What Are Wicca Beliefs about Jesus, etc.?
What are Wicca beliefs about Jesus? About Heaven and Hell? About demons and the Devil? Christianity has been very vocal on its beliefs about Wicca, Witches, and other religions. Wiccans don't generally expound on other religions. But people want to know. So what is the Wiccan position on Christian beliefs, such as Jesus, Hell, etc? That's what this article is about... What Do Wiccans Think Of Jesus?Most Wiccans have a lot of respect for Jesus... despite our understandable wariness of the religion supposedly created in his name. Jesus himself was a highly advanced spiritual person, a great sage and saint. He taught not only in the Middle East, it seems, but throughout India where he is revered as an incarnation of the Buddha. In the same way, most Wiccans admire his teachings, and admit them to be similar to Wiccan ideals and practices. In fact, there are Christian Witches who revere Jesus (and even more who revere Mary, by the way). Where Wicca disagrees with orthodox Christianity are the notions that
And in this, Wiccans are, in truth, far more "Christian" than Christianity. None of these things Jesus said or asked for. He said just the opposite. He steadfastly resisted the attempt to deify him, saying over and over that he was the son of mankind, that is, an ordinary human being. His original teachings were much more mystical and spiritual than what the Church has allowed in the Bible... much more in line with pagan spirituality. Without when you get right down to Jesus himself, Wiccans recognise his truth more than most who profess to follow him. The Way to SalvationDo we believe that only through Jesus we can come to God? Not at all! Jesus himself never said that. He said that it was not by faith and ritual that one comes to God, but through self-knowledge and acts of kindness. He also told us there were plenty of rooms in the Mansion -- everyone comes to God in the end, through the different paths. Wiccans believe that insisting that You Must Accept Jesus Christ As Your Personal Saviour is merely ecclesiastical propaganda. It's not about spiritual salvation, but about control -- intimidating people into behaving in a way that benefits the institution of the church. Jesus never said that the way to salvation was through "accepting him as your personal saviour." He would be astonished and dismayed, I'm sure, by such an easy out. He never wanted people to worship him. Read his teachings: He wanted people to follow in his footsteps, that is, to live as he lived. That's a much harder way than jumping on his coattails. It's also much more effective. Again, Wicca is in line with pretty much the same things Jesus taught. Wiccan Beliefs About Heaven & HellWitches generally believe that Heaven and Hell are all around us, all the time, depending on how we live. We create Heaven in the world, and we create Hell in the world, by our actions and choices.
What the heck does that have to do with a pearly place up in the clouds where people are playing harps? We have that inside us? Only in a symbolic way... We create our own heaven, in our hearts and minds and -- through our actions -- in the world. But Witches don't believe in Heaven and Hell as physical places. If God lives in Heaven, and God is (as Jesus said and Witches believe) right here with us on Earth, this must be Heaven. As for Hell, it's supposed to be a place where God doesn't live or rule. How could that even be! God is everywhere. The Divine is the fabric from which everything is formed. Witches believe that life on Earth is "Heaven" and "Hell" depending on each person's choices. When you choose things that bring you close to God, you are in Heaven, right here, right now. Things like...
And you create your own Hell, right here and now, when you choose things that "separate" you from God...
