Responses to the typical questions and comments we get concerning our Acts 17:11 Bible Study calling Christians out of syncretism with Witchcraft.If you found this page by search, please consider reading the Acts 17:11 Spiritual Adultery Intro Letter first, as this provides the overall context. If you have not read the intro side-bar for witches, you might want to read it before this page.
WHY DO YOU CHRISTIANS SEE EVERYTHING AS BLACK AND WHITE?
We don't. We see black, white, gray, and color...JUDGE NOT, AND YE SHALL NOT BE JUDGED!Some people have decided that there are NO black and whites, even though there are!
Others have decided that EVERYTHING is black and white, and miss all the grays--and worse still the beautiful colors of truth.
You must be assuming we are of the black and white mentality, since it must be admitted that a few Christians are.
But do not be stereotypical yourself--there is SOME black and SOME white out there. Why deny it? Not all, or even most, but some. So why dull your spiritual eyes to this plain fact?
Just a few verses after the apostate's favorite verse is the statement by Jesus:ENJOYED YOUR PAGE. PLEASE SEND ME SOME SPELLS...
Matthew 7:15 (NIV) "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves."... which, if you think it through, requires that a judgment be made.
So someone is confused here. Take a guess, is it you or Jesus?
This ambivalence about judgment exists in both Greek and English. We say of someone who is discriminating and has a history of making excellent choices that he has "good judgment". We say of someone who is niggling and hypocritical in his assessments of others that he is "judgmental".
Jesus told us not to judge in certain situations, but also COMMANDED us to judge in other situations. We deal with this in some detail in a Bible Study on Discernment, for those really interested beyond the shallows.
Usually, though, when this verse is trotted out (even by Christians) is just a Scripture-twisting, nice way of saying "SHUT UP!"
We get several of these (in minor variations) a week.I WAS TOTALLY OFFENDED BY YOUR BIBLE STUDY.We are at a loss to explain. It is hard to convey in this one example, but we do not think these are a joke. They appear sincere.
They come in steady--and have for years--so thus do not look like a feeble SPAM attempt.
Go figure.
Perhaps shallowness is the "disease" of web-surfing. A page is chanced upon, the subject line is read, and "been there done that".
Several MAJOR revisions have been made already in the interests of fairness to Wiccans. But our mission is not to educate about Wicca in particular, nor are we aiming at witches as an audience, but rather to call Christians or those seeking Christ to repentance.YOU MUST REMOVE THIS POSTING FROM THE WEB...Since it is inevitable that many witches will read the posting, despite the META warnings in the search-engine tags, etc., it ought to be as inoffensive as possible and in context--thus the revisions based on insightful and expert criticism by Wiccans, many of which (pardon the pun) have offered unsolicited, yet good advice.
While I do feel good about the "fairness" of the changes we have made previously, I do wonder if they are not off-the-track of the essence of the study and the Spiritual Adultery Series as a whole.
This is for Christians who wish to refine their walk, and/or those interested in becoming Christians.
We have not posted it to Wiccan news-groups, nor sent unsolicited advertising mail, nor in any way promoted it to witches. We have put in an explanatory side-bar for Wiccans, and included META tags to warn that this document is for believing CHRISTIANS.CHRISTIANS EVERYWHERE AND ALWAYS HAVE BEEN OPPRESSIVE AND INHUMANE. YOURS IS THE RELIGION OF HATE.Do you not see the blatant hypocrisy and inconsistency of trying to censor us in the name of religious freedom?
Think about it.
Luckily, we retain a sense of humor.
How would you witches like to be judged by some of the loons flying under the "witchcraft" banner? A few adolescents sacrifice a cat and worship Satan and call themselves "witches" ...and what does this have to do with the real thing? Christianity is larger, and thus there are more travesties like this.WHAT ABOUT "THE BURNING TIMES" OF WITCHES BY "CHRISTIANS"?We both have a common heritage of persecution--and thus joint interest in religious freedom.
This is not to deny that Christians have failed miserably and scandalously in the past. Thus, we cannot be too kind, loving, humble, or supportive now.
