After dialoging with several Wiccans and reading
countless pages from Wiccan authors concerning their various traditions,
I have come to the conclusion that Wicca is not falsifiable. In other
words, Wicca cannot be proven to be false -- or true. Falsifiability is
an important part of evidence and even of belief. Let me explain.
Years ago in San Diego there was a UFO cult called
Heaven's Gate. About 40 members simultaneously committed suicide. They
believed that on the other side of the approaching Hale-Bopp comet was a
UFO. The members of this cult believed that if they were to die in a
simultaneous manner coordinated with the arrival of that comet, their
souls would be delivered from this earth plane by the aliens in that
space ship. Now, how do you prove their belief false? Can
you go to the other side of the comet and see if there's a UFO there or
not? No, you can't. This means you cannot prove their belief
system to be false because there is no method of verifying their
theological position. This is very important because the implication is
that they are theology does not rest in reality.
If I were to make up a theological system and try to
get converts, I would not want my system to be able to be proven to be
false. Therefore, I would need to arrange a theology in such a way that
it cannot be disproved. I would avoid stating that a certain event
happened at a certain place and time because that could be verified. I
would make up a system that is vague and has no ties to anything that
can be checked out. It could not be proven to be false and I would be
free to get all the converts I could muster.
Wicca is like that. It cannot be proven to be false
because there is nothing in it that can be examined so as to demonstrate
that it is true or false. But, Wiccans may say that it can
be shown to be true because their spells and incantations bring results.
But the problem with that explanation is that other reasons can be given
to account for these so-called results. For example, the spell or
incantation could be coincidental with the result. It could be that
there are demonic forces behind these occult practices and these demonic
forces bring the results so as to deceive the Wiccans. It could be that
the Wiccans are misinterpreting what they see as results in a hopeful
self-fulfilling type manner, etc. But various possible
explanations cannot be verified within Wicca because, basically, Wicca
is a subjective belief system based upon occult practices that have
varying degrees of alleged results which could be explained in several
different ways. Therefore, it is not falsifiable and the implication is
that it does not rest in reality in that it has no event, objective truth,
etc. that can be verified. Wiccans believe it because they want to.
Christianity is
falsifiable
Christianity on the other hand is falsifiable. It can be proven to be
false if, for example, the body of Christ was discovered and it was
conclusively demonstrated that it was his body. If such an event
occurred, that it would mean that Christianity is false because
Christianity is based on the physical resurrection of Christ. The reason
Christianity is falsifiable is because it rests in history. In other
words, there were actual events that can be verified and the basis of
Christianity, the resurrection, can be undone if the body of Christ can
be discovered archaeologically. The point is that Christianity
rests in reality, not in unverifiable theory -- and that is hugely
important.
The difference between Christianity and Wicca is that
Christianity is based upon an actual person in history who performed
many miraculous deeds in front of eyewitnesses, died, was buried, and
rose from the dead. Christianity is based upon an event in history.
Wicca, on the other hand, is not. It is based on subjective experiences
and contact with powers that no one knows for sure what they are. Simply
believing that these results from spells and incantations come from
being in tune with nature and the God and Goddess, does not mean that
those results are good or that Wicca is right. Someone could he just as easily state that the
results come about because the witch is breathing properly and the
breath harmonizes with the "universal life cycle." How would you know
which is true and which isn't? You wouldn't.
Wiccans are definitely in contact with something and
their theological system is arranged in such a way that its underlying
theological premises cannot be verified or shown to be good or bad.
And this, of course, is dangerous.
But, the Bible says
But the Bible says that the source of the results wrought from spells
and incantations is ultimately demonic. Is the Bible correct or not?
Well, that is another discussion. But, the Bible is full of verifiable
places and events as well as eyewitness accounts of the miraculous.
Which would you want to put your trust in, a risen Messiah who performed
numerous miracles, or the worship of gods and goddesses where you cast
spells and summon the forces of who-knows-what in order to manipulate
people and/or things to get what you want? For me, I'll trust
Jesus over spells and magick.