Late last August, as Journal staff were in the late stages of preparing the October issue, I received an email from a young Anglican named Jess Tunggal. They (Tunggal prefers non-gendered pronouns) wanted to write an opinion piece based on their experience coming to Christ—a journey in which witchcraft, they said, had played a vital role. Tunggal told me they had moved on from neopaganism but, at the same time, felt some of the ideas they had found there had, in the end, served to deepen their Christian faith. I was intrigued by the proposal, and said I’d consider their piece for publication.

I found Tunggal’s column original and stimulating. I was struck by the earnestness with which they described their spiritual quest, and I was reminded of the many ways throughout its history that Christianity has been enlightened by its encounters with the other. And so I decided to publish it. It appeared in our November issue (“Three things witchcraft taught me about God,” p.4) and online in October.

Could I have brought to this decision more awareness of the dangers that some occult beliefs pose to vulnerable people, and should I have considered the many biblical injunctions against witchcraft? Probably, but I was also mindful of the fact that, as Tunggal stated in their column, witchcraft was something from which they had now moved on; the point of their piece was not to draw readers from Christianity to the occult but to spur dialogue and reflection. (I was also mindful of the Journal’s mandate, given to it by General Synod, to provide “a forum for the full range of voices and views across the Church.”)

The piece generated controversy as soon as it was published; within 24 hours of its appearance on anglicanjournal.com, I had received a small number of emails intensely critical of the piece and my decision to publish it. Three of those who were unhappy about the piece—about half the total—were past or present bishops. (It’s unusual for me to hear from bishops on Anglican Journal content.) People felt theJournal should not be........

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