A rant

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A rant
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Post # 1
Lately I have been seeing this "You can't be a Christian witch" and I am not Christian, but I don't like how people make out Christian witchcraft as a bad thing. We have know right to say someone is a disgrace to the witch community for following there beliefs this is call spiritual snobbery. Now you may not agree with what they believe,but going around telling them they can't practice and be Christian is no worst then them telling is witchcraft is evil. Also who knows Maybe they will grow out of there christian beliefs maybe not it's not your choice to decide that for them. And not to be redundant, but I am not a Christian I follow my own path,if they say they are a Christian wiccan fine because they are two different religions but witchcraft is not a religion.
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Re: A rant
By: / Knowledgeable
Post # 2
It's not so much a recent happening, as much as a long standing contradiction in the phrase.

Witchcraft is traditionally born of pagan roots, with pagan being the operative word actually coined by Christianity so as to describe all things that are not Christian.

Now, one may be Christian however, and still bring elements of witchcraft into one's faith, often replacing various other sources or deities with God and Jesus. However you'd find many Christian ministers that would disagree.

Why?

Because the traditional Christian view is that all practices of magic outside of God are born of Satan, and therefore evil. Prayer is acceptable, and if this translates into "magic," then it is God's will. However working rituals outside of the invocation of God, Jesus, the angels, or his saints, and so forth is generally considered unacceptable, and "un-christian" within the vast majority of Christian paths.

"Christian Wicca" on the other hand is a complete contradiction in terminology. Wicca itself is a religion, revolving around the worship of the God and Goddess. Christianity is a religion revolving around the worship of God and Jesus. The two words, put together, do not make sense because of this. I have seen some "wicca" practitioners replacing the traditional duality with The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and so forth... but... meh. That's not really Wicca any more. The practices may be similar, but it's all together a different faith.

It's not spiritual snobbery, it's an understanding of faith and language. Which in turn leads to a deeper understanding and acceptance of all faiths.

The frustration and hostility is usually born of the frequent encounters with those who call themselves something without understanding what they are truly saying, or what it means, and then argue it without any ground to stand on because they refuse to educate themselves.
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Re: A rant
By: Moderator / Adept
Post # 3
There is a huge difference between claiming to be a Christian Witch and claiming to be a Christian Wiccan.

Witchcraft is simply a form of magical practice which may or may not be associated with a religion. Some people practice Witchcraft as a form of Paganism and call it a religion. But one can be a Buddhist, a Hindu, a Christian or any other religion, still practice witchcraft, and call themselves a Witch. No one is arguing this point...except perhaps for some other Christians.

Wicca, on the other hand, is a very specific religion with very specific beliefs. And those beliefs are in direct contrast with the beliefs of Christianity. As an example, the core of Christianity is that Jesus was the Son of God and that through him one is "saved". Wiccans do not acknowledge Jesus in this way. We may view him as a great teacher...but not as the Son of God. Nor do we feel that we need someone else to "save" us. We are fully capable of making right choices and actions on our own and stand by the consequences of our own actions.
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Re: A rant
By: / Novice
Post # 4
The trouble with blending witchcraft and Christianity, beyond the myriad of loopholes you have to jump regarding which pantheon you worship and whether or not casting spells is proper Christian behavior, is that they operate based on two very different philosophies.

The philosophy Christianity espouses is not one of forgiveness and acceptance, though that is its secondary message. The first and foremost virtue, prevalent throughout the Old Testament, is obedience - to God, to your pastor, to your parents. Christianity has succeeded as well as it has historically partway because it endorses the reign of authority figures. A king's 'divine right' to rule is God-ordained, and it has been cited by many monarchs throughout history to justify their lifelong and (largely) unquestioned rule over their respective kingdoms.

Once the virtue of obedience has been instated - in my opinion, based on the vitriolic and downright angry language of the Old Testament, through fear of God - THEN they impart you life lessons, like be good to your neighbor and love one another.

Witchcraft does not implore us to be obedient. Quite the contrary; it empowers the average person to assume a position of power that would destroy the entire framework of Christianity.

Whereas Christianity regards its messiah (and other holy figures) as 'shepherds of men's souls,' Wiccans need not be shepherded - they seek, but are not lost. The Wiccan Rede empowers each and every practitioner to discover their inner capacity to invoke change (as long as it does not harm others). And while there are 'priestesses' and 'priests' presiding over covens, their leadership is more akin to a professor and his students, and not a pastor and his parish; the end goal of every good coven leader is to impart their skills and watch as their initiates branch off into their own practices. A pastor preaches his interpretation and is rarely contradicted.

This, I believe, is why Christianity has had such a poor opinion of pagans - because pagans are not sold on the concept of 'listen and obey,' and have been unwilling to play ball with their morals and their expectations since the beginning. They're unhappy bedfellows, is what I'm saying.

Is it impossible to merge the two ideas? Not at all. However, I agree with AwakeTooLong - a successful merger of Christianity and Wicca, even if it seamlessly blends the two pantheons and philosophies, can no longer really be called Christianity or Wicca.

Wiccianity? Christiacca?

Ultimately, if you think there's a chance you'll be misunderstood based on the creed you've chosen for yourself, it's best just to say "I practice witchcraft." That's a common denominator of (mostly) everyone on this site. You can follow that description with details of your gods/goddesses, your specific invocation rites and symbology, etc., but trust me - that disclaimer alone will save you a lot of frustration.

Blessed be.
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