Theophilus Monk’s Christian Internet Ministry

Coffee Talk Redux is a reflection on things God is teaching me. In some cases the ideas for these topics come from the Coffee Talk group that I meet with weekly at the Vintage Coffee Bistro located in Lambertville, Michigan. At other times the Redux topic may arise from some conversation I may have had with someone, or a thought that crossed my mind, or perhaps something I read somewhere, or maybe a combination of all of these. In any case think of this as a discussion on what God is teaching us to help us grow in our understanding of His will.

So last night at Coffee Talk it was mentioned that a recent report stated that 24% of atheists believe in some type of god. At first glance this is rather puzzling since most would argue that an atheist is someone who does not believe in a god. Perhaps then a more refined definition of an atheist needs to be given which means someone who does not believe in God in the Christian sense which is a God that is distinct from His creation. The Christian God who created the universe ex nihilo, out of nothing, with a true beginning in time, leading to the ultimate revelation of eternal life through His Son Jesus Christ.

But for an atheist once the Christian God has been cast away they are free through their pride to invent a god of their own choosing which also suits their own disposition, a sort of designer god, a god of convenience, of things, of pleasure, of wealth, of power, or simply of nature; a god that exists within our own realm, a god of the world who is not just in the world but is here to serve us as well at our whim. A postmodern-paganism or pantheism where god is simply everywhere and we are all interconnected in some sort of an unending stream of consciousness. Inventing your own god though totally ignores the simplicity of the Christian message wherein Christ says in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.” Such a simple message, 19 words, a few seconds of wisdom that promises an eternity an everlasting now.

 But because of our free will, which is a gift from God, and our need for individualism as part of our freedom without responsibility, we are prone to miss this simple Gospel message and we tend to grasp at whatever else is out there. St. Benedict though in his Rule tells us that, “To find Truth you must have an unremitting readiness to admit you may be wrong.” He continues and warns that, “There are ways which some call right that in the end plunge into the depths of hell.” The Psalmist (31:6) also tells us this as well with the message that, “O God of truth, you detest those who worship false and empty gods.” The result of this vain idolatry is Hell being an eternity spent in the absence of God.

In our pluralist society though people have many choices and for atheists that may be belief in some type of god or spirituality and a growing alternative is that of Wicca. Wicca is becoming more acceptable and that this is so is illustrated by this article that was published in the New York Times on April 24, 2007 (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/24/washington/24wiccan.html?ex=1335067200&en=ff0ca93f25df3f22&ei=5088&partner=rss) wherein it is reported that the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) has settled a lawsuit regarding the placement of the Wicca pentacle on veterans’ tombstones. The Wicca pentacle is a pentagram or five-pointed star placed within a circle. The pentacle is a symbol of the Wicca belief and the five points of the pentagram represent the classical elements which are earth, air, fire, water, and a quintessential element which is the spirit. The spirit is represented by the point at the top of the pentacle.

The plaintiff’s in this lawsuit were represented by Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. The VA as part of their settlement agreed to allow the Wiccan pentacle to join other approved religious symbols that can be engraved on veteran’s headstones. A Pentagon survey showed that there are 1800 Wicca’s in the Air Force alone and that perhaps 11 families will be immediately affected by the VA’s decision.

The VA has already approved 38 symbols to represent the religious faith of deceased service members. Most faith groups have their request for acceptance of their symbol approved in a matter of months. However, for the Wicca’s to gain approval of their symbol, it took almost 10 years and the filing of a lawsuit. One reason for the protracted time for approval of the Wiccan pentacle by the VA is that for many Americans they do not consider Wicca to be a religion, or in some cases they believe that Wicca’s are devil worshippers. However, in the lawsuit it was argued that the families of Wicca’s were not asking for special treatment, but that they simply wanted the same treatment that is given to other religions. An interesting reason for the long delay in gaining approval for the Wiccan pentacle could also have been due to negative comments made by President Bush in 1999 when he was the governor of Texas. In an interview on Good Morning America, concerning whether Wiccan soldiers should be allowed to worship at Fort Hood, Texas, Bush said, “I don’t think witchcraft is a religion.”

In some respects it is interesting that this lawsuit even occurred. Wicca is largely a religion that for the most part has been kept under the wraps. So it is somewhat surprising that active members of the military, as well as the survivors of veterans, would have openly pursued the acceptance of the Wiccan pentacle by the VA. However, this may be a sign that Wicca’s are striving to gain acceptance and this approval of the Wiccan pentacle by the VA is an important victory for them allowing Wicca’s to perhaps start to come out of the “broom closet,” and this could be part of the statistic cited at the beginning of this post about 24% of atheist believing in a god, many of these may be Wicca’s or those with similar beliefs.

Wicca though is a relatively recent phenomenon as far as a belief system is concerned. A British man named Gerald Gardner began popularizing Wicca in the 1950’s. Gardner at that time claimed that Wicca was a modern development of an old witchcraft religion, which had apparently existed in secret for hundreds of years, with origins arising from the pre-Christian Paganism of Europe. The truth of Gardner’s claims has not been substantiated and others believe that the Wiccan beliefs began to be put together no earlier than the 1920s. Wicca as a belief is therefore a relatively recent phenomenon in our culture.

Wicca comes in many different forms and there is no defined worship pattern since some Wicca’s practice exclusively in the privacy of their homes. However, many others also worship in larger congregations. Helen Berger, a sociology professor at the West Chester campus of the University of Pennsylvania, is attributed with saying that Wicca’s can pretty much “do what they want, and they don’t have to belong to a group. They take things from a number of different sources, like Eastern religions, Celtic practices. You are the ultimate authority of your own experience.” Wicca is therefore syncretistic being an uncritical acceptance of a variety of beliefs or ideas. Many Wicca’s also practice magic and witchcraft and this makes outsiders uncomfortable and suspicious. A 2001 survey of religious practices by the City University of New York “found that Wicca was the country’s fastest growing religion, with 134,000 adherents, compared with 8,000 in 1990.” Some experts believe that the actual number is probably higher than this since many people are not willing to identify themselves in a survey as pagan or Wiccan. Many others will combine paganism within other religions. Other experts claim that the growth of Wicca is also driven by the ease of finding information about Wicca on the Internet and because of the popularity of the Harry Potter novels which has made magic seem a force for good leading to greater interest in Wicca.

There are two main Wicca groups. The first group is the Gardnerians who follow the form of Wicca established by Gardner. Entry to this group is based on lineage and is gained by initiation through another Wiccan usually of the opposite sex. The so-called Eclectic Wiccans are more free spirited not believing in any particular doctrine or that an initiation rite is needed in order to practice Wicca. The Eclectic Wiccans now significantly outnumber the Gardnerian or lineaged Wiccans and this is primarily due to the fact that their beliefs and practices tend to be much more varied.

Wicca is primarily a duotheistic religion since they worship both a goddess and a god. The goddess and god are complementary polarities and are found expressed in nature sort of as female and male. Hence these polarities are sometimes symbolized as the Sun and Moon. The goddess is considered by Wicca’s to be a preeminent being since being female she embodies everything and conceives all. The spark of life and the inspiration that lies within the goddess is their god. The Wiccan god is also the goddess’s lover and her child. In some forms of Wicca there is a monotheistic belief in which case the goddess is complete in her own nature and the male god is not worshipped.

© Ronald L. Fournier – 2008