|
|
|
|
|
|
I've often thought about this subject, as it comes up again and again. I've been told that not agreeing with those who believe that Christians can combine Christ with Wicca, and call it Christian Wicca, is intolerant. Not surprisingly, I don't see it as intolerance. I see it as proper use of language and terminology.
The concept of a "Christ," in and of itself, is problematic. The idea that a man, born of a woman, can be the only conduit to a nice afterlife, is just something that doesn't map to a religion that feels that each has a not only a personal connection, but also is a part of Deity itself. The overlying concept surrounding Christ is that he died for our "sins" and is therefore the sole way, the sole light, and no one gets "through" except by believing in him. Wiccans do not accept a "gatekeeper" type paradigm. Wiccans do not accept that all humans are born "sinful" and are in need of something to save them. Without even surveying where Christian doctrine would exclude Wicca, we can see issues arising with calling belief in a Christ contrary to Wiccan belief.
While it is obviously true that no one person can decide what is and is not Wicca, common sense would dictate that we must have a core definition or meaning of a word in order to give our language context. To me, Wicca is a polytheistic religion (one that truly believes in multiple Gods, not "three that are one," not "all are facets of one big diamond" or "all Gods are one God") that believes in at the duality of Deity, consisting of a male and a female. Wiccans also believe that Deity is both trancendent and immanent, and that human beings are not inherrently sinful and in need of redemption in any way. You will find as you search the Internet or books, that there are almost as many definitions of Wicca as there are authors. Some say that to be Wiccan, one must follow the Wiccan Rede (An it harm none, do what you will). I don't agree. Even the concept of the Rede has been adulterated with so much disinformation and dogma to make it less of an internal moral code where one must carefully consider one's actions, to a "cause no harm in your daily life" which is, as most thinking people know, impossible. Notwithstanding whether or not the Rede "should" be part of the definition of Wicca, once you boil down the belief system, you are left with God and Goddess as separate entities. If you do not have that duality, it is not Wicca.
The Christ's teachings have been interpreted to exclude women as much as possible, thus negating the Wiccan cornerstone of duality in Deity. While some might argue that Jesus encompassed both the masculine and feminine, the biblical accounts just don't bear that out. Even today, in our "enlightened" times, Christians fight over a woman's role in religion. Catholicism, the world's largest Christian religion STILL prohibits women from becoming clergy. So again, a major tenet of Wiccan faith is not possible to reconcile with Christianity, never mind the idea that the Trinity of three Gods is actually one God.
There is obviously a lot more, and I haven't even touched the prohibitions against Wicca that exist within Christian doctrine itself, but the point is not that there are differences that are seemingly impossible to reconcile. My point with this article is that any attempts to combine the Christianity and Wicca are disingenuous to both religions. Picking and choosing combinations of doctrine that you wish to follow must be based on an intimate knowledge of those doctrine. It must be done from a highly informed position, with clear reasons for each choice. And once that is closely examined, and completed, THEN one chooses a label that FITS to describe what they have chosen.
Wicca is a religion on its own. Being a "Christian Wiccan" is like saying you are a "Lutheran Jew" or a "Muslim Shintoist." If you wish to call yourself a Chrstian Witch, that is completley and totally different in that calling oneself a Witch is a description of what one does with regard to achieving certain goals, rather than a being a member of a specific religion with specific beliefs and thoughts. One need not be Wiccan in order to practice Witchcraft and call oneself a Witch. Yes, it may be "all about labels" but those labels are of great importance.
Many people believe that Wicca is "anything they decide that it is." While that idea seems to be gaining popularity, it is decidedly inaccurate. It is ludicrous to expect to form your own religion based upon your interpretation of Christian Spirituality and slap the label "Wicca" on it, and then expect universal acceptance. This is not "Anti-Christian" in the least. Those who decide to follow a Christian path have my blessing (although I'm certain they don't need it, and many don't desire it :-)). However, belief that Mary Magdalene was the wife of Jesus, or that the Holy Spirit was female does not make a religion based on 2000+ years of doctrine, teachings and writings, suddenly transform into Wicca.
I am not "Christian bashing" or bashing any other choice of religion here. I encourage people to throughly examine their religion belief system as carefully as they can, and believe in whatever will help them become a better person and achieve their own True Will. If that religious choice is Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Shintoism or any combination of whatever, may they be blessed upon their path(s). However, putting together one's own series of beliefs from various existing and established religions, then slapping the label of one or more of those religions upon it is not "eclectic" it is disingenuous. Come up with another label. If I sound annoyed, I am. I do not believe in the right to redefine the established religion of another, changing its doctrine at will.
If it's not about duality of Deity, and it's about salvation through a Christ, it's NOT Wicca. Calling it such, to me, is ignorance of both paths, and a credit to neither.
So, if you want to send email to
, just email kestra at enchanted works dot com