In need of help.

[Requiem]

Hi all, Im new here...I had a question.

First of all I was wondering what everyone here thought about Wicca? I don't know much about it, but I was just wondering because I've made some friends who are awesome. Some of the nicest people I've known, who've really been true friends to me, and they are Wiccan.

Some people have told me to stay away from them and I'm just wondering why exactly.

If anyone can help me out it would be much appreciated. Thanks all!

Requiem

[Krakenfürst]

Req

The answer depends alot on what you believe.  What are your motives for coming to a Christian forum and asking about Wicca?

I believe if you are a Christian it is OK to be friendly with anyone as long as you don't follow what they believe.  I would recommend that you try to witness to them about Christ.  But, be warned as soon as you do, the horns are likely to come out. They can be very hostile towards Christianity.  That is why it is important to show them that you love them even though you don't believe in practicing their beliefs.  But you must be strong.

On the other hand this kind of thing can be very dangerous and it is not something you want to join in.  They are possibly trying to lure you into their world.  The reality is that it is not what you see on Sabrina the teenage witch or Charmed and other TV shows.  It is a form of worship that focuses on the created and not the creator.  It is not going to give your life true meaning and purpose.

If you are not a Christian then you need to ask yourself some serious questions about your hope for an eternal destiny.  Wicca is not going to provide those answers and it is contrary to what the Bible teaches, in fact it is expressly forbidden.

[Gracey]

Excerpts from a Wiccan website:

What is Wicca?

Wiccan believe that the spirit of the One, Goddess and God exist in all things.   In the trees, rain, flowers, the sea, in each other and all of natures creatures.   This means that we must treat "all things" of the Earth as aspects of the divine.   We attempt to honor and respect life in all its many manifestations both seen and unseen.
 
Wicca is a belief system and way of life based upon the reconstruction of pre-Christian traditions originating in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

With recent archaeological discoveries, we now have basis to believe that the origins of our belief system can be traced even further back to the Paleolithic peoples who worshipped a Hunter God and a Fertility Goddess

They understood that mankind is not superior to nature, the earth and its creatures but instead we are simply one of the many parts, both seen and unseen that combine to make the whole.   As Chief Seattle said; "We do not own the earth, we are part of it."  

What Wicca is not:

We do not worship Satan or consort with Demons.   Satan is a Christian creation and they can keep him.   We do not need a paranoid creation of supreme evil and eternal damnation to scare us into doing the right thing and helping others.   We choose to do the right thing and love our brothers and sisters because it IS the right thing and it feels good to do it.   I suppose it is a maturity thing.

What Witchcraft is:

Witchcraft is a spiritual system that fosters the free thought and will of the individual, encourages learning and an understanding of the earth and nature thereby affirming the divinity in all living things

They believe in a "god and goddess"; they revere "mother earth" and the elements, and they believe animals are their equal.

They also believe in astral projection, using tarot cards and divination, and are anti-Christian.

The bible very clearly teaches there is ONE God;  and warns against divination and witchcraft.

Deu 18:10  There shall not be found in you one who passes his son or his daughter through the fire, one that uses divination, an observer of clouds, or one divining, or a whisperer of spells,
Deu 18:11  or a magic charmer, or one consulting mediums, or a spirit-knower, or one inquiring of the dead.
Deu 18:12  For all doing these things are an abomination to Jehovah. And because of these filthy acts Jehovah your God is dispossessing these nations before you.

1Sa 15:23  For the sin of divination is rebellion; insolence is both iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the Word of Jehovah, so He has rejected you from being king.

2Ki 21:3  And he built again the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed, and raised up altars for Baal, and made an Asherah, as did Ahab the king of Israel, and worshiped all the host of the heavens, and served them.
2Ki 21:6  And he made his son to pass through the fire, used magic, and used divination, and dealt with mediums and spirit-knowers. He expanded to work the evil in the eyes of Jehovah, to provoke Him to anger.

Lev 19:31  You shall not turn to mediums, and you shall not seek to spirit-knowers to be defiled by them; I am Jehovah your God.
Lev 20:6  And the person who turns to mediums, and to spirit-knowers, to go whoring after them, I shall set my face against that person, and cut him off from the midst of his people.
Lev 20:7  And you shall sanctify yourselves, and you shall be holy, for I am Jehovah your God;


Isa 8:19  And when they say to you, Seek to the mediums, and to spirit-knowers who peep and mutter; should not a people seek to its God, than for the living to seek the ones who died?
Isa 8:20  To the Law and to the Testimony! If they do not speak according to this Word, it is because there is no dawn to them!

It's probably better not to get too involved with them. While it's true they can be friendly and kind, their creed is "harm no one, which in itself seems harmless. But, if they teach people not to believe in the one true God, they are doing immeasurable harm to others, and to themselves.

Gracey

[BUTCHA]

i say danger DANGER DDAANNGGEERR.

birds of a feather flawk together.

[felix102]

If you are a christian you don't need to stay away from those people BUT you need to stay away from their beliefs. If your faith is weak I would recommend that you do not stay around them often. If not then you should take every opportunity to witness to them.

I was in the same exact situation as you. I had a friend whose entire family was wiccan. His parents were one of the nicest people I ever knew. Very generous and amiable. But I did not condemn any of his beliefs rather I told him to question it. I introduced them to a seminar about wiccan and the "elders" (leaders of wiccan in their community) attended that. They came in with a hostile demeanor but at the end of the seminar they were radically different. It seemed as if they were ashamed of their beliefs. Maybe to this day they have changed their beliefs. I know one of the girls involved with them became a Christian. As with the elders, they had the choice to accept the truth and completely destroy their faith in wiccan; or they can ignore the truth and destroy themselves.

This is what you should do. Show them the truth and pray for them. Just don't get pulled into their circle.

[ebia]

I always wonder to what extent the people who profess to be wican actually believe it anyway - it always strikes me as more of a hobby than a religion.   After all, it doesn't even really come from anywhere - it's not the ancient religion it purports to be, but a mish-mash of old stuff reseached from a variety of ancient pagan religions and the bits filled in with quite a lot of imagination.  Can anyone really believe in a 19th century invention?

[felix102]

I always wonder to what extent the people who profess to be wican actually believe it anyway - it always strikes me as more of a hobby than a religion.  After all, it doesn't even really come from anywhere - it's not the ancient religion it purports to be, but a mish-mash of old stuff reseached from a variety of ancient pagan religions and the bits filled in with quite a lot of imagination.  Can anyone really believe in a 19th century invention?

There are actually people who believe in wican. Wican is usually categorized in the New Age religions. Media and people who profess to be Wican make it look like a game (eg Harry Potter); they play Dungeons and Dragons, perform rituals, believe in vampires, etc. That may be why it would strike you as a hobby, and to most people it may be. But wican along with the other New Age religions is nothing different than abominations in the past. All of them God hates because they worship idols.  

Wican plays with the things denounced in deuteronomy
Deu 18:10  There shall not be found in you one who passes his son or his daughter through the fire, one that uses divination, an observer of clouds, or one divining, or a whisperer of spells,
Deu 18:11  or a magic charmer, or one consulting mediums, or a spirit-knower, or one inquiring of the dead.
Deu 18:12  For all doing these things are an abomination to Jehovah. And because of these filthy acts Jehovah your God is dispossessing these nations before you.

Most people may think that wican is harmless but it is incredibly dangerous to mingle with.