The Views of this Page are my own, and serve
only as a resource to others. The following Is a compilation of my own and a wide variety
of others' research in the area. Through my Seminary and Theological Studies I have
met and fused ideas with many others on these topics. Please take what you will and
dismiss what you like.
For me, spirituality is not necessarily the same
thing as religion. Spirituality has to do with Connection: Connection to our True Selves,
Connection to other human beings, Connection to all creation, and Connection to the
Divine. Religion has to do with our beliefs about what this Connection is all about and
how we go about practicing it.
In reference to the subject of this Site, I would
say that I am Christian in Tradition and I express and connect to myself, other, nature,
and Divine by means of Mysticism and The Craft.
Imagine that the Divine is a vast Lake. Along the
shore of this Vast Water are people, they have all come to drink from this Lake if
Divinity. What would you see? What I see is many types of people, all with many types of
vessels from which to draw their drink. I see some with ornate silver chalices engraved
with Triple Moon symbol, I see others with Wooden Drinking cups, I see another with Golden
Goblets, still more with Porcelain Vessels with Islamic Symbols, Some carry vessels carved
of bamboo, some have no cups at all but rather on bent knees lap from the Lake of the
Divine. All are at the Lake for sustenance and connection, and their different traditions
determine which vessel they brought to collect from the Lake of Divinity.
My tradition is that of Christ, the History ,
stories, morals, and ceremonies of this tradition all contribute to my understanding of
the Divine. I choose to express these traditions and connect by way of Earth, Moon, Sun,
Stars, the Angels, the Turning of the Wheel and the Spark of Divine inside everyone who
walks this Path called Earth.
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One my biggest peeves is the lack of
understanding on Bible Translations and version. The Hebrew language as well as
Greek and Aramaic just do not translate very well. Two courses of action
where taken when translating into English as well as other languages. When a
word raised that had no comparable English word, or a word that the translators
simple could not quite define they either translated in literally or translated
into the closet word possible.
Wonderful example is the Story of Jonah and "whale" . Some places we see whale other big fish, more accurately may have been 'great sea creature'. Errors such as this are numerous through the KJV. I am not negating that the basic message is still there, however, most legalities can be directly linked to inaccurate translations due to mere ignorance and the inability to wholly translate ancient languages into modern terms. With this being said let us examine some common tactics use by many , who wish to use the Bible as a loaded weapon rather than a book of history , mysticism, stories to live by and morals.
Wonderful example is the Story of Jonah and "whale" . Some places we see whale other big fish, more accurately may have been 'great sea creature'. Errors such as this are numerous through the KJV. I am not negating that the basic message is still there, however, most legalities can be directly linked to inaccurate translations due to mere ignorance and the inability to wholly translate ancient languages into modern terms. With this being said let us examine some common tactics use by many , who wish to use the Bible as a loaded weapon rather than a book of history , mysticism, stories to live by and morals.
First
it is important to realize to Bible in Hebrew refers more accurately as....
The
term "witchcraft" in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament)
refers to (mostly) women who used spoken curses to injure other people or
destroy their property.
The
term, "witchcraft" in the Christian Scriptures (New Testament)
refers to murderers who use poisons to kill people.
A
careful analysis of the original passages in the original Greek, Aramaic and
Hebrew, shows that they condemn individuals who:
- Use spoken curses to harm others.
- Use poison to harm others.
The Hebrew Scriptures
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 neighbors.
It is important to
note as well that the OT, was given to the Israelites. God chose the descendant
as Abraham for a purpose, he was testing and weeding during the Books of Moses.
OT clearly states the laws were given to the Israelites, it was to strengthen
them for a plan.
- 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" . The justification for choosing such a misleading word in a some recent translations, 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.
Lets
examine the ever popular verse
Exodus 22:18 KJV:
Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live
Exodus 22:18 KJV:
Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live
In the original Hebrew manuscript, the
author used the word m'khashepah to describe the person who should be killed.
The word means a woman who uses spoken spells to harm others - e.g. causing
their death or loss of property. Clearly "evil sorceress" or "woman
who does evil magic" would be the most accurate phrases in current
common English usage for this verse. The word Kasaph is a root of m'khashepah
which we also see over an over in OT. This word means Piosoner . And this could
be of mind and body. Remember we are referring ancient times, and one who use
piosons or drugs to control and hurt would have been using Toxic Herbs.
