Was Jesus a Witch? Are Gardnerians homophobic sexists?

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 9/30/2004 7:11:08 PM Mountain Daylight Time,

clevelandmentore writes:

> Namaste,

> pardon me for the intrusion, but i cant help but ask...when you say that you

> are a born witch, are you suggesting the concept of a witch to be that of an

> old woman dressed in black rags with a pointed hat and a broom stick.....or

> are you suggesting that witches are a good thing to be...something to be

> proud of...oh and can shed some light on what being a witch means.

> regards,

> cleve.

>

 

excuse me for butting in here, but

here's an article that is interesting and informative on this subject:

 

Was Jesus A Witch?

 

Thirteen reasons why Jesus, if he were here today, would be a Witch

 

by Carl McColman, author of Embracing Jesus and the Goddess

 

 

 

--

 

No single one of these reasons prove the Witchiness of Jesus; but taken

as a whole, they make for a compelling case.

 

1. Jesus criticized the hypocrisy and legalism of the religious status

quo, and chose to embrace an alternative spiritual path. Matthew

23:1-36. In Jesus' day, the religious establishment included the

Pharisees and Sadducees, dominant factions in first century Judaism.

Jesus' alternative path followed the radical teachings of his mentor,

John the Baptist. Nowadays, in Europe and the Americas the status quo is

mainly Christianity; the path of the Goddess -- Wicca -- is one of the

most compelling of available spiritual alternatives. Many people who

embrace Wicca have the exact same criticisms of Christianity that Jesus

is said to have had about the religious establishment in his day.

Hypocrisy, legalism, blind obedience of the rules to the point of

ignoring spiritual values like love, trust, and freedom -- these are the

problems Jesus attacked in the official religion in his day, and that

many Wiccans today see in the religious status quo of our time. Perhaps

Jesus, were he here today, would join Wiccans in criticizing mainstream

religion and trying to find an alternative way.

 

2. Jesus was a psychic healer. Luke 6:19; John 9:1-12. Luke comments

that "all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from

him and healed all of them." And John recounts how Jesus made a magic

healing paste by mixing his saliva with soil from our Mother, the Earth.

For Jesus, healing was a central part of his spiritual identity.

Witches, likewise, rely on herbal wisdom, natural foods, and psychic

practices like reiki to bring healing and comfort to themselves and

their loved ones. Sadly, the Christian religion rarely encourages its

followers to take responsibility for their own healing, but rather

colludes with a medical establishment that keeps people passive in

regard to their own wellness. Jesus the healer has much more in common

with Wiccan healers than with church-going "patients."

 

3. Jesus acknowledged the divinity within each person. John 10:34-36.

All he was doing was quoting the Psalms, but Jesus emphasized it: "You

are gods." Throughout the Bible, Jesus uses mystical language to

illustrate the essential unity between humanity and divinity. How sad

that the church founded in his name lost that sense of human divinity,

and has instead stressed the "fallenness" and "separation" that keeps

humanity alienated from the divine. Incidentally, this is an indirect

affirmation of Goddess spirituality, as well -- for if we are gods, as

Jesus quoting the scripture insists, then both men and women partake of

the godly nature; implying therefore that God encompasses both the

masculine and feminine dimension of life. So the "God" whom Jesus

worships incorporates both the God and the Goddess as revered by

Wiccans.

 

4. Jesus lived close to nature. Matthew 8:20; Mark 1:12-13; 3:13; Luke

4:42; John 18:1. Jesus took a vision quest in the wilderness; he loved

to pray in the mountains, slept in gardens, and made a point of telling

his followers that he had no house to live in. Frankly, it's hard to

imagine him driving an SUV or worshiping in an air conditioned church.

If Jesus were here today, I suspect he'd live in an ecologically

sustainable intentional community, and he'd advocate a sacred duty to

the Earth with the same zeal which which he advocated care for the poor

and the downtrodden.

 

5. Jesus believed in magic. Matthew 7:7-11. Only he called it prayer.

"How many of you, if your child asks for a fish, will give them a

stone?If you ask for it in my name, it will be done." Church-goers

often see magic as different from prayer, because prayer is timid and

uncertain: "Not my will, but thine." By contrast, magic assumes that the

Divine Spirit loves us and wants to bless us in accordance with our

highest desires. When Jesus prayed, he prayed with confidence, not

timidity. And he taught his followers to do the same. Nowadays, magic

may have fancy window dressing (light this candle, recite this

incantation, etc.) but it still comes down to the same thing: making a

request for spiritual blessing. Jesus' vision of prayer is like Wicca's

vision of magic: it's based on trust and love, unlike the prayer of

church religion, which is based on fear, self-criticism and self-doubt.

 

6. Jesus could command the weather. Matthew 8:23-27. Witches have a

long-standing reputation for being able to conjure up storms and

otherwise control the weather. Jesus, like any accomplished

weather-witch, possessed a similar set of skills. He did this both

actively (like when he calmed the storm out in the Sea of Galilee) and

indirectly (as he was dying, he caused darkness to reign in the middle

of the day).

 

7. Jesus had a profound relationship with the elements. Matthew

14:22-26; Luke 3:16; Luke 8:22-25; John 9:6. Jesus could walk on water;

he could command the wind; he baptized with fire, and he used the soil

of the Earth to make healing pastes. His spirituality was primal and

grounded in the power of the elements. Modern-day Christianity is

abstract, sterile, and anti-septic -- it is a religion of books, words,

and mental concepts. But Jesus, like most modern-day Wiccans, found

vitality in the energies of the natural world.

