CAN YOU BE A CHRISTIAN WITCH?
This info will help you reconcile your love for God with your attraction to the Craft, the Ancient Path.
The original translations of the Bible defined witches, sorcerers etc. as those who consorted with demons, like the witch of Endor did, or who used the craft for selfish gain or to hurt someone else, like Simon the Sorcerer did in the book of Acts. It did not condemn the craft itself. The Bible tells us that Joseph was a diviner and interpreted dreams. Daniel was an astrologer and a magician and also interpreted dreams. The wise men who came to worship the baby Jesus were Magi or magicians and astrologers.
BUT DOESN'T THE BIBLE CONDEMN WITCHCRAFT?
There are many Biblical passages that described some prohibited types of occultic activity by the ancient Israelites. These include Exodus 22:18, Leviticus 19:26-26; 19:31; 20:6; Deuteronomy 18:10-11; Isaiah 8:19 and Malachi 3:5. Of these, Deuteronomy 18 is perhaps the most important. They forbade the Israelites from engaging in human sacrifice and in eight specific practices which some have been regarded as occultic. The King James mis-translation is:
"There shall not be found among you anyone that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer."
Various other translations of the Bible use the following terms or phrases here: augur, black magic, calls up the dead, charm, consults with spirits, fortune teller, interpret omens, look for omens, magician, medium, sorcerer, soothsayer, spiritist, weaves or casts spells, witchcraft, and wizard.
Clearly, the translators of the Dark Ages had a great deal of difficulty selecting unique English words or short phrases to match the 8 original Hebrew words AND their existing theology of their time. Here are the actual meanings of the words in these verses.
Yid'oni - Making contact with spirits (not of God).
Sho'el 'ov - Making contact with the dead (aka evil spirits) through channeling, a medium.
NOTE: The Bible clearly teaches that the dead are asleep until Jesus comes the second time, and that the dead know nothing. (We have provided several in-depth studies on this topic in our Advanced Bible Studies unit). Satan was the one who began the lie with Eve in the Garden of Eden when he told her that she would not die (Genesis 3:4). The Bible tells us that only God has immortality (1 Timothy 6:16). When people contact the dead, they are actually evil spirits pretending to be the dead person. They are the entities that claimed to be the lesser gods, such as Anubis or Asherah or Zeus. The Bible never speaks of the other gods as actual gods, but only in the context of the demonic entities that the pagans worshiped. (I can provide another study on that for anyone who wants it). The mis-translations of the Bible state that the disciples thought that Jesus was a ghost but the original Greek word meant spirit, or evil entity, which is why they were scared. So any person who is a medium and who channels the spirits "of the dead" is condemned by God. This also includes Ouija Boards.
Qosem q'samim - Cleromancy - Foretelling the future by using lots or a similar system (eg: runes, tea leaves, I Ching, Tarot), for selfish gain or in an attempt to harm someone. Some examples of God's people who cast lots are Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Samuel, Haman, King David, King Solomon, and even Jesus' disciples. They cast lots to obtain answers from God so it was obviously the pagan practice dedicated to fake gods or the practice of asking for answers from evil spirits that was condemned by God.
M'onen - Predicting the future, for selfish gain, by interpreting signs in nature. Gideon asked God for signs through nature and that was fine with God (Judges 6). It was those who sought signs in nature who followed fake gods or those who wanted knowledge for their own selfish gain or in an attempt to harm someone that was condemned by God.
M'nachesh - Enchanting (related to nachash, a snake). Snake charming was a common practice in ancient Egypt and was why God chose the staff to snake miracle for Moses to employ as it showed God's superiority over the pagan practices. Enchanting any person or animal violates that being's free will and is considered evil. Love spells are one example of enchantments that violate a person's free will.
Chover chavar - Casting dark or evil spells by magical knot tying.
M'khaseph - evil sorcery; using spoken spells to harm other people or make them do something against their free will.
Doresh 'el hametim - Necromancer or "One who asks the dead" (using a method other than channeling), such as the "witch" of Endor, which actually should have been translated necromancer instead of witch, and who worked with evil spirits.