Other
Passages and their Original Hebrew and Greek Wording:
Leviticus
19:26
|
| KJV: | Neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times. |
| NRSV: | You shall not practice augury or witchcraft. |
| Hebrew | You shall not whisper enchantments or watch clouds ('Anan). |
| Deuteronomy 18:10-11 | |
| KJV: | There shall not be found among you anyone who maketh his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or who useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter of familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. |
| NRSV: | No one shall be found among you who makes a son or daughter pass through the fire, or who practices divination, or is a soothsayer, or an augur, or a sorcerer, or one who cast spells, or who consults ghosts or spirits, or who seeks oracles from the dead. |
| Hebrew: | There shouldn't be anyone among you who passes a son or daughter through fire, does divination, is a cloud watcher, a whisperer of enchantments, a Kashaph, a joiner of charms, a medium, a knowing one, or a speaker to the dead. |
| 1 Samuel 15:23 | |
| KJV: | For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubborness is as iniquity and idolatry. |
| NRSV: | For rebellion is no less a sin than divination, and stubborness is like iniquity and idolatry. |
| Hebrew | For rebellion is the same as the sin of divination (Qesem) and giving in to stubborness is the same as iniquity and idolatry. |
| 1 Samuel 28:7 | |
| KJV: | Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman who hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman who hath a familiar spirit at Endor. |
| NRSV: | Then Saul said to his servants, "Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, so that I may go to her and inquire of her." His servants said, "There is a medium at Endor." |
| Hebrew: | Then Saul said to his servants, "Go look for a woman who's a medium ('Ob), so I can visit her and question her." His servants said, "There's a medium ('Ob) at Endor." |
| 2 Kings 9:22 | |
| KJV: | And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the woredoms of thy mother, Jezebel, and her witchcrafts are so many? |
| NRSV: | When Joram saw Jehu, he said, "Is it peace, Jehu?" He answered, "What peace can there be, so long as the many whoredoms and sorceries of your mother Jezebel continue?" |
| Hebrew | When Joram saw Jehu, he said, "Jehu! Is it Peace?" Jehu answered, "What peace? Not as long as your mother Jezebel's many prostitutions and Keshaphim continue!" |
| 2 Chronicles 33:6 | |
| KJV: | And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom; also he observed times and used enchantments and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards; he wrought much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger. |
| NRSV: | He made his son pass through fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom, practiced soothsaying and augury and sorcery, and dealt with mediums and with wizards. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger. |
| Hebrew: | Manasseh passed his son through fire in Ben-Hinnom Valley and practiced cloud watching and whispering of enchantments; he was a Kashaph working with mediums and knowing ones. He did a lot of evil from Yahweh's point of view, which made Yahweh angry. |
Micah 5:12 |
|
| KJV: | And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand, and thou shalt have no more soothsayers. |
| NRSV: | And I will cut off sorceries from your hand, and you shall have no more soothsayers; |
| Hebrew | And I will cut off Keshaphim from your hand, and you shall have no more cloud watchers; |
| Nahum 3:4 | |
| KJV: | Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the well-favored harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations throught her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.. |
| NRSV: | Because of the countless debaucheries of the prostitute, gracefully alluring, mistress of sorceries, who enslaves nations through her debaucheries, and peoples through her sorceries. |
| Hebrew | Because of the countless sexual escapades of this prostitute, this extremely desirable mistress of Keshaphim who captured nations through her sexual escapades and peoples through her Keshaphim. |
| Galatians 5:19-21 | |
| KJV: | Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and the like; of which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. |
| NRSV: | Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkneness, carousing, and things like these,. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. |
| Greek: | Now the energies of the flesh are
obvious: promiscuity, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, occultic drug use(Pharmakeia),
enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkneness,
carousing, and things like these,. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do
such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. |
'Anan is usually translated in the KJV as
"observer of times" and the NRSV usually renders it as "soothsayer".
There is no rational reason why the NRSV departs from this practice as it does in
Leviticus 19:26. Literally the term means one who watches clouds. From the context of its
usage it would appear it means one who makes predictions by observing the clouds. A more
reasonable translation would be "meteorlogist"! Shall we condemn the weather
man?
What we are dealing with here is a prohibition of predicting
the future. Of course any reflection at all will realize that predicting the future is
something that is also commended in the Hebrew Scriptures! So the issue must be one of how
one predicts the future. The root meaning of 'Anan would suggest that predicting
the future based on observation of nature is off limits. Of course that causes us a
problem today, for we depend on predictions of the future based on observation of
nature.
