking. But, even if that is the case, the Bible can still be linked to magick quite readily by one particular passage. It reads as follows:

"Before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern," -Ecclesiastes 12:6

Note this particular phrase.

"Before the silver cord is snapped,"

This phrase denotes a very particular concept commonly regarded in magick as having to do with Astral Projection. From the experiences and such I've read, people tend to note a silver cord linking their metaphysical form to their physical body. And from what I've read, this cord only separates when one dies. I believe the silver cord is the attachment of one's spirit/soul to their body. So obviously when one dies, the cord severs. So applying this, the phrase is basically saying thus:

"Before you (they) die,"

I cannot discern whether it is you or they due to lacking the context of this verse, but nonetheless, this is a very good example of how the Bible can very well be linked to magick in a number of spots. It's interesting to say the least.

So to sum all of this up... My take on all of this is very open, and quite the interesting topic. I believe there is a God in some way, shape, or form, and that He created the universe as we know it, and all the realms of existence. I believe He is the first cause, the source of all effects either directly or indirectly. I don't believe in the actual text of the Creation in a literal sense (many Catholics don't from what I can tell; they tend to take it figuratively). As for the Bible in general, I believe in many of the texts in it, although I am careful to keep a bit of skepticism about me if the words in it are being spoken by a human, rather than God himself, or Jesus. I personally believe in Jesus Christ, and the works he performed, as the documentation seems quite cohesive and highly detailed (not to mention the fact that the Catholic Church was founded in the first place, if that makes sense). And so far as my research has gone (in both science and magick), this all seems to form one coherent hypothesis. Each bit of knowledge I learn seems to fit into this puzzle I've begun assembling perfectly, and it only seems to keep building and building. Thus, the resulting beliefs I hold, and why I am constantly adding ever more information to them.

I apologize for the extremely long post. I tend to be overly detailed, and have a bad habit of not summarizing efficiently. But hopefully the information I provided on my perspective was insightful, as well as helpful. If anyone wants to discuss this topic further via mail, I'd be more than happy to share more about my perspective, and listen to others. This is practically one of my favorite fields.

P.S. Sorry for any typos. I tend to type a bit too quickly, which can cause me to screw up occasionally.