NOTE - The reference to passing children through the fire has historically been interpreted as the ritual killing of the first born child in each family that followers of Moloch participated in. Archeological evidence shows that the tribes surrounding the Israelites engaged in this practice. Another practice was a painful coming-of-age challenge that children had to endure. They would pass through the fire and (hopefully) emerge without much injury. In other traditions, they would run between two fires. These are obviously practices that engaged in infanticide and child abuse, and as such would be abhorrent to both God and to God's people.
So you can see that when you look at these verses in their original context and languages, and not the translations of the witch hunters of the Dark Ages, it is not the practice of these acts as much as it is the motive with which you are doing the acts - for good, or for selfish gain or to harm someone - and whether or not you are consorting with demons and asking fake gods for help instead of asking God to help you or for His will to be done.
NOTE: The Greek word "pharmakos" which appears in Galatians 5:20 refers to poisoners. It is one of many examples of verses that were mis-translated as witchcraft by the Medieval translators.
People before and during the age of the Patriarchs spoke directly with angels. God authorized the use of the Urim and Thummin on Mt. Sinai so that Moses and the people of God could obtain clear answers from God about important questions. Some people claim that the "ephod" was the magical tool used but the ephod was literally and simply a linen cloth upon which the stones representing the twelve tribes of Israel, and the Urim and Thummin, were mounted. Inspired, extra-Biblical and historical sources tell us that one stone would light up to show a positive response from God, and the other would light up to show a negative response. Joseph used a divining cup. Gideon asked for signs in nature. Daniel was an astrologer as were the Magi who followed Jesus' star. David and Solomon both utilized divination.
Divination is from Latin divinare "to foresee, to be inspired by God".
TO BE LEFT WITHOUT DIVINATION APPEARS TO BE A SERIOUS PUNISHMENT BY GOD. ACCORDING TO THE PROPHET MICAH, GOD SAID: "NIGHT WILL COME OVER YOU, WITHOUT VISIONS, AND DARKNESS, WITHOUT DIVINATION. THEN SHALL THE SEERS BE ASHAMED, AND THE DIVINERS CONFOUNDED: YEA, THEY SHALL ALL COVER THEIR LIPS; FOR THERE IS NO ANSWER OF GOD” (Micah 3:6-7).
The Bible says that "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him" James 1:5. And also, "Ye have not, because ye ask not" James 4:2.
In summary, there is nothing wrong with using divination to inquire of God, to gain knowledge and understanding, to help us make decisions that would be pleasing to God, or from using Astrology, or spells, or other methods utilized in the Craft.
IT IS THE INTENT OF THE PERSON WHO IS PRACTICING THE CRAFT THAT MAKES IT ACCEPTABLE OR NOT IN THE SIGHT OF GOD.
Two men each kill a cat. One man does it as an act of mercy, to put the suffering cat out of it's misery. The other man does it for fun, out of meanness. Both men killed a cat. But only one man was bad.
SO HOW DID THINGS GET SO CONFUSED?
There are so many things that have been mistranslated in the Bible. During the medieval Dark Ages the church instituted many doctrines that weren't necessarily Biblical.
** Like depicting God as a vengeful punishing murderous judge.
** Or like the doctrine of an eternally burning hell that was based on Greek mythology.
** Or like the change from God's Holy 7th day Sabbath to the pagan day of the Sun, a change that can be found nowhere in the Bible.
