Witchcraft is Idolatry
While most witches do not worship Satan, they do revere the earth and the elements - all created by God - rather than reverencing God himself. Witchcraft is founded in idolatry, proclaiming, “I am the god/goddess.” From the website, witchesofthecraft.com, we find what is called “A Pledge to Pagan Spirituality.” It states, “May I always be mindful that the Goddess and God in all their forms dwell within me and that this divinity is reflected through my own Inner Self, my Pagan Spirit.” As Romans 1:25 (ESV) so perceptively says, “…they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator…”
When God gave Israel the Ten Commandments, the first four were all about honoring Him. The next six Commandments – how we treat each other – were built upon the foundation of the first four. When we take the Creator out of the picture, we are left with human reasoning in place of God’s guidance. Our worship needs to be where it belongs - above the “created” to the Creator! Deuteronomy 4:19
Casting Spells versus Christian Prayer
Part of witchcraft is casting spells. How does this contrast with what the Bible teaches?
Casting spells presses your will forward – Jesus pressed God’s will forward.
Casting spells presumes you know – Christian prayer recognizes that God knows.
Casting spells tells the universe what to do – Christian prayer asks God what to do.
Prayer is when you make a request and ask God for something, whereas performing “magick” is a demand for something. The word “magick” means actual magic or sorcery as opposed to illusion or stage magic. In contrast to demanding of God, Proverbs 3:5 (ESV) admonishes us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”
As Christians, we are willing to accept a “no” answer from God because we want things done in accordance with His will. Sadly, we find a Pagan ritualistic approach in some Christian circles, “I declare and decree…” that this and this will happen. True Christianity is not controlling and forcing the issue, but rather submitting to God’s will as in the Lord’s prayer, “Thy will be done” (Matthew 6:10).
Our society now accepts another subtle form of witchcraft called “manifestation,” which refers to directing energy through thought or magic to achieve specific outcomes. We’re told that if we “manifest” what we desire, it will come to us. It’s related to spellcraft, meaning casting a spell with the intent to manifest a desire so it will become tangible reality. From the website refinery29.com in an August 27, 2020 article, I Asked a Witch about Manifesting… we read that Sarah Potter, a tarot reader and professional witch said, “I think we have to be very clear with our intention. The more specific we can be, the easier it is to make something happen.” In the same article, Lisa Stardust, an astrologer said, “Manifesting does work. If you keep your intention, or your goal, in mind, you’ll find that you’re able to envision what you truly want to call in. This will enable you to bring your dreams into reality.”
Is it proper to ask God to improve our health or provide us with a car so we can get to work? If you are doing your best to take care of your body and maintain your health, living in a financially responsible manner, yet do not have transportation to work, it is okay to pour these burdens before the Lord, requesting His aid, always with the submissive spirit acknowledging “Your will be done” (Matthew 6:10; Philippians 4:19; 1 John 5:14). Whether the Lord provides a health solution or a car, or simply helps us to grow closer to Him through the ordeal, we can trust that “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28 NASB).
It is always appropriate to make spiritual requests for wisdom (James 1:5), the holy spirit (Luke 11:13), and spiritual health for ourselves and others (Colossians 1:9-10; James 5:14-18). “If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (1 John 5:14 NKJV). The key is that we should be asking God for what He wants for us. We learn what God wants for us from His Word — which is primarily spiritual things.
Practicing Magic
Wicca is called “white” (meaning benevolent) witchcraft, with the practice of “white” magic. Magic is drawing energy from different natural sources or elements, combined with your own personal energy to create some kind of change. You decide what that change will be. Is there anything wrong with earth, air, fire and water? No, they are the basic building blocks of our world. God made it that way. Yet here we have something good and observable being made into something they are not meant to be. Every great lie has some truth behind it to make it appealing.
Practitioners normally utilize prayers and rituals. They also utilize objects like talismans, wands and crystals. They use spells to provide luck to the people around them. They believe tools in physical form are basically an extension of our own energy. When you take a wand and draw a circle with it, they would say that wand is directing your own energy.
