Accused of Satanism?!

On a very similar note, there's also When Someone You Love Is Wiccan by Carl McColman, and it's online over here;
http://www.scribd.com/doc/100213971/28112104-When-Someone-You-Love-is-Wiccan

There's also the much shorter, but still extremely relevant, Wicca 101/FAQ by Catherine Noble Beyer;
http://wicca.cnbeyer.com/wicca101/index.shtml

I'm not Wiccan, but I have been in the past and my parents did know about it. My mom is pretty anti-theist, but she was curious about it and allowed it. My dad was concerned it would lead to Satanism, but he also allowed me my faith. My parents understood three very basic, but apparently little known principles;

1 - Belief is not something particularly controllable without living in literal isolation, and even then it is not absolute. You could be coerced or pressured into changing your beliefs, but others cannot physically restrict or change it as if it were some bad behavior.

2 - Belief is not rational, and therefore does not need to be based upon knowledge. Knowing or not knowing about a thing does not necessarily influence your belief in it, provided that you know enough that there is something to believe. In other words, you need only the briefest and vague acquaintance with Wicca to be able to believe it is true.

3 - Ignorance serves only to restrict. Honestly, what is aided or expanded by ignorance? If I were banned from learning about Wicca I would have been less prepared for the world around me (which, you know, includes Wiccans), I would have been less empathic and understanding toward an entire demographic of people, I wouldn't have understood other religions like Christianity as well by having compared and contrasted it with yet another view, and I would have fewer ways to understand my own faith and explain it to others. Ignorance is a horrible thing - we spend the first 20 years of our lives doing little but trying to get rid of it, after all, doesn't it seem counter-intuitive to then turn around to encourage and enforce it?

The wiccan religion is not that of an evil path, if you truly were 'evil' then you would not be worried. Ask your mother this, When you pray at night, when you ask for salvation or help for others, when you put your soul in it and feel that odd light sensation, that was magic. It does not matter what beleif you are but people, every day, do magic, sometimes without even realizing it, and while Christians may prey and you may prey, magic is DOING it. When you do magic you enforce your will and you complete the task at hand using your own power and the power you get from beleiving. Everyone has the potential to do magic, so does that mean evey one is Satinic?

The problem is not religion or beleif, but ignorance that leads to doing evil.

Use the Bible against them, "judge not lest ye be judged". Only the Christian god has the right to judge according to them. So what they are doing is against their own god. Sure, they will come up with other verses because the Bible has a bazillion contradictions within its pages, but if you do your homework, you can out wit them. And when they say something like "god works in mysterious ways" you know you have them. That's the cue for "I don't know and I don't want to admit it".

Look into Horus and Isis verses Jesus and Mary. Also the connections between Jesus and Mithras, and let's not forget Jesus verse Attis and Zoroaster. Egyptian god eating vs Holy Communion. All "rites" are magick ritual and have many roots in pagan practice. I respect all religious choices until xtians abuse and use it to disrespect me. Then its war. Needless to say, they never say a word to me about my religion again, and they always apologize. =)

Other religious people never bother me. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jewish, Muslim, you name it. Christianity is the only one that will walk up to you and demand you believe or be punished by their god. But there are some Christians that are not pushy, and do respect other people's beliefs, and if you are one of the "cool" ones, I like you already.

I know its harsh but if someone is going to go out of their way to tell you how wrong you are for believing what you feel is right, give them a good fight, they have it coming. Especially when they go so far as to tell you that you're condemned to evil/hell for not believing what they believe. Defend yourself with intellect.

Family will always expect you follow their ways. Being disappointed and a little angry is a normal first reaction. But blood is thicker than water and they should accept that you are different. If they don't, then you don't want to be around people that can't love you for who you are and want you to be what they like. That's not love. It's a major test of care, one many fail. It hurts, but then you also learn to better appreciate those who do accept and love you for who you are.

