Wiccanism and Witchcraft

[evangelist6589]

I was listening to a WOTM Podcast where Todd invited a Wiccan onto the program to debate with him. I have the idea of evangelizing them instead. Do you have any experience with this and what questions should I ask? I located a church in Denver and I see that they share fellowship with one of the Unitarian churches.

 

[Aaron]

Someone, please, follow him with a video camera and post the carnage online.

 

[evangelist6589]

Someone, please, follow him with a video camera and post the carnage online.

Aaron I am sad to see the low view you have of evangelism and of the great commission.

 

[Internet Theologian]

I was listening to a WOTM Podcast where Todd invited a Wiccan onto the program to debate with him. I have the idea of evangelizing them instead. Do you have any experience with this and what questions should I ask? I located a church in Denver and I see that they share fellowship with one of the Unitarian churches.

By Todd do you mean Todd Friel? I'm not surprised the Unitarian church would embrace them, after all everyone will go to heaven and no one knows the truth. We're all just on different paths that all lead to heaven.

 

[evangelist6589]

By Todd do you mean Todd Friel? I'm not surprised the Unitarian church would embrace them, after all everyone will go to heaven and no one knows the truth. We're all just on different paths that all lead to heaven.

Oh yes Todd Friel.

 

[Aaron]

Sounds like Todd would welcome a letter.

 

[rsr]

Wiccans are adherents of a synthetic religion created from scraps of bogus history made popular in the Victorian-Edwardian age. It is the faint echo of some old folk religions combined with nonsense wrapped in a faux scholarship. In short, it is a modern creation and has little legitimate link with paganism, other than to appropriate some names and ceremonies (which themselves are highly suspect).

 

[Internet Theologian]

Sounds like Todd would welcome a letter.

Not even close bro.

 

[SovereignGrace]

By Todd do you mean Todd Friel? I'm not surprised the Unitarian church would embrace them, after all everyone will go to heaven and no one knows the truth. We're all just on different paths that all lead to heaven.

Most ppl think all truth is relative and so by that deduction, everybody knows and possesses the truth. Thereby, God sends no one to hell.

 

[evangelist6589]

Wiccans are adherents of a synthetic religion created from scraps of bogus history made popular in the Victorian-Edwardian age. It is the faint echo of some old folk religions combined with nonsense wrapped in a faux scholarship. In short, it is a modern creation and has little legitimate link with paganism, other than to appropriate some names and ceremonies (which themselves are highly suspect).

Thanks fort the educated response. I sent their church a letter and just asked questions.

I have some questions about your church.

1. What is the difference between you and the Church of Satan?
2. Do you associate or allow fellowship with Unitarian Universalists and if so what is the difference between a Wiccan and a Unitarian?
3. What is truth?
4. Is Jesus Christ God?

 

[evangelist6589]

Most ppl think all truth is relative and so by that deduction, everybody knows and possesses the truth. Thereby, God sends no one to hell.

You make me curious to read the book "The Gospel Power and Message" which I have but have not yet read. I am reading his book "Gospel Assurance and warnings" which is all about 1 John and assurance of salvation in a believer.

 

[SovereignGrace]

You make me curious to read the book "The Gospel Power and Message" which I have but have not yet read. I am reading his book "Gospel Assurance and warnings" which is all about 1 John and assurance of salvation in a believer.

I have read all three of Bro. Washer's books in the 'Recovering the Gospel' series. I purchased all 3 in ebook form for under $30. Well worth it. You'd enjoy that book Bro.

 

[evangelist6589]

I have read all three of Bro. Washer's books in the 'Recovering the Gospel' series. I purchased all 3 in ebook form for under $30. Well worth it. You'd enjoy that book Bro.

They are not available in iBook format but perhaps Kindle or whatever format you are using. Regardless I have all three in print.

 

[SovereignGrace]

They are not available in iBook format but perhaps Kindle or whatever format you are using. Regardless I have all three in print.

I have them on my Nook. Worth every penny.

 

[Calypsis4]

'Wicca' comes from the Old English word 'Wicce' the root word for 'wicked' and from which the word 'wizard' is derived. (American College Dictionary, 1947). Modern Wicca in America is now a 501(c)(3) tax exempt 'religious and charitable organisation' as defined by the IRS and it incorporated by the government...just like most churches in our land.

 

[JonC]

Thanks fort the educated response. I sent their church a letter and just asked questions.

I have some questions about your church.

1. What is the difference between you and the Church of Satan?
2. Do you associate or allow fellowship with Unitarian Universalists and if so what is the difference between a Wiccan and a Unitarian?
3. What is truth?
4. Is Jesus Christ God?

