WIccans-how do you reach them?

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WIccans-how do you reach them?

Postby girlninja » Tue Jan 04, 2005 4:48 am

i'm in a public school and their seems to be a huge following of the wiccan religion. i'm familiar with the precepts and it's sad how many people are following it....the most disturbing aspect is that their are people claiming to be CHRISTIAN wiccans and claim that they only use good magic...

it's a problem i don't think people realize how serious it truly is...
having done witchcraft in the past before Jesus saved me i understand that aspect and the lure of it's false power...becuz i guarantee that it is real i've seen and done it! But pastors and other ppl alike don't realize how much Satan has gotten into our schools...though it's more serious in highschool i've seen it alot in middle school as well...

and i have a lot of wiccan and pagan friends whome i'm aquaintanances with and i wanna know how to reach them help me out please!
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Postby Kisa » Tue Jan 04, 2005 6:27 am

I have some step-cousins who are wiccans. Its sad and they won't listen when you say its all the same..... Pray for them is all I can think of and since you know personally what it is like, you may be able to relate to them better than we can.
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Postby termyt » Tue Jan 04, 2005 8:18 am

It won't be easy. IN the US, they are likely already going to have negative pre-conceptions about Christianity and those will be hard to overcome. I think a good place to start is to show them what Christ is really about with your own actions.

They already likely know God considers witchcraft a sin, so beating them over the head with scripture proving that fact isn't going to be helpful. Instead, show them kindness and love. Do not accept their lifestyle and you can let them know you disapprove, but you must still treat them with love and respect as Christ would. It is their lifestyle choice that is abhorrent, not the witches themselves.

Show them you care about them. Help them, don't shun them, and pay attention to them. List to their point of view and try to understand it (be open-minded), but be prepared to explain your own point of view. (Being open-minded does not mean accepting their views as valid or good, just listening to them and understanding them).

Also, although you need to treat them with respect, you can not be a doormat. Don't be afraid to answer criticism and defend your faith. You will earn the respect of those who are open minded (and you won't be able to do anything for those who are close-minded, anyway) which will give credibility to the Gospel.

Piece of cake, right? It won’t be easy and, quite frankly, you are not likely to see any results yourself, but it is your duty to take Christ to them. Who knows, perhaps you will plant a seed that will change a life down the road. Perhaps you will be blessed enough to see a life transformed and made new right before your very eyes.
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Postby Chichiri » Tue Jan 04, 2005 8:29 am

For the most part, good luck. Most regular wiccans won't listen to you and they kind of have to realize it on their own. I always thought wicca was very stupid personally.
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Postby crossalchemist » Tue Jan 04, 2005 10:13 am

What I did for my friend who used to be wiccan was I talked to her. I made it no secret that I was a Christian and because of this the topic of conversation was always Christians verses Wiccans. But you haveto keep it friendly conversation, don't let yourself get angry and start to argue, this is discussion. Ask them questions about thier religion and about why they follow it. They will probably respond with asking you the same questions but you must be prepared to answer (so this requires a little research and reading). They won't really listen to you right away or let anything get through to them right way (I have fouind in myown experience that they have these conversations so that they can tell off those lousy Christians) but eventually, because they are talking to you about it all the time and you are being friendly then eventually they will begin to question thier beliefs.

Also, they will probably talk about the 'cool' powers that they have through being a Wiccan. Remember the awesome powers that you have through Jesus. As Christians we are immune to spells and connot be possessed by demons. We are given the Armor of God to help us in spiritual warfare. We also have the gifts of the Spirit which one is given to each Christian. These are just a few of the things we have thanks to Jesus, not to mention eternal life.

