Written on Tuesday, October 30, 2007

First, a little bit of background info for you: My mom and I never got along. I always found her oppressive due to her religious beliefs. She is a Radical Southern Baptist, and I am Pagan. She, of course, constantly reminds me that I will burn in Hell if I do not repent and accept Jesus Christ as my savior. Needless to say, I don't speak to her much because we can't have a normal everyday conversation without her religion dominating the conversation.

Last week, I called my mom to talk to her about something really important in my life. (I will explain what it was in a later blog.) She therefore, proceeded with her religious beliefs and told me how I was going to burn in Hell. I attempted to defend my faith in the conversation by explaining to her that I love her BECAUSE she is Christian, and I accept her religious choice if that is what makes her happy. I also tried to explain to her that I love all people and their religions, races, creeds, political beliefs, moral beliefs, personal interests, BECAUSE THEY ARE DIFFERENT THAN MINE. I bear no intolerance for anyone I meet, and I teach my daughter this too. Well, trying to tell my mother this was like trying to rip ones toenails out with tweezers, or giving oneself a papercut on the edges of ones mouth. It was hurtful, painful, and difficult, and she didn't hear a word I was saying because of her intolerance. I started getting mad at her, so I ended up telling her that from now on, we have nothing to say to each other. The next day, I found the following passage on the internet, so I sent it to my mom. Her response follows the passage.

A Christian Speaks On The Faith And Path Of Wicca

James Clement Taylor

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I am a Christian and not a Wiccan. A Christian is one who has been baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and who has made a personal, free-will decision to commit himself and all his or her life to our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Both of these things are true of me. I am a member of St. Mary's Eastern Orthodox Church, Calhan, Colorado. In this paper, I am not speaking as agent for any church, but I am, entirely on my own responsibility, speaking the truth in love, as we Christians are supposed to do.
A Situation of Strife and Shame:
There are many Christians today who believe that anyone who is not a Christian is doomed to an eternity of suffering in hell. Any decent person, believing this, would be compelled to try to save as many people from this fate as possible. But is this belief correct? Jesus Christ, having noted the faith and righteousness of a Roman centurion, a Pagan, proclaimed:
"Assuredly I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 8:10-12)
If we accept these words as true, and surely we should, then it is clear that heaven will contain many who are not Christians, and hell will contain many who are! Clearly, throughout the Gospels, Jesus Christ sets forth the criteria for entrance into the kingdom of heaven, and those criteria include love, kindness, forgiveness, and a refusal to judge others:
"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matthew 6:14-15)
"For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you." (Matthew 7:2)
"But go and learn what this means: `I desire mercy and not sacrifice.'" (Matthew 9:13)
"Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be for- given." (Luke 6:36-38)
Is it not clear? Anyone who fails in these things, will calling himself a Christian save him? Anyone who obeys God in these things, will being un-baptized condemn him? Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." (Matthew 7:21)
Yet it is not by good works that we earn our way into heaven, because there is no way we can earn the free gift of God's mercy and grace, which alone can save us. But it is clear that it is not by faith, in the sense of sharing the Christian faith, that we are saved, either. The faith which saves us is not faith in the goodness of our works, nor faith that we have the right theology and/or belong to the right church. Rather, it is faith in God, and in His mercy:
"So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who has mercy." (Romans 9:16)
But the Wiccans, you will say, do not have faith in God. Yet by their own theology, they certainly do. Those who call them Satan-worshippers are entirely wrong. They do not worship Satan, or even believe that Satan exists. Instead, they worship a Goddess and a God whom they understand as manifestations of a higher and unknown Deity.
Now if you are a Christian, this will sound familiar to you, and it should. In the Bible we find the following:
"Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, `Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you" (Acts 17:22-23)
The Wiccans worship the Unknown God, as manifested to them in the form of a Goddess and a God. Therefore, our Bible tells us they worship the same God we do; and if they do not know this, we should know it!
For those of us who are unable to simply stand on God's Word, and must prove to themselves the truth of what it proclaims the holy Apostle John has given us the method for doing this. You have only to attend any public Wiccan ceremony, and test the spirits which are there, to see "whether they are of God" (1 John 4:1). You will find that, while the power manifested there may be less than what you have experienced as a Christian, that power is clearly the power of God.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, these people of Wicca have been terribly slandered by us. They have lost jobs, and homes, and places of business because we have assured others that they worship Satan, which they do not. We have persecuted them, and God will hold us accountable for this, you may be sure, for He has said,
"Assuredly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." (Matthew 25:40)
Let us, from this point onward, repent of our misdeeds and declare that henceforth we shall obey Christ our God, and not judge others or condemn them, so that He will not have to judge and condemn us for our sins.

My mom's response:
"This is the second time you have sent this. If I wanted to read fiction I would read the funny papers. James Clement Taylor is as lost as a goose in a snow storm. He might have religion but he doesn't have faith and religion won't get you to Heaven."

I find it frustrating that my views are so foreign to her and she can continue to tell me I will burn in Hell. Well, I guess, if I'm going to burn in Hell (which I don't believe in) then I will go there with the love of all the people I was tolerant to.... regardless of their beliefs.

I am writing this blog to vent, first of all, but also to thank my many friends for their religious, or racial TOLERANCE. You all wouldn't be my friends if you were intolerant. Blessed Be my friends.