First of all.....you all need to realize something. Wicca or WitchCraft is not evil in the sense that these people worship Satan. They do NOT. They do NOT recognize any evil deity what so ever. If they did, they wouldn't worship it either. I know from experience....I have studied the Occult and particularly Witchcraft. (by the way, I also had many years of IN DEPTH study of the Bible, although at one time I believed it was myth and just pagan rip off) I was a Witch for more than 20 years. But I am now a Christian and have been for quite some time. I am a theologist and have a masters in anthropology. WitchCraft in particular first captured my interest because it has taken this nation by storm. I was interested in WHAT is it about WitchCraft that lured these people into and away from Christ. Well, I found out cause I too was lured away. So I have studied it for more than 20+ years; I have been to MANY a ritual and ceremony, more probably than most Witches get on here and proclaim. I have had ran my own coven, lead rituals and performed ceremonies.I actually had the pleasure of meeting Raymond Buckland, the English author and Witch who first brought Wicca here to the United States and was the protogee' of Gerald Gardner who founded Wicca in the 1950's after many years of research in ancient religions as well. I have been to MANY pagan festivals, Starwood was a favorite. I was deeply, deeply involved and 'trapped'. I loved it. It was beautiful and it is beautiful but I have since realized that the beauty comes from Satan NOT God. So for those of you Wiccan's who get on here to criticize me....COOL IT. I am not one to bash you or judge you.....I have been there, I am still there. I am very deeply involved in the pagan community and respected as well. I can tell you that I have known many, many witches, have said the 'sinners prayer' with several....I have a group that meets and we discuss relgion, they discuss 'WitchCraft" and I listen and then compare notes. Then I discuss Christ and many have been saved. We jokingly call it 'witches annonymous'
There are many factors that lead these people to WitchCraft. It is the fastest growing religion in world right now. Alot of them DID NOT grow up Wiccan...however LEFT THE CHURCH because of INTOLERANCE and WICKED ATTITUDES within the so called Christian circle. (I did, that was one big HUGE reason) This means that we as Christians need to take a look at what is going on in our own back yards, in our churches and ourselves and mind our attitudes because it US who are turning these people AWAY from Christ. Remember....Christ sat amongst the harlots, the murders, robbers and theives and when asked why He sat mingled with them did He not say (paraphrasing) "The sick are the ones who need healing"??? Come on people....WAKE UP!! You can not help these people by condeming them to Hell, a Hell that which we know is real but they do not because they have been so BLINDED by the Devil. He is doing his job and he is doing it well. You can only reach these people by understanding, compassion and an open heart and be willing to listen to them and understand where they are coming from. When you establish a rapport with them then they are more willing to listen the words of Jesus. Your lives are an example of what Jesus has to offer them and if you are criticizing them, condeming them you are pushing them away further and further from Christ and I don't just don't know how Christ will respond to that when our time comes to face him; that we pushed even those who didn't worship Him away because of our ignorance, intolerance and fear. I have witnessed to many of them. And many of them have either came to or returned to Christ. It can be done and it is our job as followers of Christ to see that it is done but not by condeming them or bashing them with Bible. You have to remember that somewhere in their lives they feel the 'church' has burned them in some sort of way. So when you encounter someone who says they are witch...do not turn up your nose and roll your eyes. Listen to what they have to say. Try to understand them as Christ would do. Try to understand why and what lead them to Wicca or WitchCraft and relate the message of Christ with them. Maybe it's not the time at the moment of meeting them; you have to understand they are on the defense already and EXPECT you to condem them, convert them so you SHOW by example of your lives the "magic" that Christ has done for you. Surely the 'magic' Christ has done for you has been FAR GREATER than any magics they (the witches) have ever known. We have to learn to see the beauty in others religions.....that is not to say we need to accept it as our own but we need to understand it, appreciate their sense of worship and the important thing we need to recognize is that they REALLY REALLY WANT to worship something.....THEY ARE REACHING OUT just happens that they have been fooled and tricked by the devil..
"The Greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist"...."Verbal Kint".....(a Kevin Spacey Charachter from Usual Suspects)
In this religion the Devil doesn't exist. At least they don't believe he does but in that belief IS his very existence.
For those of you that don't know.....
WitchCraft/Wicca......is a nature based religion. The belief in deity is both male and female. Some believe that God is one being with both male and female energies (think yin and yang....which isn't far from the truth since we were made in his image) some believe in animism which is not unlike the Native American's where they attribute a spirit to everything....(as we attribute a spirit to Christmas for example) fire has a spirit, spirits of the wind, spirit of the rain, the thunder and so forth.....they believe the earth is sacred (which it is because God, YHWH made it) and they recognize it as a female because it brings forth life as does the female woman. They see the similarities within the world around them and there are many....this can not be argued but they just don't realize that God made it that way.
They follow the seasonal cycles of earth, the sun pattern of the year....they go by something called 'The wheel of the year" .....it's based on the actual sun pattern that surrounds our universe. They have love for every living thing and consider everything sacred. I still consider everything sacred for God made it and everything that God creates IS sacred.
In General....they do NOT practice BLACK MAGIC or evil magic.....they do however practice 'magic' which to me is nothing more than prayer but with use of 'props'.....sometimes I myself have a special prayer when things get rough I light a candle and when I get frustrated I look to that burning candle and I remember that God is listening and He will take care of me. But the 'evil' they are doing is in their ignorance that they don't see that anything that takes credit away from God himself is wrong. It's NOT their FAULT.....you must remember, You Good and Godly Christian people who love and follow Jesus that the Devil is POWERFUL and he does have a powerful hold of these people who would otherwise worship and LOVE the LORD with all their hearts IF they hadn't been so misled.
So we need to get ourselves in CHECK as well. It's not just them. We had a part in driving them to WitchCraft in the first place and away from the Lord by our judgmental attitudes and ignorance. It's time we rectify that, take notice and reconize that these are GOOD people who are just LOST.(I was soooooo lost and I was reaching out but there was nothing there in my reaching) We MUST show them that whatever experiences they previously had in the church that were negative IS not the ways of Christ. We must show them the LOVE, and COMPASSION and TOLERANCE, PEACE and UNDERSTANDING that Christ would show them. IF we are truly followers of Christ than this is our duty to them and to Him. They are LOVED by Him as well, they are his LOST SHEEP, we must get them back!!
I look at Wicca as this shining and glittering road.....it's so full of wonder, sparkle and fairies and everything mystical that captures the imagination....but at the end of that road is NOTHING but emptiness. Christianity is a HARD road to walk along. It is not 'carefree' and toss everything to the wind and whatever may come may come attitude. We have to work hard at being a Christian because the Devil makes so EASY for us to just turn away. Any true Christian knows this that it is a hard road to walk but with Christ by our sides we will make it to end of our journey. We know the road is not all glittery and full of all sorts of magic and what not's but what is at the end of our journey is something NO amount of MAGIC could ever give.
With that I hope someone somewhere learned a little more.
In Jesus' LOVE