As we consider this issue, let us keep in mind that the opposite has happened as well. The pagan Romans had their day with us, as you may remember.THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CHRISTIAN PRAYER AND A WITCH'S SPELL, IS A WITCH LIKES TO "JAZZ" IT UP A LITTLE, TAKE THE EXTRA STEP AND HAVE CANDLES, INCENSE, ETC. IT IS NOT LIKE WE BELIEVE THAT THE ADDITIONAL PROPS HAVE ANY REAL POWER...From both sides, this is a sad and humiliating legacy, and there is no excuse for it. I would like to say, as you might of your Roman progenitors, that these were not REAL Christians--but this explanation would matter little to one tied to the stake, or thrown to the lions.
As to the "burning times" of witches, whether the motive was religious or in any way "christian" is unclear. The charges appeared to be generally spurious and merely a cover for revenge, hate, spite, or some other agenda.
From this, we now have a saying in English that denotes a misguided approach which targets all the wrong people with reckless, ignorant, and unfounded accusation--we call it a "witch hunt". If there were any real witches killed in "the burning times", it would have been by sheer accident, no?
And since real witches know the thing was not as advertised--better than most--please explain to us: why do you always trot out "the burning times" to claim victim status?
Do I detect a little hypocrisy here, or is this just a knee-jerk witch reflex. I would hope, that since most witches know better, that you are not being deliberately deceptive.
The "burning times" had little, if anything, to do with either real witches or real Christians. That you have been repressed or persecuted, even killed in real episodes (outside of this) in the past is undeniable. So join the club of nearly every religion on the planet.
Yours is not the typical view of witchcraft. [Thus, this is not exactly a "FAQ", but still one correspondent did make this point.] Nor do I think it completely forthright. The question is, if you know the rigmarole is bogus, why then would you continue to do it? We are not talking about real superstitions, but a reliance on a technique--as a prop--that is known to have no efficacy.THE IMPORTANT THING IS THAT A PERSON MUST BELIEVE IN ONE'S HEART OF HEARTS THAT HIS RELIGIOUS BELIEFS ARE RIGHT FOR HIM.And the question must be asked: WHO you are trying to kid here? If you really saw these as silly gesticulations then why would you continue to insult both God's intelligence, and your own?
1 Corinthians 13:11 (Wey) When I was a child, I talked like a child, felt like a child, reasoned like a child: when I became a man, I put from me childish ways.If we are dealing with the Living God, then that is enough. If, on the other hand, it is all in our imaginations and we are worshipping a idol of our own construction, then you are right that the deadness of the whole thing needs some serious props. But we might also see this as a clue to the unreality of it.
Beg to differ. It is not the beliefs that matter, but the veracity of the OBJECT of that belief.WITCHCRAFT IS OLDER THAN CHRISTIANITYConcerning a simple thing like whether a chair will hold me up or not--it is not how much faith I have in my beliefs about it, how much evidence I collect, how many authorities vouch for it, how earnest I feel, etc. in the end that will matter. All these are due diligence, but it is the object of the "faith" and the object's real character that will matter in the end. A solid chair is a good thing--and can eventually be taken for granted; a faulty one is a real bummer and will "let us down", quite literally. And God is much more complex, important, and essential to be correct about.
No doubt.CHRISTIANITY CAME FROM WITCHCRAFTAs you may know, the Jewish history that we call the Old Testament has proven extremely accurate. Archaeologists find later Egyptian, Assyrian, and other documents and records that confirm the wars fought, trade done, etc., routinely. The Jewish history is thus the oldest reliable source of "known" history, and this only from 5-6,000 years ago.
Previous to "the call of Abraham", there was Babylon (in pre-history). Nimrod was the first "world" (known, that is) conqueror. The religion and worship of Nimrod, who was thought to be a god, was basically a sex-cult: phallic symbols, orgies as worship, etc. When he died, his mother placed idols of herself holding little baby Nimrod all over and was thus able to hold the kingdom together. Thus was born the mother-goddess cult, known by a dozen names in various languages.
