iv. Wicca and Christians

The historic relationship between Craft and Church has not been a very good one. Wiccans have many justifiable reasons for being upset with and wary of Christians. There are two primary reasons. One is the way witches have been persecuted by the Church in Europe and North America. The other is that most Christian books about contemporary witchcraft badly misrepresent and distort it.

What most Christians fail to realize is that Wicca has something serious to say and indeed offers some significant theological challenges to the Church. Instead of dismissing Wicca as being devilish or humbug, Christians ought to take a first hand look at what Wiccans advocate. At a very basic level, Wicca is a mirror in which we can 'see ourselves reflected for all the things we have neglected'. Wicca has a role to play that parallels what some ancient theological movements did for the Church in other eras. Movements like Arianism and Gnosticism, which are known in Church history as 'heresies', compelled the Church to take a serious look at what it really meant by its core teachings and to live by them consistently. Wicca is a goad to the Church to not merely assent to the person of Jesus, but to daily act on his teachings in every dimension of life and thought. Wiccans have perspectives on issues that resonate with today's seekers, and they flourish so well in the absence of any vital, articulated stance by Christians.