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Question Title	Posted By	Question Date
Stepmother thinks I worship Satan--please help	Caitlin	Monday, November 29, 2004
Question: Hi, Well, where to begin? I'm a Wiccan, female, 20 years old. I've been practicing the craft since I was 14. My stepmother married my father when I was 16. She comes from a strict Catholic background and her entire family is convinced I'm some kind of evil incarnate, bride of Satan type deal. Her father even told me I'm going to hell. I have been more than tolerant of these people and their bigotry, because Wicca teaches respect and tolerance for all religions, even if their doctrines and their practitioners disagree. For a family that claims to be so close to their God, they sure don't practice what they preach. They're a racist, ignorant bunch of fanatics of the worst stripe. I could care less about them, frankly, but I would at least like to get along with my stepmother. My mother (real) was a seminary student (Unitarian) so I know a lot about a lot of different religions, including Catholicism. However, every time I try to discuss my own faith and my stepmother's faith with her, she freezes up and gets very defensive. Wicca is not Satanism--we don't even believe in the Christian concept of god, devils, and angels so it'd be pretty hard for us to worship a deity we don't believe in--and we don't use "black" magic for our own ends. We have a moral code and tenets that we follow, just like Catholics. Wicca comes from the English tradition of midwives, healers and modern Wicca incorporates some principles of ancient Druidism. It's a peaceful religion with an emphasis on healing and tolerance. I guess maybe I'm too idealistic, but I'd like some advice from a fellow Catholic on communicating with my stepmother, and those in general that would write me off as a stereotypical Satanist. My way of patient, calm explanation hasn't been working. Sure, we have a lot of differences, but who says that Catholicism is better than Wicca? I find this very hypocritical...as they say, "let he that is without sin cast the first stone." Thanks!
Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM Dear Caitlin: Sorry for the delay in responding to your question. It is my job to tell the truth about the questions that are posed to me. I do that as best as I know how even if that truth steps on toes. In the question you have given me, I must step on your toes and on your family's toes for both of you are in the wrong (and both of you have some issues that are in the right). I will begin with your family: First: It is absolutely wrong of them to say you or anyone is going to hell. NO ONE but God can know who is going to hell. At best all that we can say to a person is something like, "Doing what you do you are risking your soul to hell. This course is on the road to hell." In fact, to presume someone is definitely going to hell is the grave sin of rash judgment. Thus I must chastise any family members, or anyone else, for declaring that you are going to hell because you are Wicca. Second: It is equally wrong and a rash judgment for your family to presume that you are a Satanist because you are Wicca. To begin with there are several different expressions of witchcraft. One kind is very benign and is essentially a nature oriented practice -- the worship of nature. Another kind of witchcraft includes spells and incantations used for "good" purposes in what is called "white magic". And third is a kind of witchcraft that uses spells and incantation for direct evil in what is called "black magic". Christians will identify witchcraft, of any sort, as an abomination to God because that is what God says about witchcraft as recorded in the Bible. Christian will identify witchcraft, of any sort, an evil because it is a form of idolatry -- worship creation instead of the creator; or in some cases, worshipping a false god or even Satan himself, instead of the true God. Even the most benign forms of Wicca that are barely more than nature-lovers still are evil, from a Christian point-of-view, because they worship creation instead of the creator. This is idolatry. With this being said, Christians should not presume that all forms of witchcraft is a "direct" worshipping of Satan, thus the label of Satanist is improper. What can be said, from a Christian point-of-view, is that Wicca, regardless of flavor, is a deadly deception perpetrated, albeit subtlety, by Satan. It is a deception because it directs one's spirit and soul away from the True God, it is deadly because departing from the True God leads to spiritual death. It is perpetrated by Satan, even if he may not the author of it, because has a vested interest in leading people away from the True God and thus will invest time in encouraging witchcraft and attempting to seduce people into it. Therefore, even though your family may have approached this in an improper way, or even a sinful way in terms of rash judgment, our of fear most likely, they are correct to be concerned for your soul since you are leading a life apart from the True God. Now for your end of things: You have a right to be upset about being called a Satanist. As mentioned above this is a rash judgment on the part of family members who think this. Most witches are not Satanists. As far as tolerance, however, it seems to me that you are as intolerant