For anyone who WAS Christian and converted to Wicca:?

Question

I was raised Christian (Lutheran to be precise) and I left Christianity a few months ago. What happened was my best friend of 12 years told me he was gay (I kinda always figured he was) and most everyone at church treated him like crap for it. Then he told me he'd been studdying Wicca for a while. So he left the church. I didn't know anything about Wicca, so I was a little weirded out, but he seemed happier so it didn't bother me much. Anyway, after he left, I had no one really to hang with at church, and people kept telling me to "hate his sin" and blah blah blah. I got tired of it, so I left and my buddy invited me to one of his Esbats, and it was AWESOME. I've been practicing Wicca ever since. So here's my question: When you converted, how did you handle the bashings of your faith? Not only am I being called a devil worshiper, but I'm also accused of being gay, since I stayed friends with him. I don't know how to handle it. Anyone know what I should do?

By the way, I also hear a lot of "Your friend was swayed by Satan into being a pervert and now it's rubbed off on you" and they're accusing us of having sex orgies and stuff because he's gay. This comes from classmates, former friends, and even family members! I don't know how to properly defend myself or my friend in a way the Gods would be proud of.

READ ABOVE. "For Anyone Who WAS Christian And Converted To Wicca".

Answer 1

The problem is that Christianity has made people ignorant. You are a great person for seeing that.

Unfortunately, not being Christian does open you up to all kinds of cheap shots. I'm not christian anymore, and I have found that the best retort is a good answer. Meaning, educate yourself on the descrepancies of Christianity. A really short easy read with lots of information is Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris.

Harris is anti-religion and in some places he tends to rant, but boy you quote something from his book and they shut up REAL quick.

In the mean time, I suggest you mention one bible quote to your bible thumper friends when they accuse you of being gay:

Matt. 7:1-5 Do not judge lest you be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, `Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

Good luck, brother.

Answer 2

I am totally blown away by all the positive remarks so far! But you are always going to run into ignorant, close-minded people, they will not be swayed (I think they are afraid of us! LOL!!) People are always afraid of what they do not understand, and unfortunatly, they are not willing to learn. You cannot be thin-skinned if you practice Wicca. You know what is in your heart and that is what matters. Throw their scripture back at them "Judge not lest ye be judged". Ask them why they would think that you worship something that does not exist. I have been know to tell people that I love them, no matter what they believe & ask why they can't do the same. Isn't that the way Christians are suppose to be? I think if I was not married, people would assume that because I am wiccan I must be a lesbian. Guess it is because our primary "god" is female. I follow 2 paths, Wiccan & Buddhism. Seems that some are more accepting of Buddhism than Wiccan tho they are very similar. My dad & step mom see me as Buddhist (and they are not exactly happy about that, but accept it the would never accept Wicca). My sister is a devout Mormon and is quite comfortable knowing I practice Wicca. My friends know me for who I am and what I believe. I have lost some people I use to call friends when they learned I was not a Christian! They don't even know what I believe, only that it is not Christ. My life is just fine without the hippocracy! Next time they get in your face and criticize your friend or accuse you of being something you are not, smile & say "that's mighty Christian of you" and walk away. The best thing to do is just ignore them and walk away. Odds are pretty good that they are not going to change their attitude. But who knows maybe one day they will discover that their "truth" is a myth. You did.
BB
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Answer 3

True, there is also plenty of individuals which might be Wiccan that was once Christian, nonetheless, there are plenty of Christians that experience changed to different religions as good; Judaism, Buddhism, and so forth... I've met a wide variety. And to mention they are the identical factor is an overly ignorant assertion certainly. You could must realize not anything approximately both to mention they are the identical. Christianity and Paganism don't seem to be the identical in any respect. I was once raised a Christian however it in no way felt proper to me so I began studying approximately different religions till I discovered one who made feel: Wicca. Christianity is a host of studies and hypocrisy and individuals appearing "christian" alternatively of "christ-like". I believe the purpose such a lot of ex-christians are drawn to Wicca is that you simply depart christianity considering you are too open minded for the faith. Typically those humans are of like-brain and do not wish a faith that's regarding christianity however nonetheless works with religion and Gods. Wicca is nature established and peaceable and does not have a few particular stigma that includes japanese religions. You can train magic with Wicca or you'll easily learn and place confidence in the God and Goddess. There is a steadiness in Wicca that's not with Christianity. I wish this is helping. Blessed Be )zero(

Answer 4

Ignore the naysayers. They can call you all the names they want--it doesn't make you a bad person. If being Wiccan makes you feel spiritually fulfilled, then that's what matters. People are going to be stupid, regardless. Just learn to ignore the stupidity, adn cherish that which is good in life, like friends.

