Freya's blog: "Life"

Can you be a Christian Witch? And, while we are on the topic: 
Can you be a Christo-pagan? A Christo-eclectic? or a Christian Wiccan?
The simple answer is: yes. But since a simple answer never clarifies 
anything complex...we shall have to go on to the complex answer.
The reason it is not an oxymoron to call oneself a Christian Witch, Christo-
pagan, Christo-eclectic or Christian Wiccan is very simple...it all depends
on your definition of the terms. Religion is a man-made institution anyway
so it would seem appropriate to form "religion" in such a way that most 
closely defines each individual.

Buddah said: “In theory there is but one religion, in practice, there
are as many religions as there are people.”

Some people don't care about labels and some do. For some a label like
Christian Witch...is meant more to clarify a concept within their own mind
than to be agreed upon by the public at large. But I'm rambling and getting 
off the topic here: Basically we have to look at what someone means when they
use one of these terms (and if you ask 100 people, don't be surprised if
you get 100 different answers.)

When someone says that they are a Christo-pagan and someone else says: "You
Can't be a Christian and a Pagan at the same time!" 99% of the time, the
Problem is with each person's definitions. The truth is, they are probably
both more in agreement about the topic than they think they are. One example
is that most people who say you can't be a Christian and Pagan at the same 
time are usually defining their terms like this: Christian = "Fundie 
Christian" (you know...take the King James Bible as if it is the ONLY 
reliable version and before that all versions before and after were wrong...and
don't take into account that words and meanings sometimes change over time
according to culture, etc) Pagan = "non-Christian."

Can I say "DUHUH" here? No kidding? You really can't be a Christian and a
non-Christian at the same time??? No wonder people who don't understand
us think we are neurotic and indecisive...I would think that too if that was
the way we were actually defining our words.

The same can be said about the concept of a Christian Wiccan. Can you be a
fundie Christian and believe all the party dogma of the fundie Christian
and at the same time, be a Wiccan and believe everything in the Wiccan
religion? Well, no...for example...do you believe in sin or not? Salvation
needed or not? Jesus God or just good guy? Reincarnation or die once then 
afterlife? Heaven or Summerland? The list goes on and on. It would be
logical then to understand that when someone says they are a Christian 
Wiccan you need to look a little deeper.

I can't define the words: Christo-eclectic, Christo-Pagan, or Christian Wiccan
because I don't use those labels for myself personally. I mostly use Christian
Witch, or witchy Christian. So, all I can define here is the term I use, and
even then, I can't define it categorically for every person, I can only tell 
what the words mean to me personally in my own spiritual path.

First of all, before I go any further...I'm going to mention what many people
think when they hear the words Christian and Witch.

Christian: most non-Christians hear "fundie Christian" when they hear the
word Christian...because unfortunately these are the loudest Christians
making it appear that all Christians are fundies.

Witch: among non-witches...who know very little about the term except what
they've heard in passing, you usually get one of two definitions:
1. Devil-worshipper, evil...blah blah blah (which is probably the most
inacurate definition.)
2. Wiccan, much closer to the truth, except for the fact that all witches
are not Wiccan and some Wiccan's don't practice witchcraft.

Witchcraft, while it may be a religion to some, in and of itself is not a
religion. (Wicca is, and many other paths that welcome witchcraft. Also, it's been
brought to my attention that many who practice Trad. Witchcraft consider it a 
religion in and of itself. But Trad. Witchcraft is different from witchcraft 
with a little "w".) Witchcraft, is a practice. You can be a witch and be ANY religion. Just 
like you can practice Yoga and be any religion. Not all Yogis are Hindu.

And, you don't have to convert to Hinduism to practice yoga or even for it to
be a spiritual excercise. I am laying out my own definitions here, however
if you are considering this spiritual path...you will have to lay out your 
definitions too. The only way you can combine any two paths, or incorporate
a seemingly "controversial" practice into your spiritual life is if you
get your definitions straight first. 

My definitions:

1. Christian: To me, being a Christian means believing in the following things:

* One God in three persons: Father, son and Holy Spirit.
* Jesus Christ as my personal Savior.
* Salvation by Grace and Faith in Christ.
* A personal relationship with God.
* The bible as an inspired source for spiritual wisdom.

One of the most important things to me about my Christian faith is that
Christianity is NOT about "bible interpretation" it's not about "doctrines"
and theological mud slinging. It's not about being perfect or judging other 
people. It is about a person and a relationship. It's about God loving
the world so much that he became a man and sacrificed himself to show that
love. (I know some people believe this is a myth, but I'm not one of those 
people.)

2. Witch: To me, being a witch means the following things:

* Having a connection to nature.
* Respecting all life and taking care of the earth and helping people.
* Someone who has an intensely personal relationship with the divine, however
he/she sees him/her.
* Someone who believes in and uses ritual and magick to bring about needed
change.

In the end analysis...the only "problem" is with the concept of "magick" It
seems that the bible strictly prohibits any magickal practice whatsoever. But 
if one looks closely with an open mind one will see that that isn't the case.
The definitions of what the bible says on it, is outside the scope of this
article, but there are a few wonderfully written articles on it:
"Doesn't the Bible forbid Witchcraft?" by: Rawna Moon
"Am I Damned?" by: Ambrose Hawk
"Can Christians be Wiccans?"

if you would like to study that topic further.

One thing to remember is...there were many "magickal" practices that were
used in the bible but not condemned:
For more on that, see "Am I Damned? Part 2" by: Ambrose Hawk

So, common sense would tell you that what is prohibited in the bible is
hurting others or manipulating others. 

          

God is not a manipulator and doesn't interfere with our free will. 
If we are to follow him, we should follow that example.
The other common arguement against magick is that you aren't supposed
to use it if you are a Christian because you are supposed to rely fully on
God.

Well, yes, that's true...but you also have to use common sense. We get jobs
and work don't we? We earn money to buy food and pay bills, all rather 
autonomously...God provided manna from Heaven for the Isrealites in the desert,
so it's clear he could drop all we need in a bundle from Heaven every day, but
it's preferable for us to work and earn things ourselves, so why is magick any
different? (Whether you believe this story is literal or not, it still
makes the same point.) 

Also, if God is going to allow free will then he can't "magickally" intervene
in every situation or we are puppets who only have "free will" as long as we
do what we are supposed to do.

After rambling on and on, I'm going to close this article with this thought:

Maybe right and wrong is more about motivation, attitude, and how you treat 
those around you than it is about exact methods of getting things done.

Blessings.