Jesus Christ, Shepherd of Judea V : Wicca and Wiccans

"Jesus Christ, Shepherd of Judea " that's a very familiar exclamation to readers of the Sookie Stackhouse books and I decided to take a closer look at churches, religion, the Bible and prayer in the Sookie books.

*Jesus Christ, Shepherd of Judea Part I : Sookie and faith

*Jesus Christ, Shepherd of Judea Part II: The Bible

*Jesus Christ, Shepherd of Judea Part III: Prayer

*Jesus Christ, Shepherd of Judea Part IV: Eric and Religion

We have a number of references in the books to Wicca and Wiccans.

Dead to the World, Bk4
"Oh, gosh, no, not me. I'm a Catholic. But I have some friends who are Wiccan. Some of them are witches."
"Oh, really?" I didn't think I'd ever heard the word Wiccan before, though maybe I'd read it in a mystery or romance novel. "I'm sorry, I don't know what that means," I said, my voice humble.
"Holly can explain it better than I can," Tara said.
"Holly. The Holly who works with me?"
"Sure. Or you could go to Danielle, though she's not going to be as willing to talk. Holly and Danielle are in the same coven."
I was so shocked by now I might as well get even more stunned. "Coven," I repeated.
"You know, a group of pagans who worship together."
"I thought a coven had to be witches?"

Our little town of Bon Temps had stretched its gates open wide enough to tolerate vampires, and gay people didn't have a very hard time of it anymore (kind of depending on how they expressed their sexual preference). However, I thought the gates might snap shut for Wiccans.

"You're a witch?" I said, embarrassed at using such a dramatic word.
"I'm more of a Wiccan."
"Would you mind explaining the difference?" I met her eyes briefly, and then decided to focus on the dried flowers in the basket on top of the television. Holly thought I could read her mind only if I was looking into her eyes. (Like physical touching, eye contact does make the reading easier, but it certainly isn't necessary.) "I guess not." Her voice was slow, as if she were thinking as she spoke.
"You're not one to spread gossip."
"Whatever you tell me, I won't share with anyone." I met her eyes again, briefly.
"Okay," she said. "Well, if you're a witch, of course, you practice magic rituals."
She was using "you" in the general sense, I thought, because saying "I"
would mean too bold a confession.
"You draw from a power that most people never tap into. Being a witch isn't being wicked, or at least it isn't supposed to be. If you're a Wiccan, you follow a religion, a pagan religion. We follow the ways of the Mother, and we have our own calendar of holy days. You can be both a Wiccan and a witch; or more one, or more the other. It's very individualized. I practice a little witchcraft, but I'm more interested in the Wiccan life. We believe that your actions are okay if you don't hurt anyone else."
Oddly, my first feeling was one of embarrassment, when I heard Holly tell me that she was a non-Christian. I'd never met anyone who didn't at least pretend to be a Christian or who didn't give lip service to the basic Christian precepts. I was pretty sure there was a synagogue in Shreveport, but I'd never even met a Jew, to the best of my knowledge. I was certainly on a learning curve.

Definitely Dead Bk 6
"And I'll need real witches," Amelia said. "Quality workers, not some hedgerow Wiccan." Amelia went off on Wiccans for a good long while. She despised Wiccans (unfairly) as tree-hugging wannabes-that came out of Amelia's thoughts clearly enough. I regretted Amelia's prejudice, as I'd met some impressive Wiccans.

All Together Dead , Bk 7
But after I'd introduced the two and they'd had some conversations, Amelia had told me glumly that she and Holly were very different sorts of witches. Amelia herself was (she considered) a true witch, while Holly was a Wiccan. Amelia had a thinly veiled contempt for the Wiccan faith. Once or twice, Amelia had met with Holly's coven, partly to keep her hand in.and partly because Amelia yearned for the company of other practitioners.

Jesus Christ, Shepherd of Judea IV : Eric and religion

"Jesus Christ, Shepherd of Judea " that's a very familiar exclamation to readers of the Sookie Stackhouse books and I decided to take a closer look at churches, religion, the Bible and prayer in the Sookie books.

