Wicca’s Charm
BevK October 31st, 2005
http://www.nationalreview…00510310828.asp
An interesting interview with the author of Wicca’s Charm : Understanding the Spiritual Hunger Behind the Rise of Modern Witchcraft and Pagan Spirituality
Here’s an excerpt:
Lopez: What would you like everyone — especially more traditional religious types — to know about Wicca?
Sanders: Everyone thinks they are Satan worshippers — not true. Also, that some of them have chosen Wicca because of failings of Christianity — as it has been practiced, not necessarily the gospel message. Most don’t recruit or proselytize. Their beliefs are very postmodern — what they believe can be tweaked for each practitioner. They do not believe in absolute good or evil and don’t really seem to care about the history of their religion — only the experiences they gain from it.
and
Lopez: Reporting on Wicca has made you a better Christian?
Sanders: This was a surprise to me. I realized, as I stated above, that so much of what Wiccans seek can be found in Christianity as taught in scripture: Dignity for women, respect for all, stewardship of natural resources, supernatural reality, ritual, etc. As French mathematician Blaise Pascal said, we have a God-shaped void in our hearts. Theologian R .C. Sproul says we are created to long for the Holy. C. S. Lewis called this sehnsucht — a German word meaning “the longing for the mysterious and the wonderful.” In other words, I believe we are created by a holy God to be in relationship with a holy God. Wicca is a way to fill that void with another form of the supernatural. Because of the Trinitarian nature of God, Christians don’t need to look outside of their faith for this. I sympathize with the spiritual hunger Wiccans have for something more, but I don’t agree that the answer is to be found in Wicca. Because of the doctrines of grace and redemption, Christianity offers extraordinary hope that I don’t think Wicca can match.
