Post by Guest on Feb 28, 2006 8:04:54 GMT
Christian Speaks On The Faith And Path Of Wicca
By: James Clement Taylor.
I am a Christian and not a Wiccan. A Christian is one who has been
baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and who
has
made a personal, free-will decision to commit himself and all his
or
her life to our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Both of
these
things are true of me. I am a member of St. Mary's Eastern
Orthodox
Church, Calhan, Colorado. In this paper, I am not speaking as
agent
for any church, but I am, entirely on my own responsibility,
speaking
the truth in love, as we Christians are supposed to do.
A Situation of Strife and Shame:
There are many Christians today who believe that anyone who is
not a
Christian is doomed to an eternity of suffering in hell. Any
decent
person, believing this, would be compelled to try to save as many
people from this fate as possible. But is this belief correct?
Jesus
Christ, having noted the faith and righteousness of a Roman
centurion, a Pagan, proclaimed:
"Assuredly I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not
even
in Israel! And I say to you that many will come from east and
west,
and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of
heaven.
But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness.
There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
(Matthew 8:10-12)
If we accept these words as true, and surely we should, then it is
clear that heaven will contain many who are not Christians, and
hell
will contain many who are! Clearly, throughout the Gospels, Jesus
Christ sets forth the criteria for entrance into the kingdom of
heaven, and those criteria include love, kindness, forgiveness,
and a
refusal to judge others:
"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father
will
also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses,
neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matthew 6:14-
15)
"For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with
the
same measure you use, it will be measured back to you." (Matthew
7:2)
"But go and learn what this means: `I desire mercy and not
sacrifice.'" (Matthew 9:13)
"Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
Judge
not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not
be
condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven." (Luke 6:36-38)
Is it not clear? Anyone who fails in these things, will calling
himself a Christian save him? Anyone who obeys God in these
things,
will being un-baptized condemn him? Jesus said, "Not everyone who
says to Me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but
he
who does the will of My Father in heaven." (Matthew 7:21)
Yet it is not by good works that we earn our way into heaven,
because
there is no way we can earn the free gift of God's mercy and
grace,
which alone can save us. But it is clear that it is not by faith,
in
the sense of sharing the Christian faith, that we are saved,
either.
The faith which saves us is not faith in the goodness of our
works,
nor faith that we have the right theology and/or belong to the
right
church. Rather, it is faith in God, and in His mercy:
"So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of
God
who has mercy." (Romans 9:16)
But the Wiccans, you will say, do not have faith in God. Yet by
their
own theology, they certainly do. Those who call them Satan-
worshippers are entirely wrong. They do not worship Satan, or even
believe that Satan exists. Instead, they worship a Goddess and a
God
whom they understand as manifestations of a higher and unknown
Deity.
Now if you are a Christian, this will sound familiar to you, and
it
should. In the Bible we find the following:
"Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, `Men of
Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for
as
I was passing through and considering the objects of your
worship, I
even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.
Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I
proclaim
to you" (Acts 17:22-23)
The Wiccans worship the Unknown God, as manifested to them in the
form of a Goddess and a God. Therefore, our Bible tells us they
worship the same God we do; and if they do not know this, we
should
know it! For those of us who are unable to simply stand on God's
Word, and must prove to themselves the truth of what it proclaims
the
holy Apostle John has given us the method for doing this. You have
only to attend any public Wiccan ceremony, and test the spirits
which
are there, to see "whether they are of God" (1 John 4:1). You will
find that, while the power manifested there may be less than what
you
have experienced as a Christian, that power is clearly the power
of
God.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, these people of Wicca have
been
terribly slandered by us. They have lost jobs, and homes, and
places
of business because we have assured others that they worship
Satan,
which they do not. We have persecuted them, and God will hold us
accountable for this, you may be sure, for He has said,
"Assuredly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the
least
of these My brethren, you did it to Me." (Matthew 25:40)
Let us, from this point onward, repent of our misdeeds and declare
that henceforth we shall obey Christ our God, and not judge
others or
condemn them, so that He will not have to judge and condemn us for
our sins.