Concurrent to this, in Egypt and elsewhere, nature religions developed out of the cycles of seasons, the stars, etc.
These "originals" were going in full force in the time of Christ, as is well known and acknowledged in the New Testament.
As an aside, an interesting thing to note is that when Joseph was able to bring the known world under subjection during a seven-year famine (hopefully, you know the story--of the dream of the lean and of the fat cows...) for some reason--in God's providence--the witch-priests of Pharaoh were exempted. Only they did not have to pay tribute, we are told in Genesis 47:22.
This strain of priests (again, from pre-history) were the practitioners who opposed Moses at the point of Exodus. They are named in the New Testament as Jannes and Jambres. Interesting, eh?
So witchcraft is no flash in the pan religion. This is why Scripture is so clear about forbidding its practice. It is an on-going "forbidden fruit" that exists in counter-point to God's will.
The blend of Christianity and Babylonic paganism that we now see everywhere occurred wholesale when Constantine became a Christian, and the tentacles of this syncretism spread. This adulterous relationship was as grievous then as now to our on-going faith, but it should elate witches. We took on your holidays, symbols, etc. This duplicity is forbidden in Scripture time and again, but here we are, doing it. No wonder we Christians are so bland and powerless.CHRISTIANITY IS JUST ANOTHER MYTHGod has made it VERY clear that He gets rather upset at this kind of thing.
Many Christians have little awareness of how "Babylonic" and "pagan" some of their symbols and practices are. If this is what is meant by "Christianity came from witchcraft", it must be admitted to be true. Ishtar, Yule, and the gang have been "Christianized", but to be historically accurate these were pagan and forbidden practices for those who worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Perhaps with this historical knowledge (that witches are generally more aware of than Christians) you could appreciate our call to Christians to come out of this duplicity, especially when it comes to the PRACTICE of the 'craft directly? As to the symbols and holidays, these are outside the scope of this effort.
Constantine was first in a long line of those who tried to "marry" religions. This syncretism goes back much further than even the first century, and it is forbidden in Scripture. While his conversion--if you could call it that--indeed stopped the killing of Christians physically... he introduced a kind of spiritual death: duplicity.
Christians often get mad at us for pointing out just how compromised we are, but "the truth will set us free"... And the Bible is not shy in acknowledging this endemic problem throughout the ages.
Mythology contains dim reflections and foggy notions of God, of which God remedied by becoming a real myth. Jesus is the consummation of all that mythology was aiming at. He is myth become fact. So, the crucifixion is at once a wonderful "myth" in a sense, but there were actually splinters gouging into His back as well.WHY WOULD GOD MAKE ALL THESE PEOPLE AND THEN ONLY "ONE WAY" TO WORSHIP?Christianity is most definitely NOT a myth in the sense that it is "made up" or "stylized" to make a spiritual point. Nothing could be more clear from a reading of the New Testament than these events are represented as having REALLY happened. (For a full exploration of this, see the Bible Study on The Truth.) That "what really happened" has mythological overtones--and is perhaps the ultimate myth--is to God's glory. For He made us, and so He ought to know what will move us...
God created the human family for His pleasure, and the variety among us was His idea.WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CHRISTIANITY AND PAGANISM?The Lord has no desire to make us all "worship" in the same way, in our opinion. For the variety of our personalities and races is God's delight.
But as to the OBJECT of that worship, God has stated clearly in His revelation that he is "jealous." I suppose it is His love for the truth that makes Him angry when people worship idols of Him. How would you feel if your lover spent his/her passion on what was not you?
The principle difference is that Christians believe that Jesus is the Christ, and that He was and is God's "revelation" to man. That is: God had something to say and Jesus was it.JESUS MERELY HAD THE "CHRIST SPIRIT"Witches believe in multiple gods and goddesses, and magic. Unfortunately, many Christians do as well, but this is due to syncretism and compromise and duplicity on our part.
This is one of the reasons why we wrote the study--as a call from repentance from such. For the two religions are intrinsically incompatible. Jesus claimed to be the ONLY WAY to the Father. Was He right, or not?
