Will you hate me after reading this?

Question

Let's talk about wicca, since that's never discussed in these "religious" forums and as it's a recognized religion. Let's also talk about how every time we place a decent post that contains no profanity or hint of satanism(which is what we are referred to as), which is also by the way so unfair, we get flamed by the almighty Christians who so despise us. For what? Sure there are a couple of bad eggs out there, but there are some in Chrstianity also. I hear so many christians making jokes on how to get rid of the Latter-Day Saints who dress up and ride on bikes, sometimes in the awful heat of the day, to spread your religion. How can you call yourself a good Christian, flaming those that are trying to save people like me? And for the record, Satanism was a religion created to get back at the church. Wicca pulls the roots of it's religion from before the organized church was created. The Wiccan Rede states, "An it harm none, do what thou wilt." It means to harm no-one, not even if they harmed you. We are a peace loving religion, and we just want to be left alone. If you don't believe in it, that's fine, but don't criticize people who are searching for alternative ways to divine insight. As your "Golden rule" states, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." It would probably hurt you if I came on this website claiming there was no God and that you are all wasting your time. But I believe that you are entitled to your own beliefs as I am entitled to my own. So treat me, and all of us as you would like to be treated yourself, and respect the beliefs of others, and spread this message to your christian friends, reminding them that at the root of Jesus' journey to the earth, was a lesson of tolerance of others, that they would come to him in their own time. And if they did not, then Jesus' would judge them, not Man. Most of you will quote verses from the Old Testament, but that's from before Jesus' time, before he came to die on a cross to save those that would come to him. And if you have read this far, thank you for being tolerant of my beliefs, and lack there-of. Blessed Be.
Source(s):
Methodist for 19 years, now Eclectic Pagan; Solitary Wiccan.

Some people got the wrong idea. When I say "Almighty Christian", i'm not referring to all christians, just those that are still stuck in the Middle Ages and believe that "Thou shall not suffer a witch to live" still applies.Also, I am not trying to squash anyone's opinion. This site is based on free opinion, and I welcome everyone's, even those who say i'm going to burn in hell for eternity.I am very sorry for any confusion and any hurt this may have caused.

Answer 1

Wow, you are really messed up, I can't even understand the point of your sermon...it isn't really a question at all, just some sort of rant...
Will I hate you? No...why should I?

Answer 2

Being Wiccan myself, of course I don't hate you. However, there's three points in your statement that I'd like to address.

You wrote: "Let's talk about wicca, since that's never discussed in these "religious" forums"

Wrong. Do an advanced search for "Wicca" in any given week and you'll see that it's actually discussed here quite a bit for a religion with relatively few adherents.

You further wrote: "Satanism was a religion created to get back at the church"

Really? Ask most Satanists (LaVeyans) and they'll tell you they're not theists/religious -- they're secular humanists who like to pull peoples' legs a lot.

You also wrote: "Wicca pulls the roots of it's religion from before the organized church was created"

Arguably wrong also. Wicca can only be reliably traced back to about the 1950's. Read Ronald Hutton's "The Triumph of the Moon" for a non-Wiccan historian's take on the rise of modern Pagan witchcraft.

And by the way -- welcome to Yahoo!Answers. :-)

Answer 3

I will certainly not hate you. Not for your question, your beliefs, or anything, actually. Hate is NOT a virtue in any of the world's major religions -- though many religions have been twisted to include hateful behaviors in their methods and practices.

First, I'd say you can't blame Wiccans for not wanting to post much information where Christians can get ahold of it. Remember that since the rise of the Christian churches, a common theme is "they burn witches, don't they?" I'm not sure if this is because they consider wiccans such a threat to their belief system, or because they carry a collective guilt for co-opting wiccan/pagan holy days and then burning the ones who still honor the ancient sacred days with ancient rites that far pre-date the Christian practices. [The two most obvious examples are (1) Christmas, allegedly the time of the birth of Christ, which was pegged conveniently to the ancient Yule holiday which Wiccans and Pagans had always celebrated and were going to continue to celebrate anyway. (2) Easter, which sounds an awful lot like Ostara -- don't you think? -- and conveniently falls at the same time. Oh yeah, the whole thing with Easter/Ostara egss -- fertility. I don't remember anyone coloring eggs at the last supper and never heard a story about an Easter Bunny being nailed to the cross alongside Jesus.] By the way, you picked an auspicious day for this question, as tomorrow is Beltane -- and important Wiccan holy day that the Christian have not (so far) appropriated for their own purposes.

A very interesting permutation to this question is the fact that there exist practicing Christian Wiccans. Needless to say, they don't get up and cast spells in church. It would be very interesting to hear from one of them.

