The Meaning of the Christian Pagan (well, of THIS Christian Pagan)

January 13, 2012 at 11:41 AM (Spiritual Traveling)
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I know I’ve posted on this topic before, but I’ve had more time to figure out just what this title means to me. And it means a lot.

Mostly, my revelations have come because of the interfaith conference and having to explain myself. No one thinks that those two titles can be combined seeing as Christians have waged war on paganism for pretty much all of time. But this makes me bring up a very important point:

I am not every other Christian!! I am my own person. I hate being forced to read the Bible in a certain way, and I don’t always agree (strike that…I almost NEVER agree) with what people on the pulpit say. I’m not a fan of people blindly following without educating themselves in ANY department, but it’s most frustrating in religion. I know far too many people that go to church and just rely on what the preacher says. I bet you could convince most of them that “Jesus then said ‘fuck you stupid bitch!!’ and went on his merry way.” Ok, that’s an exaggeration. But they are extremely blind.

I see the afterlife aspect as just one part of our existence, not the whole reason we’re living. Nothing says we can’t be happy to be alive! We just aren’t supposed to weigh ourselves down with love and adoration of the physical things because they are not eternal. Cool. I can deal with that. But I’m not going to live my whole life waiting to die!

This is where my paganism comes into play. We are also part of the earth and the world around us. We need to respect and love our natural planet. Thank the world for not ending, you know? Be happy in our world, and love the nature that we came from…All of that pagan stuff. 🙂

I don’t see the earth as a deity. I see it as an ever changing, living thing (don’t argue that rocks aren’t alive or have never been alive; they are made up of cells, the building blocks of all living things). I see the great spirit, God, as the deity. (Many religion quizzes like to tell me that I’m Jewish because I don’t see the trinity as three separate entities.) I also see them as working together (God and the Earth, and, at a greater distance, the great universe out beyond Earth) to make our world, universe, and the beyond, all one reality.

I really hope that makes things a bit clearer for anyone who has questions. And please, feel free to rapid-fire me with more questions should you feel the need.

-Cami

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Prompt – Christian Paganism

October 3, 2011 at 7:27 PM (Uncategorized)
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Prompt: Christian Paganism? Is it possible? Personally, I know of at least one person that claims to be a Christian Pagan. While I don’t really understand it, I find the thought of combining two religions into one rather intriguing. Especially when one of those religions practically hates the other…. Do you have any experience with Christian Pagan(ism)s? Or perhaps you yourself fall into this category? Please, enlighten us with your thoughts on this seemingly oxymoron combination.

Pagan Blog Prompts – Pagan Christian

Most Christians will vehemently disagree, but I don’t think most religions are all that different. There are things that everyone will nitpick at (Oh, they don’t think Jesus was Christ, Oh they don’t value the virgin Mary, OH they…). We get it. You want to be different.

But I don’t think any religion is really all that different (except Scientology and Satanism…those are…well, my opinions of them aren’t high at all). My personal belief is that all of the religions we have today stem from one, common, ancient religion. There are far too many similarities for me to see them as all being their own distinct entities.

That is my personal belief, though I still call myself Christian, and, through my love of Pagan rituals and such, Pagan. Yes, Crim, I said it here. I see both sides of myself here, and I can’t deny either. The Christian half longs for a different name, though, but I also feel I shouldn’t be ashamed of the name it already has.

It is the stereotype that has been attached to Christianity that makes me ashamed to use that word. A Christian must believe this, must hate that…But it’s not true. A good Christian is open and loving to everyone, no matter what their religion. It’s in the bible! The Bible itself doesn’t tell us to hate, that’s a stigma attached by man. And that strange need so many people feel to shove their beliefs down throats…But Christianity isn’t the only religion guilty of doing that, it’s just the most common criminal. That’s because there are many branches that say they have to do that. I can point to the screamers on the street corner of my college for that example.

These stereotypes are what make this sort of thing so hard to believe. Christians must see Paganism as a Satanic religion because they do weird ritual shit, and Christians must be ass holes about themselves…it’s just…completely incorrect. Not every member of any given religion is the same.

This combination comes from people that have open minds and open hearts, instead of iron-locked ones.

From all that dwell below the skies,
Let songs of hope and faith arise.
Let beauty, truth and good be sung,
From every land, by every tongue.

~Cami

(Quote from Crim, making fun of me – “Oh I’m Christian, but I’m Pagan, but I’m Christian and I like Paganism, but they hate each other, but they have to be able to get along but they hate each other but I’m Christian and I’m Pagan and I like Paganism..”)