Demons & DevilsDemons and devils are, for most Wiccans, simply the inner temptation to be selfish, or to listen to base fears rather than values and ideals. In other words, demons represent the harmful or negative impulses within us. To do what we want, to get what we want, without caring who pays the price or what it costs -- that's the devil's work. Like so many corporations and governments. And like so many people who are just taking from the world, and not giving anything back. Some Witches, though, do believe in these external demons. Not usually as "personalities" but as embodiments of negative emotional energy. There is an assumption by the uninformed that Witches use demons (or else elementals or other beings) to do magick for them. That is not something that's done in Wicca. Even if demons did exist as the fables say, Wiccans couldn't use them as servants. That would be immediate violation of the Rede and the 3-Fold Law, and far too dangerous to ourselves! As for the Devil, please see this article on misconceptions about Wicca for information on Satan and Wicca. Evil And SinWiccans don't believe in sin, per se. And certainly not in "original sin." The very idea that we are born sinful is ludicrous. Would the Divine make each new baby steeped in sin? Could anything coming from the Divine be impure? I think that is a concept that could only come from a patriarchy, where fathers have limited interactions with infants. Any mother knows, from looking into a baby's clear face and bright eyes, how pure and sweet their souls are! Original sin is a fairly new idea in Christianity, too... at least, far newer than Jesus and his apostles. Jesus certainly never said anything about it. As for sin, the closest Wicca beliefs are the Rede and the Three-Fold Law, which state, don't harm anyone, and whatever you do will come back to you. More like Karma than sin. In the Greek originals, the Biblical word for sin is hamartia. It's an archery term. It means missing the target, missing the mark. In other words, sinning means making a mistake. And the target you're missing is the Divine. Does this mean that Witches don't believe in evil? Well, Wicca is a very diverse religion, and all kinds of Witches believe all kinds of things. And it's hard, having survived the Bush "administrations," to say there is no such thing as evil. But generally, Wiccans don't believe in evil as such. A person can do things that are evil. But evil doesn't have a separate existence. Evil is really "missing the mark" by a mile. So does evil exist? Yes, of course. On one level. It's easy to see evil at work in the world. Yet on another level, we know that the Divine transcends it all. On the most fundamental levels, there is no such thing as evil. But it takes a great degree of spiritual insight to see beyond the appearance of evil to the Divine beyond. Angels & WiccaA lot of Wiccans do believe in Angels - or at least, life-positive or semi-divine forces that don't have physical form. When you think about what angels originally meant -- messengers from the Divine -- then most Wiccans have plenty of contact with angels! This might seem like a contradiction... Wiccans don't believe in demons but believe in angels. Wouldn't you have to believe in both, or none? The difference lies in the levels of reality. Evil only exists on a certain level of reality... the worldly level. In deeper reality, there is only the Divine. So angels can exist (and certainly seem to), because they represent a deeper level of reality. The Real Difference Between Wicca and ChristianityI hope this article doesn't seem to disrespect Christianity. Christianity has its good points. And much of the Bible, even the Old Testament, drops many hints of Truth. . . even through all the centuries of spin doctoring! And perhaps it was necessary for a long time to have a religion like orthodox Christianity, as humans were spiritually like little children. We were told these spiritual stories, and we got confused and thought they were real physical entities -- because that's how children see things. They don't understand about abstract concepts and metaphors. Even some of the church fathers said the same, that the Church was teaching a philosophy for children. But they believed they needed to, in order to reach the level of understanding of the average person. Thankfully, mercifully, the average level of spiritual maturity is much greater now than a couple millennia ago! The real difference between Christians and Wiccans, in my opinion, is that Christians still think these images mean real physical things, and in Wicca beliefs these images are metaphors. No less real, no less powerful or important. But in Wicca beliefs, it's misguided to think they exist outside of us, rather than inside of us all, as potential. (See Misconceptions about Wicca for more on the Wicca beliefs about Christianity.) I wish you personal experience of Divinity! Next Article on Wicca for Beginners
Sharing the good stuff with other seekers is a way of paying it forward. Thanks so much! :-) From Christian to Wicca Articles:From Christian to Wicca: What You Need To Know A Wiccan Perspective On Death In a culture which fears failure, resists nature, and lacks spiritual connection, death is a terror to be avoided at all costs. But what is a Wiccan perspective on life and the afterlife? . . . Read More A Witch's Definition of Enlightenment It's tricky to frame a definition of enlightenment... it doesn't sit still waiting for labels to be pasted on. Is there an authoritative definition? And what does spiritual enlightenment mean to a Witch? . . . Read More Why Wicca Why is Wicca an ideal spiritual path for the 21st century? Our world is now at a crossroads of epic proportions, when choices must be made that will determine the future of all life on Earth. . . Read More Wicca Beliefs What do Wiccans believe? What are the central tenets of witch craft? And how are they transformed by a spirituality perspective? Every witch has her own point of view, but I would say that the foundation of all Wicca beliefs is this . . . Read More The Philosophy of Wicca What sets Wicca apart? What are the fundamental principles of Wicca? Anyone who wants to be a witch or live La Vida Wicca needs to understand the reasons behind the rules, and the spiritual meaning of Wiccan philosophy . . . Read More
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