Again, Wicca is called “white” witchcraft, with the practice of “white” magic. Because Wicca is actually a modern-day religion with ancient roots, it is easy to see how the distinction between white versus black magic is modern day as well, in order to make white magic appear acceptable. The Bible never distinguishes between “white” and “black” magic. That black magic is evil and often intends to do harm to others is not in question. However, some might be open to the concept of white magic as being acceptable to Christians. Some who practice white witchcraft may be trying to do something good. The problem is, the tools and methods they have chosen are inherently dark. Satan appears as an angel of light so he can deceive. (2 Corinthians 11:14; Ephesians 6:12).
Unfortunately, it is important to look at some of the underlying principles of magic in order not to normalize or trivialize it. We especially want to protect our children. This is not something to be trifled with. The energy and powers being called upon are satanic. Instead, we should call upon the power of the Almighty God for His protection, care and mercy, and stay far away from the practices of any kind of magic or magick, including Wicca.
In the days of the apostles, early Christians repented from their past practices and rejected magic. We read in Acts 19:18-19 (ESV), “Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver.”
The Wiccan Rede versus the Golden Rule
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, “Wicca is the largest of the modern Pagan, or Neo-Pagan, religions. Its followers, who are called Wiccans, typically identify as witches and draw inspiration largely from the pre-Christian religions of Europe.” According to the American Religious Identification Survey, between 2001 and 2008, the number of Wiccans increased from 134,000 to 340,000. The number of Pagans followed a similar trend, increasing from 140,000 to 340,000. More recently, the Pew Research Center’s Religious Landscape Study, conducted in 2014, estimated that 0.3% of the U.S. population, close to 1 million people, identified as Wiccan or Pagan.
Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:12 (Amplified Version) have often been called the “Golden Rule.” “So then, in everything treat others the same way you want them to treat you, for this is [the essence of] the Law and the [writings of the] Prophets” (see also Luke 6:31). On the other hand, the modern witch’s code of ethics, referred to as the Wiccan Rede, states in part, If you harm none, do what you will. About Wiccan ethics, religoustolerance.org writes, “Finding out your Will is difficult sometimes, and figuring out what is harmful, rather than just painful or unpleasant, is not much easier.” To “do what you will” places the focus on what will benefit YOU, rather than sacrificing self-interest for the benefit of others, as the Bible teaches.
Philippians 2:3-4 (ESV) “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
1 John 3:16 (ESV) “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”
The whole concept of Jesus dying to save mankind is personal sacrifice in order to benefit others. In Mark 10:45 (ESV) Jesus says, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
How to Decide What is Good
From paganlibrary.com, A Pledge to Pagan Spirituality, we quote the opening and closing statements: “I am a Pagan and I dedicate Myself to channeling the Spiritual Energy of my Inner Self to help and to heal myself and others. … May I always be mindful that the Goddess and God in all their forms dwell within me and that this divinity is reflected through my own Inner Self, my Pagan Spirit. May I always channel Love and Light from my being. May my Inner Spirit, rather than my ego self, guide all my thoughts, feelings, and actions.”
Wiccan behavior is focused from the INSIDE OUT for their purpose of doing good (as they see it) and being in harmony with nature. Christian actions are focused from the OUTSIDE IN for the purpose of trusting in and being faithful to God’s guidance from the Bible. Hence in John 14:15 (NKJV), Jesus said to his disciples “If you love me, keep my commands.” In Luke 9:23 (NIV) Jesus says, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” Finally, Psalms 128:1 (NIV) states, “Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in obedience to him” and Psalms 1:1-2 (ESV) adds, “Blessed is the man…his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night.”
Reverence for Nature or God?
Again quoting from A Pledge to Pagan Spirituality, we read, “May I always be mindful of the diversity of Nature as well as its Unity…May my Inner Light shine so strongly that malevolent forces can not even approach my sphere of existence. May I always act out of Love to all other beings on this Planet – to other humans, to plants, to animals, to minerals, to elementals, to spirits, and to other entities.”
Wiccan focus is based in reverence for nature in all its diversity, as well as on the personal application of spiritual power for good. Christian focus is based in reverence for the CREATOR and only doing that which He in His righteous plan would consent to and direct. Christians worship the source, not what the source produces.
