{"id":382,"date":"2009-09-23T19:38:19","date_gmt":"2009-09-23T19:38:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/apagansblog\/2009\/09\/the-wiccan-rede-and-the-ten-commandments.html"},"modified":"2009-09-23T19:38:19","modified_gmt":"2009-09-23T19:38:19","slug":"the-wiccan-rede-and-the-ten-commandments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/apagansblog\/2009\/09\/the-wiccan-rede-and-the-ten-commandments.html","title":{"rendered":"The Wiccan Rede and the Ten Commandments"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last night we discussed the meaning of the Wiccan Rede: An
\nIt Harm None, Do as Ye Will.  <\/span>Its tone and message is
\nvery different from much monotheistic teaching, such as the Ten
\nCommandments.    
\n<\/span>Superficially read the Rede simply says, “so long as you do not harm
\nanyone, do what you want.”  <\/span>But
\ncareful thought indicates that action that harms no one and nothing is
\ndifficult, and often trivial.  <\/span>It
\nteaches us the opposite of an “anything goes” attitude.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n


\nTaking the Rede seriously quickly involves us in careful
\nexamination of the impact of what we do on others, human and otherwise.     <\/span>But it does not lead
\nto Commandments like “Thou Salt Not Kill” a commandment all too  <\/span>rarely observed by those supposedly most committed
\nto its divine importance.  <\/span>And this is what is interesting about commandments.  <\/span>They give us a rule, but do not
\nnecessarily affect our hearts. 
\n<\/span>Consequently, when the rules become inconvenient, people
\ncan do wonders in mental gymnastics to discover loop-holes. Because the rule
\ndoes not rely on our heart, we can seek our ways around them as easily for our
\nown benefit as to help others.          <\/span><\/p>\n

On the other
\nhand, because the Wiccan Rede does not tell us what to do, but only the appropriate
\nattitude with which to do it, it forces us to ask what the impact of our
\nactions on others is.  <\/span>It indicates
\nthat the only time our advantage is the only appropriate consideration is when
\nwe harm no one.  <\/span>When others are
\nharmed, we have to take them into consideration and come to a clear sense that
\nthe harm is minimal or justified, but never a good in itself, nor is the harmed
\never simply an impediment to our will.        <\/span><\/p>\n

The result can be
\ndifferent opinions honestly arrived at, and possibly improved by discussion
\nwith others, possibly simply remaining different understandings.        <\/span><\/p>\n

For
\nexample, in response to my grappling with the Rede, I said I felt worse
\nthrowing away rotted vegetables I had bought to eat, but had not, than I did
\nwhen thoughtfully eating a steak from a humanely raised steer after thanking
\nits spirit.  <\/span>Another person present
\nsaid that Vegan Wiccans would come to a different judgment.  <\/span>As indeed they would.     <\/span><\/p>\n

I realized then that
\nthis difference in judgments was not a weakness, it was a strength.  <\/span>Taken seriously, the Rede teaches a
\nthoughtful and caring way of relating with the world.  <\/span>The world is complex enough and harm ubiquitous enough it
\nwould be foolish to imagine all Witches would come to the same conclusion.  <\/span>But when concern for the well being of
\nothers is always an issue that needs attention, thoughtless or self-righteous violence and
\ndishonesty is less likely to arise. Our ability to rationalize our selfishness as justified gets harder.  There are limits in our interpretations, limits
\ndependent on the qualities of our hearts and our minds. No harm is without
\nweight.  <\/span>The Rede leads us to the
\nimportant insight that good people can disagree on moral issues and still
\nremain good people.       <\/span><\/p>\n

When we simply follow the rules,
\nand our heart remains untouched, there is no appreciation for differences in
\njudgment – the rule is either followed or it isn’t.  <\/span>Think of speed limits. 
\n<\/span>In more complex cases, such as “Though Shalt Not Lie,” each person’s
\nunique interpretation of the rule all too easily becomes, at least in their
\nminds, the ONLY legitimate interpretation.  <\/span>In such cases there seems less tolerance for the ambiguity that infuses
\nlife, and forces us to use our hearts and brains.<\/p>\n

Does my lying actually help the person I lied to?  <\/span>Did I do it for their benefit?  <\/span>Does it hurt others?  <\/span>Those are questions that arise from
\ntaking the Wiccan Rede seriously.  <\/span>Nuance and context is everything.  <\/span>In practice most Christians will make similar judgments –
\nbut at the cost of breaking their absolute rule, a rule which absolutists say
\nholds up civilization. Break it and all Hell eventually breaks lose and God
\ngets mad. God did not make exceptions. 
\n<\/span>But these legalistic interpretations are utterly without heart.<\/p>\n

Looking at the historical records of rule-following
\nreligions, I am very comfortable with our Rede, that reveals ever deeper
\nmeanings the more we consider it, and grows our heart as it does so.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last night we discussed the meaning of the Wiccan Rede: An It Harm None, Do as Ye Will.  Its tone and message is very different from much monotheistic teaching, such as the Ten Commandments.     Superficially read the Rede simply says, “so long as you do not harm anyone, do what you want.”  But careful thought…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[106,105],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pagan-culture","category-pagan-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Wiccan Rede and the Ten Commandments - A Pagan's Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/apagansblog\/2009\/09\/the-wiccan-rede-and-the-ten-commandments.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Wiccan Rede and the Ten Commandments - 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