Why do many Christians seem to think that Wiccans or other Pagans simply do not know about Christianity?

As a home schooling family, we belong to local homeschool group where most of the families are fundamentalist Christians. We are Wiccan.

While on field trips together, I have had the opportunity to listen to many of their conversations of a religious nature. I have often heard them speak of their need to save "poor lost souls" who have lost their way by showing them the way. I have heard of them speak of how happy it makes them to be able to show one of those poor lost souls the Christian way.

These are friendly, nice people in every way except for the fact they expect everyone to be the same as them.

They seem to hold the misguided belief that everyone who is introduced to Christ, and Christianity in their way, will suddenly "see the light" and turn to what they believe to be the truth without question. They so firmly believe that their religion is the ONLY truth, that they cannot understand how anyone would NOT convert once they were shown the "truth" (as they see it to be).

They believe that as Wiccans, Witches, Pagans, we are under the control of "Satan" and that once we are shown the true "path of light", that we "repent and be forgiven".

Their minds have been so closed that they cannot fathom how ANYONE could be completely aware of Christianity and NOT follow it the way that they do. I am not saying that ALL Christians are like this. Some have open minds. There are those who simply take every word in the Bible to be the exact truth and will never see things any other way.

Personally, I could never be Christian (or Jewish, or Muslim, etc.) any more than they would consider becoming Pagan. As a child, I was not forced to follow the Christian traditions. Although my parents called themselves protestant religions, they did NOT go to churches, nor did they try to force these beliefs on me. Many of my family and neighbors used to try to do so by taking me to churches. I've been in many different kinds. They were never able to convince me.

As a young child, I knew that I was different from what I had heard of most religions. On looking back, I was Pagan from birth. I just didn't have a "name" for it until later. As a teenager, I naturally followed my path into a Wiccan Coven and have never looked back.

Now, at the age of 53, I am Wiccan to my very core. It feels like I am Pagan on a sub-atomic level. That is the best way that I know how to describe it. I could never become Christian and the very essence of my being is Pagan.

It is that simple.

To properly answer your question, it is first necessary to provide some definitions for you. Firstly, Paganism itself is not a religion. "Pagan" is an umbrella term that defines a great number of religions. It is often difficult to define which qualities a religion must have in order to be classified as Pagan, but generally it is used to refer to either Earth/nature based religions or old polytheistic religions. Some modern examples would be Wicca and Druidism, while some older examples would be the religions of the ancient Greeks, Romans and Celts. However there are three religions which are definitely not Pagan and these are Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The umbrella term to refer to these religions is "Abrahamic Religions" as they are all based on the religious path that supposedly was founded by the mythical figure Abraham (though Islam was founded by Muhammad, it is an extension of the other two Abrahamic traditional beliefs). Now, Wicca: Wicca is an Earth-based Pagan mystery religion that worships a God and a Goddess. It is also a magical system of witchcraft and traditionally it is also a priesthood. Traditionally people would be initiated into Wicca and in so doing they become priests of Wicca and train as witches. The most notable thing in regards to your question is in what a Christian, Pagan and Wiccan are and whether or not these things can co-exist as a belief system. Wicca and Christianity really can't be joined from the Christian perspective. One of the chief reasons for this is because Wicca is a polytheistic religion (believes in multiple Gods) and Christianity is a monotheistic religion (believes that there is only one God). This means that the two religions are automatically at odds and cannot be unified. You cannot be a Christian and a Wicca. However, you CAN be Wiccan (or a Pagan in general) and still believe that the Christian God exists. The only difference is that in this way, you believe in the Christian God, but not that he is the only God. The Christian God would just be one among many and no better or worse than any other. If you choose this route, then don't expect Christians to look upon you too favourably - especially if you also begin to practice magic, which is frowned upon by the majority of Christians. Now, despite what some people may think, there is actually nothing to stop you being a witch (or any other kind of magic user) and also being Christian. It is true that most English Bibles say that a person must not practice witchcraft, however many scholars (and some Christians) see the use of the word "witchcraft" in Bibles as a mistranslation, misuse, or otherwise not applicable to modern positive uses of witchcraft. I myself know several Christians who also practice magic and it should be noted that the Jews themselves have their own magical systems and that there are some very prominent Christian magicians in history. But it should be noted that just because you are a witch, does not mean that you are a Wiccan. Witchcraft is merely a certain form of magic, while Wicca is a religion that incorporates witchcraft into its beliefs. There are a great many witches in the world today who are not Wiccan. I hope that helped in answering your question. But to summarise: You cannot be a "Christian-Wiccan". You can be a Pagan who believes in the Christian God as just one God among many. You can be a Christian and practice magic, though many Christians will look down on it.