So just remember to friendly to them and have these conversations with them. And even though they may interupt you when you try to speak or get mad, you cannot get mad or interupt them. Like termyt said, "Treat them with respect, but don't be a doormat. " I hope that this is helpful to you and I will be praying for your friends.
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Postby Kat Walker » Tue Jan 04, 2005 8:12 pm

Ah Wicca....if it's a bunch of high school kids I think it's highly likely this is merely a fad or a rebellious streak than a sincere religious experience. People who are serious, hardcore pagans and withcraft practicioners are starting to get really annoyed with this whole "fluffbunny movement" Wicca has spawned. A good percentage of the outspoken Wiccan community and their blithering public icons (think Fiona Horne) have p.o.'d the pagan/occult community to the point of a severe backlash. Being Wiccan isn't really cool anymore unless you're a 14-year-old Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan. I suppose that's good in a way, it will deflect more people from wanting to study witchcraft if they don't have the guts to become vampiric chaos magicians or satanists. ¬_¬

Anyway, here's some hopefully helpful hints for issues that might come up amongst your pagan friends:

Appeal to their feminist leanings with Scripture that asserts God is not a big meanie sexist jerk (Feel free to print these out or make a note for good measure)...

Proverbs 31:10-31 -- The "Wife of Noble Character" is a great passage. It praises women who are self-reliant, use their artistic talents, balance their finances wisely, run their household well, and are praised for their abilities.
Acts 2:17-18 -- "In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy."
Romans 16 -- Plenty of women ministers and leaders are commended in this entire chapter.
1 Corinthians 11:11-12 -- "In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God."
Ephesians 5:33 -- "However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband."
1 Timothy 5:1-2 -- "Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity."
1Peter 3:3-5 -- "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful."
Job 31:13-15 -- "If I have denied justice to my menservants and maidservants when they had a grievance against me, what will I do when God confronts me? What will I answer when called to account? Did not he who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?"
The Book of Esther -- A woman single-handedly saves her entire race using her cleverness.
The Book of Ruth -- An entire book on the inspirational journey of a young foreign widow who comes to Israel.
Judges 4 -- The story of the wise, respected female judge Deborah. There's even a song she wrote included!

and my favorite example of all:

Galatians 3:28
-- "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."


Think of Biblical examples of reverence for nature. Highlight Adam and Eve's first job was to be the stewards and caretakers of nature. The fact that God "sculpted man from the dust of the Earth" shows that Christians are not only connected to nature, we're literally part of the earth we live on. Show them the verses in Revelations about the peace between all animals in heaven. And there's tons of Bible verses where people praise God based on the beauty of His natural wonders, more than I can look up at the moment.

Don't be intimidated by intellectual fallacies. If they decide to go the "look at the Crusades and other bad stuff X-tians did!1!! Wiccans r perfect and peaceful and awesome!1!" route, then don't be afraid to point out that ancient paganism was not entirely comprised of matriarchal tea-sipping, goddess-loving tree-hugger types who were mercilessly crushed by their barbaric patriarchal Christian neighbors (assert that this claim is particularly ridiculous when applied to pagan societies that existed well before the Birth of Christ -- sadly enough this happens often ¬_¬.) Ancient pagans commonly believed in cruel nature gods who would rain pestilence upon humanity at the slightest whim, along with plenty of other less glamourous stuff like child sacrifice, temple prostitution, slavery, plundering/raping/pillaging neighboring tribes, and yes... the degredation of women! *gasp* (In other words, get them to think about the fact that hypocrites don't speak for a religion as a whole, be they pagan or Christian.)

Some resources:

http://christiananswers.net/evangelism/beliefs/wicca.html -- a nice, fair, but very basic and general overview on Wiccan beliefs and how to approach them with understanding.

http://www.geocities.com/astraeaaradia/home.html -- Melissa's pagan site is great. She's a real nice person, very entertaining and not at all a stereotypical Wiccan. Her site has a wide variety of ideas, opinions, and resources that I find a refreshing break from the norm. (Especially worth reading is her essay on Christian bashing [warning for mild language] -- http://www.geocities.com/astraeaaradia/Christophobia.html)

<url cleared by shooraijin> -- "Library of Knowledge", lots of stuff on lots of different magical practices. You'll probably know more about Wicca than your Wiccan friends after you get through with this place.

http://www.whywiccanssuck.com/ -- A half serious, half tounge-in-cheek critique on the state of Wicca made by a now agnostic ex-Wiccan. It's probably not the most intellectually sound or unbiased site out there, but it's good enough to knock an obnoxiously arrogant Wiccan off their pedestal. And it's kinda funny.

