Paganism

I understand that paganism is a growing religious force in the world today. Also, there are quite a number of forms of paganism – Druidism, Wicca, Witchcraft  just to name a few. Perhaps you feel that your rituals and other spiritual activities will help to save the Earth from self-destruction. You may distrust Christianity for quite a few reasons. You can't stand the doctrine of eternal punishment, and you probably feel that most Monotheistic religions, especially Christianity, are a hindrance to spiritual development.

Most pagans are polytheists (they acknowledge and worship more than one god or goddess). You probably believe that these divine powers are within you and you need to get into harmony with them. You may be a Nature-Worshipper of some form.

Some Preliminaries

1. Points we may have in common.

a. We believe in the reality of a spiritual world that exists now in parallel with the physical universe. Many churches are spiritually dead – emphasizing "club rules" and not a personal encounter with the divine. But more and more churches are coming alive and are learning what it means to have a relationship with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has greater power than all the rest of the angels and demons combined.

b. We believe that it is good for us to care for our environment. As a Christian, I believe that God gave us this world to look after and enjoy, but not to abuse. So I would sympathise with attempts to limit ecological destruction and the spread of pollution. In my view it is sinful to ruin the environment for personal or corporate profit. The Bible talks of God "destroying those who destroy the earth" (Rev. 11:18).

But the very fact that we have potential to harm Nature proves to me that Nature itself is not divine. A deity which can be destroyed is not worth worshipping. Christians see the beautiful things in Nature as part of the "created order". Just as a beautiful musical piece points to the existence of a gifted and creative composer, so Nature points us to am infinitely wise, good and caring Creator.

The basic error is to "worship that which is created instead of the Creator". Which is better – the work of art or the artist, the book or the author, the created or the Creator? To worship that which is created is to be truly out of harmony with the Creator and that which is truly enduring and eternal.

Our God has been answering prayers and doing wonders since the world began. Whether you like it or not, there is nothing you can do to directly harm Him. Surely one day you will stand before Almighty God and give an account for your life, even including your secret thoughts. What will you say then?

c. I believe that Christians should not seek political power in order to persecute those with other beliefs. As this has been done by the Historical Church over the years, all I can say is I'm sorry and hope not to be a part of such a thing. As Christians we DO have our standards of beliefs and ethics, but hopefully Christians will realise that the weapons with which we attack deception and evil are primarily spiritual. Our swords are made of words, not metal.

A truly wise Christian does not get involved in "witch hunts". "He who searches for evil, it will surely come to him." A lot of innocent people have been killed, especially by the apostate Roman Catholic Church during the middle ages. It was not only witches, but also many innocent people AND many born-again evangelical believers that were tortured and put to death by the Inquisition.

Of course a Christian who knows the Bible rejects many of the fundamental tenets of paganism. We believe though that these tenets must be demonstrated to be wrong. Our God is greater than all of your gods put together. And of course, our Ultimate Victory will be when Jesus Christ returns as King and Judge. Until then the Kingdom of God will only manifest in part, mostly where it is welcomed and embraced. We will continue in prayer and fasting, Christian meditation and acts of truth and mercy so that more and more may taste of the goodness of God personally before it is too late.

As for the spiritual harm that some pagans do through witchcraft and magical arts, God is well able to deal with that and return any curses back to the sender. We will pray on for you that you will have a revelation of God's love and truth before it is too late.

WHAT ARE SOME PAGAN BELIEFS?

Pagans reject the Judaeo-Christian God of the Bible for alternative gods and goddesses. I'm not sure what the reason is for this in most case. Many if not most pagans do not believe in the existence of Satan, or the devil. For example, I get mail on a fairly regular basis from Wiccans who assure me that they do not worship Satan or the devil. You can read some of it here.

Read messages from Wiccans who have read this page and responded.