Children only know what they were taught, but were they taught correctly? Many Christian are taught by their parents to follow a certain belief, they search no further.

It seems to me that many pagans did not come from pagan families. They became pagans from researching various other preexisting and current religions. As for me I have read the OT, the NT, the Nag Hammadi Library, the Dead Sea Scrolls, I have researched Kabbalah, studied Greek and Roman history, as well as their gods. Researched the Egyptian gods, the Babylonian gods, the Celtic gods, the Nordic gods, Mayan gods, the gods of the Druids, the Sumerian gods and all the primitive gods predating Christianity. Most pagans who have studied these have found the parallels between various religions; they have found that the basis of Christianity stems from previous pagan beliefs

The Bible is written in parables. In order to understand the truth, we must have all the pieces of the puzzle. I don’t believe the clues to unravel the mystery were contained in the boundaries of just one book. They have been spread throughout many ancient and previously “lost” documents.

Since many Christians have never really researched others religions, how can they say others are wrong? Many of the pagans I’ve seen post here, have read most religions and use these educated studies to base their decision.

Simply the fact that I live in the US gets me exposed to Christianity more than I ever would need to be. The scary thing is that a lot of the time I know more about Christian doctrine than a lot of the Christians I am acquainted with.

edit- Pastor Art: you do realize that the majority of pagans were raised Christian. Your "well they were never true Christians" is just grasping for excuses- several of the pagans on R&S were fully-devoted to Jesus before they switched religions.

Because Christianity in and of itself is a one-sided (my way or the highway) belief system. Now it isn't always that way, but "Mainstream Biblical Christianity" professes to be the only true path.

As opposed to Pagan and Wiccan beliefs, which are more open-minded belief systems, and can relate more to individuals who are spiritual seekers and uncomfortable with their former Christian beliefs.

Of course Pagans have studied the Christian beliefs and the Bible, that's why we DON'T follow it LOL

I've always been amused with the saying: "I don't believe in the same god you don't believe in..."

I can't really think of much more to say that won't offend somebody, oh heck, I probably already have if they are reading this, so I may as well continue. ;) (I'm feeling silly, no not alcohol silly, never touch the stuff, just happy silly because its late)

Let's go for an alternative example with splashes of humour for the fun of it.

God [truth] is one, religion is one, and all mankind is one. Oh, and Christ has come again already, more than 100 years ago, and He said Muhammad was a Prophet of God of perfect guidance, however many of His [Muhammad and Christ] followers have gone a little AWOL from their teachings. Central tenets of the Baha'i faith.

There, that should offend many polytheists, atheists, agnostics, Muslims and Christians all. Are you one of them, cause if not you might be reasonable - "STOP THE INSANITY" (thanks Susan Powder ;) Wow I didn't realize I could sound like Richard Simmons while just typing...

Since there is no compulsion in religion according the Baha'is either [which BTW is Quranic too, see how well they read? -don't believe your Mullahs unless they teach kindness], we don't really care if you don't join if you don't want to. In fact we don't want you to, if you don't want to honestly anyway, that'd be just degrading the integrity of the faith any how, but you might find it interesting anyway. ;) I won't bother posting a link, since if you care it should be obvious how to "discover the magic" - like my Mormon friend said about the secret rites etc. at the LDS temple "It's better than Disney World!"