toward your family and your believe your family is toward you. If you were truly tolerant, you would understand the issues and explanations I offered above about the Christian point-of-view and take that into consideration that the family is coming from a Christian point-of-view even if they expressed it wrongly. In your posting here you appear to be not only intolerant but hateful. I understand why, but nevertheless, hatefulness is not a mark of a "tolerant" person. As for the notion of not believing in the devil it must be pointed out that because a person does not "believe" in a devil does not mean the devil does not exist, nor does it mean that a person cannot "indirectly" worship that devil by proxy. The worship of anyone or anything other than the True God is at best an "indirect" worship of the "devil by proxy." The "proxy" is the person or thing that is "directly" worshipped, such as nature itself or nature gods or whatever that is not the True God. Thus this argument one cannot worship a personage they do not believe exists a false and illogical argument. The old cliche may be applicable here: "A rose by any other name is still a rose." It should be noted that one former "white witch" who rose to the highest echelons his craft said that once you reach the inner circle, one is introduced to the god of witchcraft -- the horned god Lucifer (Satan's name before he was kicked out of heaven). Only those in the highest inner circle are made aware of this. In terms of Catholicism being no better than Wicca or any other religion is also false. Anything that is contrary to truth cannot be on equal standing with Truth. Catholicism is the foundation and pillar of Truth as revealed by God Himself. Truth matters. Witchcraft and other forms of non-Catholic thinking cannot maintain a fidelity to truth to one degree or another because person opinions and doctrines and notions form the basis of a self-appointed authority. This is why, for example, there are some 30,000 non-Catholic "denominations". When the authority is self, the self can come up with all sorts of notions and thus we end up with multiple opinions and practices of Christianity, various other religions, and even pagan practices. The idea of accepting all other people's beliefs is also a violation of Truth; contradictory notions cannot be true and not true at the same time. Truth by its nature is intolerant. 1+1=2 and no other answer is tolerated. The modern Wicca while claiming a connection to druid and other pagan notions have re-written history to form a benign notion of those ancient pagan religions. The modern witches have little actual semblance to the ancient mystery cults or pagan religions. Those ancient systems would be far to barbaric and I might add, much to violent toward women, to be allowed in the modern expression of paganism. Thus the modern pagan "picks and chooses" what they choose to believe. This is not how truth works. Truth is truth because it is Truth. Truth is not dependent on opinion and cannot be split-up into factions or picked over in order to accept some by not all of it. Of course you will not accept any of this because your worldview does not believe in a True God, or a True Faith, or a True Church, or in a genuine Truth. But we Catholics do believe in those things and those things have been proven over and over again by every notion of reason, phenomenological evidence, and even some scientific evidence. Catholicism is utterly reasonable and consistent. But this is another subject. The essential question you have is not Christianity vs. Wicca per se. It is about how to express to your family members that you are not a Satanist in that direct fashion. What I would recommend is that you explain that you do not believe in Satan and that you do not worship such a person. I would also recommend that you acknowledge that for Christians you understand that they consider Wicca as an evil thing because it is contrary to the Christian God. This is something both of you can agree upon. You can also agree with the notion that for Christians, the practice of Wicca is evil and, according to the Christian economy, it risks your soul to hell as Christians see it. While Christians may believe these things, it is not true that you are a Satan worshipper since that implies a direct and deliberate desire to worship the personage of Satan. Thus it is improper for them to characterize you that way. It is especially improper for them to say you are going to hell because the Catholic Church says that we cannot say that about anyone. Once this is said to your family members, then it should be dropped. There is no benefit in unproductive argumentation. Each of you knows where each stands and therefore there is no need for further argumentation. If your family members insist on bring up the subject, then try to avoid being baited. Merely say that you do not wish to talk about religion and ask them to respect that. If they choose to not respect your request to avoid the subject, then you will need to make other decisions about the relationship with your family. With all that said, we will pray that you someday become enlightened by the Truth of the True God and that you will come into fellowship with the True God in His True Church -- the Catholic Church. God Bless, Bro. Ignatius Mary For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.

