Jesus changed water into wine, and a little bit of food into enough to feed many people. Is that not magic?
The Bible speaks of sacrifices, such as slaughtering the biggest calf, lamb, or even killing ones own son to please the Lord. The Bible praises sacrificing life. So why do Christians think other religions are bad if they include sacrifice, if the Bible says God wants it? (Wiccans do not sacrifice any form of life, but Christians have made the incorrect judgment that they do and are evil.)
Why do Christians condemn Wiccans?
Yes, i once heard that "thou shalt never suffer a witch to live" was a mistranslation. I heard that the word was really "magician" and it meant something like a prophet? no that can't be right...i don't remember! tell me if you know?
You people are stupid and uneducated. Wiccans do not worship the devil. They do not believe in the devil. They are good-natured and are not evil.
Because they're different and some people think, for some reason, different people are evil if they don't believe in their religion. And sometimes Xians just ignore parts of the bible, and say the parts that support their arguments.
Why do Christians condemn Wiccans? They condemn everything except Christianity. One of my favorite quotes is, "I know you're a Christian, but what are you Christian against?"
Because... apparently Jesus turning water into wine is a miracle, not witchcraft and yet the bible says "thou shalt not suffer a witch to live". What it ACTUALLY is, is Christian denial.
Edit: It doesn't matter if its a mistranslation or not. It says "thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" and Christians will ignore that its a mistranslation just like they ignore anything that refutes what they think their bible says.
They condemn us because we are not Christians, and because they believe we worship false gods. Often, they also believe we worship Satan (which is a complete fallacy). And then there's the subject of witchcraft.
The "thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" line has caused more headaches for Wiccans than just about anything in Christian canon. Never mind that it's a mistranslation in the first place; Christians hear the word "Wicca", associate it with witchcraft (which not all Wiccans practice), and proceed to get Bronze Age on our behinds. When they do this, I try to politely point out (again) that we do not worship any being like Satan, that as far as we're concerned all power flows from the Goddess/God, and that while witchcraft has no "good" or "bad" orientation (like prayer, it can be used to bring about all sorts of things depending on the person using it), as Wiccans we are bound by the Wiccan Rede: "If it harm none, do what you will". Yes, there are witches out there who curse and overtly bind, but as Wiccans we steer clear of such things as a rule.
In many cases, they condemn us because they have an incorrect understanding of who we are and what we believe. To me this is a hopeful state of affairs, because ignorance can be corrected through dialog.
EDITED TO ADD: In response to freshman@prodigy.net's post...
Wiccans, at least as I was taught, don't worship nature per SE. We believe that the universe is the body of God/Des, and therefore that all things contain Divine energy and that the world itself is sacred.
There can be no separation from God/dess. All things not only proclaim Their glory, but ARE Their glory. It's therefore more accurate to say that we worship the Divine as manifest in nature; we worship the Creator, IN the Creation.
God condemns witchcraft, because witchcraft worships the creation instead of the Creator. God is a jealous God and He desires for His creation to honor Him, the Creator.
Heh... CAW would be an appropriate acronym for such a group of people. A meaningless noise, made by people with no more sense than a common crow. Or perhaps I'm insulting crows by associating them with that kind of BS. While I, admittedly, don't believe in the Wicca god and goddess anymore than the christian god, I've grown to respect them a lot more. Mainly because I *receive* a lot more respect in return from them, or even at the very least, am left unmolested by them.
I've answered a similar question before, and people apparently didn't like my answer.
I do NOT condemn Wiccans. I used to be Wiccan, and several of my best friends are Wiccan. I wasn't evil, and my friends who are still Wiccan aren't evil, either. They're VERY good people.
What I condemn is Wicca ITSELF. The Bible, which is what Christians base their faith on, is VERY explicit on witchcraft. It is also very clear that if something ISN'T from God, it's from the enemy, or Satan as he's usually called.
This doesn't mean that Wiccans are "satanic" so to speak, but they're certainly not serving God, I'm sorry to say.
I am very sorry if you (or anyone else) don't like my answer. However, you DID ask the question, and I wouldn't have put this out there if you hadn't.
If you yourself are Wiccan, it's your choice, and I respect that. I will not and cannot change your mind. Only God can do that, and then only if you let Him.
And Jesus never did "magic." All that He ever did was demonstrate that He was the Son of God.
Ignorance breeds fear. It is much easier to hate that which is different, than it is to educate yourself and open your mind.
One must remember that there is power in fear, and hate breeds cancer.
...and it harms none....
Elitism. Oh, and they don't call it magic, they call it a "miracle". Why do they condemn us? Have you not read up on our history? They don't know where our knowledge comes from, and, since it's not from the writings condoned and perceived as the only truth by the royal families hundred of years ago, they think it must be from their devils and demons, and that we are all, therefore, inherently evil.
Ah sweetie, most Christians condemn anything that isn't Christian. It's not just Wiccans.
I think the most hurtful thing a Christian can do to a Wiccan is accuse them of worshiping a Christian Satan (either actively or inactively). Well, let's break this down ...
Many Christians perform witchcraft without knowing it. They blow-out candles on a birthday cake after making a wish. They throw pennies into fountains. The practice affirmations ... etc. But the thing is, it's not their intention to practice witchcraft. It's all about intent. And if they don't interned to practice witchcraft, then what justifies Christians telling Wiccans or Witches that we worship their Satan when we don't INTEND to worship their Satan.
You have to face that fact that most Christians are hypocrites.
God tested Abraham. he never meant for the son to be killed. Animals were sacrificed back then to have sins forgiven. They God payed the ultimate sacrifice when he gave his own son to be crucified. I don't know much about Wicca but i know they use magic,,,,,magic and spells are against christian beliefs. Christians don't condemn anyone,,,the Bible does.
I agree with you 100%. They condemn those who practice magic, yet there are events in the bible that I would consider to be magical, yet they are called miracles because only "Holy" people do them. When non-holy people do these same things they consider them to be evil and working with the devil. It makes no sense. Total Contradition.
Because some are ill-educated about such things and narrow-minded.
In answer to The Crickets comments -
Quote - "I've answered a similar question before, and people apparently didn't like my answer.
I do NOT condemn Wiccans. I used to be Wiccan, and several of my best friends are Wiccan. I wasn't evil, and my friends who are still Wiccan aren't evil, either. They're VERY good people." - End Quote. That is fair enough. Although...
Quote - "What I condemn is Wicca ITSELF. The Bible, which is what Christians base their faith on, is VERY explicit on witchcraft. It is also very clear that if something ISN'T from God, it's from the enemy, or Satan as he's usually called." - End Quote. - If you have been Wiccan, as you claim to have been, you would know that Wicca is not Witchcraft, and we do NOT worship any Devil, or even believe in him.
Quote - "This doesn't mean that Wiccans are "satanic" so to speak, but they're certainly not serving God, I'm sorry to say." - End Quote. Why apologies for something you are not sorry to say? We service no Gods, we revere them and nature.
Quote - "If you yourself are Wiccan, it's your choice, and I respect that. I will not and cannot change your mind. Only God can do that, and then only if you let Him." - End Quote. You have your God, we have ours.
Quote - "And Jesus never did "magic." All that He ever did was demonstrate that He was the Son of God." - End Quote. Oh really? And where is the proof?
Suffice it to say, this person obviously knows nothing about Wicca... Like a lot of Christians, and other monotheists.
Christians against Wicca?
