Ask a Wiccan!

[eudyptes]

Yeah. No one should assume. We think your brain doesn't work here at TWEB because of your post, not your wheel chair.

dang....beat me to it :penggrin:




...reallly need to find a duck and run smilie

[technomage]

Yeah. No one should assume. We think your brain doesn't work here at TWEB because of your post, not your wheel chair.

:brolly:











Though I do have to admit that was pretty good....

[technomage]

To get completely off topic, what sort of influence do you think Wicca has had culturally in America, or the world in general.

Not much.

Seriously, MSM and Mainstream culture in general still see Wicca as "Silly Season" stuff--kind of a "Look what your weirdo neighbors are doing." Yeah, we can be the heroes of a television show (even though the relationship between Wicca and what's portrayed in Charmed and Buffy is ... tenuous at best), and yeah, Bush lost a little bit of popular support with the Moderates when he made his statements about Wicca back in 2000 (not much, but a little), but in the "Big Picture" of world-wide culture, Wicca is definitely small potatoes.

[technomage]

Of course, for one of Baptist background, it's like going into the pit to attend a sacramental church, but it's also a learning experience.

I've been to a Catholic mass, and to an Anglican service--yes, it was a learning experience. Actually, there are certain aspects of Wicca that are closer to the "sacramental" end of the Spectrum in some traditions.

I'm not so sure the Baptists are right on everything. For instance, I'd like to see more celebrations of the Lord's Supper and less singing!

You call that singing? Crusader, I grew up in Baptist churches--they sing like they died six weeks ago and no one told them to lay down!

Though in some churches I attended growing up, they celebrated the Lord's Supper every Sunday. They still sang like they were dead, though.

My prayers are with you.

Thank you, Crusader. I know we've had our difficulties in the past ... but I am grateful for your prayers.

[Krusader]

I've been to a Catholic mass, and to an Anglican service--yes, it was a learning experience. Actually, there are certain aspects of Wicca that are closer to the "sacramental" end of the Spectrum in some traditions.



You call that singing? Crusader, I grew up in Baptist churches--they sing like they died six weeks ago and no one told them to lay down!

Though in some churches I attended growing up, they celebrated the Lord's Supper every Sunday. They still sang like they were dead, though.



Thank you, Crusader. I know we've had our difficulties in the past ... but I am grateful for your prayers.

You're right - Anglicans sing a whole lot better. Think about what I said, and see whether or not you have a charismatic continuing Anglican church in your area. I'm pretty sure there are some. If you need to, go the website of Anglican Mission in America, which has a directory, I think. Don't worry about being a Wiccan, God isn't prejudiced (like I have been, I guess). C

[technomage]

Why believe in God?

Why believe in the rock that I just tripped over? Why believe in the air I breathe? Seriously, in that sense, I do not "believe" in God any more than I "believe" in rocks or air!

And the other side of that coin is that I am persuaded that the "Wiccan Lord and Lady" is nothing more or less than my faith's name for HaShem. That's a conclusion that most Jews and Christians cannot accept ... but in that sense, I can truly, from my heart, say "Shema Israel: Adonai Elohinu, Adonai Echad!"

Now, at the same time, I don't see myself as part of Israel: I'm a Noahide--though again, most Jews would balk at that distinction. That means I don't gain the Abrahamic Covenant benefits--but it also means I don't bear the Abrahamic Covenant responsibilities.

[technomage]

You've talked about god-concepts. My question now is, have you ever or do you currently feel what can be described as "the presence of God?" How do you experience this, if so.

Well, yes. Darn near daily.

Jardin, part of my Initiation oath was to "submit myself to the will of the Creator." That's something I reaffirm every day--not as part of some ritual, but sincerely seeking the will of the Creator in my life. Right now, typing to you, I feel that presence ... and it's not some vague emotional thing. To the best of my understanding, it's as real as if you were sitting beside me, but this is within me.

It's really odd, because as I told Crusader, I grew up in a cessationist church. As a Christian, I never truly understood what it was to be "filled with the Spirit," though I certainly longed for it. What I failed to realize as a Christian is that even those times I was not aware of the Creator's presence, God was still there.

It's like the old phrase I've heard many times in my life: "Do you feel distant from God? Guess who moved."

As I told Dead Hobbit, I am persuaded that the Creator I follow is known by many names. Now, I'm also quite aware that your Bible directly contradicts such a concept. But I am also persuaded that the Bible is the work of men, not of God. The men who wrote the Bible were (I believe) truly seeking the Creator ... but I sincerely feel that their human limitations and human fallability got in the way, and because of that, the Bible contains some degree of error about the nature of God.

Now, to be fair, I also believe the same thing about my own books--that human limitations and human fallability have prevented any possibility of an absolutely correct understanding of the Creator from my Book of Shadows. But despite the fact that I will never have a perfect understanding of God, I still submit to God's Will, in as much as I understand that Will.

And that means that if I become persuaded that I can better serve the Creator as a Christian, I will be in church the very next time the doors open.

