FUNERAL AND BURIAL REQUIREMENTS None. Recognition of the death of a member takes place within the coven, apart from the body of the deceased. Ritual tools, mate rials, or writings found among the effects of the deceased should be returned to their home coven (typically a member will designate a person to whom ritual mat erials should be sent). It is desirable for a Wiccan priest or priestess to be p resent at the time of death, but not strictly necessary. If not possible, the be st assistance would be to make the member as comfortable as possible, listen to whatever they have to say, honor any possible requests, and otherwise leave them as quiet and private as possible. MEDICAL TREATMENT No medical restrictions. Wi ccans generally believe in the efficacy of spiritual or psychic healing when don e in tandem with standard medical treatment. Therefore, at the request of the pa tient, other Wiccan personnel should be allowed visiting privileges as though th ey were immediate family, including access to Intensive Care Units. Most Wiccans believe that healing energy can be sent from great distances, so, if possible, in the case of any serious medical condition, the member's home coven should be notified. OTHER With respect to attitude toward military service, Wiccans range from career military personnel to conscientious objectors. Wiccans do not prosel ytize and generally resent those who do. They believe that no one Path to the Sa cred is right for all people, and see their own religious pattern as only one am ong many that are equally worthy. Wiccans respect all religions that foster hono r and compassion in their adherents, and expect the same respect. Members are en couraged to learn about all faiths, and are permitted to attend the services of other religions, should they desire to do so. Source: http://wicca.com/celtic/wicca/military.htm How others look at Wicca and Wiccans Page | 162
A Christian Speaks of Wicca and Witchcraft I am a Christian and not a Wiccan. A Christian is one who has been baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and who has made a personal, free-will decision to commit himself and al l his or her life to our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Both of these th ings are true of me. I am a member of St. Mary's Eastern Orthodox Church, Calhan , Colorado. In this paper, I am not speaking as agent for any church, but I am, entirely on my own responsibility, speaking the truth in love, as we Christians are supposed to do. A Situation of Strife and Shame There are many Christians to day who believe that anyone who is not a Christian is doomed to an eternity of s uffering in hell. Any decent person, believing this, would be compelled to try t o save as many people from this fate as possible. But is this belief correct? Je sus Christ, having noted the faith and righteousness of a Roman centurion, a Pag an, proclaimed: "Assuredly I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of t he kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnash ing of teeth." (Matthew 8:10-12) If we accept these words as true, and surely we should, then it is clear that heaven will contain many who are not Christians, and hell will contain many who are! Clearly, throughout the Gospels, Jesus Chris t sets forth the criteria for entrance into the kingdom of heaven, and those cri teria include love, kindness, forgiveness, and a refusal to judge others: "For i f you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matthew 6:14-15) "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you." (Matthew 7:2) "But go and learn what this means: `I desire mercy and not sacrif ice.'" (Matthew 9:13) "Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is mercif ul. Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be co ndemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven." (Luke 6:36-38) Is it not clear? Any one who fails in these things, will calling himself a Christian How others look at Wicca and Wiccans Page | 163
save him? Anyone who obeys God in these things, will being unbaptized condemn hi m? Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingd om of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." (Matthew 7:21) Y et it is not by good works that we earn our way into heaven, because there is no way we can earn the free gift of God's mercy and grace, which alone can save us . But it is clear that it is not by faith, in the sense of sharing the Christian faith, that we are saved, either. The faith which saves us is not faith in the goodness of our works, nor faith that we have the right theology and/or belong t o the right church. Rather, it is faith in God, and in His mercy: "So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who has mercy." (Romans 9 :16) But the Wiccans, you will say, do not have faith in God. Yet by their own t heology, they certainly do. Those who call them Satan-worshippers are entirely w rong. They do not worship Satan, or even believe that Satan exists. Instead, the y worship a Goddess and a God whom they understand as manifestations of a higher and unknown Deity. Now if you are a Christian, this will sound familiar to you, and it should. In the Bible we find the following: "Then Paul stood in the mids t of the Areopagus and said, `Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you a re very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of y our worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Th erefore, The One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you" (Acts 17:22-23) The Wiccans worship the Unknown God, as manifested to them in the form of a Goddess and a God. Therefore, our Bible tells us they worship the same God we do; and if they do not know this, we should know it! For those of us who are unable to simply stand on God's Word, and must prove to themselves the truth of what it proclaims the holy Apostle John has given us the method for doing this. You have only to attend any public Wiccan ceremony, and test the spirits which are there, to see "whether they are of God" (1 John 4:1). You will find that, wh ile the power manifested there may be less than what you have experienced as a C hristian, that power is clearly the power of God. Dear brothers and sisters in C hrist, these people of Wicca have been terribly How others look at Wicca and Wiccans Page | 164
slandered by us. They have lost jobs, and homes, and places of business because we have assured others that they worship Satan, which they do not. We have perse cuted them, and God will hold us accountable for this, you may be sure, for He h as said, "Assuredly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." (Matthew 25:40) Let us, from this point on ward, repent of our misdeeds and declare that henceforth we shall obey Christ ou r God, and not judge others or condemn them, so that He will not have to judge a nd condemn us for our sins. Written by: James Clement Taylor Source: http://wicca.com/celt http://wicca.com/celtic/wicca/christian ic/wicca/christian .htm How others look at Wicca and Wiccans Page | 165
The Bible's view of pagans and witches The Bible's view of pagans and witches ar e very bad 5. Genesis Chapter 12 You must destroy the pagan offering places thro ughout the country on the mountains, the hills and under trees. Take down the al tars, cast stone the pillars in pieces, throw asjera poles in the fire, breaking idols and destroy anything that has whit there belief to do! But what should th ey do to get us believe in Christianity. On that time they could only scare peop le to get them to convert. Written by: Jim HD - 2011 Source: http://www.udfordringen.dk/bibel/ How others look at Wicca and Wiccans Page | 166
Translated By This document are translated from Danish to English by âGoogle translatedâ and the autho r Jim HD. If some of the translating are wrong then you can help by Email the co rrect translating to â
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