Let’s read 1 John 4:1-6: (NASB) with an explanation inserted, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit (every influence and teaching), but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. (We must be on guard, even if others misconstrue us to be narrow and close minded. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. (The spirit of antichrist is any influence that puts itself in the place of Christ. Christ IS the sole conduit of God’s eternal plan, so replacing Christ with other influences is yet another form of idolatry. That is what witchcraft does.) You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”
Even when not popular, we as Christians can be secure in our “narrow” focus of reverence for the Creator and only doing that which He in His righteous plan would consent to and direct.
Is a Medium Who Helps to Solve Crimes a Good Thing?
Taken from a Forbes Magazine article dated June 13, 2019, titled, Meet the Medium Who Helps Law Enforcement Solve the Unsolvable, we read, “Johannson has worked heavily with local, state and federal law enforcement to help solve mysterious disappearances, gruesome crimes, and cold cases. Due to law enforcement publicly using psychics to solve cases, the CIA conducted a study to legitimize how viable and valuable using mediums could be. Out of eleven officers…Three…found missing bodies through the use of a psychic.”
Should Christians be against law enforcement using mediums and psychics to solve crimes? Recall how the Apostle Paul simply ignored the fortune teller as long as he could until she became a nuisance, distracting people from his own ministry. As the Bible calls Christians “ambassadors for Christ” and “citizens of heaven,” it is not our business to take a stand on how secular authorities of this world conduct their business. However, we suggest that if society were to take a strong stand for biblical morals, including solid families with loving parents and committed spouses, crime would diminish so much as to be enormously more beneficial than using mediums and psychics to solve crimes.
Working with these spirit guides is dangerous for a Christian desiring to grow in their faith and reliance on God. We read again the Apostle Paul’s warning:
1 Timothy 4:1 (ESV) “Now the spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.”
Demons may pretend to help, but they are deceivers. Their teachings may seem to agree with God, but this is yet another deception. 2 Timothy 2:26 (The Message Bible) directs us to help others “…to escape the Devil’s trap, where they are caught and held captive, forced to run his errands.”
Is a Christian Witch Really a Christian?
Can there even be such a thing as a “Christian witch?” This is at best a delusion. Similar to Christian atheism, so-called “Christian witches” cherry-pick verses from the Bible. They believe one can simultaneously have a personal relationship with Jesus and practice witchcraft. In essence, they remove any passages from the Bible that deal with how God condemns witchcraft. Christian witches do not accept the authority of the Bible which condemns the practice of witchcraft, and thus, a true Christian would never become a witch.
We quote the following excerpts from an article, “What Does the Word ‘Christian’ in Christian Witch Mean?” on christianwitches.com: “There is debate over whether there was a literal person named Jesus or if the Jesus we know of today is more of a mashup of different persuasive characters of the time…For me, whether there was a literal or historical figure named Jesus Christ is a subject of fascinating debate, yet not pivotal to this discussion. I don’t base my life on a man who lived 2,000 years ago. I base my life on LOVE and universal LAW, which are the nature, expression and operation of God... I don’t know if Jesus Christ is a historical figure, and to be honest with you, I don’t care…The Christ we’re taught about in the Bible is the original Christian Witch, able to commune with nature spirits (trees, wind, storm), walk on water, miraculously manifest vast amounts of food from next to nothing, command spirits and demons with a word, and practiced more magick than we can shake a broomstick at.”
This quote is targeting an ignorant audience. The fact that Jesus was a literal single historical figure is beyond dispute. Virtually all scholars of antiquity agree that a historical human Jesus existed, including the Jewish historian Josephus and the Roman historian Tacitus. The absurd claim that Jesus is the “original Christian Witch” who “practiced more magick than we can shake a broomstick at” is an equally ignorant statement, demonstrating to every devoted Christian of conscience a lack of basic understanding of what the gospels teach. A witch’s magick cannot compare to Jesus’ supernatural ability to perform miracles such as calming the sea, walking on water, healing the blind and deaf and even raising the dead back to life, which were examples of God’s great power and future blessings of His Kingdom.
Given the above stark differences in principles, motivation and knowledge, do not accept a so-called Christian witch into your Christian fellowship. This is Satan’s effort to destroy Bible-based growth through infiltration.