Question Title

Posted By

Question Date

Stepmother thinks I worship Satan--please help

Caitlin

Monday, November 29, 2004

Question:

Hi,
Well, where to begin? I'm a Wiccan, female, 20 years old. I've been practicing the craft since I was 14. My stepmother married my father when I was 16. She comes from a strict Catholic background and her entire family is convinced I'm some kind of evil incarnate, bride of Satan type deal. Her father even told me I'm going to hell.
I have been more than tolerant of these people and their bigotry, because Wicca teaches respect and tolerance for all religions, even if their doctrines and their practitioners disagree. For a family that claims to be so close to their God, they sure don't practice what they preach. They're a racist, ignorant bunch of fanatics of the worst stripe.

I could care less about them, frankly, but I would at least like to get along with my stepmother. My mother (real) was a seminary student (Unitarian) so I know a lot about a lot of different religions, including Catholicism. However, every time I try to discuss my own faith and my stepmother's faith with her, she freezes up and gets very defensive.

Wicca is not Satanism--we don't even believe in the Christian concept of god, devils, and angels so it'd be pretty hard for us to worship a deity we don't believe in--and we don't use "black" magic for our own ends. We have a moral code and tenets that we follow, just like Catholics. Wicca comes from the English tradition of midwives, healers and modern Wicca incorporates some principles of ancient Druidism. It's a peaceful religion with an emphasis on healing and tolerance.

I guess maybe I'm too idealistic, but I'd like some advice from a fellow Catholic on communicating with my stepmother, and those in general that would write me off as a stereotypical Satanist. My way of patient, calm explanation hasn't been working. Sure, we have a lot of differences, but who says that Catholicism is better than Wicca? I find this very hypocritical...as they say, "let he that is without sin cast the first stone." Thanks!

Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM

Dear Caitlin:

Sorry for the delay in responding to your question.

It is my job to tell the truth about the questions that are posed to me. I do that as best as I know how even if that truth steps on toes.

In the question you have given me, I must step on your toes and on your family's toes for both of you are in the wrong (and both of you have some issues that are in the right).

I will begin with your family:

First: It is absolutely wrong of them to say you or anyone is going to hell. NO ONE but God can know who is going to hell. At best all that we can say to a person is something like, "Doing what you do you are risking your soul to hell. This course is on the road to hell."

In fact, to presume someone is definitely going to hell is the grave sin of rash judgment.

Thus I must chastise any family members, or anyone else, for declaring that you are going to hell because you are Wicca.

Second: It is equally wrong and a rash judgment for your family to presume that you are a Satanist because you are Wicca. To begin with there are several different expressions of witchcraft. One kind is very benign and is essentially a nature oriented practice -- the worship of nature. Another kind of witchcraft includes spells and incantations used for "good" purposes in what is called "white magic". And third is a kind of witchcraft that uses spells and incantation for direct evil in what is called "black magic".

Christians will identify witchcraft, of any sort, as an abomination to God because that is what God says about witchcraft as recorded in the Bible. Christian will identify witchcraft, of any sort, an evil because it is a form of idolatry -- worship creation instead of the creator; or in some cases, worshipping a false god or even Satan himself, instead of the true God.

Even the most benign forms of Wicca that are barely more than nature-lovers still are evil, from a Christian point-of-view, because they worship creation instead of the creator. This is idolatry.

With this being said, Christians should not presume that all forms of witchcraft is a "direct" worshipping of Satan, thus the label of Satanist is improper.

What can be said, from a Christian point-of-view, is that Wicca, regardless of flavor, is a deadly deception perpetrated, albeit subtlety, by Satan. It is a deception because it directs one's spirit and soul away from the True God, it is deadly because departing from the True God leads to spiritual death. It is perpetrated by Satan, even if he may not the author of it, because has a vested interest in leading people away from the True God and thus will invest time in encouraging witchcraft and attempting to seduce people into it.

Therefore, even though your family may have approached this in an improper way, or even a sinful way in terms of rash judgment, our of fear most likely, they are correct to be concerned for your soul since you are leading a life apart from the True God.

Now for your end of things:

You have a right to be upset about being called a Satanist. As mentioned above this is a rash judgment on the part of family members who think this. Most witches are not Satanists.