He was tried and found guilty of claiming to be Yahweh God by the Jewish Sanhedrin. He answered none of the bogus accusations put to him, only the direct question by the High Priest of whether or not He claimed to be Messiah. His answer is direct and unmistakable: "I AM," Jesus said, answering the question (and ending the case, see Mark 14:60-64 and Luke 22:70) but also associating himself with the tetragrammaton: God's personal name of Yahweh (I AM) at the burning bush. The High Priest "got it", and had a fit, demanding His execution. Imagine a human claiming to be Yahweh, the Creator God?WHY ARE CHRISTIANS ALWAYS QUOTING SCRIPTURE?But this peak claim was not unique. If you understand at all what the concept of Messiah meant, or what a Jew meant by "the Son of God", then you get this all through.
If you have ever read through the New Testament, you will remember the often quoted phrase by the Pharisees "but being a man, He claims to be God..."
For an answer to this question, CLICK HERE and then hit BACK to return to this document...HASN'T THE BIBLE BEEN CHANGED?
For an answer to this question, CLICK HERE and then hit BACK to return to this document...DID NOT GOD SEND SAUL TO A WITCH FOR ADVICE?
The old King James Version termed her a "witch", although she was actually a medium--not exactly a witch. The word is different in Hebrew.KING JAMES HATED WITCHES, AND HIS TRANSLATION STARTED ALL THIS...As to context, the question has it exactly backwards. This dark episode was the low-point of Saul's rebellion--a scandalous act of sin against God that was the trigger-point of God's judgment against him and the nation. In doing this, Saul was sort of the "Benedict Arnold" of the Hebrew kings, and God dealt severely with him for his sin in this consultation.
The story is in 1 Samuel 28 and 1 Chr 10:13, if you are interested in reading the source material. But again, it has little to do with witchcraft, rather more to do with "channeling".
While the King James translation has its problems, they are due to the DECENTRALIZED nature of the way it was done and the subsequent lack of consistency in use of words. King James had nothing to do with the particulars of the translation, he merely funded it and was keen on not having a Catholic "bent" to it. The idea that he could have, or did, delve into specific wordings shows a rather stark misunderstanding of methodology--it was this very LACK of oversight that led to a single Hebrew or Greek word being translated into a dozen or more English words by various translators in various cities before any means of easy reproduction or communication. This LACK OF COORDINATION, indeed, the inability to efficiently do so, is the translation's principal fault. All told, it turned out to be an exceptional effort for its day. The fact that it has blessed so many for hundreds of years is ample testimony to its value in leading many to God. But let us be clear about the nature of its major deficiency: back then it was impractical and extremely difficult to pull it all together into a cohesive and consistent whole.OUR RELIGION IS ALL AROUND US, YOURS IS IN A BOOK.The idea that the King James Version introduced an anti-witchcraft bias is wholly without merit. For 4,000 or so years, Judeo-Christianity has: 1) known what witchcraft is, and 2) strictly forbidden it. Whether or not you agree with this, or accept the Bible as true, is one thing. But to claim it has/does not is to ignore history.
And King James makes a poor straw man in all this.
To make such claims does not add to the debate or persuade, it just shows the assertor to be a little shallow or unread.
The Bible is not against the revelation of nature, but encourages us to learn from it. "Consider the ant..." and so on. We do not see the two in contest, but the revelation of nature as also "from God". The two are complementary.WHY DO CHRISTIANS SAY THAT GOD IS ONLY MALE? ISN'T THERE A FEMININITY IN THE PLURALITY OF THE TRINITY?The sin of man, however, has had a profound effect on the revelation of nature, and on man's ability to perceive God through it. Thus, we see in Scripture a more reliable guide, more directly to the point, and given to set mankind and nature back on the right track.
Since we believe in revelation, and more specifically that God must reveal Himself to each person for them to have a chance to commune with Him, then we do not begrudge those whom have not had God knock on their door yet. If sign-posts are all you have, then go ahead and cherish them. But consider also that they might point to something and somewhere else. WHY are they here in the first place? Might we consider moving in the direction shown? The reality is much more fulfilling than the pointers and signs, great as these are.
