Customer Reviews

Christian Wicca: The Trinitarian Tradition

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

Despite its poor grammar, bad spelling, and numerous factual errors, I give this book three stars simply because it is a rare look at an unusual and controversial subject - Christian Wicca. (The author's most egregious error is perhaps her confusion of the Nag Hammadi Gnostic Christian texts with the Dead Sea Scrolls, which are entirely Jewish and pre-Christian.)

The first third of the book consists of a defense and explanation of the concept of Christian Wicca, with answers to commonly raised questions and objections; the remainder of the book, called the "Book of Light," contains prayers, spells, liturgies, and rituals designed for the practitioner of Christian Wicca. In keeping with Wicca's reputation as a nature-based religion, these rituals follow the pattern of the seasons, much like the traditional Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox liturgies.

Pittman incorporates ideas from the Jewish Kabbalah and Christian Gnostic writings into her understanding of Christian Wicca. Some may object that these systems have no historical connection to Wicca, but this - true as it may be - implies the existence of an "orthodox" Wicca, which seems equally questionable. As a form of folk religion, Wicca is intrinsically eclectic and protean, and attempts by some reviewers to assert that there can be no Christian Wicca seem to be elevating their own anti-Christian biases to the level of a dogma.

I have no idea how many Christian Wiccans there are, but if there are indeed many - as the author claims - there will perhaps someday be a better presentation of the philosophy of Christian Wicca than Pittman has given us. But, for now, "Christian Wicca" will have to do. Despite its many flaws, this book fills an apparent need.

There are many of us. Interfaithed, multifaithed, whatever you want to call it...there are many who walk blended paths...Christian Native Americans, Buddhist Jews, Jewish Christians, and yes...Christian Wiccans.

Christianity is just as varied as Wicca...fundamentalism isn't the only path. Wicca has many traditions...and all are valid if they adhere to the basic parameters. Both paths share similar spiritual truths, the teachings of Jesus and the Redes of Wicca harmoniously coexist.

Christian Wicca is no more a choice than your eye color. You believe what you believe. There is no choice to be made, and that is what this book is about. The two paths that come together as one, they are acknowledged and celebrated, and are definately nothing new.

Nancy Chandler Pittman has stepped out with a brave heart. For mainstream, fundamental Christianity undoubtedly shuns this (but would Jesus? No!). And traditional, fundamental Wicca vehemently disregards the Judeo-Christian pantheon based on its so-called followers' disregard for Christ's teachings (But did Gerald Gardner? No!). And what of the practitioners of Voodoo...are their practices somehow invalid because they incorporate Catholicism/Christianity into their worship?

This book is a wake-up call...particularly for the Wiccan community. Wicca is a religion of many Gods...you choose the pantheon you wish to work with. So why are the "Children of the Goddess" who embrace the Judeo-Christian pantheon shunned by their own brethren?

This book is about faith. Faith in people and faith in Wicca. That nothing again can make it hide or disintegrate. Wicca is forever, resilient and ever-moving. Like the seasons themselves.

"Christian Wicca" was a breath of fresh air...though many respected authors have mentioned Christian Wicca (Laurie Cabot, Christopher Penczak, A. J. Drew, Janet and Stewart Farrar, and Gerald Gardner himself, to name a few) this is the first book I've seen that tackled it head on.

No reservations, a relaxed, free-flowing writing style and not alot of filler here. Right to the point and focused on the subject. Not terribly indepth and a table of contents and index would have been nice. Also, alot of typographical errors. A few on every single page! The annoying errors aside...bravo Nancy! This is highly appreciated and groundbreaking.

Blessed Be,
Chris

I am a Christian, bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus. I am created in His image. I am spirit. I also have a magical nature; something I tried to deny all my life. But now I am searching and learning how to incorporate earth based magic into my Christian life. I am not a Wiccan, but I think more and more people are getting hung up on labels. Ms. Pittman has addressed an issue that a lot of us are trying to sort out ourselves. I know reading the book has helped me further clarify my regard in the Holy Spirit as feminine. That has been a sticky issue with me; being raised protestant. Bravo for having the gumption to research and write this book! As a writer I know how much effort it takes to bring your thoughts into written form. I think anyone who is openminded and is intelligently searching to find a balance between their Christian and magical sides will enjoy this book. Any typos are proof the author IS human. I'm sure adults can get beyond those, and grasp the heart of the material. Isn't there a saying that we should take what speaks to us and leave the rest? As readers, we are free to do just that. Good job, Nancy! Keep Writing!

