I was surfing the net looking for a prayer I once had called "Faith" (a difficult task, it seems to be becoming), and I came across "GotQuestions.org" and their take on Wicca. I haven't done a review and correction in a while so I thought I'd take a stab at this one.
1) In the first paragraph of their description of Wicca, they make the comment:
"there are many websites and books claiming to teach "real" Wicca, but the truth is, there is no consensus among Wiccans as to what the religion is all about".
The same can be said about Christianity considering how many denominations there are including Catholicism, Protestantism, Baptist, Presbyterian, Anglican, Christian Reform (and the list goes on). Is there any real "consensus" as to what Christianity is? I mean, there's a basic structure there that they all follow the bible, and believe in Jesus...but other than that, is there a "consensus"??? It's not that shocking that there are lots of different ideas on how to approach Wicca. It has the basic structure that they believe in dual consorting deities, conducting rituals, observation of seasonal holidays based on the life of their deities, etc. Both have structure, but that doesn't make either invalid because of it.
2) "The reason for this is that Wicca...is only about 50 years old".
And?? Christianity at some point was only 50 years old too (well, 70+ at the time of this post). Did that make it invalid as a religion? What about Judaism? Or Hinduism? ALL religions that are in existence today (with the exception of new ones being created today) were all 50 years old at some point, and are just as popular and strong today as they were then. It's hardly an argument at all to say age determines validity, especially when, like I said, all religions were 50 years old at some point in history.
3) (And these are all so far in the FIRST paragraph. Amazing, huh??)
"Wicca is a belief system that [Gardner] cobbled together"
Again, and Christianity isn't "cobbled" together from previous belief systems INCLUDING Pagan ones? There's a lot of evidence supporting the fact that Christianity borrowed aspects from other religions to form itself. There's nothing wrong with "borrowing" aspects from different systems. So long as people follow it, it's legit.
4) "Some Wiccans are polytheists, worshipping more than one deity, while others worship only the "God" and "Goddess""
Um...that STILL makes them polytheists as was just stated...polytheism denotes the worship of more than one deity. Wiccans who worship a God and Goddess are still worshipping more than one deity, hence polytheist.
5) "Gaia" is not necessarily "nature". Gaia (or "Gaea" as spelled in the article) is seen as a Goddess, just as any other deity.
6) "Wiccans generally promote moral relativity disdaining labels like..."right" and "wrong""
Wiccans don't disdain the labels right and wrong. They believe doing wrong is just as deplorable as anyone else. They definitely can determine what is right and what is wrong, however they don't embrace the concepts of good and evil being sourced by deities.
7) "Wicca has one law or rule, called the Rede: "Do what ye will, harm ye none""
First, it's not a rule, it's a guideline. No one's "bound" by this law as though it were the "Ten Commandments". Wiccans acknowledge that harm is inevitable, but try to strive to live as harm-free a life as possible. Does this mean Wiccans are pacifists? Hardly. Does this mean they're knife-weilding maniacs? Pfft, that's a definite NO! It means...while acknowledging that harm cannot be avoided, practitioners will try to do their best to be as harm free as possible.
8) The Threefold Law
I've heard one describe the Threefold Law as something that practitioners of Traditional Wicca must do, whether good or bad...so someone does something good, that good should be returned to them three times, and if they do something bad, its returned to them three times. Make sense? No. Not one iota...and both Trad. Wiccans and the author of this article don't seem to understand basic physics or personal morality. The individual who described the Threefold Law seems to think that it's their place to exact the Three Times issue on another. Who has that right?
It's an illogical concept, and I really am tired of reiterating over and over the logical fallacy that IS "The Threefold Law".
9) "One major factor...is the purported use of spells and magick"
Wicca has as much to do with spells as Christianity has everything to do with building tables. What I mean, is...to say that the majority of Wiccan time is casting spells is like saying the majority of a Christian's time is building tables. Neither is true. Spell use isn't a "major" factor to Wicca...it's not even a minor factor. Anyone can cast spells, they don't need to be Wiccan. Hell, you can be Christian and still cast spells...religion is irrelevant.
As for "magick"...1) Wiccans don't deliberatly misspell magic...that's done by simpletons who think they need to misspell words in order to tell the difference between stage, sleight-of-hand magic and the magic Pagans do. If you need to misspell words in order to tell the difference between one thing and another, you have issues you need to work out before you can continue as a Pagan. 2) Magic (no "K") isn't the stuff you see on tv. It's not "wave your hand and what you want is in front of you". Christians do magic all the time...only they call it "Transubstantiation". Turning bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ is a magical act, however much Christians may wish to deny it.
10) "witches who practice magic prefer to call themselves 'nature witches' or 'white witches' to further distance themselves from Satanists"
No one legitimate calls themselves a "nature" Witch or a "White" Witch for the fact that magic is a neutral force (something ANYONE can tap into...not just Wiccans or Witches). The idea that someone could be a "nature" Witch implies they are natural at their craft. Everyone needs study. Period! And "White" Witches imply there's a such thing as a "Black" Witch (not referring to race here)...people who work only positive magic and people who work only negative magic. Regardless neither is possible. You could think you're doing something positive, but end up having negative consequences...and someone could do something someone else would see as "negative" and end up having positive results. It's happened!
As for the "Satanist" comment...Wiccans don't have to "distance" themselves from Satanists...because there's nothing to distance themselves from. They don't have to worry about accidentally slipping into Satanic spirituality because the two systems are so different and opposed.
11) "Wiccan spells are idolism"
Idolism implies the worship of a thing. Casting a spell is no different than saying a prayer, so prayers would be considered idolism too. You don't worship anything when you cast.
12) "Wiccan spells bring false hope"
I could say the same for "Christian Prayers".
I find it interesting how Christians think the quotes they provide have anything remotely to do with Wiccans, Witches and Pagans. First, the bible has nothing whatsoever to do with Wiccans because Wicca is a 20th century religion...created centuries after the bible. Witches in the bible are nothing like the Witches of today. Witches described for condemnation in the bible are people whose sole purpose was to poison the mind and work malevolence for personal pleasure. Witches of today have little interest in controlling people (we'll leave that to proselytizers). Witches are more interested in being helpful and benevolent (though, I CAN'T speak for EVERY single Witch out there).
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