The Problem with Christian Wicca

This article was not written as an attack on these individuals or their specific beliefs, although I am strongly against this contradictory and paradoxical concept. Many of these so-called Christian wiccans even go so far as to claim that they are members of both religions - and this assumption gives more than anything else, some tremendous theological problems.

First and foremost, I need to make the reader aware that I have focused on the most universal definitions dated for Christianity and Wicca. Radical members on both sides could come up with objections that such definitions are too broad, but the crux is that if "Christian Wicca" cannot be assembled in the spacious general definitions, then they cannot be substantiated on the basis of narrower definitions. To be objective, we first look at the dictionary, which in many ways is a good resource when debating the meaning of words, including religious concepts:

1. Wicca: a religion influenced by pre-Christian beliefs and practices of Western Europe that affirm the existence of supernatural power (as magic) and of both male and female deities who are inherent in nature and that emphasizes ritual observance of seasonal and life cycles.

2. Christianity: the religion derived from Jesus Christ, based on the Bible as sacred scripture, and professed by Eastern, Roman Catholic, and Protestant bodies.

The Bible is rooted in a belief that there exists only one god which man can and must worship. This marked the masculine form: God. It is not acceptable to worship other gods. In other words, Christianity has a monotheistic perception of deity.

Wicca involves, on the other hand, that you profess to a minimum of two deities, a god and a goddess, which in turn is considered a polytheistic perception of deity.

These are the two fundamental religious theologies. It is obvious that we already here, have to do with two theological belief philosophies that do not seem to be compatible. For instance, worship the Christian God while also a goddess; this goes against the simple requirement only to worship God - to put it another way: the believer denies his Christian God as the only true god.

But what about the Virgin Mary?
Maria is not a goddess. Even if you believe that she was based on an older pagan goddess, Mary, according to Christianity is not a goddess, she was rather a mortal. To worship the Virgin Mary as a goddess on an equal footing with God has little to do with the Bible.

Some of the so-called 'Christian wiccans' describe the Virgin Mary as "Mother of God '(just as some Catholics do) and claim thereby to justify a god / goddess-duality, as it exists in Wicca. The only problem is that such a description undermines God's role as the Almighty Father, and therefore it technically becomes heresy in Christian terminology, if one exalts the Virgin Mary to "Mother of God '. On the contrary, Maria, like the saints stand for an intermediary who carries prayers to God. Bringing Mary into Wiccan theology is contrary to the religion's blueprint for an equivalent god / goddess-duality. An omniscient, omnipotent God and a mortal woman are in no way equivalent.

You cannot just smacked two theologies together when you have not placed yourself in what the two theologies actually have to say to the believers. It is alarming that despite everything there are still some people who stubbornly believe that they follow both theologies without causing some theological contradictions.

But what about the Gnostic goddess Sophia?
Gnosticism of Christianity was marked solely as heresy, so therefore it makes absolutely no sense to call the Gnostic theology a branch of Christianity - it would not be just a comparative of these two concepts, but a pure misunderstanding of the concepts. Most Gnostics simply describe themselves as Gnostics. A much smaller number call themselves Gnostic Christians. But no Gnostics would simply choose to call themselves Christians, because of the obvious difference between Gnosticism and Christianity.

And even if one could justify a polytheistic philosophy in a Christian context, there are dozens of other factors in both religions that come into play. For example:

Satan. The devil or Satan is impossible in Wicca. Satan is a Christian-cited embodiment of pure evil. In Wicca, the dynamic forces in the universe are a natural part of life. To recognize Satan in a Wiccan context would thus entail - which most wiccans would deny - that parts of nature are basically, or should be evil. Viewed with Wiccan eyes, even the destructive dynamic forces in nature (e.g. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions) are a part of life, just as death is necessary that existence is possible.

The natural destructive force such as a storm that destroys a house and the disease that kills a human being is by its essence not more evil than the lion that kills an antelope or a farmer who harvests his grain.

Jesus as Savior
Christians believe in Jesus Christ as man's savior. Wicca accepts on the other hand, that we are not born sinful and therefore need salvation. Any sin or spoilage, which can arise in humans, comes only through our own choice of actions, and not because of our nature.

Original Sin.
Eve is the author of original sin, and passed it on to all her offspring at birth. Wicca rejects this whole principle of an existing original sin, which man encumbered for Eve's actions.

Hell for unbelievers.
Wicca's general tolerance of other religions makes this concept meaningless. This acceptance of other religious convictions simply makes the concept 'hell and heaven' within Wicca seem very ambiguous. Because if you do not believe that non-believers or people with a second conviction go to hell, what exactly is it Jesus saves you from?

Missionary .
One of the duties of Christians is to spread the good word, the true path. It is not just a traditional practice, but also a biblical practice that Jesus, as you know was involved with. This does not necessarily mean that it imposes other faiths, but it means at least that they actively preach / mission in one form or another and / or disseminate potential reversal in one or another degree, depending on ones Christian dedication. However, within Wicca any kind of missionary work is banned.

Some 'Christian wiccan's' also defend their linking Christianity and Wicca, on the basic idea of Christian charity . Yes, charity is very important in Christianity, as well as in Buddhism and in many other religions. However, Christianity does not have a patent on the concept of charity: it is a kind of "golden rule" found in most religions. In Buddhism, for example, it is known as compassion and in Wicca, it can be found in the form The Wiccan Rede .

Of course, you can find Christians who do not support these above issues, but who still call themselves Christians. The only problem is that if we as Christians (or other religious believers for that matter) continue to provide exemptions for religious fundamental principles of belief, then you end up with something contradictory, in relation to what actually is the primary religion or religious philosophy.

Yes, some Christians are debating the actual existence of Satan and hell. However, if you remove Satan and hell and original sin, and the injunction monotheism, and the divinity of Jesus, and the need for salvation, how can you rightly call what is left 'Christianity'?

Ultimately, it is up to you whether you choose to combine the Christian faith and Wiccan philosophy, but it is nevertheless contradictory, especially if you also claim to follow both religions. If you create something new, then why insist on naming yourself as something you no longer have? Christianity comes from Judaism, but Christians do not insist that they are Jews. If you both insist on being Christian and Wiccan, then you are attempting to combine two incompatible theologies. To join the Christian and Wiccan religious philosophies is not only contradictory but also - in some degree - disrespectful to members of both religions. It may be justifiable to bring a few specific Christian concepts into Wiccan practice, and vice versa. However, neither of these situations will result in "Christian Wicca".