I was raised as a fundamentalist Christian and spent 13 years as a Goddess-worshipping Pagan Wiccan. Now I am finding my way back to a liberal Christianity, but I miss the ritual aspects of Wicca. The reviewers who say you can't combine Wicca and Christianity are only half right: It doesn't make sense from a fundamentalist viewpoint--either Christian OR Wiccan fundamentalist. But if you believe instead that Deity exists and religion is what we make up to re-link ourselves to the Divine, why not combine the two?

(Also, as the author points out, she's not the first to mix pagan religions with Christianity: the Catholic Church beat her to it by several centuries, systemicatically absorbing native deities as saints and seasonal festivals as holy days in order to pacify the people they forcibly converted. )

The core principle of Christianity is "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself." This says nothing about HOW to worship God. Catholics and Protestants of different denominations worship God in a variety of different ways; the Wiccan way is no less valid.

The core principle of Wicca is the Wiccan Rede: "Bide ye Wiccan Law ye must,/In perfect love and perfect trust./Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill:/An ye harm none, do what ye will./What ye send forth comes back to thee,/So ever mind the Rule of Three./Follow this with mind and heart,/Merry ye meet and merry ye part." This says nothing about which God/dess(es) you must worship. Modern Wiccans feel free to use deity names from all times and places, so why not the Judeo-Christian ones? (Well, probably because of Christianity's history of oppressing Wicca, but overcoming that can only be a positive thing.)

The core principles of the two religions are certainly not mutually exclusive. Loving God and others, harming none, and realizing that there are consquences to your actions--they actually go pretty well together.

So yes, I am convinced that blending the two can work; and the author provides some nice rituals for doing so. They are, as she states, her own personal take on Christian Wicca; most practitioners would probably want to adapt and personalize them. Having said all that, would I now identify as a Christian Wiccan? No. But this book has definitely affirmed for me the fact that I can be Christian and continue to honor the Divine Feminine and celebrate the cycles of nature, and I am glad of that.

I gave it four stars instead of five because the other reviewers are right, it is pretty badly written, which grated on my nerves. But it is still very much worth reading if you are interested in the subject.

As a side note, "The Trinitarian Tradition" subtitle has nothing to do with the Trinitarian Congregational Church, which is part of the United Church of Christ. The author is using Tradition in the Wiccan sense, and referring to the fact that the particular variation of Christian Wicca she is writing about is strongly Trinity-oriented. Also, this should probably really be called "JUDEO-Christian Wicca," as the author does draw from Kabbalistic sources as well as Christian ones.

This book is a very good introduction to the world of Christo-paganism / Christian Wicca ? Goddess Christianity. It covers some basic areas (how it is possible to blend both paths) and some not-so basic (how Esbats, and Sabats might look in this new tradition and the addition of Kyriats). If there's one quibble I have with this, it 's the lack of organization. I don't mind the laid back tone (althogh some might), but it would have been nice to see a table of contents or an index. Also newbies would probably appreciate a recommended reading list or resource page so any books they may want to use as a follow up would be easy to look up. I'd say this book is a perfect starting point for those curious about this tradition. Old-timers may not get that much out of it , but it's still worth thumbing through.

Lastly, I needed to mention that readers should be wary of such intellectual reviews such as "this book sux" and "I use it to light fires". Moronic spelling aside, how much intelligence do you feel is being put into the review? What does this really convey about the content of the book? I suspect these were written by folk with an antipathy against blending both paths. If so that's sad because both "mainstream" Christianity and Wicca are at their truest core about love and acceptance. In any case, don't trust a review that tells you something "sux" or "rocks" and doesn't give you anything more to go on than that.

I appreciate that someone took the time to get something out there on this subject. This book is not perfect in the least; however it is a message that needs to be recognized. As humans were are not perfect. I could go on forever about this subject, but to stay on track about the review I must say I commend Ms. Pittman for taking the time to share her experiences. There are many of us who are not accepted by the Christian community for our pagan ways, and on the other hand Pagans turn away from us because we choose to include Jesus Christ in our craft and path. Both equally judgmental. Yes, it is possible to be both and we are proof of that. Pagans want to have religious tolerance in this world, but we cannot in the same breath categorize all Christians and the Christian faith in one group. Just because one Christian or even ten act in a certain manner, does not mean all follow this way of life. Most religions come from the same place and have this one thing in common...and that is love. Jesus' message was just that, and that is what people lose sight of. None of us know all the secrets of the universe and it is arrogant to think that we do. People have the power within and the truth is hidden there as well. It is always an argument of who's right and who's wrong, instead of just taking the time to live. Live and let live. A person is what turns something good into something bad and it is a person who turn's something bad into something good. We hold the power inside to make our lives what we want it to be. We were given free will to do just that, to make our choices and choose our own path...a path that is right for us as individuals. Maybe this is why we will always have war, because we can't agree on anything. To each her/his own. Shame on anyone who thinks they have the right to judge and who believe that their way is the only way. In this book the author through her own research sets out to prove how this combination can be and can work. It is hard to put a label on my belief system as she does by calling this book Christian Wicca. Most find this a contradiction of terms. I call myself Christopagan or a Catholic Witch, because I believe in many different things and aspects from different religions including Christianity and Wicca, but not limited to those two. Some call it eclectic. I am not one for titles or labels. Call it what you may, its core is the same. While I agree with a lot of what the author says, no one's belief system is exactly the same, but this book can really help you if you are stuck in the middle. None of us like to be in a category either. As controversial as the subject might be for some, I personally thought it was worth the read.