 

8. Like a shaman, Jesus could channel spirits. Mark 9:2-8. One of the

most profound stories in the Bible is that of the transfiguration, when

Jesus conjured the spirits of Moses and Elijah. To his followers, this

demonstrated Jesus' authority as a spiritual leader. Later on, Jesus

tells his followers that they will do greater works than his (John

14:12); ironically, though, Christianity does not permit its followers

to invoke or conjure spirits. But invocation of benevolent spirits has

been a part of shamanic spirituality since the dawn of humankind, and

modern-day Witches follow in this shamanistic tradition when they Draw

Down the Moon and the Sun, calling the spirit of Goddess and God into

their Circles.

 

9. Jesus was comfortable with sensuality and eroticism. Luke 7:36-50.

One night, while dining at a respectable home, Jesus received a sensuous

foot washing from a woman, who used oil and her hair to wipe the

teacher's feet. The host and the other guests were scandalized, but

Jesus saw it as a perfectly lovely expression of affection and

hospitality. In fact, when comments were made to Jesus, he responded by

saying basically, "What's your problem?" Alas, the religion that bears

his name has evolved into an erotically-repressed spirituality, more

like Jesus' uptight host than Jesus himself. Paganism and Wicca,

meanwhile, are spiritual systems that celebrate sensuality, sexuality,

and the basic goodness of pleasure. Jesus, who got criticized for being

a pleasure lover himself (Matthew 11:19), would no doubt be at home in

Wicca's celebration of the goodness of nature and the body.

 

10. In his own way, Jesus practiced the Wiccan Rede. Matthew 5:21-22;

Matthew 22:33; John 8:32. The core ethical principle in Wicca is the

Rede: "If you harm none, do what you will." There's two components to

this teaching: non-harm, and freedom. It's a basic principle; you have

spiritual freedom, but not to the point of harming your self or others.

Compare this to several of Jesus' teachings. Matthew tells us that Jesus

was so committed to the principle of non-harm that he regarded the

intent to do violence as bad as violence itself. Meanwhile, John quotes

Jesus as saying "Truth sets you free." But what is the truth that sets

us free? The truth of love, trust, healing, and divine grace; in other

words, the universal truths that can be found in any spiritual path. The

opposite of harm is love. "Harm none" is another way of saying "Love

your neighbor as yourself."

 

11. In his own way, Jesus advocated Perfect Love and Perfect Trust.

Matthew 5:48; Luke 6:32-36; Luke 12:22-34. John quotes Jesus as saying

"Do not let your hearts be troubled" and "love one another as I have

loved you." Throughout the Gospels, Jesus says "Do not be afraid." He

suggests his disciples "become like little children" -- in other words,

be trusting and open-hearted. It's such a simple message, and today

Wicca embodies the spirit of perfect love and trust; indeed, traditional

covens require the phrase "Perfect Love and Perfect Trust" as a password

to gain entry into circle. Christianity, meanwhile, preaches a message

based on perfect anger and perfect fear: God is wrathful, and unless a

person is fearfully obedient, he or she will be tortured for eternity.

That's the opposite of what Jesus stood for. Love and trust leads to

healing and liberation, whereas fear of judgment leads to depression and

spiritual passivity.

 

12. His enemies accused Jesus of being under the influence of demons.

John 8:48; John 10:20. It's an old tactic. When the people who have

religious power want to dismiss their critics, they accuse the critics

of being demonically possessed. That's what the Pharisees said about

Jesus, and nowadays that's what the religious right says about Wicca.

Jesus was someone who loved the average person on the street, but had

little patience for religious bigotry and self-righteousness. No doubt

Jesus would feel he has more in common with Wiccans than with the

fundamentalists who attack them.

 

13. Jesus was killed, unfairly, for his "blasphemy." Mark 14:63-64.

Thankfully, Wiccans nowadays don't get burned at the stake. But tens of

thousands of people -- mostly women -- did get killed in Europe for the

"crime" of Witchcraft. Even if these people weren't Witches, the fact

remains: they were brutally murdered for religious reasons. Well -- so

was Jesus. Modern day Wicca looks to the victims of the Witch burnings

as heroes of the Goddess faith, just like Christians see in Jesus their

own spiritual hero. Jesus, meanwhile, was the kind of man who would

rather side against the killers and the executioners. Given the fact

that, throughout history, far more Christians have killed Witches than

vice versa, it's easy to see Jesus embracing the Goddess, working to

heal her children, and calling those who bear his name to repent of

their violence.

 

^^^

 

Author's disclaimer: This does not "prove" Jesus would be a Wiccan if he

were on Earth today, anymore than it could prove he would be a Democrat

or a Republican. The ideas expressed here are intended to get you to

think for your self and draw your own conclusions -- an important thing

to do, no matter what your beliefs or what organizations you belong to.

As some wiseguy once remarked, "I think -- therefore, I'm dangerous." Be

dangerous: think for yourself.

 

^^^

 

Copyright 2001 by Carl McColman. This document is provided to the

Internet community free of charge and for the purpose of sparking

debate, discussion, and free thought. Permission is hereby granted to

copy the material on this page, as long as the author is credited and

the URL (http://www.wellreadwitch.com/jcwitch.htm) is included. Thank

you, and blessed be!

 

^^^