What the Bible says about Wicca/Witchcraft The Bible contains many religiously intolerant passages: The Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) frequently condemn the Pagan religions practiced by the tribes which surrounded the ancient Israelites; other passages condemn various Pagan beliefs and practices that Jews picked up from their neighbours. The Christian Scriptures contain passages condemning the Jews of the day; other passages rejected Gnostic Christianity and other deviations from the faith of the authors. Thus, one could reasonably argue that the Bible condemns all religions other than Judaism and Christianity. This would include Wicca, other forms of Witchcraft, and the religions of two-thirds of the world's population, such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Taoism, etc. However, in this essay, we are considering whether the Bible condemned Wicca specifically. We have not been able to find any translation of the Christian Holy Bible that contains the words Wicca or Wiccan. However, many translations of the Bible, such as the King James Version and the New International Version, condemn what they call "Witches" and "Witchcraft". This causes serious misunderstandings, because those words have many, very different meanings in modern English. In popular usage, "Witch" sometimes has been used to mean: 1. a Satan worshiper dedicated to kidnapping children, ritually sacrificing them and sometimes eating them. 2. a Wiccan; a follower of a reconstruction of an ancient religion of the Celts, who is prohibited from harming others. 3. a follower of Religious Satanism, recognizing Satan as a virile pre-Christian, pagan entity. 4. in Africa, a native healer who practices alternative, holistic medicine. 5. a woman of such incredible beauty that she bewitches men. 5. an old woman often portrayed with an evil appearance; sometimes called a "hag." 7. a person who uses a wooden forked branch to predict the location of underground water sources. 8. in Native American and Old Testament usage, an evil person who secretly uses evil sorcery (black magic) to intentionally harm others. 9. a follower of one of the syncretistic Caribbean religions such as Santeria, Vodun, etc. 10. an expert, as in the phrase "a witch of a writer." 11. a wizard: a male magician with unusual knowledge who can apparently perform miracles. 12. a follower of any religion other than Christianity (e.g. Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Native American Spirituality, etc.). 13. a wife who does not obey her husband. By translating the original Hebrew and Greek text as "Witch" and "Witchcraft", translators have selected a very confusing word. In the case of the King James Version, this seems to have been done deliberately. King James had a deathly fear of "Witches" (in the 8th meaning above). In more recent translations, the justification for choosing such a misleading word is less clear. The translators must be aware of the exact meaning of the original Hebrew word; yet they selected an English word which was clearly ambiguous and which would make large numbers of people vulnerable to religious hatred. The only sizable religious group in North America who describe themselves as "Witches" are Wiccans and some other Neo-Pagans. Those Wiccans who are open about their faith suffer extreme persecution from very well meaning, very devout but very misinformed Christians who honestly believe that they are following the guidance of various Biblical passages. In recent years, this discrimination has occasionally taken the form of lynching, attempted mass murder by stoning, shooting, and other forms of assault. Fortunately, most modern translations have been using the slightly more ambiguous term "sorcery" in place of "Witchcraft". We expect that this change, plus accurate portrayal of Wiccans in the media, will gradually lelessen the discrimination that they experience |