Homosexuality and Withcraft
Vs.The Monotheistic Holy Texts
When one seeks answers about any faith, they are to turn to the figure heads of their respective religion. In order to be knowledgeable about any faith or doctrine, it is also wise to learn of others faiths and doctrines. My case in point... If you look back into the history of the bible, we find the following teachings: There are many Christians today who believe that anyone who is not a Christian is doomed to an eternity of suffering in hell. Any decent person, believing this, would be compelled to try to save as many people from this fate as possible. But is this belief correct? Jesus Christ, having noted the faith and righteousness of a Roman centurion, a Pagan, 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 the east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing 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 Christ sets forth the criteria for entrance into the kingdom of heaven, and those criteria include love, kindness, forgiveness, and a refusal to judge others: "For if 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 unto you." (Matthew 7:2) "But go and learn what this means: `I desire mercy and not sacrifice.'" (Matthew 9:13) "Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven." (Luke 6:36-38) Could it not have been more clear? Anyone who fails in these things, will calling himself a Christian save him? Anyone who obeys God in these things, will being unbaptized condemn him? Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to Me,`Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." (Matthew 7:21) Yet it is not by good works alone, or faith alone that you earn your way into heaven, because there is no way you can earn the free gift of God's mercy and grace, which alone can save you, according to your own theology. But it is clear that it is not by faith, in the sense of sharing the Christian faith, that you are saved, either. The faith which saves you is not faith in the goodness of your works, nor faith that you have the right theology and/or belong to 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 or believers of other faiths, you will say, do not have faith in God. Wiccans in particular actually do. By our own theology, we certainly do. Those who call us Satan-worshippers are entirely wrong. We do not worship Satan, or even believe that Satan exists. Instead, we worship a Goddess and a God whom they understand as manifestations of a higher and unknown Deity manifesting through the polarities of the masculine and feminine. Now if you are a TRUE Christian, this will sound familiar to you, and it should. In the Bible we find the following:
"Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, `Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you" (Acts 17:22-23)