I know several Wiccans, including one who is part of my Tibetan Buddhist sangha and who practices meditation with me, and with the sangha, regularly. Love her to pieces and would never set her on fire! As a Buddhist I'd also note that one of our greatest "saints" in the Tibetan tradition is Milarepa, who was a very powerful sorcerer who brought that experience to his practice and attained enlightenment.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been a steadfast advocate of all spiritual traditions working together for peace in the world. He doesn't single out any tradition for exclusion and I suspect would welcome wiccan prayers, charms and spells for peace. Especially as "and it harm" none is, indeed, the foundation of wicca and sounds an awful lot like "may all sentient beings be free of suffering."

Answer 4

Well, I can be bothered by reading and I think you did a great job of giving me some insight on Paganism. I had two friends that were but really, what does it matter. Not just about what you believe, or what I do? It's all okay, as you say, if no harm is done. I think in my opinion, there are far more people that give "Christian" a bad taste in my mouth than any of the alternative or non-christian religions.
Why would I hate you? Do you hate me? Instead I thank you.

Answer 5

Aw, sweetie.. you've only been here a short time. You'll get used to the non-believer bashing that the christians do on here. You're not alone, believe me.
They go after all non-christians, whether it's wicca, islam, paganism, asatru, atheism, hindu, buddhism, et al.. they are at least consistent in that area.
They don't respect our beliefs because their religion tells them that we're all of "the devil" no matter how many times we try to explain that we don't believe in the devil, they'll keep on telling us that we're serving him whether we believe or not.
That's the problem with christianity.. it infects its adherents with a feeling of superiority and exclusivity which makes them feel they have the right to treat others badly and with disrespect.
Obviously you know that as a Methodist for 19 years... be thankful you've been cured and innoculated, and just be strong in what you believe.
Many blessings on your path.

Answer 6

I've got to agree with an above poster. The vast majority of views on Wicca expressed here are views of disinterest.

This isn't a place to discuss Wicca- the noise between the Christians and the exChristians is too loud.

Answer 7

I am Wiccan and I do see some of that but it goes for everything on here. No religion or even lack or religion can go without getting slammed on this site. It's a difference of opinion. The world is never going to change where all religions(even no religion) can freely practice, it sucks but that's life.

Answer 8

It is really sad to know that Christendom is full of hypocrisy and corruption, isn't it? They claim to teach peace, yet they bless soliders for war; they claim they know and love Jesus, yet they don't follow his command to preach God's kingdom, etc. But I'm sure this scripture will give you a lot of hope, as it has given me hope.

It's Daniel 2:44 - "“And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. And the kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite."

This means that God's Kigndom will put an end to both corrupting human governments and also religions that are proving themselves to be hypocrites.

Answer 9

In love and light, blessed be.

Evil Angel and BuddhaMonkeyBoy... I'd like to echo your sentiments as my own. Thank you. I share so many of your beliefs as well. My children are being raised to respect all religions and when they are of the age that they may choose their own paths they will do so educated. I have spent years reading and learning. I have participated in ceremonies and meditations.

One of the most wonderful teachers I ever had was in college. A progressive Catholic Nun. I would go early to speak with her. One night we came to the realization that each religion holds a nugget of the truth and we should all respect that light. By the way, she taught chakra and meditation studies, polarity therapy and is a psychotherapist.

Answer 10

I DO NOT HATE YOU! WHY? Because I am a Christian and I do not hate those that do not embrace my beliefs. Neither will you find me going door to door to CRAM my religious beliefs on anyone. But, I will discuss my belief in God with anyone that would chose to do so.

Being a Christian is MY way of life. I will pray for you as I would pray for others. Need I say anthing else? NO! God Bless!

Answer 11

You should 'love our neighbor as yourself' as all good Jewish people know Moses wrote in Leviticus and Jesus quoted

Wicca is a gospel substitute and a God substitute It is still a diversion from the real God I have no incantation, but an ancient book of words of God and THE WORD became flesh and one may listen or not

As people our problem is that as fallen people we negotiated down what 'love your neighbor as yourself is' and this is yet the second greatest commandment "love God with all your hear and soul and mind and strength" is the first We are pretty good at negotiating down what loving God is... until in the end we only want a God who fixes our problems... and we want the benefits of God... but God?.... boring... and we are in the end worldly sinners who don't love God But Blessed be! There is a deep power that can change a dead heart
like the deep magic spoke of by Aslan the Lion in Narnia As we long for Darth Vador to act like a real father, The one who the best of the Jedis is a mere hint of.... is the one to "restore the hearts of the children to the fathers and fathers to the chilren" as foretold in Malichi

God is beyond space and time and the creator of the earth, but the God who made the universe with his little finger took on earthly human flesh and became Bethlehem's most sung about babe, entering life and eventually entering death on a cross and overcoming death by walking out of the gave. Eternal life is with Him Blessed be He who will bring us to heaven by His power for the ultimate merry meet