 

I delve more into this in my other blog, Getting By. (“I want to be open minded…“)

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The Highway

October 1, 2011 at 10:42 PM (Introductory)
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I don’t know how to really start my first post off.  I’m not really the kind of person to get wrapped up in heavy spiritual stuff.  I suppose I’m fairly grounded in fact,  and I’m the one who likes to argue doctrine.

So with that in mind, I’ll start off with the big facts.  I’m a Humanities major. I’m very familiar with Greco-Roman and Norse mythology, and somewhat knowledgeable about Egyptian and Japanese. I believe that there are certain similarities in myth and folklore that must result from some shared experience. I also know that I know so little about people to assume that I can just explain every similarity with a basic blanket statement.

Also, I’m a practicing Roman Catholic. Thought I’d throw that out there.

So I guess this makes me more of an observer.  I’m on a different path than Crimsette, Cami or Lumaria.  Actually, maybe it’s more of a highway and we’re all in our cars with different maps.  I’m taking a well traveled route–one that my parents and grandparents and siblings are all on. I’m going to see certain landmarks, take my photos of the biggest ball of Twine, and stay in the hotels that my travel guide say I ought to stay at. If I follow these instructions, surely I’ll get to where I’m going.

But this doesn’t mean that I can just roll down my window on the freeway and yell at Crimsette not to take the next exit or she’ll wind up on the route that goes past crack-shack motels that lead to some abandoned zombie-infested playground instead of Disney World. Chances are she has another map–maybe more scenic, maybe quicker, maybe more exciting–than my own. Nor can I in good faith force her to divert from her chosen path if I can see not clear and present danger.

Religion and faith are private matters. There is no prize for the person who yells the loudest “I LOVE GOD”.  There is no cosmic pat-on-the-back for attacking another human being.  Love–of God and of my neighbor–come first before any ritual or law.  If we act on love, surely we cannot be reprimanded.

If a driver on the highway of life asks me for directions, I’ll gladly give it. But I’m not going to force my beliefs down anyone’s throat.

So I suppose that my role here is an outsider looking at a  map that I can only do my best to understand. And while I’m likely to stick to the plan I’ve always had, to see another route is enlightening.

~Nadia

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The Destination

October 1, 2011 at 2:23 PM (Introductory)
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It’s been “suggested” (and I use that term loosely) by my fellow bloggers, Cami and Crimsette, that I should continue this pattern of first blogs.

You will notice with each title, it is a continuation of the previous. Cami with her “wandering”, Crimsette with her “path” and my own “destination.” Each are, in essence, the exact destiny we all follow. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you are from, the background you have or the preset expectations impressed into you. One must first wander to find a path. That path will lead to a destination. But does the destination mean as little as the journey and the wandering? Or is it the destination that is more important?

Can’t it be both? We place value on how we learn to define ourselves as human beings, as sophisticated animals that have come far from its evolutionary  but isn’t being confident with who we are at the end of the journey just as important?

I know, as I’m on my journey to figure out who I am and how I fit in this massive world, I’m excited to get to where this road will take me. Even if the destination isn’t anything that I expected, I’ll have got there.

Enjoy your journey. Enjoy it to the fullest. But also enjoy the destination. The destination is just as enjoyable and enriching.

~Lumaria Faye~

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The Path

October 1, 2011 at 1:22 PM (Introductory)
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I believe that the natural world is full of spirits and that every animal/plant/stone/etc should be treated with the same respect as our fellow human beings.

I believe that there are many gods and goddesses in the world.

I believe that there are spirit guides, and that they can sometimes come to us in the form of pets.

I believe in the power of the four natural elements combined with the spirit.

I also believe that everyone is different and everyone has their own path that they should and must follow. No one should be forced onto a path that doesn’t fit them or that they feel they don’t belong in. What I believe will not be and should not be exactly what anyone else believes. We all have a right to choose our own path, and this is the most important right that anyone could ever have.

We all have a lens through which we view life based on our background and personal experiences. We follow our own path, be it a country road or a city street, a forest path or a busy highway. It  could be spring, summer, autumn, or winter, but it will always be your own.

This is my path and I hope you’ll enjoy my journey.

~Crimsette

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The Wandering

September 30, 2011 at 10:56 PM (Introductory)
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Everyone has a past. Everyone has experiences, opinions, culture, and a self that is their’s and only their’s.

Not everyone is sure about what that past means to their present. It’s a wandering road, a winding path.

The first step that should be taken is to find out where you are. What do you know, what is your location?

From there, you need to look around with wide open eyes. What do you see? Which path is the true one? It doesn’t have to be carved out already. It can be brand new. One that you make all for yourself.

What matters is that it’s your path. Worn or new, it’s the one that you will follow for the rest of your life. You can pretend to walk on someone else’s path, but eventually you will only get lost again. The only way to truly find yourself is to pick your own path.

~Cami

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