By: James Clement Taylor.
I am a Christian and not a Wiccan. A Christian is one who has been
baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and who
has
made a personal, free-will decision to commit himself and all his
or
her life to our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Both of
these
things are true of me. I am a member of St. Mary's Eastern
Orthodox
Church, Calhan, Colorado. In this paper, I am not speaking as
agent
for any church, but I am, entirely on my own responsibility,
speaking
the truth in love, as we Christians are supposed to do.
A Situation of Strife and Shame:
There are many Christians today who believe that anyone who is
not a
Christian is doomed to an eternity of suffering in hell. Any
decent
person, believing this, would be compelled to try to save as many
people from this fate as possible. But is this belief correct?
Jesus
Christ, having noted the faith and righteousness of a Roman
centurion, a Pagan, proclaimed:
"Assuredly I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not
even
in Israel! And I say to you that many will come from east and
west,
and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of
heaven.
But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness.
There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
(Matthew 8:10-12)
If we accept these words as true, and surely we should, then it is
clear that heaven will contain many who are not Christians, and
hell
will contain many who are! Clearly, throughout the Gospels, Jesus
Christ sets forth the criteria for entrance into the kingdom of
heaven, and those criteria include love, kindness, forgiveness,
and a
refusal to judge others:
"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father
will
also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses,
neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matthew 6:14-
15)
"For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with
the
same measure you use, it will be measured back to you." (Matthew
7:2)
"But go and learn what this means: `I desire mercy and not
sacrifice.'" (Matthew 9:13)
"Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
Judge
not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not
be
condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven." (Luke 6:36-38)
Is it not clear? Anyone who fails in these things, will calling
himself a Christian save him? Anyone who obeys God in these
things,
will being un-baptized condemn him? Jesus said, "Not everyone who
says to Me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but
he
who does the will of My Father in heaven." (Matthew 7:21)
Yet it is not by good works that we earn our way into heaven,
because
there is no way we can earn the free gift of God's mercy and
grace,
which alone can save us. But it is clear that it is not by faith,
in
the sense of sharing the Christian faith, that we are saved,
either.
The faith which saves us is not faith in the goodness of our
works,
nor faith that we have the right theology and/or belong to the
right
church. Rather, it is faith in God, and in His mercy:
"So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of
God
who has mercy." (Romans 9:16)
But the Wiccans, you will say, do not have faith in God. Yet by
their
own theology, they certainly do. Those who call them Satan-
worshippers are entirely wrong. They do not worship Satan, or even
believe that Satan exists. Instead, they worship a Goddess and a
God
whom they understand as manifestations of a higher and unknown
Deity.
Now if you are a Christian, this will sound familiar to you, and
it
should. In the Bible we find the following:
"Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, `Men of
Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for
as
I was passing through and considering the objects of your
worship, I
even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.
Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I
proclaim
to you" (Acts 17:22-23)
The Wiccans worship the Unknown God, as manifested to them in the
form of a Goddess and a God. Therefore, our Bible tells us they
worship the same God we do; and if they do not know this, we
should
know it! For those of us who are unable to simply stand on God's
Word, and must prove to themselves the truth of what it proclaims
the
holy Apostle John has given us the method for doing this. You have
only to attend any public Wiccan ceremony, and test the spirits
which
are there, to see "whether they are of God" (1 John 4:1). You will
find that, while the power manifested there may be less than what
you
have experienced as a Christian, that power is clearly the power
of
God.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, these people of Wicca have
been
terribly slandered by us. They have lost jobs, and homes, and
places
of business because we have assured others that they worship
Satan,
which they do not. We have persecuted them, and God will hold us
accountable for this, you may be sure, for He has said,
"Assuredly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the
least
of these My brethren, you did it to Me." (Matthew 25:40)
Let us, from this point onward, repent of our misdeeds and declare
that henceforth we shall obey Christ our God, and not judge
others or
condemn them, so that He will not have to judge and condemn us for
our sins.