Have I offended enough people yet? Punch me, see if I'm still smiling, if I am, then I have have been honest, if not, I'm only feeling what I deserved - I'll try and hold the drool in so as not to offend your fist's sense of hygiene. ;)

Said with a Mexican accent "I think the stale bread is moldy."

Now with the accent of "redneck wrestler man" [bad spelling and all] "I lade the smak doun on yu!".

So does my presentation need work, nudge, nudge, winky winky? ;)

[Small text and announcement at the end of the televised broadcast]

The proceeding message has been brought to you by a member of the Baha'i faith. - Baha'i faith - for a better world...

;) Sometimes I can have a sense of humor you know, it may be lamer than a peg legged pirate, but it's there darn it! ;)

God bless.

Ignorance, lack of respect, hypocrisy; depends on the individual in question, really.

I know, it's infuriating. Being a theologically liberal Christian, I've had to deal with similar situations on a smaller scale. Try to remember, though, that in their own misguided way, such Christians are really just trying to help you. Most of them probably don't intend to upset or annoy you.

Personally, I have great respect for Wicca (don't have much exposure to other pagan religions). It's a very...artistic faith, I guess you could say.

rhiannoncallisto: Ascended Masters...? You wouldn't happen to be alluding to theosophy, would you? If so, I find that very interesting, as I've never encountered someone else who had any exposure to that religion. I almost became one awhile back. Just didn't feel right for me, though; liberal Christianity's where I'm happy to stay for now.

And I live in the South. We have a different church on every corner. One Saturday I had JW, Baptist and the Morman. IN ONE DAY! You stop being nice after a while.

I have two standard responses.

"I do not share your faith. Thank you"

"My soul is not for sale"

They *usually* work. If they don't I get rude.

"I am not buying what your selling and your trespassing. I have the right to bear arms. Tread carefully".

THAT gets the message across.

You've met one now Pastor Art. I was raised Catholic and then converted to Baptist, accepting baptism at 15.

I agree with you. I was never raised in any particular religion because my step dad was an Atheist though my mom was Episcopalian but not a practicing one, I never went to a church until I was an adult and started seeking. The minute I was told having psychic ability was evil I left the Christian faith. I heard that from a Baptist person at an Amway meeting as at that time I was in Amway when they really pushed the religion part of it. They don't now but some groups still do and that's the reason I left.

Because it was through learning about prayer and meditation at the Anglican church I went to, that I began to discover my ability. I then started going to the Church of Divine Man which is based upon Christ's teachings but incorporating chakra meditations and healings and developing one's inner temple if you will. They disbanded here but I never forgot the Baptist Holy Roller type who insulted my beliefs.

It was then as I began to get into the Spiritualist church that I found Wicca.

I used to read the Bible as a child because I had a children's Bible story book my mom gave me and a children's Bible. So she just let me learn about God on my own. And not once did I think anything like today's Christians think. I always thought Jesus was someone very in touch with his Inner Source and his duty on this earth was to tell us that it doesn't matter how you believe but just that you believe in your Higher Source and love your other Humans as you would love and respect yourself.

Jesus was a Gnostic from what I have read and couldn't be a Christian otherwise he'd have to believe in Himself. Rather Ironic you think?

He was trying to tell us that the most important thing is to connect to God through conscious contact of prayer and meditation and to not ignore or disrespect fellow humankind.

I still felt there was more to spirituality than the teachings of Jesus, Buddha and all the Ascended Masters. That's when the call of the Goddess came to me and I answered and for the first time felt at home and at peace in who I am spirituality.

Christians firmly believe that to really understand and comprehend biblical truths is possible only if the Holy Spirit dwells in a person.....It is He who can teach us all things and bring to remembrance everything that Jesus Christ said --John 14:26