Um....I kinda went off on a major tangent. Hope it helps. x.x
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Postby girlninja » Wed Jan 05, 2005 5:14 am

yea i agree...i have many friends who are wiccan that often have tried to get me to convert back i said ive seen what it can do i'm not traveling that road again...and i have often gotten in to discussions with wiccan or just normal pagan over it heh it's funny they call me SUper Christian but i gues the name is all in good fun it's gotten to the point where they won't ask me to join cuz they know my answer but in some ways that makes it harder to reach them *sigh* it's in God's hands i suppose thanks for the posting f you have any more comments/suggestions please post away ^^
"If not now then when? If not me then who?-anonymous

and of course now i must instill the Dancing BANANA'S!
:dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance:

WHY AM I CRYING IN FRENCH-Vash the Stampede

ORORORORORO!-Himura Kenshin

:jump: :lol: :thumb:

"It is not weak to value human life!"-Raiden, Mortal Combat II

98% of the teenage population does or has tried smoking pot. If you're one of the 2% who hasn't, copy & paste this in your signature.

*ADOPTED BY* ..yea i know scary I got a adopted ~_^

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Postby Syreth » Wed Jan 05, 2005 11:50 am

Something that might help somehow (it might not, I dunno), is the faulty view of truth called relativism. Truth is absolute no matter how you look at it. If something is true, then it's true for everybody. If we fail to realize this fact about spiritual matters, the biggest being God, then it is easy to fall into the trap of religious pluralism, like wiccans do, saying that there are many gods or there is one god, but all ways go to that god. The general idea is basically saying that truth for you isn't the same as truth for me. However, this is faulty thinking, because truth isn't defined by what people think or how people view things.

For an example, say we are standing face to face. There is a street light on my left, and that same street light is also on your right. The relative location is different, but this is just describing where the street light is in relation to where you are standing or where I am standing. The real location of that street light is absolute. No matter what you or I think, it is in the same place, and it doesn't move because we view it a different way.

If we, as Christians, believe that there is one God and one Way to God, Jesus Christ, and it is contradictory to what wiccans believe, then one of us is wrong, obviously. It might be a good idea to point this out at some point, if I haven't completely confused everyone reading this by my ridiculous example. Of course, do so in love at the right time, I don't have to tell you that, I'm sure.

I guess I would sum it up with this: Truth isn't broad by definition; it's narrow. Truth is exclusive. It's either true or it's not. If something is not 100% true through and through with no contradictions, then it's not truth. I hope I helped more than I confused.
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Postby Chaps » Thu Jan 06, 2005 12:40 am

Definitely talk to them...and there's no such thing as 'good magic,' because ALL forms of witchcraft and magick are forbidden in the Bible. But don't make it a pride contest or a "I'm right and you're wrong" argument. That wont' help things at all. If they shut out your words, just pray.
Prayer softens hearts and makes the spirit more willing. I mean, sure people like us may have trouble getting through people's hearts and minds, but it shouldn't be too tough for a God, eh?
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Postby Zane » Thu Jan 06, 2005 1:52 am

Tell them the Gospel.
Thats all you need to do, like Kat said its probably just a rebeling and something 'cool' to do. The only way they will change is by hearing the Gospel and having God work in their lives, according to his will, or they will grow out or be scared out of it.

Show Christs love for them through your actions and tell them the Gospel.
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Postby Kura Ookami » Thu Jan 06, 2005 2:22 am

When i wasn't a christian i was attracted to wicca myself. I was looking for the truth and wicca seemed to be the path to that truth. The one rule of wicca is this "Do what ye will as long as it harms none." Seems like a good way to live right? Total freedom. It is an attractive thing for sure, but there is only one true path and it's difficult for chriostians to convince wiccans of that.

Satan loves to masquerade as a being of good and he is cunning being able to use the word of God itself to strengthen his argyments against God. He did that with me manipulating the word of God to his own ends confusing me so much that i ended up really not knowing what was truth and what was lies. Satan is a poerful adversary.