If you are a close-minded person, set in your ways and your beliefs then you shouldn't read this book, you are not going to like it. For those of you who want to have balance of feminine and masculine and not willing to let go of Jesus than give it a try. I knew most of what was in this book already through my own searching through the years for answers and balance, but I still enjoyed and learned from this book. Because this is a review I have to say that the author does tend to repeat herself in areas, but that didn't bother me. It was still nice to see there are others out there like me who are a little of both and not afraid to admit it. I choose to read between the lines in all things. Give this book "Christian Wicca" a chance and you might see you are not alone out there.

I have found this book to be very well written with a style that is easy to read. It served as a great starting point for me on a path that has been very rewarding. It answered many questions and yet caused new ones to form. It sent me on a search for a personal truth. The path is non restrictive and allows infinite room for growth and inspires a person to research, study, meditate, and find what works for them. I think this is a great book for beginners or anyone who is just curious and wanting to know about a spiritual path that has not seen much discussion. Thank you, Ms. Nancy, for your honesty, dedication, and candor.

Christian Wicca explores Christianity in terms of Earth Spirituality, Holy Spirit as Mother Goddess, giving a voice to Christians that don't fit in with mainstream churches.

The book has a very easy to read writing style, well organized and presented. For anyone dealing with questions and issues and fighting off the ignorances coming from both the Christians and the Wiccans, Nancy supplies easily grasped answers to assure any Christian Wiccan that they are on a valid path and that the two traditions combined compliment and amplify.

I am more disturbed by the overt anti-Christian bias and lack of tolerance demonstrated by other reviewers of this book!!

I was raised Catholic, but for years have searched for a belief system that will enable to me to embrace my love of nature and Mother Earth.

My husband is Wiccan, and watching him practice lead me to believe that perhaps I had found a religion that would allow me to combine respect and adoration of nature and creation with a belief in a creator spirit neither male nor female, but both and neither. With my belief that I am divine in essence, created that way by the spirit, and only through knowledge and experience can I unlock the peace of my inner divinity.

This, I believe, is the TRUE message taught by Jesus - a human man who lived and practiced a combination of his native Jewish law and Egyptian mystery beliefs learned through years of living in Egypt. A Prophet sent to humanity by the spirit to show us where we had gone wrong with traditional monotheism. However, his real message was distorted and ignored even by his closest followers. They were unwilling or unable to accept what he truly meant. Thus, we ended up with modern Christianity - a mockery of a beautiful message of love and respect for oneself, one's earth, and the spirit.

I tried Catholicism (obviously). I read about modern Gnosticism (close, but just not quite). I looked into Buddhism. Nothing worked for me. The idea of Christian Wicca is the closest I have EVER come to feeling at home, and it's nice to know that others share similar ideas.

People who insist that Wicca and Christianity are completely incompatible are misinformed about one or both systems. Bravo to Ms. Pittman for recognizing that being "Wiccan" does not necessarily mean that you cannot recognize the contributions of a mystical spiritualist called Jesus of Nazareth, and that being "Christian" doesn't mean you need to convert everyone you meet and burn heretics.

I was brought up a Christian and have been a Christian most of my life. I love being a Christian but always felt there was something missing in it, to make my spiritual life whole and complete.

Over many years, I studied a lot of other religions but for me being Christian is what I should be, but like all other religions, there was still something lacking.

I'm a huge lover of nature and felt that the Christian religion never gave nature much recognition in a spiritual way. Plus, there's this obvious absence of a female presence in being in the Christian faith, which is sexist. Everything in life has an opposite, so if there is a male God, there has to be a female Goddess--All Parent.

I then began studying Christian Wicca, and realized this was the missing piece in my spiritual life!! There HAS to be a combination of faiths in order for the Life Puzzle to be complete.

Christian Wicca: The Trinitarian Tradition has changed my life for the better and for life! It's the perfect religion. It's just common sense to me.

The book covers holidays for God, Goddess, and Son in a well-balanced, non-sexist way. It's a very active religion that helps to keep me happy and whole.

Thank you Nancy Chandler Pittman for this book! It's definitely one of the most well-rounded, balanced, and sensible book ever made!