*Jesus Christ, Shepherd of Judea Part I : Sookie and faith

*Jesus Christ, Shepherd of Judea Part II: The Bible

*Jesus Christ, Shepherd of Judea Part III: Prayer

We have a number of references in the books to Eric's religion.

Club Dead , Bk 3

All this while, I'd held the phone clamped to my ear, and when it squawked, I was actually startled. "We got him down in time," Betty Joe said brightly. "The call came in time," I told Eric. He closed his eyes and seemed to be offering up a prayer. I wondered to whom Eric prayed. I waited for further instructions.

Dead to the World, Bk4

"I was never a Christian," Eric said. Now, that didn't surprise me. "But I can't imagine a belief system that would tell you to sit still and get slaughtered."
I blinked, wondering if that wasn't exactly what Christianity taught. But I am no theologian or Bible scholar, and I would have to leave the judgment on my action to God, who was also no theologian.
Somehow I felt better, and I was in fact grateful to be alive.

All Together Dead , Bk 7
(Eric is ordained by the Church of the Loving Spirit)

"Church of the Loving Spirit," she told me, bagging three copies of the CD and handing them to a fangbanger sent by his master to pick them up. "He got his certificate from the online course, with Bobby Burnham's help. He ( Eric) can perform marriage services."

From the BBC: History

The Viking Age was a period of considerable religious change in Scandinavia. Part of the popular image of the Vikings is that they were all pagans, with a hatred of the Christian Church, but this view is very misleading. It is true that almost the entire population of Scandinavia was pagan at the beginning of the Viking Age, but the Vikings had many gods, and it was no problem for them to accept the Christian god alongside their own. Most scholars today believe that Viking attacks on Christian churches had nothing to do with religion, but more to do with the fact that monasteries were typically both wealthy and poorly defended, making them an easy target for plunder.

The Vikings came into contact with Christianity through their raids, and when they settled in lands with a Christian population, they adopted Christianity quite quickly.

Jesus Christ, Shepherd of Judea Part III: Prayer

"Jesus Christ, Shepherd of Judea " , that's a very familiar exclamation to readers of the Sookie Stackhouse books and I have been exploring churches, religion, the Bible and prayer in the Sookie books.

Sookie is a Christian believer and regularly attends the Glen Cragie Methodist church in Bon Temps. She frequently talks of her faith, the Bible, prayer and attending church.
I have really enjoyed exploring this aspect of the Sookie Stackhouse books. My past post on this topics can be found here ( Churches and Bible )

Prayers

Bk 3
I took a deep breath, blew it out, and tried to think of an appropriate prayer. God, don't let me scream too loud seemed kind of weak and negative.

"The call came in time," I told Eric. He closed his eyes and seemed to be offering up a prayer. I wondered to whom Eric prayed.

Bk 5
Finally, I felt relaxed, and when I crawled into my bed I had achieved peace through pampering. Sleep came upon me in such a rush that I didn't finish my prayers.

After I said my prayers, I reviewed my day. It had been so full of incident that I got tired trying to remember everything.

He bowed his head and said a silent prayer while I sat quietly. I wondered to whom the prayer was addressed. ( this is the visit to Calvin in the hospital)

Bk 6
We said a brief prayer and began eating. Jason didn't dig in with his usual gusto. Since the hamburger tasted good to me, I figured whatever was on his mind was important. I couldn't read it out of his brain. Since my brother had become a Were, his thoughts had not been as clear to me.

Bk 8
When I crawled into bed, I said my prayers, trying to put Quinn at the top of the list.

After I climbed into bed and said my prayers, I lay there awake for quite a while. I was pondering the undeniable truth that the most powerful vampire in the state of Louisiana, at this very point in time, was Eric Northman, my blood-bonded, once-upon-a-time lover.

I said about a million prayers before I went to sleep that night, but none of them ended up making me feel any better.

Jesus Christ, Shepherd of Judea Part II: The Bible

"Jesus Christ, Shepherd of Judea " , that's a very familiar exclamation to readers of the Sookie Stackhouse books and I have been exploring churches, religion, the Bible and prayer in the Sookie books.

Sookie is most definitely a Christian believer and regularly attends the Glen Cragie Methodist church in Bon Temps. She frequently talks of her faith, the Bible, prayer and attending church.