But remember that God has already defeated Satan. God is stronger and He'll change your friends, but He'll do it in His time. Continue to live as a christian and show your friends the love and respect that Jesus would show them. That is what God commands us to do. Pray for them and one day maybe you'll see one or more of your friends transformed. :)
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Postby girlninja » Thu Jan 06, 2005 5:15 am

/smile thanks ^^ heh it's funny when you've done witchcraft and you see others do it how much you just wanna shake it outta them....i agree Satan i spowerful very very powerful but our God is stronger ^^ heh actually when i did witchcraft i didn't think of it as witchcraft wierd huh? ^^
"If not now then when? If not me then who?-anonymous

and of course now i must instill the Dancing BANANA'S!
:dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance:

WHY AM I CRYING IN FRENCH-Vash the Stampede

ORORORORORO!-Himura Kenshin

:jump: :lol: :thumb:

"It is not weak to value human life!"-Raiden, Mortal Combat II

98% of the teenage population does or has tried smoking pot. If you're one of the 2% who hasn't, copy & paste this in your signature.

*ADOPTED BY* ..yea i know scary I got a adopted ~_^

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Postby termyt » Thu Jan 06, 2005 5:40 am

Tis true, Satan is not to be trifled with. We like to think of him as a little pretender in a red suit that we can tease or make light of. That can not be farther from the truth. Satan is the biggest, baddest, nastiest thing you can imagine. You would have no hope for victory in a one-on-one fight against him. Seriously, on a scale of power (DBZ fans bear with me here), if you rank a five, he ranks five million. It is not wise to trivialize him.

Luckily, we do not have to face him alone. A thousand Satans do not have the power of our God. That's probably why we minimize Ole Scratch as much as we do, but we would be wise to remember our place and praise God for the protection we receive.
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Postby JediSonic » Thu Jan 06, 2005 9:50 am

You're totally right, termyte! It's a good thing that God = infinity though cuz

infinity > 5,000,000
:dance:

I haven't had much experience with wiccans myself, at least I haven't seriously talked to one before. Thanks for all the reference materials in your post, Kat; those should come in handy!

I have heard the "all roads lead to God" thing and I personally cant make any sense of it at all :lol:
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Postby Chichiri » Thu Jan 06, 2005 7:34 pm

Guys.... I hate to break this to you, but people keep repeating over and over (in many different topics) how you should show them bible verses. I wasn't Christian all my life. People used to show me bible verses and I would be like, "Haha yeah right. I don't believe that crap". For the most part, bible verses are going to have zero effect on a non-believer.

For her situation, it might since those particular wiccans also happen to be "Christian". But please just keep this in mind for the future.
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Postby Ducky » Thu Jan 06, 2005 9:07 pm

Played that game in middle/early high school ... only leads to trouble. When I was into Wicca my two friends who claimed to be christians were the ones who pretty much led our little group ... they honestly had no clue what the Bible said about it and when one of them found out she stopped and convinced me to as well and eventually our other friends were also influenced by that choice so if you do have friends who claim Christ and Wiccan verses could definately help.

Beyond that loving friendship can have a huge impact. A lot of kids who get into this stuff are looking for power in order to compensate for something missing in their lives. I know a girl who is extremely interested in the occult as a way to have control over something in her life. She came from a broken home and occult practices were her way of finding meaning for her life. She was very open to hearing about a different way to fill the void in her life when a friend and I talked to her. She honestly just was searching for the truth and if you just be a friend to wiccans you keep the door open to talk to them about Jesus.
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Postby girlninja » Fri Jan 07, 2005 5:55 am

i agree ^^ Chichiri i agree with ya ^^ HEH i can't show them bible verses becuz they don't accept the authority of the bible! however i do keep an open door to them and unfortunately i have lost some contact due to switched classes etc but i'm still accepted...

i also agree that people just look at it for a place to belong and want that false power illusion...tey will rationalize it anyway they can...i know i did! i didn't even wanna regonize that i was doing something bad! just preaching them the gospel wont work in fact alot of them know it better then i've seen some christians so they also have hard arguements that some people can't answer too >< satan was the serpent for a reason ><
"If not now then when? If not me then who?-anonymous

and of course now i must instill the Dancing BANANA'S!
:dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance:

WHY AM I CRYING IN FRENCH-Vash the Stampede

ORORORORORO!-Himura Kenshin

:jump: :lol: :thumb:

"It is not weak to value human life!"-Raiden, Mortal Combat II

98% of the teenage population does or has tried smoking pot. If you're one of the 2% who hasn't, copy & paste this in your signature.

*ADOPTED BY* ..yea i know scary I got a adopted ~_^

Nami
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