Nature and the Bible are not God, but are sign-posts to God. Let us not be found "hugging the signs", but let us go where they point on the journey of life.
In Messiah, we have the consummation of all that "points".
Hebrews 10: (NIV) The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming--not the realities themselves.We explore this is some detail in a full Bible Study on Hope.Colossians 2:17 (NIV) These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
The nature of the plurality of the Trinity is in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit--not in male/female. In the spiritual, femininity has to do with MAN and his particular glory.WITCHES DO NOT CURSEChristians believe that God is able to describe Himself, and us, correctly if He chooses to, and that here--He has.
The Trinity is each described without ambiguity in MASCULINE form. This does not mean that God the Father or God the Spirit is male in any physical sense we might imagine, but it is how He has revealed Himself. And there can be no doubt that God the Son is male.
The feminine has a high place in all this, as it is reserved for US. We are the "beautiful girl" God is longing to be united with. WE are the feminine. Even a man physically is spiritually feminine, and God is masculine. He comes into us, not vice versa. He imparts a little something that completely changes the course of our development, and imparts new life. Etc., etc.
Much of Scripture concerns this overt sexual metaphor, always and directly in type.
God is masculine, we are feminine.
The glory of God is to bring us together in Messiah.
It seems rather odd to us to read through an emailbox alternately full of statements DOGMATICALLY educating us that witches NEVER curse... interspersed with emails full of lavish curses from witches. Occasionally both are included in the SAME email.WITCHES DO NOT WORSHIP THE DARK POWERS.Gee, thanks for letting us know. Quite ignorant of us, really. Glad you set us straight and all...
Hey, we love irony and all that, but let's aim for a little truth in advertising here.
Is not "binding negative energies" and "re-directing them to their source" not a thinly veiled curse? What good is your creed when you do not adhere to it--except to not actually use the word "curse" itself?
And might you admit that all of witchcraft is not exactly one monolithic thing, that there are at least several strains at variance, that some Wiccans do indeed "curse" and do NOT take the oath that you have?
Regardless of these absurdities, we do understand that most witches DO take the three-fold creed seriously and strive not to curse--beyond just avoiding the particular word. Indeed, it is an admirable discipline.
Here we may pour different meaning into the words, perhaps.WITCHES DO NOT PREACH. WHY DO CHRISTIANS?"Dark" to Laura and I means an absence of light--it is of SECRETS and shadows and dankness. While dark represents evil, and is a force of such (and to this I think we agree), to us it is more specific than this. What is dark draws its power from an absence of scrutiny or truth. The phrase "working in the dark" captures what we mean.
For more on this, we have a posted Study on a Biblical view of "LIGHT".
What Wiccans--and Christians--find odious about preaching is the affected tone, the speaking of the glorious as if it were a mere concept, and in general the phoniness of it. In this sense we hope never to "preach", and do not like it either.DO YOU BELIEVE THAT ANYTHING NOT CHRISTIAN IS SATANIC?But to discuss what we have known, have touched, believe in and live for, now that is another matter. To not do so, for us or you, would be a grave sin. No?
There is much to be gleaned from other people's wisdom. So why resent those who offer help in times of spiritual need? Thank God for the "preachers" at the crossroads of life!
Often the most persuasive "preaching" is that which is unaware and natural. If it comes from "who we are" and not from concepts and dogma, then it is more forceful when spoken. "Preaching" in the worst sense is stilted and often cartoonish, and this should be avoided. But preach we do, as an act of love. To not do so for a Christian would be disobedience to our Lord.
We are very thankful for passionate preaching that comes from true character, but react much like witches do to the affected kind.
No. Dentistry is not Christian, and neither is it Satanic. (On second thought, perhaps this is not the best example. <smiles>) And so on.SATAN IS A CHRISTIAN INVENTION!But witchcraft is a special case for us. It purports to exert real spiritual power not of our God.