I think that one difference between them and the Church of Satan is that Satanists are atheists (certainly in the context of the Church of Satan...they do not express a believe in God or the Devil but practice hedonism in religious garb). To my knowledge, it does not seem that wiccans are necessarily atheists as they express devotion to various gods.

 

[Martin Marprelate]

Coincidentally, I received the following unsolicited e-mail today:

If you don’t already know, Lucifer is our true lord and savior. Do you believe me?

Let me prove it to you, with my book Hallowed Be Thy Name: Lucifer, Origins & Revelation, which I dare claim is “the most blasphemous and crucial theological disclosure of the past two thousand years.” Learn about the gods of Mesopotamian mythology et al. and their relevance to the Abrahamic deities, focusing on the mystery of Lucifer. I disprove many widely cherished beliefs: Lucifer is our creator, God is evil, Hell does not exist, Satan is the Holy Spirit, the gods are not cosmic beings, etc.

Naturally, this will be of interest to all you Satanists and Luciferians. Christians, Jews and Muslims will also take great interest since it is, of course, primarily about your deities. It will bring pagans and polytheists closer to the roots of their faiths as well. Atheists will enjoy it because it gives them a much more compelling and effective argument than what they already have.

Don’t just take my word for it, get a copy and see for yourself!
Priscilla Vogelbacher


To my shame, perhaps, I just deleted it and thought no more about it until I read this thread.
Does anyone think I ought to reply? I have no knowledge of Satanism. I would really need to buy the book in order to critique it. Otherwise I would just be floundering about.

 

[Baptist Believer]

Thanks fort the educated response. I sent their church a letter and just asked questions.

I have some questions about your church.

1. What is the difference between you and the Church of Satan?

There are few similarities between Wiccan movements and the Church of Satan. As someone else noted, the Church of Satan is atheistic hedonism, with the philosophy of "Do what thou wilt." It is mostly show and their heyday was back in the late 1960s and early 1970s with the publication of "The Satanic Bible" in 1969.

However, the Wiccans are constantly fighting off the satanism accusations, so they will probably have a canned answer for you - if they bother engaging with you at all. Really, why should they?

2. Do you associate or allow fellowship with Unitarian Universalists and if so what is the difference between a Wiccan and a Unitarian?

Again, these are very different movements and they probably have not ever given the matter any consideration. What is the purpose of the question? Do you want them to consider Unitarianism? Why should they bother answering you?

3. What is truth?

You give them too much credit for having a rational basis of belief.

4. Is Jesus Christ God?

Since they are polytheists, I don't think that question is going to have the impact that you think it might have. You are speaking a completely different vocabulary than they are in terms of religious viewpoints and worldview.

May I suggest a different series of questions? Once you have answered these questions in terms of your own faith, you will be ready to have open and humble dialogue with others and find common ground on which to present Jesus as Lord.

Dallas Willard formulated these questions in this form, but they are not original with him in the sense that all great thinkers (including religious thinkers) have to deal with these issues in one way or another. I certainly worked through these questions in my journey from agnosticism to Christian faith:

1. What is the nature of reality?

2. Who is well-off? That is, what is the "good life"?

3. Who is a really good person?

4. How does one become a really good person?

5. How can one know the answers to questions 1-4?


There are good answers to all of these questions, and they are answered most effectively in the teachings of Jesus.

Once you have carefully worked out the answers to these questions from the teachings of Jesus (and the rest of scripture), then you are ready to engage competing worldviews and philosophies. Of course, this is hard work, but it is essential to consistently and effectively being a witness for Jesus. The teachings of Jesus actually center around these issues, so you are simply engaging in an understanding of the gospel when you engage the questions. Moreover, you will see that massively effective New Testament figures like Paul spoke directly to these concerns in his letters.

I can give you my answers, but having a set of pat answers that you copied from someone else will not create in you the kind of person who is prepared to do this work. It has to be a part of you and come organically from you. Moreover, I may be wrong and you can have more profound insight.

May God bless you as you engage these issues.

 

[SovereignGrace]

Brother Alcott, what word did I misspell? You gave me a 'bad spelling' for one post.

 

[Squire Robertsson]

In another place, I am involved with a commercial (a mainline publisher who pays professional rates) book (actually multiple books and e-zines) project. It is in the island in the sea of time genre. Except for the initial time travel to 17th century Thuringia(Germany), the rest is hard history.

One of the tropes investigated and rejected as a story line is the existence of Wiccan style witches in the 17th century. Upon investigation, it was found the claims of Wicca and its followons of being part of continuity of the "Old Religion" as being false. Witches in our period of interest were outgrowths of ignorance and greed.