Oh, and speaking of friends, you'd be showing your friend a lot more support if you weren't so terrified of being accused of being gay. That's a form of homophobia on your part, actually--it's the cliched "Oh, I'm not homophobic--I have a gay friend!" thing. Look at why you wrorry about being accused of gay, and see where that fear comes from. Then deal with it. There's nothiong wrong with being gay (or accused of it, for that matter). We're all human, right?

Answer 5

You know... people who are that closed minded, why do you associate with them?

I found that people of like mind do not tend to be bashers of other peoples belief systems.

I sorted out who my real friends were, and moved on from there. If someone feels so strongly that I am "tainted" by my choice of anything... and that includes life style, choice of friends, religion, politics or even hair color, then maybe they are not as good a friend as I was led to believe.

So, what do I tell them? Nothing. You can not educate a closed mind, no matter what you try. You can only wait and hope an opportunity arises, like the one that you stumbled into, and maybe they will open up a bit and allow a breath of fresh air into their minds. We don't preach, nor do we make it our life's ambition to teach those who will not hear. Rather, we conserve our energy, and use it to our best advantage on the things that are important, like life, the earth and our own personal spirituality.

Answer 6

Kudos for you for being a good friend. The best thing you can do, and this may be difficult at first, but trust me, it will work, is to not let it bother you. Brush it off. I mean, look at the people saying these things. Are they intelligent? Are they classy? NO! They're trash! Sorry for using such a nasty term, but that's trashy behavior! By not letting it bother you, not yelling back, not arguing back (because let's face it, it's a pointless argument) you are showing more spiritual fortitude than they ever could. Just tell them that unless they are willing to have an adult conversation with you, then you will not speak of the subject. Good luck to you. BLESSED BE!!!

Answer 7

Have you ever seen that bumper sticker that say: "Please God, save me from your followers"? How true that is. Christians can be downright Nasty, if you offend them, or challenge their beliefs. One of the best things about Wicca, is that you can choose to believe in whatever entity you wish, You can still believe in God and Jesus, or whomever you want to invoke unto you. We cant blame God for the small mindedness of some christians. I see more angry answers on here from christians than any other group. You can be your own Preist in wicca, It holds to good and moral beliefs, and has a built in Karmic check system, to keep people honest. Im not saying every "wiccan" is a fine and true person, any more than saying every christian is good and true, But the freedom from dogma and bombast, and the ability to do what you feel is right, is wonderful. Sometime wiccans dont get along with each other all that well, but they are usualy strong willed people who know what they want. But a true wiccan who follows the creed of " Harm none, and do what you will", has pretty good values.

Answer 8

I've been a pagan for more than 20 years. For most of that time, I've been open about. I wear my pentacle openly & if people ask, I tell them. The best way I can describe my first experience with Wicca, it was like coming home. It was wonderful. It fills me with joy.

Tell them that the devil & hell are christian concepts (to scare followers to stay in line), and you don't belive in them. You can also try throwing scripture back at them (judge not lest you be judged).

Brightest Blessings

Answer 9

Well my parents were Presbyterians and i left when i was 13 at first they didn't know. Then my dad got really mad when he found out, he called me a "devil worshiper" and destroyed the book i had been reading (he blamed my change on "reading those harry potter books, they lead children from the path of god" which was and is bull). You can imagine how i felt. Later that day when he went to work (i was still upset) my mom said that she wanted to "talk" (i thought i was going to get another "witchcraft/wicca is EVIL talk") to me. Well she told me that she had been practicing in secret since before her and my dad were married. She said she was going to tell him when they were dating but very time it came up he said he didn't want to hear anything about "that subject" so she never told him. Well after that talk she said that she would teach me. Well a few weeks later she started taking me to her "ladies night out" thing with her "friends" my dad asked about that and she said that i was a young lady. Turns out her "ladies night out" was the night her coven got together. 2 years later my mom told my dad. He didn't take it as bad as we thought he would. He said he knew (he didn't know, just he didn't want to say he didn't know) Well to this day me and my mom still practice together. So just ignore people. We know it is NOT evil and it is NOT "devil worshiping". People fear what they do not understand. Hollywood has increast this fear with movie. You know the truth so that is all that matters. It doesn't matter what others think about you or your friend so just ignore them! if you need to talk my name is Angie and my e-mail is...

[e-mail]

Goddess Bless,
Good Luck,
Blessed Be,
Angie

Answer 10

I hate to say it but all you can really do is look at the person and say it isn't nice to judge others and walk away from them. I started studying wicca and have been called a witch and a devil worshipper as well but I just blow it off as ignorance on the part of the people spewing it.