The problem for Christians with witchcraft goes beyond mere competition for the spiritual market. We are convinced that the power thus manifested is "of this world, even of the devil". Given our belief, you can understand why we are so motivated to warn people of this deception.
Most people care little of the things of the Spirit, so this makes it all the more sad to see those with an awakened spiritual instinct going off to chase ghosts. Especially if (like us) you believe that the puppeteer behind all the gods and goddesses is really Satan, the "Prince and Power of the Air". And so it is with our feelings towards witches and witchcraft.
The doctrine of Satan goes back to the farthest reaches of written history. Again, the Jews were the earliest to write about him in a verifiable way. It may be that others pre-dated the Jews, but it could not be proved since we have no written record. As soon as writing showed up, so did the knowledge of Satan.WITCHES DO NOT REJECT "KNOWLEDGE FROM ABOVE"...The particular term Satan meant "adversary" or "one who opposes", and thus must be understood by context as either a pronoun or proper noun. Skeptics have often tried to obfuscate the issue of Satan with this, but in all honesty it is not all that difficult to sort out which is meant.
That the knowledge of Satan increased and became more clear in time--and especially so in the New Testament--is evident. But the same is true of the knowledge of Messiah. This is a point of further clarity, not a re-inventing or change.
What you may be referring to is the co-opting of the image of PAN in the popular imagination and with many Christians. But this goes much deeper than this symbol. Christianity has so embraced historic paganism, that I dare say many witches have to "go kinky" a bit just to differentiate from us. It must humor witches just to see how compromised Christians are with paganism. But let us not revise history concerning the consistent teaching of who Satan really is and what he does.
As to witches and the "worshipping Satan issue", as stated in the intro to the Bible Study we know this is something you stridently deny, and have no awareness of doing. Anyone who would openly worship EVIL has a different sort of spiritual problem. The issue then for witches is not of OPENLY doing this, but rather of MISTAKENLY doing this.
Here the "problem" may again be a different meaning between us. This was covered somewhat in the introduction, but here again just in case.DO YOU THINK WITCHES ARE 100% WRONG AND DECEIVED?Christians believe that God had something to say, and that something--that word--was Jesus Christ. To us, Jesus is the revelation of God. This is the meaning of the phrase "knowledge from above" from Scripture that would be assumed by a Christian reader. The Bible describes "knowledge from below" as that of the earth. Is this not, then, an accurate statement of what you believe?
Christians believe:
James 3:15 (NIV) Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil...This progression seems a universal truth. What first seemed from earth--or more soberly from just us and our warped perceptions of God and nature--we eventually see as perhaps being even from below, and then finally we come to the shameful realization that the true source was/is the devil. Reflecting on this path of maturity in spirituality makes me shudder to recount, as I have had my share in deception.
Again, ours is a call to Christians, or would-be Christians, to repentance from the duplicity of "sitting on the fence". For we must choose our paths, and not let our minds become a cesspool of contradictory notions.
About what, is the better question? About things in general, we share many ethical standards, values, ideals, and a common interest in the spiritual.CAN CHRISTIANS LEARN FROM WITCHES?But on the most important, most essential issue of WHO GOD IS, we do believe you are deceived. Our thesis, as you may remember, is that the witch instinct is SOURCED from a rejection of the God who IS and can speak, a rebellious instinct from His revelation, and a desire to still be "spiritual" minus Him.
This theory could be proven with the thousand or so emails we have gotten from witches in the past 7 years. One thing that is all too clear is that witches DO NOT LIKE the Word of God, and are rather taken with knowledge "from below". "Why can't you think for yourself, why are you always quoting the Bible", "Please answer me without using ANY Scripture", and the like.
It is our prayer that God will reveal Himself to you, and give you a heart to repent and receive the Word that He wants to reveal to you about Himself.
Of course. While you may not like the answer, we believe that for the chosen of God, ALL things work for our good.WHY DO CHRISTIANS KEEP REPEATING LIES ABOUT WITCHCRAFT?Personally, one of the "top ten" lessons I have learned in my spiritual walk came from a witch. She rebuked me with (what a Christian would call) a "word of knowledge" and she was dead-on. While it was a difficult situation--since I had to swallow my pride and admit she was right--I am thankful to God that she was used "at the crossroads" as a "preacher", if you will.
