Some things I think are weird (originally posted at Hysterical Jugglings)

[disenchantedenchantress]

A Christian Witch
A Jewish* Witch
and any other variation of an established patriarchal religion that demonised witchcraft and magick use, and believes only in the One True GodTM Witch.

I just don't understand it, and I have never had anyone explain it in a way that makes me understand. I have had plenty of people tell me that people can believe anything and any way they like. Which is undeniable. That doesn't mean I think they are right in what they believe.

This apparently makes me Teh Evilz and Big Bad disenchantedenchantress . I just wish someone would explain how it is possible to put the two together and make a viable, workable spirituality? Yes, take influence from it, take inspiration from it, but actually calling yourself a Christian Witch?

Why it doesn't work for me:
-Whether you consider witchcraft to be a spiritual path, or a structure of occult skills, both of those views are not compatible with the doctrine of Christian belief. As a Christian, Jesus Christ is the one and only One True God. No Goddess, no Mother Earth, no Female Divine. There can be no divination, no spellwork, no idols, nothing that is actually Witchcraft. So what is it you are actually doing if you are a Christian Witch? (Same goes for all the other religions that have an anti-occult doctrine.)
-It ignores the history of Christianity. The history of violence, anti-homosexuality, anti-women, all those "goodies" that fill the Bible.
-It smacks of an inferiority complex. Being a Witch isn't good enough, it has to be pre-fixed with a label that gives it a respectable meaning. Why can't you embrace and reclaim the word WITCH? If you walk like a duck, and quack like a duck, why do you pre-fix the word duck with chicken?
-It is insulting to Christianity. Not that I really care, but it is. Christianity and all its fellows have established doctrine and laws that you are meant to subscribe to.

If someone can give me some clarity on this, I would be really grateful. I don't think I would ever really change my mind about just being a Witch, but I would love an intelligent and non-emotive answer to my questions. Other than just being mean and horrid! :P

*Being Jewish is not only a religious path, it is a heritage. You are born a Jew. So technically, if you choose the path of Witchcraft, then you are still Jewish and a Witch. A good example of this is Starhawk. She is proud of her Jewish heritage, but still calls herself a Witch...

Not a Jewitch...

Comments

[elle]

I empathise a lot with your sentiments here. It bugs me to no end too. My mother was the first example I ever encountered as a "Christian witch" although I don't think she ever considered herself a witch. She told me in my later teen years that she was part of a coven that practised witchcraft, but I got the impression it was magick only, i.e., spells, and not actually subscribing to any particular belief system. Mom was always a Christian even though she never went to church. And I couldn't understand it because Christianity and witchcraft didn't go together.

A later experience in an occult shop in Philadelphia was even stranger because it had Bibles and crucifixes and all the Christian paraphenalia right next to books of spells, voodoo dolls, pentacles, spell kits, etc. I didn't get it.

I have found tolerance. I don't judge or pretend to understand, I simply tolerate. Tolerance should not be viewed as acceptance though. When I first heard the term Christian Wicca, I thought, "Ye gads, Gardner must be rolling in his grave." I still think that. And yet, people are actually subscribing to it. WTF!? Ok, if it's floating your boat, but I will never understand.