By the way I'm not Wiccan, but all non-Christians know what it is like to be criticized for not being a xtian.

I have the same issue with my mom. And it is escalating to the point of fearing to talk to anyone becuase they might be a "freak". So I know how you feel. And I am 25. I am still at a loss on what to do about her. If anyone has ideas on how to get my mom to stop treating like trash, please message me. I try to avoid her and not talk to anyone. She has no clue I am even on here. No matter how i explain it she will not yeild in her assumption that I am an evil person.

I could use the help. Thank you in advanced...

Thanks for all the responses! You've all made some great points! And just to clarify, I'm 21...but I'm financially dependent on my parents. I'm looking into jobs so I can somehow get spending money.
I'm the only one in the family who really went into a lot of the pagan roots of a lot of the contemporary Christian practice, so to me it seems hypocritical.

Well,many people don't care about what exactly you practice because to them all magic seems"evil".I know this feeling,my dad sent the reverant to talk to me,yet it didn't help,I am still here.

Well, I'm going to a Bible study on Friday. And I'm not giving up my Christian beliefs. I'm simply incorporating Wiccan theology and practice into the established beliefs.

I found "When Someone You Love Is Wiccan" in the library database. I'm going to the library to find some more Wicca books anyway, so I'll take a look and see how it applies to them.

Same happend to me a year ago she nearly preformed a mini exorsism on me no joke:( now i do a much better job at hiding my stuff

Well, in a fervent Chriatians' eyes, essentially anything of the craft is evil, because they don't believe they need that power and way of living, when they can get all their answers from one book, and that they hold their hearts to the father through the son, to get to the father, and they believe in a holy spirit that dwells in the Christians that walk 'the line.'

Yet the oddest concept is that the father, son and holy spirit are all one.

Well, the bible comprises of basically two sections; the old testement and new testament. Well, it's many books into one, filled with all the prophets and whatnot. Old testament is basically the history. New testament is basically the prophecies. In the new testament it basically says that the land will be once again of what it was in the land of Babylon, in one religion. I guess you can tell Christians, well, what do you know. . . Prophecy being fulfilled.

Truly there is nothing new under the sun.

They got one thing right about how one can't serve two masters, just as so the world can't sustain two opposing sides.

Well, where Christians get the idea that pagans are evil is that their works are wrong, but that isn't even right. Because christians believe in battling against the orders and principalities somewhere in high places, and not against the person, entirely, but what spiritually influences the person. But where they have their rules on not dabbling in the craft is in, Deuteronomy 18, which is part of the old testament.

So Christians have their say, but their form of magick is lots of prayer and fasting, and their life style is basically dwelling in the fruits of the spirit.

I am a Satanist. Satanism basically underlies everything not of the holy bible. Wow, how did I use that in all the same sentence? Everywhere Satanism pings the bible pongs, and vise versa. Just because I am a Satanist doesn't mean I am a rube, like the way most think most Satanists are. Carnival hucksters and rubes.

Well, I am actually quite down to earth, but I do have a fear of my family finding out. But not because of ridicual or embarrassment, but because I don't want them praying for me. I don't like that juju. Sometimes I can feel it.

And it is the weirdest thing, I will always predict the time before I come across a smart fervent christian who tries to preach to me. The ironic thing is, I know a little bit more about the bible than most of them, and I know stronger prayers and concepts than they do. I just take one look at them, and I know.

The only Christians I am truly afraid of are the ones I don't come across. Christianity fascinates me. I take a sneak peak into the word of Yahweh, once in awhile, for reference about spiritual knowledge. Yes, I once had a relationship with that man upstairs. I still sort of do, once in a while. It is sort of, I am angry that Green doesn't listen to my word kind of ordeal. It has been a while.

I think what your mother was really trying to say, was that what you're practicing is Satanic. Nothing gets me more mad when others use Satanism as a garbage disposal to excuse and rationalize their own doings from their practices.