Why do some Christians feel so threatened by us Wiccans, Pagans, etc ?

Question

I do understand that this is not a view shared by all Christians and I have no intentions of disrespect...just curious. I have not threatened anyone, preached my belief system, advertised ill will; yet, if I wear a triple moon charm or pentacle charm there are some who give ugly looks, words, etc.

Answer 1

To the best of my ability to understand this, it's because they are not actual Christians (followers of Jesus). They are more likely to be what I call selectively-observant pseudo-Jews with a strong Paulist streak.

In other words, they stay as far away from following the life and teachings of Jesus as they can, and use the OT and Paul's letter to condemn those who they would like to condemn.

But on a deeper level, there are people who believe that humans are children, and need a bogeyman so they'll behave. They want people to believe in "God" so they'll obey the law. That's the only means that occurs to them - a strict parent who punishes or rewards.

If you have that mind set, you resent people who seem to have freed themselves from the repressive parent...and don't seem to be getting punished for it.

So you take up punishing them, yourself.

Answer 2

Wiccans remind them of Gnostics.

Tolerant, Female and Male deity usually from an inaccessible source, reincarnation, no physical temples or churches...

There's very little difference and the Gnostics are why the Roman Catholic Church launched the inquisition. Protestant Christians are rebel Catholics that wanted to hear the scriptures in their own language instead of Latin. Fundamentalist are the concentrated guile of their ancestors receiving most of the hate as the senile older religion becomes more tolerant.

Wiccans and Pagans are amazing.


Blessed Be!

Answer 3

Because their faith is threatened by anything that doesn't conform to Christianity's hard line. Theirs is a monist path, and they are taught that any faith that isn't theirs is automatically evil and the works of the devil.


It's one of the biggest problem with Christianity. The other is that at least Judaism and Islam have a male deity in charge, not so with pagans. We are even more threatening because we have the nerve to put female deities right up there with the male ones. Merciful heavens, they think, a WOMAN in POWER! Can't be, their god is a boy and girls aren't allowed in their playground.

A pity...

BB,
Lady Morgana )0(

Answer 4

Most nominal xians have only the vaguest of notions we even exist, if that. A few fundies have their heads full of Jack Chick and Mike Warnke generated nonsense, and an inordinate number of those seem to come HERE, but . . . the internet is not real life.

For most of them, we don't even really exist, let alone "threaten" their beliefs.

Here's the thing . . . so what? Do we proselytize? Do we go door to door? Do we witness? Do we, in short, *need* the ego boost and public stamp of approval?

Why would we?

Too many of us have bought into the whole "Burning Times™" schtick and see persecution in every random glance or flip remark . . . when it's really our "look at me! look at me!" dress and/or behavior that's attracting the unwelcome attention, not our actual beliefs.

So what if some whack job thinks you're "of the debbil?" Consider the source!

Answer 5

Because when Christianity was founded things that were once considered pagan were then considered of the devil.

The Christian chirch teaches that paganism and witchcraft are a sin and against God. It's evil. Over the years some Christians have wised up to this untruth but over all it is still the teachings of that religion. Their way is the only way.

Answer 6

Christianity and for that matter the other majority religions are all about power and enslavement. We threaten their very base because like the other poster said we are a living, breathing example of freedom of choice. Because we follow a different path, we give others the spirit, hope and courage to maybe choose as well. They can't have that. Isn't it amazing that we don't need to evangelize, threaten or pass out literature ad nauseum to the masses yet they come looking for freedom to our path? It says so much about our path and the slipping hold that the "religions" have.

Answer 7

Butterfli, THEY are the ones who have the problem. They have NO idea what it even MEANS to worship Goddess and God. They see our pents and simply make the false assumption that we're in league with Satan. They don't even CARE that we don't have anything whatse=oever to do with Satan. To THEM, our pents are an outward sign of Devil worship and they won't even bother to make the attempt to understand WHY it is a symbol of the 5 Elements of Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit. They simply see it as a symbol of the Devil.

Gods chil, we were NEVER a part of any "body" of yours so how can we be brought BACK to it? NOW, the Jehovists were ALL a part of the body of Pagansim in one form or another. Yet WE aren't out to "collect" YOU back to OUR ways. ALL we are asking is that YOU respect US as fellow human beings on the Earth, accept that WE believe OUR Religion JUST as MUCH as you do yours.

If WE went around knocking on peoples dors, asking "Have YOU encountered Goddess?", YOU"D be screaming at the top of your lungs ALL over the place. Yet, YOU feel as though you not only have the right to do exactly that but that you also have the DUTY to do that. Well, WE do NOT welcome YOUR kind of prosletyzing. The GOOD Christians on here DO accept us for WHO and WHAT we are and do NOT treat us like some sort of vermin, to be diospensed with in as easy a way as possible if we refuse to follow your ways.

I hate to shake you up a bit but there are OVER 3 Million of us here just in the U.S.. OUR numbers double every 3 to 5 years and, per capita, we are the single FASTEST growing Religion in NOrth America. ONLY Islam has a greater number (in sheer numbers, not per capita) of converts in the U.S.. MOST denominations of Christianity are LOSING membership and MOST congregations are SHRINKING in size. You have to ask yourselves why is that happening? Here's a clue. PEOPLE don't like to be THREATENED with propaganda about "going to Hell" if they do NOT accept YOUR ways as TRUE and valid. Take some lessons from Madison Street. If you have a message to give then MAKE it a POSITIVE one. The BEST positive message you can send is your OWN behavior. If you act like jerks, telling folks that they're gong to Hell if they don't accept the WORD of Jesus, that's one heck of a BIG turnoff. If you'd ACT in accordance with the WAY that Jesus actually LIVED, loving others and accepting them for WHO they are, your message just might be recieved in a more open fashion.

Raji the Green Witch

Answer 8

All religions who base their conversion process on fear of damnation and reward for blind obedience feel threatened by any religion or spiritual path that refuses to accept that we are sinful from birth and need be be remade into cookie-cutter worshipers.

Remember the one thing a bully never wants to hear from a potential victim is "I'm not afraid of you, no matter what you do".

Not all Christians feel threatened, at least not the ones who live in accord to Jesus, the Paulist on the other hand ........................

Answer 9

Because your faith makes them uncomfortable. Why? because it's not like theirs.
I believe that each person has to find there own way to a higher power ( 12 steps LOL)
They don't understand or don't want to. I'm a Christian..... but I do not look down at your faith. In fact I find the whole Wiccan thing another way to praise the universe for all of it's abundance. Please don't let their ignorance get to you.We are all children of the universe ( or God and Goddess) .
Blessed be and Amen.
Softy

Answer 10

As an ex-Christian, and now a Wiccan.
My best guess is that Wicca is more in line with what they try to sell.
Compassion, Responsibility, Self-Love, ... all the things Wicca is teaching me were the things I desperately wanted but never found in Christianity.
For about 10 years I felt empty inside, now I don't.
Some of the things I felt now make sense.
Let them judge, it is their sin they will have to answer for I say.
I am happy and whole and not bothered by that/them.
Be glad you found the religion calling to you, be sure to thank the God and Godess!
Remember the Threefold Law; they will never be happy sending out hate and judgement all the time.
Wear your symbols and ignore the looks.