Who's Afraid Of The Big, Bad Christ?


     While I believe that open discussion as to why many people choose Wicca over other more "traditional" religions, and discussion about the pros and cons of both faiths is perfectly all right, if done in an intelligent manner, I recently visited a site which made my blood run cold. Not only did the Webmaster (or Webmistress) consider him/herself an ideal example of a Wiccan, but he/she also devoted a good deal of her page to telling Christians exactly where they could stuff it.

     I find this horrifying on several fronts. Allow me to explain why.  
 


     For centuries, Christianity has expended untold effort to erase from the earth every faith save their own. There have been Inquisitions, Burnings, Crusades, Holy Wars, and countless other bloody attempts made to convert the world to the word of Christ. Alongside these more bloody examples are the centuries of nonviolent oppression, intended to keep people good Christians, enacted by the Church on state governments, by governments on their subjects, by neighbor on neighbor, and by friends and family members upon each other. Furthermore, the higher up one travels in Church hierarchy, the more corrupt the organization was (and is). Popes fathered children. Church officials molested women and children. Money was stolen from the hands of peasants (in the name of whose welfare it was taken) and kept for the benefit of Church officials. And perhaps worst of all, the Church schemed to remove personal choice and power from its subjects. Certainly, the Church was, and sometimes still continues to be, a body which looks after its most loyal protectors first.  
 


     Fine. That's all been established countless times before. But how is it worse than what any government or large grouping of individuals with their own interests to look after does to preserve itself? Although many Christians have, by their actions and beliefs, contributed evil to the world, they by no means have a monopoly on the phenomenon. Perhaps, because the Church commits these atrocities in the name of the Sacred, it's more horrific than when committed without invoking the name of the Divine. Perhaps. But again: Christians are not inherently evil! Like every other system of beliefs, Christianity is meant to bring people closer to the Divine. Certainly, the more fundamentalist thinkers within Christianity have some horrible ideas as to what is right and what is wrong, but the people who are drawn to those ideas would find like-minded individuals whether or not Christianity even existed! People tend toward others of the same beliefs. Religion is just one medium in which they can find them.  
 


     Speaking of that, I'm not quite sure the proprietors of the aforementioned Website are not just as evil, if a little more subtle in manifesting it, than their fundamentalist Christian counterparts. Consider this - Wiccans have long pleaded for mainstream acceptance with the argument that no religion is inherently better or worse than any other. We plead for tolerance even though we are different than most people with "normal" beliefs. We claim to be basically good human beings, with a healthy respect for variety. Having a page devoted to anti-Christian propaganda on a Wiccan website flies in the face of those arguments. How can we plead for tolerance when we ourselves are often just as close-minded as our peers?  
 


     Certainly Christianity has been responsible for many social, religious, and political ills. But so has Islam, Judaism, many Tribal religions, and any other faith which preaches, however subtly, that to be different is to be evil. The squeaky hinge gets oiled, and that's why Fundamentalists in every demographic stick out more. Many Christians, and I daresay most Christians, are good, warmhearted people. Certainly I know many people who count themselves followers of Christ but who have been nothing but supportive of me and my faith. Just because a vocal minority is hateful, it doesn't mean the whole has to be demonized as well. No one should know this better than Wiccans, who often take the brunt of the blame for the actions of true Satanists and bizarre cults! To plea for tolerance while being equally intolerant is beyond the pale. Even if you don't mind being a hypocrite, ask yourself this: will being intolerant of those from whom you ask acceptance accomplish anything constructive? I highly doubt it. When a Pagan is openly hostile toward the Christian faith, the only thing it does is reinforce the stereotypes of the more close-minded Christians that Wicca is not a faith to taken seriously, let alone regarded as an esteemed equal.  
 


     Certainly, it's more than all right to disagree with aspects of the Christian faith, or even how they're interpreted. But to use those reasons to justify a hatred of all things associated with the religion is just plain wrong. Attack specific instances, not the religion as a whole. Unfortunately, one of the quickest ways to create group solidarity is to create a common enemy. Christianity has often served this purpose within Wiccan Circles. You're probably guilty of it, your friends are probably guilty of it, even Scott Cunningham was guilty of it. (And if you don't believe me, check out his otherwise well thought-out book, The Truth About Witchcraft Today.) Certainly I've been more than guilty of it on many occasions. Perhaps this page is my way of atoning for my equally narrow attitude toward others. I'm still struggling - any little amount of hypocrisy on the part of "good" Christians, such as Pat Roberston and his ilk can set me off - but hopefully, I'll continue to view the world (and even its Christian residents) with ever increasing feelings of goodwill. That, in part, is what Wicca is meant to foster in its followers.

Let me know what you think! Email me!  
 


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