This kind of thing even has a Biblical precedent. Balaam was a pagan soothsayer and prophet, and was "hired" by the Moabites to curse Israel, but found himself inexorably blessing instead. Some of the most incredible prophecies concerning Messiah came from Balaam's mouth. It is a fascinating story referenced in both the Old and New Testaments. He eventually "did his job" by leading the Israelites into compromise and syncretism through sexual immorality. Israel was eventually defeated by this strategy.
Does this plot line sound familiar?
Like that you worship the devil--like the "Satanists", place curses on others, etc... or the Hollywood stereotype of the wicked old hag with a wart on a long-crooked nose--who desires to cook children? We do not promulgate these false ideas, and our experience with practicing witches has been largely pleasant. At the same time, we try to show what is wrong with what witches DO BELIEVE in so far as we have opportunity.ON THE MAGIOur hope is to speak to the REAL differences that have spiritual importance; to detail real spiritual dynamics of differentiation.
As to stereotypes and lies being spread, well... you witches are not the only group that suffers from such.
These kinds of misperceptions can go both ways. Mainstream witches would not want to be judged by some of the crack-pots, weirdos, etc. out there claiming to be witches, would you? For there are always a few who seem more interested in SHOCKING, or using whatever "religion" as a cover for evil. But this has little to do with the religion itself for those who are legitimately trying to practice it.
Unfortunately, in this sense, Christianity is "big". For every 1 (even semi-) witch, there are 1,000 real Christians, and perhaps as many as 10,000 "cultural" or semi-Christians. Thus, the Christian faith makes a "bigger tree" and better social cover from which to hide evil. How much evil is done under a Christian banner is thus mind-boggling to consider. But this painful situation (and experience, for you and us) has little to do with real Christianity.
Given the (unfair) negative stereotype of witchcraft, it would not make a very good hideout for someone who intended to continue in a morally evil course, if you follow me. So, the only witches left are the real ones who have an enthusiasm to really practice the craft.
For our part, we do not shy away from rebuking our Christian brethren when we hear a false statement made about Wiccans. This means not a few emails have to be sent to those overzealous and ignorant ones who write us with Hollywood, rather than reality, in their minds.
They left where they were for a long journey to Messiah, a prophetic picture of many more Pagans who converted and became some of the first Christian.WHY ARE YOU SO ARROGANT AS TO SAY YOURS IS THE ONLY WAY?
You may find that it is not out of arrogance, but out of revelation that we believe this. And revelation can be humiliating, since so many of our pet idols must die if and when the REAL God shows up.HOW CAN YOU LOVE A GOD THAT CONDEMNS PEOPLE TO HELL?Again, for a full treatment of this subject, see the Bible Study on The Truth.
The really scandalous thing is that anyone should get off from what he/she rightly deserves.HELL IS MEANT TO SCARE PEOPLE...For a full treatment of this subject, see the Bible Study on The Wrath of God.
And how can you NOT love a God that has taken the punishment for us?
God provides a way out of our just destiny. He is the true lover, giving Himself for His beloved.
Will we take advantage of His lavish terms of peace? Will we accept His proposal to marriage? Will He be our friend and lover, or our Judge in that day?
As well it should, if it is a true prophecy.HOW DARE YOU SAY I AM DOOMED TO HELL IF I PRACTICE THE CRAFT?In fact, this was the stated reason Jesus told us so clearly about hell. Christ wants to "scare the hell out of us". And if we have an ear to hear, we just might have the spiritual insight to avoid it.
The question is not what we would like to believe, but what is true. If what Jesus taught is spiritual reality, then we had better align our lives with the truth, or we will have to pay the consequences of our arrogance and self-delusion...
Please consider this: If hell is real, then is it not loving to point this out? Is not warning about sure danger kind? Is being flippant or ignoring the warning without due diligence wise?
