Paganism and the Christian

1. Paganism and the Christian– 29th
June 2016
“ Althoughthey claimedto be wise, they became fools” (Romans1:22).
From a Christianviewpoint,pagansare generallycharacterizedasthose whoare caughtup inany
religiousceremony,act,orpractice that isnot distinctlyChristian.Correspondingly,JewsandMuslims
alsouse the term paganstodescribe those outside theirreligion. Inthe strictestsense,paganismrefers
to the authenticreligionsof ancientGreece andRome aswell assurroundingareas.Itoriginatedfrom
the Neolithic(Stone Age) era.The term,pagan,isderivedfromthe Latinword, paganus, whichmeansa
countrydweller.The paganusuallyhasabelief inmanygods(polytheistic),butonlyone ischosenasthe
one to worshipwhichrepresentsthe chief godandsupreme godhead.AsChristianityprogressedinto
the presentage,a pagan became referredtoanyone notbeingaChristian,and ‘paganism’denoteda
non-Christianbelief orreligion.If the religiondidnotfitintothe Judeo-Christian-IslamicorEastern
mould,thenone practicingthatreligionwassaidtobe involvedinpaganism.
Historyrecordsthat worshipof manygods,goddesses,anddeitieswasviewedbypeople asimportantin
worship.Itwasthoughtthat everythinghadaspiritand waspolytheistic,sopeoplehadgodsand
goddessesof the forest,sea,andall aspectsof nature.Whenthe civilizationsbegantochange and
develop,the godsgrewandchangedwiththe people astheybegantoacquire godsof theiroccupations,
or gods relevanttotheirvillagelife.The oldgodsremained,butwere changedorconformedtothe
changinglivesof the people.Godsplayedanimportantrole ineveryaspectof societyinfluencing
everythingfromlawsandcustomstogeneral workingsof the community.Reincarnation(rebirthof the
bodyintoanotherbodilyform) wasbelievedbythe people,buttheydidnotbelieve inthe existence of
heavenandhell.Today,Paganism(neo-paganism) celebratesthe Earth,livingcreatures,nature,andso
on.Most modern-daypagansbelieve inmore thanone god,while othersare atheistic.
For the edificationof the reader,we wishtopresent some pagansystemsandreligions asfoundbelow.
Americanpaganspractice a varietyof formsof traditions,butthe mostpopularare Celtic,Greco-Roman,
Native American,ancientEgyptian,andNorse.
Kabbalah: During the Middle Ages,thisJewishmysticalandmagical systemdeveloped.
Shamanism: Thistraditionispracticedbythe Native Americancultures.Drummingisthe technique
used,andin traditional societies,the shamantravelstothe spiritrealmtogaininformationregarding
the community’sneedslike healingorspiritual growth.
Egyptian: Thisis verypopulartoday,andinvolvescomplex spiritualandmagical systemscenteringon
deathand rebirth.ItdevelopedinancientEgyptwhenpriestessesandpriestsbecame known fortheir
level of knowledgeandskill inmagical arts.
Druidism: The original Druidswere priestessesandpartof the judicial classof the ancientCelts.
Discordianism:This beganas a Buddhistpractice withthe mainideabeing“existence isorderlychaos.”
Meditative procedures,confusionandenlightenment,chaosandorder,painand pleasure are revealed
as inseparable partsof atotal visionof reality.

2. As Christianswe needto knowasto how PaganismcompareswithChristianity?
It isdifficulttocompare paganismwithChristianitysincethe termpagancan be usedto identifymany
differentsectsandbeliefs.Theseare the majordifferences,outof many:
Most importantlywe needtoknowthat Biblical Christianityprofesses one God,where paganismoften
teachesmanyor no god. Christianityteachesthatthe Bible containsGod’s inspired wordsandmessage
to mankind.Itisinfallible andinerrant.Paganismdoesnothave one mainreligioustextorsetof beliefs
to follow. Christianity alsoteachesthatJesus,God’sSon,came to earth as a baby,diedonthe cross as
an adultfor the sinof the whole world,androse tolife again.Some pagansbelieve inJesusasone of the
gods,but donot put significance inHimasChristiansdo. Due tothese differencesandmanymore,a
personcannotbe a followerof JesusChrist asa Christianandbe a pagan at the same time.
We getan understanding whenwe read Romans1:22-24, “ Althoughtheyclaimedto be wise, they
became fools 23
andexchangedthe gloryof the immortal Godfor imagesmade to look likea mortal
humanbeingand birdsand animalsandreptiles. 24
Therefore Godgave them over in the sinful desires
of their hearts to sexual impurityfor the degradingof their bodieswith one another”.