You will notice that Gran's favorite saying from the Bible "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof," is given multiple explanations in the book.

This quote is Mathew 6:34 and in the the America King James version it reads:

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient to the day is the evil thereof.

The New International Standard Bible 2008 translation is:
So never worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Some of the Bible references I have found mentioned in the books are:

Bk3

"Judge not, that ye be not judged," I told him, hoping I didn't sound as furious as my clenched stomach told me I was. It felt wrong to quote the Bible when you were in a towering rage.

Other than that, we were hunky-dory. "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof," I told myself. That had been Gran's favorite Bible quotation. When I was about nine, I'd asked her to explain that to me, and she'd said, "Don't go looking for trouble; it's already looking for you." Bearing that in mind, I cleared my mental decks.

Bk 4
I blinked, wondering if that wasn't exactly what Christianity taught. But I am no theologian or Bible scholar, and I would have to leave the judgment on my action to God, who was also no theologian.

Bk 5
Salome, Like in the Bible ?

Bk 6
My Gran's favorite saying from the Bible was, "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."She had explained that that meant that you don't worry about tomorrow, or about things you can't change. I tried to practice that philosophy, though most days it was hard. Today it was easy.

Bk 7
The vampire Jodi was pretty formidable she put me in mind of Jaelin the Bible. Jael, a determined woman of Israel, put a tent peg through the head of Sisera, an enemy captain, if I was remembering correctly. Sisera had been asleep when Jael did the deed,

Bk 8
I’d learned in American History what Abraham Lincoln, quoting the Bible, had to say about houses divided.

What ones have i missed ?

Jesus Christ, Shepherd of Judea Part I : Sookie and faith

"Jesus Christ, Shepherd of Judea " , that's a very familiar exclamation to readers of the Sookie Stackhouse books and I decided to take a closer look at churches, religion, the Bible and prayer in the Sookie books.

Sookie is most definitely a Christian believer and regularly attends the Methodist church in Bon Temps. She frequently talks of her faith , the Bible, prayer and attending church. She enjoys going to church, even if she doesn't always listen to the sermon but spend the time quietly reflecting.

Frankly, I don't always listen to the sermon. Sometimes the hour in church is just a time to think, a time to consider where my life is going. But at least those thoughts are in a context

She and Gran are regular members of the Methodist Church and she continues to attend alone after Gran dies and when her work schedule permits. In future posts, we'll look at mentions of the Bible, prayer and more.

What have I missed, are there other churches mentioned that I missed ?

The various churches mentioned in the books, their minister's and any known members are:

Bon Temps Methodist Church
o Location: Bon Temps
o Reverend: Rev Collins
o Members: Sookie, Gran , Hoyt and Maxine Fortenberry

Tabernacle Holiness Church (bk 9)
o Location: Bon Temps ( near Hotshot)
o Reverend: Rev. Marvin Norris
o Members: Norris family members have funeral there

Free Will Church of God's Anointed (Bk4)
o Location: Bon Temps?
o Reverend:
o Members: Danielle and Holly

Bon Temp Catholic Church ( bk6)
o Location: Bon Temps
o Reverend: Father Dan Riordan
o Members: Tara Thornton

Fellowship of the Sun (bk 7)
o Location: Minden
o Reverend:
o Members: Arlene, Rafe Prudhomme

Gethsemane Baptist Church (bk3)
o Location: Bon Temps
o Reverend:
o Members: Maxine Fortenberry (early books)

Good Faith Baptist (bk1)
o Location: Bon Temps (Gran mentions it as a possible meeting place for Descendants of the Glorious Dead in Bk1)
o Reverend:
o Members:

Greater Love Baptist Church (bk4)
o Location: Bon Temps
o Reverend: Jimmy Fullenwilder
o Members:

Bon Temp Episcopal church ( bk6)
o Location: Clarice
o Reverend: Father Kempton Littrell
o Members:

Grace Episcopal ( bk5)
o Location: Shreveport
o Reverend:
o Members: Colonel John Flood

Glen Cragie Methodist Church (bk2)
o Location: Dallas
o Reverend:
o Members: Hugo Ayers