King Henry the 8th got into a big fight with the Pope. One of the things they fought about was that Henry thought that the King should be in charge of the church, like it was in the Bible. Of course, the Pope thought that HE should be in charge of the church. So Henry left the church and made his own church, the church of England. And the Catholic Church excommunicated him. However, at that time anyway, there was only one differing belief between the Catholic church and the church of England. And that belief was about who should be in charge of the church - the King or the Pope? All of the other doctrines that were held by the Catholic church were the same doctrines that the Church of England held, whether they were Biblical or not. Like the ones I mentioned above. These churches commissioned their own translations of the Bible, including the KJV which is one of the most inaccurate translations today. They translated them to say what their doctrinal beliefs were. And isn't that the way most people today understand the Bible? They read it with the understanding that supports the beliefs that they already hold. In the case of the KJV, King James actually held the right of final edit, which means that if he didn't like the way the scholars had translated a passage, they had to change it to read what he believed. The common people couldn't have a Bible. In most places they were banned from the common people. The Church held the policy that the common people could not understand theological things and so the clergy should teach them. And in all of the world at that time, most people just couldn't read. Furthermore, when the clergy held masses, they spoke in Latin - a language that the common people could not understand. The little doctrine that was actually taught to the people was mostly the doctrines that facilitated the running of the churches, just like in all denominations today. This is where the man made doctrines of life after death, hell and purgatory came in handy for the churches. Unfortunately, most of today's translations are based upon those same doctrinal beliefs. The truth can be found but it takes a good study of history and the Bible.
An excellent example of these changes is the Sabbath. Nowhere in the Bible will you find a change of God's commanded day of worship from the 7th day to the 1st day, Sunday. The Church of Rome, under the authority of Constantine, changed it and proudly take credit for it, even having it in their Catechism.
The 7th day Sabbath was instituted at Creation, (not to the Jews). It was reaffirmed in the Ten Commandments, although, according to Scripture, they had already been keeping it holy before they came to Mt. Sinai. Jesus kept the 7th day Sabbath, and He is to be our example in all things. His disciples kept the 7th day Sabbath, even after His death and resurrection (see Acts in multiple verses). Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles and the New Covenant, kept the 7th day Sabbath, and even wrote in Hebrews 4 that God would not have chosen another day in reference to the 7th day Sabbath of Creation. The Bible states in Isaiah that we will all gather and worship God on the 7th day Sabbath on the New Earth after Jesus comes again. (You will find several detailed studies on this topic in our Advanced Bible Studies unit).
This is not surprising since the Bible also says that our God of love does not change. You will not find one place in the Bible where we are commanded to keep any day holy or to worship God on any day but the 7th day Sabbath. And yet 99% of the Christian world worships God on Sunday, the first day, despite the direct command from God to worship on the 7th day.
Some people say we do not know which day the 7th day Sabbath is because of calendar changes. There have been calendar changes. But the Jews never stopped keeping the 7th day Sabbath for literally thousands of years. We know exactly what day the 7th day Sabbath is.
ST. PATRICK, in his writings, talks about keeping the 7th day Sabbath. It was one of the reasons that the Catholic church hated him and excommunicated him. It was several hundred years after his death that they adopted him back in to their church and made him a saint in an attempt to gain the Irish people who still stubbornly followed his teachings and Bible truth, which included many Druidic teachings by the way. I'm pretty sure he would not actually have been happy about that but he was long dead so....
SO HOW DID IT GET CHANGED?
About 100 years before Christ, Egyptian Mithraists introduced the festival of Sunday, dedicated to worshiping the sun, into the Roman Empire. Later, as Christianity grew, church leaders wished to increase the numbers of the church. In order to make the gospel more attractive to non-Christians, pagan customs were incorporated into the church’s ceremonies. The custom of Sunday worship was welcomed by Christians who desired to differentiate themselves from the Jews, whom they hated because of the Jews’ rejection of the Savior.
The Roman Emperor Constantine, a sun-worshiper, professed conversion to Christianity, though his subsequent actions suggest the “conversion” was more of a political move than a genuine heart change. Constantine named himself Bishop of the Catholic Church and enacted the first civil law regarding Sunday observance in A.D. 321. In A.D. 325, 325 years after Jesus' death and resurrection, Pope Sylvester officially named Sunday “the Lord’s Day,” and in A.D. 338, Eusebius, the court bishop of Constantine, wrote,
“All things whatsoever that it was the duty to do on the Sabbath (the seventh day of the week) we (Constantine, Eusebius, and other bishops) have transferred to the Lord’s Day (the first day of the week) as more appropriately belonging to it.”