As far as tolerance, however, it seems to me that you are as intolerant toward your family and your believe your family is toward you.

If you were truly tolerant, you would understand the issues and explanations I offered above about the Christian point-of-view and take that into consideration that the family is coming from a Christian point-of-view even if they expressed it wrongly.

In your posting here you appear to be not only intolerant but hateful. I understand why, but nevertheless, hatefulness is not a mark of a "tolerant" person.

As for the notion of not believing in the devil it must be pointed out that because a person does not "believe" in a devil does not mean the devil does not exist, nor does it mean that a person cannot "indirectly" worship that devil by proxy. The worship of anyone or anything other than the True God is at best an "indirect" worship of the "devil by proxy." The "proxy" is the person or thing that is "directly" worshipped, such as nature itself or nature gods or whatever that is not the True God. Thus this argument one cannot worship a personage they do not believe exists a false and illogical argument. The old cliche may be applicable here: "A rose by any other name is still a rose."

It should be noted that one former "white witch" who rose to the highest echelons his craft said that once you reach the inner circle, one is introduced to the god of witchcraft -- the horned god Lucifer (Satan's name before he was kicked out of heaven). Only those in the highest inner circle are made aware of this.

In terms of Catholicism being no better than Wicca or any other religion is also false. Anything that is contrary to truth cannot be on equal standing with Truth. Catholicism is the foundation and pillar of Truth as revealed by God Himself. Truth matters.

Witchcraft and other forms of non-Catholic thinking cannot maintain a fidelity to truth to one degree or another because person opinions and doctrines and notions form the basis of a self-appointed authority. This is why, for example, there are some 30,000 non-Catholic "denominations". When the authority is self, the self can come up with all sorts of notions and thus we end up with multiple opinions and practices of Christianity, various other religions, and even pagan practices. The idea of accepting all other people's beliefs is also a violation of Truth; contradictory notions cannot be true and not true at the same time. Truth by its nature is intolerant. 1+1=2 and no other answer is tolerated.

The modern Wicca while claiming a connection to druid and other pagan notions have re-written history to form a benign notion of those ancient pagan religions. The modern witches have little actual semblance to the ancient mystery cults or pagan religions. Those ancient systems would be far to barbaric and I might add, much to violent toward women, to be allowed in the modern expression of paganism. Thus the modern pagan "picks and chooses" what they choose to believe. This is not how truth works.

Truth is truth because it is Truth. Truth is not dependent on opinion and cannot be split-up into factions or picked over in order to accept some by not all of it.

Of course you will not accept any of this because your worldview does not believe in a True God, or a True Faith, or a True Church, or in a genuine Truth. But we Catholics do believe in those things and those things have been proven over and over again by every notion of reason, phenomenological evidence, and even some scientific evidence.

Catholicism is utterly reasonable and consistent.

But this is another subject. The essential question you have is not Christianity vs. Wicca per se. It is about how to express to your family members that you are not a Satanist in that direct fashion.

What I would recommend is that you explain that you do not believe in Satan and that you do not worship such a person. I would also recommend that you acknowledge that for Christians you understand that they consider Wicca as an evil thing because it is contrary to the Christian God. This is something both of you can agree upon.

You can also agree with the notion that for Christians, the practice of Wicca is evil and, according to the Christian economy, it risks your soul to hell as Christians see it.

While Christians may believe these things, it is not true that you are a Satan worshipper since that implies a direct and deliberate desire to worship the personage of Satan. Thus it is improper for them to characterize you that way.

It is especially improper for them to say you are going to hell because the Catholic Church says that we cannot say that about anyone.

Once this is said to your family members, then it should be dropped. There is no benefit in unproductive argumentation. Each of you knows where each stands and therefore there is no need for further argumentation.

If your family members insist on bring up the subject, then try to avoid being baited. Merely say that you do not wish to talk about religion and ask them to respect that. If they choose to not respect your request to avoid the subject, then you will need to make other decisions about the relationship with your family.

With all that said, we will pray that you someday become enlightened by the Truth of the True God and that you will come into fellowship with the True God in His True Church -- the Catholic Church.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary

For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.