Love Thy Pagan Neighbor (My friend is a witch)

A few years ago I found out my good friend Heather was a witch. I had had my suspicions and on several occasions I probed her about her beliefs. She would mysteriously say, "My beliefs are private and I prefer not to talk about them."

But there I was in her new house and all her stuff was strewn all over the place for my nosy eyes to drink in...including the stacks of books on witchcraft. I asked if she was into this or just reading about it. After a long, quiet minute she finally spoke, "Because I'm into it."

That afternoon Heather shared openly, for the first time, about her beliefs with me. She came out, as it were, from the "broom closet". I asked many questions. Do you cast spells? Are you in a coven? What about your daughter, does she know you're a witch? And the hardest question of all, How come you hid this from me?

Heather began to educate me that afternoon on what it means to identify yourself as a witch in modern day America. The risk of rejection is high. Heather had experienced being shunned in the past when other friends had discovered her spiritual beliefs. She told me she agonized many nights telling her husband, "If Pam finds out she'll drop me". Heather knew I was a dedicated Christian and that my relationship with God is strong. Her husband assured her that I wasn't like that, that I wouldn't reject her. He was right, well, sort of.

Heather, during that afternoon question-and-answer time, said she had to hide it from me so I would accept her for who she was, rather than reject her for what she believes. It was painful but I had to admit to her, and myself, that she was right. If I had known in the beginning she practiced witchcraft I would have cut her off. Getting to know Heather was good, but it confused me - how could the Heather I know be a witch? Aren't witches evil and weird and do mean things to children?

I soon discovered that everything I knew about witches came from Hollywood or Christian superstition. Both were distorted sources of information.

Some of my Christian friends counseled me to stop being friends with her. They said, "What fellowship does light have with darkness?"

I asked them right back, "Well, can I stay friends with my atheist friend, or Buddhist friend, or what about my neighbor who doesn't know what she believes, must I end that, too?"

My friends reluctantly agreed that I could keep my friendship with Heather, "but be careful," they said, "and don't take your kids over there."

This point of view vexed me. The Heather I knew was so kind hearted towards children that she and her husband seriously pursued becoming certified foster parents - until she got pregnant with their second. She was, and still remains, one of the most sensitive, compassionate women I know.

Because I cared about Heather I decided to try and understand where she was coming from. I began to research Wicca and witchcraft from sources other than Hollywood or panicked Christians. I was surprised that witchcraft can be generally summed up as the belief in other deities and the practice of divination. Most traditions of witchcraft are also earth based, which means there is a strong belief to preserve the environment and respect nature. I found passionate men and women who in their thirst for spirituality felt they had found "a home" in paganism.

I was dismayed to also discover that there is a lot of hysteria in evangelical circles about witches. There are many myths and superstitions being passed off as truth concerning witchcraft in modern America. Entire books and ministries have been fueled by playing up on people's fear and ignorance. These so-called ministries only further distort what witches/pagans are like.

Six months after I found out Heather was Wiccan I learned that a childhood friend of mine was also a dedicated pagan. (the words witch and pagan are interchangable for many people)

I told Michele that I had been researching paganism/witchcraft and learned that pagans for the most part are peace loving and non-violent. They don't drink blood as Hollywood, or freaked out Christians, would have us believe.

"No, we don't drink blood - that would be the Catholics," joked Michele.

Because of finding out two dear friends of mine were dedicated pagans it caused me to pray and research. This caused me to surrender the misinformation that was embedded in my brain about pagans and it also led me to intense conversations with my Father in heaven about the pagans in my community. It turns out he's known about them for a long time. And he is not freaked out in the least. In fact, my friendships with Heather and Michele were gifts from him. On purpose God gave me friendships with witches. That's because that's how he is; Jesus hung out with all kinds of people who he wasn't supposed to. He went to their houses, ate their food, even in places where idols were likely on display. Jesus goes where he goes. There are no off-limits.

So I found out that Jesus loves pagans. He's not offended by their beliefs of many deities or their outright rejection of him as the Son of God. But that's the whole point, isn't it, of the Gospel, to reconcile people to friendship with God?

Following Christ is really very simple: Love God. Love your neighbor, even your pagan neighbor.