Post by theoccultchrist on May 18, 2006 17:24:41 GMT -5
Thirteen Reasons Why Jesus, If He Were Here Today, Would Be A Witch
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. Hyprocisy,
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 healter. (Luke 6:19; John 0:1-12.)
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." Throughtout 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 scriptures insists, then both men and
women partake of the godly nature. Implying therefore that God emcompasses 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 tht 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 would live in an
ecologically sustainable intentional community, and he would advocate a sacred
duty to the Earth with the same zeal with 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 magick as a different from prayer, because prayer is
timid and uncertain: "Not my will, but thine." By contrast, magick 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, magick may have fancy window
dressings (light this candle, recite this incantation, etc.) but it still comes
down to the same thing: making a request for spiritual blessings. Jesus' vision
of prayer is like Wicca's vision of magick: it is 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. Laer 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
yourself 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 say 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.
www.angelfire.com/realm2/amethystbt/jesuswitch.html
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. Hyprocisy,
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 healter. (Luke 6:19; John 0:1-12.)
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." Throughtout 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 scriptures insists, then both men and
women partake of the godly nature. Implying therefore that God emcompasses 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 tht 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 would live in an
ecologically sustainable intentional community, and he would advocate a sacred
duty to the Earth with the same zeal with 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 magick as a different from prayer, because prayer is
timid and uncertain: "Not my will, but thine." By contrast, magick 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, magick may have fancy window
dressings (light this candle, recite this incantation, etc.) but it still comes
down to the same thing: making a request for spiritual blessings. Jesus' vision
of prayer is like Wicca's vision of magick: it is 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. Laer 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
yourself 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 say 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.
www.angelfire.com/realm2/amethystbt/jesuswitch.html
