Contender Ministries: Wiccan Beliefs and Practices Pt. 1




Contender Ministries ia a Christian Apologetics Organization that I've seen quoted many times by fundamentalists and others seeking to attack Wiccans and our beliefs. This is a critique of their "Wicca Beliefs and Practices" page.

  • Everyone has the divine (or goddess) within.
I've met some Witches who believe in a very dualistic model where man is completely creature but this is true, most Witches, myself included, believe that we are by nature divine.
One should develop natural gifts for divination or occult magic (often spelled 'magick' by occultists.)
I don't think this author understands the difference between Wiccan "Magick" and other forms of Occultic Magic like Thelema or the Golden Dawn. Wiccan Magick is more of a form of prayer or direction of desire rather than a taming or controlling of some supernatural force. unless this distinction is made there can't be a blanket statement like this point.

Divine forces or nature spirits are invoked in rituals. 
The Practice of Invoking the divine in Ritual and for Magic is called Theurgy, and yes, Wiccans practice this. In fact, it's a center point of our religion. Nature Spirits on the other hand, not so much. Some Wiccans do believe in Sprites and fairies and such but the majority of Wiccans do not. Belief in these sorts of beings are not required.

The Goddess, as either a symbol or a real entity, is the focus of worship.
No, the God and Goddess are the focus of worship. The Only  groups that places a huge emphasis on the Goddess is Dianic Wicca and some extreme Dianics fall out of the label of Wicca entirely.
Nature and the earth are sacred manifestations of the Goddess.
More like Emanations, not manifestations. And it's the God and Goddess.

Everyone has his or her own spiritual path to follow.
 Well, yeah. Not in the sense that we all just make up our religion.

Rituals and celebrations are linked to the seasons and moon phases.
Yep.

Meditation, visualization, invocation (calling on forces or gods/goddesses), chanting, burning candles and special rituals trigger a sense of the mystical, thus reinforcing the core belief system.  
No, reason and fact confirm the "belief system" not experience. And this whole point seems to pre-suppose the falsehood of Wicca.

These beliefs will often be mixed with a combination  of mystical traditions, Celtic or Norse paganism, Greek and Roman goddess worship, ancient Egyptian spirituality, Eastern Shamanism, or even Native American spiritual practices depending on the group.
Practices perhaps. But wholesale addition puts one out of the field of Wicca into an Eclectic Paganism of sorts.

This aspect of Wicca is very similar to the New Age Religion supported by the United Nations and many of it's members, NGO's and leaders. 
:Sigh:





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