Better to make peace with the God who told us the truth now, rather than stick our heads in the sand.
For more on this subject, see the full Bible Study on the Fear of God.
We do not exactly say this. Many witches will be welcomed into God's presence, if they repent. The trick is to be an ex-witch, as many in the early church were (see the Bible Study for verses). It is no different in this respect for witches than for any other type of sin. If we repent and renounce what is evil, God will forgive us and purify us to be with Him.GOD WOULD NEVER HURT ANYONE...While this irritates witches a great deal to hear, we only repeat what we know God has said. The real question then, is whether we will listen to God's self disclosure about His nature (and ours), or will we continue to make up an "idol God" more to our liking?
God is not bashful. He loves us enough to tell us the truth about Himself and about spiritual reality. Let us be wise and take advantage of the terms of peace that He has graciously offered us.
God has a different opinion.ARE NOT WE ALL WORSHIPPING THE SAME GOD IN DIFFERENT MANIFESTATIONS? FOR EXAMPLE:
Deuteronomy 32:39 (NKJ) "Now see that I, even I, am He, and there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; nor is there any who can deliver from My hand."And if we will not believe the prophets, then we will not believe even if a man named Lazarus (Luke 16:27-31) were to come back from the dead. He did (John 12:10), and yet we still think we are wiser than God and His holy prophets.Amos 3: 6 (NIV) "...When disaster comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it?"
We appear to be so intoxicated with our own ideas about how God might be or should be--our own personal idol--that we seem have little interest in the God who IS and can speak.
Someday we will be face to face with God, and then we will see Who was right, and what the consequences for rejecting God's self disclosure will be.
"Who warned you???" a prophet once said. Good question, eh?
"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)
But the whole point of this "soft" intro was not to endorse ignorance of God or excuse it away or suggest it does not matter. Quite the contrary, in fact. Let us read on to the conclusion of the speech:HOW COULD IT POSSIBLY MATTER WHAT I THINK ABOUT JESUS?
Acts 17:27-30 (NKJ) ..."So that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us... Truly, these times of IGNORANCE God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to REPENT."or again, from the NIV:
Acts 17:30 (NIV) In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
Jesus said plainly that it is WHAT YOU DO WITH HIM that is the key issue in life. This is the principle message of the New Testament which can be ascertained by even the most casual reading. "Immanuel" (God with us) has come, and we must react. Our reactions are intrinsic to our eternal destiny.
John 3:36 (NIV) [Jesus:] "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."THIS IS the preponderant message of the New Testament, and there is no escaping or hiding of it.John 6:29 (NIV) Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."
John 3:18-19 (NIV) [Jesus:] "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil."This much is clear. What we do with it is another matter. As Mark Twain quipped, "It is not the verses in the Bible that I do not understand that bother me, it is the ones I do understand." So let us not sell out to irrationality and re-write the New Testament to suit our fancy. Let us either reject it honestly and then cease to quote it or twist it, or take it seriously and do "the work" God has set us to.The God of revelation does not endorse nor excuse ignorance of Him, His Son, His ways, and His will. To suggest this to Wiccans or anyone else is dangerous business:
Matthew 18:6 (NIV) [Jesus:] "But if anyone causes one of these little ones WHO BELIEVE IN ME to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea."And why be hell-bent in concocting our own idols of God in any case? Are we to continue to exalt our own fancies above God's ability to speak clearly and disclose Himself?Matthew 18:7 (Wey) [Jesus:] "Alas for the world because of causes of falling! They cannot but come, but alas for each man through whom they come!"
And if He has spoken and we find we do not like Him, rather than condemn ourselves to idolatry by rejecting God, let us rather ask Him for a NEW HEART and a NEW MIND and OPEN EARS that can and will enjoy His presence forever.
Hebrews 1:1-3 (NRS) Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word.May we all come to a better knowledge of the truth about God, and the truth about man.Colossians 2:8-9 (NAS) See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.
Side-Bar Explanation for Wiccans
Repentance from Witchcraft Bible Study
The Spiritual Adultery Bible Study Series Intro