The Hebrew term Qesem is universally translated as
"divination" except for the one time in the KJV. On first glance
"divination" seems the same thing as predicting the future. However, it isn't
quite. Divination is less about predicting the future than it is about explaining the
present and the ramifications the present, if unchanged, will have on the future. Another
difference is that 'Anan is based on observation of nature, while Qesem
happens through intuition, often using symbolic tools to facilitate that intuitive work.
Again, divination is practiced in many times in the Scriptures where it is commended. THe
Ummin and the Thrummin.
Another term we need to look at is the word 'Ob.
Although I have never seen 'Ob translated as "Witch", the most famous 'Ob
in the Bible is almost always called "The Witch of Endor." So it is pertinent
for us to discuss what the term means.
The KJV would translate is as "one who hath a familiar spirit", while the NRSV prefers "medium". I think "medium" is better for an 'Ob didn't seem to be a person who conversed with one spirit, as say the fictional Mayfair Witches in Anne Rice's books The Witching Hour conversed with the spirit Lasher. Rather an 'Ob was a person who seemed to be able to call up spirits of the dead. Medium is, in my opinion, the best modern term, but it too may be lacking. For when we think of a medium we think of someone who "channels" the spirit of the departed, while the story of the 'Ob of Endor has the dead spirit manifesting to the inquirer rather than being channeled through the 'Ob, but perhaps that story was an unusual case and the 'Ob normally operated in a similar way as modern mediums, like in the film Ghost. Again, however, I do not feel it is communiaction with spirit that is being warned of but rather communicatign with "evil" spirits, this is why we must develope discerment.
The KJV would translate is as "one who hath a familiar spirit", while the NRSV prefers "medium". I think "medium" is better for an 'Ob didn't seem to be a person who conversed with one spirit, as say the fictional Mayfair Witches in Anne Rice's books The Witching Hour conversed with the spirit Lasher. Rather an 'Ob was a person who seemed to be able to call up spirits of the dead. Medium is, in my opinion, the best modern term, but it too may be lacking. For when we think of a medium we think of someone who "channels" the spirit of the departed, while the story of the 'Ob of Endor has the dead spirit manifesting to the inquirer rather than being channeled through the 'Ob, but perhaps that story was an unusual case and the 'Ob normally operated in a similar way as modern mediums, like in the film Ghost. Again, however, I do not feel it is communiaction with spirit that is being warned of but rather communicatign with "evil" spirits, this is why we must develope discerment.
So there is no justification in applying the passage about
the 'Ob to Witchcraft. Just like what we found out about 'Anan and Qesem,
this term is completely mistranslated whenever anyone associates it with Witchcraft.
Other Terms:
- yid'oni: acting as a medium
- sho'el 'ov: communicating with the dead
- qosem q'samim: predicting the future using lots
- m'onen: predicting the future by interpreting signs in nature.
- m'nachesh snake charming
- chover chavar: using knot-tying to perform magic.
- m'khaseph: evil sorcery
- doresh 'el hametim: channeling
The most likely meanings do not appear in any of the English
Bible translations currently checked:
- A poisoner: a murderer who uses toxic potions to kill humans by stealth.
- a person who goes around spreading dissention - poisoning people's minds
- A person relying on evil supernatural forces to achieve power and hurt others
Clearly this
does NOT describe the majority invovled in The Craft, and it would seem that it is not
Magic so much that is the problem as what source you are turing to to achive that magic.
Also it is doully noted that Gentiles were not given the Laws of the OT.
Miracouls . Healings,
Casting out of Demons, is what Jesus sent the Apostles out to do, why is it that the Born
Agains feel they have the corner market on these gifts? And it is for NO man to judge the
Heart of another.
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Is Magic contrary to the Bible ... ?
Magic~
Process of causing needed change through the use of natural
but little-understood powers. Magick is a natural process; there is nothing supernatural
about it. Since it is a largely forgotten or foresaken art today, it is widely ridiculed
as well as feared. But it's still here.
We have seen that the Bible doesn't specifically forbid
Witchcraft, but that the assertions that it does are based on mistranslations. However,
many would counter that doesn't matter, since worldview of Christianity, especially
as it is protrayed in the Bible, is contrary to a worldview that would include practicing
magic. This, they would say, means that Witchcraft, which we have said practices magic as
a spiritual art, is also contrary to Christianity.
The Christian, it is asserted, ought to live a life that is
solely one of reliance upon the mercies of God. The usual argument for why magic is
not Christian worldview is that magic is about the people seeking to control the
world around them by gaining power . However this leads to some interesting
contradictions, as we read in the Bible section above, according to OT, a cloud watcher is
against the Bible teachings, so based on this then we would a meteorologist be considered a
sin against God? Now not matter Christian would go this far , however where is the line
where we can pick an choose?
