A Christian Speaks on
the Faith and Path of Wicca
by James Clement Taylor
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 Greek Orthodox Christian,
a member of Saint 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 your 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 o heaven, but he who does
the will of My Father in heaven." (Matthew 7:21)
In addition to these words from the Gospel,
let us look at the words of Micah the Prophet, centuries
earlier, who wrote: "He has shown you, O man, what
is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to
do justly, To love Mercy, And to walk humbly with your
God?" (Micah 6:6-8)
Where, in any of this, does it say what
doctrines one is to believe, or whose teachings concerning
reality one must accept? All these things speak on how
one ACTS, how one lives one's life, the kind of person
one's actions gradually bring into being.
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 the 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 they hold Apostle John has
given us the method for doing this. You have only 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 you may perceive
the power manifested there as 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.
Ethics by B. Crosby, a.k.a. Little Owl
November 1999
Musing while taking a bath, I decided to
write a little on this subject. Helping others in need
makes everyone feel good. But is it helping the person
in need? Some people spend their whole life goofing up
so others will bail them out. These people usually stay
infantile all their lives. Doesn't this interfere with
their own growth?
Helping others should be with a look on
how they receive your help. Do their disasters stop? Do
they use your help to be able to get on with their life
in a positive way? After helping them for a year or so
are they still in disaster? Have they ever paid you back
for you help in some small way?
In helping some people you may be interfering
with the Goddess' desire to teach them to grow and develop
into a better person.
The words, "Gee I feel sorry for ----------"
needs to be looked at carefully. I have the strong belief
that the (Goddess, Higher Self, or Holy Guardian Angel)
makes sure I have not more than I can handle. People do
come to the rescue when I need and I'm thankful for it
and try to pay back the support however I can. I too often
meet these so called lame ducks who suck energy, help
a little but when the demands grow bigger with each piece
of help and feel overwhelmed, I retreat.
I think one of the best measures to look
at is how much energy you are depleting in helping others?
Also there is a need to make sure that you are in a good
place and on solid ground before taking on other people's
problems. This is so true in healing others. When it first
became popular in the 70's, people were going around healing
others and getting sicker with each healing. The three
fold law, it's not one I pay much attention to. But sending
out negative vibes, I believe, opens you to receiving
them, but that's a whole other essay.
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