I have a healthy relationship with God, and most of the time I accept His Word. However, the view on witchcraft that you say you’re basing on Scripture is completely false. Wicca is a peaceful religion based on worshiping Earth.

Wiccans don’t believe in sacrificing animals or hexing people. All witches who correctly follow Wicca believe in the threefold law that says any harmful spell they cast will rebound upon them three times. Wicca accepts your religion, so why can’t you find it in your oh-so-pious-and-forgiving heart to accept them? — Linnea

Christianity and Wicca are two completely different religions. Christianity doesn’t offer people the opportunity to pick and choose what they want to believe in the way that Wicca does. Even if we disagree with the Bible, or don’t understand its teaching, God wants us to trust Him. His Word — the Bible — is without error. Its truth has been verified and proven more than any other book.

When it comes to witchcraft, the Bible is very clear. God strictly forbids practicing witchcraft or casting spells (Deuteronomy 18:10, 2 Chronicles 33:6, Micah 5:12 and Galatians 5:20). He’s a holy God, and these practices are evil. God also shows that as the Creator, He is to be worshiped — not Earth, which is part of His creation. God doesn’t restrict us so we’ll miss out on a good life. He’s desperately in love with us and wants to give us the best. And because He created us, He knows what’s going to fulfill and satisfy us the most.

As followers of Jesus, we do care about people who practice Wicca. Based on the truth of the Bible, we also recognize that they’re headed down the wrong path. We want all people to experience God’s hope, love and forgiveness.

I know the god and goddess, or the All. Respect and care for nature is very important, and remember, as humans we’re part of nature. Love and respect of people are also important. When I seek power, it’s the same as calling on inner strength — a power already there that needs to be used.

You and others condemn me for following my head and heart. I’m not Christian, but we all draw from and worship the same power. The labels we give it don’t change the energy that it is. You might call Him God. I may call them god and goddess, everything I know of life and more — a mix of everyone and every experience. If your God has told you we both can’t be right and have our own truths, so be it. — Holly

You’re absolutely correct when you say we both can’t be right. In every other area of life we say truth is objective. For example, it’s an accepted truth that the Earth is round, not flat. When you see a red light at the intersection, everyone knows to stop. Or how about adding two plus two? When was the last time you heard someone argue that it equals five instead of four?

Yet, when it comes to morals and spiritual truth, we want to change the rules of the game. It can sound gracious and open-minded to say we all worship the same deity and draw on the same power, but it’s also very wrong.

If you had a terminal disease, and I had the medicine to cure you, would you think I was being hard-nosed and narrow-minded to plead with you to take the medicine? People have the right to choose for themselves what they’ll believe. But because the stakes are so high — for life on Earth and eternity — I’d ask you to examine all the evidence about Jesus Christ, and then make your decision.

Just what are you afraid of? People depending on themselves for answers? People taking responsibility for their own choices? People creating a positive future for themselves? Or is it that free thinkers might just dissolve the church and its power? It seems the Christian faith is weak, afraid and terrified of losing control. — A.C.

It’s not an issue of losing control or being weak. It’s an issue of truth. Throughout history, Christianity has stood up to any and all tests regarding the uniqueness and reliability of the faith.

It’s been said that you can be wrong about a lot of things in life, but you’d better not be wrong about God. When it comes to issues about eternity, people need to know all the facts so they can make the wisest decision. But in order to find the answers for faith and spirituality, people need to look beyond themselves and to the Creator of life.

The cone of power for Wiccans is no different than Christian prayer. You ask God for help to cure your cancer-stricken mother; you focus your mind to attain this end. You want it with your whole body and soul because you love her and want her to be well. What’s so wrong with that? Because people don’t pray to your specific God, are they wrong and going to an eternal damnation? If that’s what your “loving God” is like, I want nothing to do with Him. — W.T.

The Wiccan cone of power is very different from prayer! It directs the energy of an individual or group for a single purpose or to provide a connection to a spirit. This “energy” is a combination of creativity and spirit, and it forms the basis for a witch’s power, which he or she raises to accomplish a desire.

A witch builds energy by chanting and swaying. Once the heat from the energy has reached a certain level, it’s directed into a magickal tool or objective where it can be held. At the desired time, the witch sends the energy out to achieve the desired result.

When Christians pray, we ask God for help because we recognize that we have no power or ability in ourselves to affect a change in a situation. It’s not a matter of “focusing our mind” on a particular end, but rather demonstrating our total dependence upon God to act according to His will.

The God of the Bible is love (1 John 4:8), and He wants the best for every person. This includes securing our eternal destiny in heaven through Jesus’ death on the Cross.