When we consider our modern science it is important to remember that it is a descendant of earlier forms of magic! Chemistry developed out of Alchemy, Astronomy developed out of Astrology, and Medical Science developed out of magical healing arts. No one in their right mind would assert that Christianity and Chemistry are incompatible, yet Chemistry is a means of controlling the world by gaining power over it through insight. The power of modern Chemistry pales the power of "cloud watchers" in ancient Palestine!
A response might be that its okay to gain power over the
world through natural means, but what is prohibited Christians is any seeking to
gain supernatural power other than simply relying on the mercies of God. Thus it is
okay to predict the future or change the world around us through scientific methods, but
any supernatural divination or magic is rebellion against the sovereignty of God.
Of course the problem with this is that throughout the Bible
many devout and holy people used various forms of preternatural and supernatural gifts and
means to exercise power over the world!
- Samson increased his strength by growing his hair long.
- Moses brought victory by raising his arms
- Moses healed by lifting up a bronze snake.
- Joseph divined through dream interpretation and a divining cup. .
- Joshua stopped the Jordan by touching it with a Holy item.
- .The Priests divined by casting the Urim and Thurim.
- Jacob increased his flocks by mating them in front of reeds
- Elisha healed Naaman through a complex ritual of washing.
- Prophets divined by having harps played.
- Daniel interpreted dreams.
- James taught healing by anointing with oil.
- Paul healed by blessing handkerchiefs and sending them out.
- Peter healed by his shadow.
- The Eleven divined the 12th Apostle by casting lots.
It is clear that preternatural and supernatural gifts are evident in the Bible when from God and used in service to God. This is the solves
the whole issue! The issue in the Bible over preternatural and supernatural power
isn't whether one has gifts in this area and exercises them, but whether one recognizes
these gifts are from God and are to be used in service to God. An inherent gift of
divination is not contrary to Christian faith, even if one uses magical means to activate
it, if one uses it as a Christian. God does not wish us to be defenseless.or tovbe
powerless as we live in this world. Jesus in his own ministry as he was busy
changing reality around him, often using ritual methods to do this, as when he healed a
man who was blind by mixing spittle and dirt to make a balm he placed over the man's eyes.
Jesus calls us to face the world and seek to change it for better. So be thankful in your
gifts, cultivate them and them to serve God by serving people.
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Wicca vs Witch ... ?
Many are under the misunderstanding that Wiccan and
Witch are the same. Witch and Wicca are not synonymous.
Wicca is an organized religion based on Old Religion. This Religion was revived my Gardener and other occults about 40 years ago seeing the major up
sweep of the Religion. In England during the middle third of the 20th Century, Wicca
either was brought out from its underground existence into public view or
"re-invented" from many sources including what was known of ancient Celtic
Paganism. The originator of modern Wicca, Gerald Gardner, claimed that he was simply
making public what had been a secret tradition. However, many Wiccans believe that Gardner
was more creating a mythic truth in this claim than he was reporting literal facts.
It is safe to say that most Wiccans practice Wtichcraft, but
some may not practice The Craft and simply practice the Religion of Wicca.
Witchcraft has been practiced since Ancient times and is a
Art, and a Science. Not all Witches are Wiccan, an a great many are not. The Craft can ,
is , and has been practiced in conjunction with many Religious paths. And some Witches do
not combine their Craft with any certain Religious beliefs, folk-magic being an exapmle.
The Craft is a form of ancient psychology and science.
So in summary Wicca is a Religion, in which most Wiccans do
practice Witchcraft. A Witch is person who practices the Age old Science of The Craft, as
may or may not be Wiccan.
Contrary to popular misconception there are
and were a great many Christians who have always walked a Mystic Path. And more over there
are world wide religions which practice a syncreatism form of
Worship
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Pantheisims vs Panenthisms... ?
Where Pagan is often termed the belief that Divine is
Nature, and Traditional Christian often seen as God is above nature, The Christian
Mystic/Witch may have a view that God is both above and within and all around. As the
Bible state, inside God we live an breathe and have our being, ever wonder why we cant see
God? We exsist within God and Spark God exists within is.
This give us Christian Witches quite a wonderful view of the
world. We see Divine nature and above nature, in ourselves and around ourselves. Nothing
exssits save from the Creator and yet everything exists from the Creator for his
Creations. She is truly the Mother of the Earth and everything within it, And Inside God
we live and brethe and have our being.
Pantheism is the idea that Divine is Nature. Panentheisism
is Divine is in Nature and above Nature.
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