I’m a Christian, but my girlfriend is not.
My girlfriend is currently interested in Wicca. I don’t share her enthusiasm. I’m trying to convince myself that everything is okay, but Wiccans, from what I understand, don’t believe in heaven or that there is just one god. I’m a Christian, and I am afraid that I’ll marry her and once she dies, or I die, I’ll never see her again. I am terrified of that. I want to be with her forever, and I personally don’t mind if she does this, but I feel like she’s stepping on god’s toes. If there is anything that can help put my mind at ease, please do. I don’t want her to go to hell, because of something like that. She’s a good person, and I love her. Thank you.
-S. R.
Dear S.R. –
I think that it is very sweet that you are concerned about your girlfriend and your relationship. You are correct on the accounts that you’ve given. Wicca doesn’t follow Christian beliefs or understandings of things. There is no concept of sin or salvation in Wicca. Beliefs in the afterlife are as varied as there are ancient traditions. Since NO ONE is operating on anything other than faith and belief where such is concerned, Wiccans are comfortable with their concept of what happens after death. Most believe in reincarnation on some level, fitting in with the observation and understanding that time is cyclical and not linear. It’s also my understanding that Wiccans don’t work with the Christian god. He likes to be the one and only and doesn’t really play well with others. Since Wiccans revere a Goddess sometimes more highly than a God even though they’re seen as equals, he wouldn’t be a good fit for Wiccan practice.
You seem to have an interesting starting point to your problem. If she is “interested in Wicca,” does that mean she’s looking into it or that she’s actively practicing it? People go through exploratory phases in different things all the time and it could be that you’ll have nothing to worry about. If she’s exploring, then it could simply be that she’ll find the Wiccan religion isn’t to her tastes and she’ll move on and pursue something else. Wicca isn’t for everyone and it doesn’t try to be.
Talk to her and find out what she’s thinking or interested in. If you choose to share your beliefs, that’s fine, but be respectful. If she’s not interested in being Christian, you have to leave her to that. Either you can both agree to disagree and continue having a relationship, or you’ll split up.
If you want to try to convince her to be a Christian, consider whether or not you would leave your faith for something else. If you wouldn’t, then don’t expect her to.
It’s a Christian thing now, right?
Why do some people assume that just because some Christian thing might be Pagan in origin, that it remains Pagan even after it’s been given a Christian understanding and has a long history in Christianity?
-L. E.
Dear L.E. –
Everything must adapt in order to survive, including religions. The Christian religion did this by adapting the Pagan beliefs it encountered. All religions build upon what was present before it and incorporate parts of the previous system into itself. In order for a religion to work, the followers have to accept it, otherwise, it’s meaningless. It doesn’t matter how ‘right’ or ‘true’ a belief is. If there are no followers, it ceases to exist.
Likewise, adapting a tradition or practice from its roots and bringing it into a new system does not change the origin of that tradition or practice. It was, is, and will always be something that originated in Paganism.
A tradition or practice only has value to the people who follow it. If you’re Christian and want to put up a decorated tree, wreaths, candles, and such around Christmas time, that’s your choice. If Pagans practice these traditions with Pagan meaning behind them, then for them it remains a Pagan practice, whether or not Christians have adapted it and use it.
These practices originated in Pagan belief. That doesn’t mean the practices can’t be adapted to fit Christian religion. A symbol is just a symbol. It’s the people who use the symbol that dictate what it means. Just give credit where it’s due and recognize that the practice originated in Paganism.
What’s the difference?
What do voodoo, voodon, Wicca, black magic have in common?
-B. R.
Dear B.R. –
“Voodoo” is the Americanized spelling of Vodou. It is popularized in cheezy horror films and the idea of black magic.
Vodou is a religious belief that came out of west Africa. It was the old religion of the slaves and they brought it with them to the Americas. Over here, it mixed and blended with a layer of Catholic beliefs and became what is popularly recognized as the Vodoun religion. It has absolutely nothing to do with Satan or devils or anything like that. It focuses on beings called Lwa (low-ah) and ancestor reverence.
Wicca is Western European in origin and can be compared in practice to many Native American beliefs. Wicca focuses belief on male and female divinity, sees the Earth as a manifestation of that — and therefore sacred — and seeks balance and attunement with nature and the natural cycle of things through recognizing the turning seasons and changing phases of the moon.
Black magic is a generic term that describes any magical force that is deemed evil and the opposite is the definition for white magic. In truth, though, there’s no such thing as white or black magic in Witchcraft, because the goodness or evilness isn’t in the act itself but in the intention and focus behind the act. So it’s all magic, your intention is what determines whether it’s good or bad, and that’s subjective.
As far as what they all have in common: Vodouisants and Wiccans may both use magic– remember that there’s really no such thing as white/black though — and they may have certain practices in common or certain beliefs, but they are both religions with their own origins and are unique to themselves.
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