Nowhere in the Bible can one find a change of God's commanded day of worship from Saturday to Sunday. In fact, God says in several places that He does not change, and in Hebrews 4 Paul even clearly states that God sanctified the Sabbath at creation, and that He would not afterward have spoken of another day. History, however, is clear about who changed it. And yet 95% of the Christian world, including almost all Protestant denominations, follow man's commands and not God's. In their Catechism, the Catholic church blatantly states that they were responsible for the change from the 7th day to the 1st, and state that all people and denominations who worship on Sunday are accepting the authority of the Catholic Church. Let's not forget that in Revelation, one of the signs of the Beast is that it thinks to change God's times and laws.
My point in all this is that the churches of the Dark Ages had doctrines and beliefs that actually went against the Bible, most of which painted God as a vengeful tyrant instead of the God of love that He is. And these are the same people who defined and condemned "witchcraft."
Often they accused women who used herbs to heal and midwives of being "witches" and of consorting with the devil. Crones, hags and witches were sages, leaders, midwives and healers in their communities and were revered for their wisdom and knowledge and healing abilities. As history evolved and a patriarchal society took hold, the definitions of a crone (crowned one), a hag (holy one) and witch (wise one) were distorted by the men who's professions were threatened by these successful women. King James is famous for his "witch" hunts. And doesn't that still happen today to some extent in some places?
THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE CRAFT. IT WAS, AND IS, THE MOTIVE BEHIND IT'S USE THAT IS THE KEY TO WHETHER IT IS ACCEPTABLE TO GOD.
I do find that God often reveals Himself with feminine attributes and I do not believe that He/She minds when we call upon Him/Her in the Mother form. I actually believe that the Holy Spirit is female. The Hebrew word "ruach" in the OT is the word for "spirit" and "breath." This is the word "spirit" used in the name Holy Spirit. It is feminine in gender. So is the word "Shekinah" which is also used to describe the Holy Spirit in both the OT and the NT. Shekinah is referenced as either a flaming sword, flaming presence, Sword of the Spirit, or tongues of flame. Again, this is a feminine word indicating a female deity. One of the names of God is El Shaddai which means "the many breasted one," as in the mother who feeds and cares for her children. The Bible tells us that She longs to gather us under her wings like a mother hen. She loves us and counts the hairs on our head and the tears that we cry. She exults over us with loud singing! (We have several detailed studies on this topic in our Advanced Bible Studies unit).
WHAT THE BIBLE CLEARLY STATES is that God does not want us to worship or pray to other deities (or saints or ancestors) outside of the Trinity. Our God of love is everything we could want or need and more! We do not need a plethora of "gods."
IN THE BEGINNING, God created nature for us. It is natural for us to feel a connection with nature. Jesus spent a lot of time alone in nature to recharge His spiritual batteries.
GOD ALSO GAVE US GIFTS. For some people She gave gifts that are considered witchy by modern religions. But they are God-given gifts none the less. So do not feel that you are bad or unnatural. It is those who suppress their God given gifts that are unnatural. And those without these types of gifts don't understand those who have them. They are afraid of what they don't understand. And what they fear, they believe to be evil or bad. But the gift itself is not good or evil. It is how you use your gift, your intentions, that make it good or bad. It is the same with magic.
YOU ARE NOT EVIL OR BAD. YOU ARE GIFTED AND UNIQUE. THE BIBLE SAYS THAT YOU ARE GOD'S MASTERPIECE!
You see, Christianity is a RELIGION that, depending on the denomination, worships the God of the Bible exclusively. I am a Bible believing, God loving, light preaching Christian through and through.
Being what we call a WITCH simply means that God has given us gifts that have, in the past, been demonized by the "church." But they are God given and good gifts. You don't have to call yourself a "witch." Society has definitely labeled the word "witch" as evil and bad. But what you do need to do is be true to the woman or man that God created you to be. If you have gifts, you should embrace them and use them for God's glory!
I also choose to live my life in a way that honors creation, and that utilizes energy that most people choose to ignore even exists - what we call magic. It is not my religion. It is both who I am, and a way of life.
SO YOU SEE, BEING A CHRISTIAN AND A WITCH ARE TOTALLY COMPATIBLE!