[JardinPrayer]

Well, yes. Darn near daily.

Jardin, part of my Initiation oath was to "submit myself to the will of the Creator." That's something I reaffirm every day--not as part of some ritual, but sincerely seeking the will of the Creator in my life. Right now, typing to you, I feel that presence ... and it's not some vague emotional thing. To the best of my understanding, it's as real as if you were sitting beside me, but this is within me.

It's really odd, because as I told Crusader, I grew up in a cessationist church. As a Christian, I never truly understood what it was to be "filled with the Spirit," though I certainly longed for it. What I failed to realize as a Christian is that even those times I was not aware of the Creator's presence, God was still there.

It's like the old phrase I've heard many times in my life: "Do you feel distant from God? Guess who moved."

As I told Dead Hobbit, I am persuaded that the Creator I follow is known by many names. Now, I'm also quite aware that your Bible directly contradicts such a concept. But I am also persuaded that the Bible is the work of men, not of God. The men who wrote the Bible were (I believe) truly seeking the Creator ... but I sincerely feel that their human limitations and human fallability got in the way, and because of that, the Bible contains some degree of error about the nature of God.

Now, to be fair, I also believe the same thing about my own books--that human limitations and human fallability have prevented any possibility of an absolutely correct understanding of the Creator from my Book of Shadows. But despite the fact that I will never have a perfect understanding of God, I still submit to God's Will, in as much as I understand that Will.

And that means that if I become persuaded that I can better serve the Creator as a Christian, I will be in church the very next time the doors open.

You rock, do you know that?

[technomage]

You rock, do you know that?

Dearheart, in talking to the folks here--yourself definitely included--you would be surprised at how many times I've expressed a similar sentiment.

[Dracula Girl]

As a wiccan, do you believe in one god or a couple gods? How do you view God?

[technomage]

As a wiccan, do you believe in one god or a couple gods?

Um, yes?

How do you view God?

Seriously, the Wiccan Lord and Lady are, fundamentally, aspects of the One Creator. God is One. Yet ... as human beings, it's very difficult to have a "relationship" with an infinite Entity. So we all have our own understanding of God. In my case, I see the Lord and Lady as separate aspects, reflecting the unity of God. It's not completely dissimilar to the Christian concept of the trinity, but there are differences.

I also see the Creator as manifest in Creation--still separate in some senses, but "indwelling" Creation. In some respects, this is not dissimilar to the Christian concept of the Holy Spirit indwelling the believer ... but the analogy isn't very good, and I don't emphasise it too much.

[James Peter]

Dearheart, in talking to the folks here--yourself definitely included--you would be surprised at how many times I've expressed a similar sentiment.

Yeah. Always insightful and respectful whilst being humble...better than most of us christians to be honest...

I've just read through 7 pages so I should probably ask a question but all the obvious ones have been asked. Hmm, I guess as I've been exploring 'Sin and sin' all evening a question about sin/soteriology would make sense.

Do you agree more with the concept of Sin/Death/Law being cosmic powers against which we struggle or as sin being individual transgressions that we commit and are accountable for?

[technomage]

Do you agree more with the concept of Sin/Death/Law being cosmic powers against which we struggle or as sin being individual transgressions that we commit and are accountable for?

James, I'll be honest with you--I don't hold to a concept of Sin at all. Death is a natural part of life--indeed, physical life without physical death is absolutely untenable to me. And I'm fairly well persuaded that Law is far more cultural than Cosmic.

Now, by the same token, I am persuaded that there is right, and there is wrong. We as individuals can do wrong by commission or by omission. But I cannot tell you with any confidence what the Creator's moral commands or preferences are ... I have my guesses, but they're conjecture, based on my understanding of theology.

To me, it is axiomatic that the Creator indwells all of Creation. That means that every person I meet is indwelt by God. It is possible for God to influence their choices if that person listens to God ... but many don't. And as human beings, we have both the potential for good, and the potential for evil. I firmly believe that the potential for evil is more frequently expressed when a person doesn' listen to those promptings.

But there can be no "Sin" that separates us from God. Indeed, to my understanding, when a person dies, their "soul" (for lack of a better term) returns to the Creator, because it was actually part of Him in the first place. When we die, we return to the Creator, as a drop of rain returns to the sea from whence it originally came.

In some areas, my beliefs are very similar to Christianity ... not identical, to be sure, but bearing a resemblance. But the concept of "sin" is probably the biggest divergence from that resemblance.

[James Peter]

So, once we die the consequences for our actions (both good and bad) cease? From what you posted earlier you appear to believe in some form of karma so would that mean that by the time we die we've received all our karma as it were? If not does death 'save' us from it as it were or do you think we receive whats due to us in some other way?

Don't worry, I'm not really building up to anything here. It makes a lot of sense though to reject a saviour if you don't think there is anything for us to be saved from...

(And personally I'm starting to lean away from a legal view of sin, punishment and atonement but thats not really relevant)

[Conductor42]

Wait a tic - you believe in the bible?!