To give a full report of the many and varied beliefs in various pagan systems is outside the scope of this website. I realise that some of the comments I make may be applicable to some pagans, but not others. I have found, even from reading the mail sent to me by many, that there are conflicting claims about what it means to be a witch and who has the right to be called such, and so on.

Some pagans just find our God unreasonable and his interdictions against witchcraft cruel and narrow-minded. Others feel that our God might be OK as long as He makes us happy on our path, and leaves them on theirs. Others would strongly contend that He doesn't exist.

To the first group, I say, the truth is not a matter of personal preference, and there may be good reasons for God to forbid witchcraft – but you don't know those reasons and refuse to trust the God who said those things against witchcraft. But, if our God exists (and there is abundant evidence that He really does), your personal preference for rebellion against Him won't be respected as a valid objection to His rule, on the Last Day of judgment. Be sure of that. Its pretty arrogant really to suppose that your opinion would be wiser than that of Almighty God who made heaven and earth, and knows all things.

To the second group, who feel that our God might be OK as long as He makes us feel good and leaves you alone, I say this: if our God, the God of the Bible, actually exists, He will not "leave you alone" but you shall surely come and give an account of your life to Him. As for us, we will pray for your salvation and we are willing to share what we believe and what we have experienced, as well as the message we treasure concerning our Lord Jesus Christ. We won't FORCE you to believe anything – we don't have that power anyway, but we will try to be PERSUASIVE, so that, by all means, a few more might be saved from the wrath to come.

To the third group, I say: if you have any reason for believing in the existence of your own gods and goddesses, we have more reasons to believe in our God. For how many hundreds of thousands have experienced the miraculous power in the name of Jesus Christ, have had their lives changed, as well as their intellects challenged by the evidence which is there for all who refuse to be ignorant concerning these things. My testimonies pages contains just a few hundred examples – this is just a drop in the bucket. Greatest of all miracles is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. You need to come to terms with that historical event and only then choose your religion.

PROBLEMS WITH PAGAN BELIEFS

1. How can you be sure that your "gods" are not deceiving you?

That there are spiritual forces behind the various gods of men no informed Christian would deny. But how can you be sure that these spirits are who they say they are? If they make you feel good at times when worshiping them does that make those spirits good? Even Satanists "feel good" when they perform the most horrible things. An evil spirit has the power to give a buzz, a thrill, a surge of power or whatever. They have a limited power to give people what they want also – be it fame, fortune or power. However, all those things are only temporal and will pass away forever.

If you are communicating with spirits by whatever means, let me ask you: Has your spirit always told you the truth? Did it work out always the way the spirit said it would? Has it ever seemed to you that the spirit was somehow mocking you? If so, all this should be a clue as to the deceptive nature of the spirits with which you have entered into contact.

Just because you can't see the God or the devil doesn't mean they can't see you. Just because you don't believe in their existence doesn't mean you can't deal with them, and they can't deal with you. Remember the ostrich, which puts its head in the sand. The ostrich thinks, because he can't see you, you can't see him!

I say that if your spirits deny that Jesus Christ of Nazareth came in the flesh and is now Lord and God that they are LIARS. Those spirits have come to seduce, enslave and destroy you (its a progressive action). For God's sake wake up! If those spirits ARE in fact deceptive then you are in BIG TROUBLE. Upon death you will be taken by the Satan you may or may not believe in. Not to some kind of spiritual paradise – but rather, to everlasting shame, torment and mockery. Satan will laugh in your face in hell one day if you worship false gods of any kind, because he stands behind them all.

Please consider that God loves you. He has given you a choice. He has provided a Savior – Jesus Christ, who became a SACRIFICE FOR YOU – so that you could be made clean, pure and righteous by God and ready to enter into the joy of the Creator forever. Jesus loved you that much. You will find in truly knowing Him the most loving, awesome, faithful, true and powerful person you could ever imagine. He is able to change your life and give you total spiritual fulfilment.

Jesus promised to give rest for the souls of those who serve him. Not more burdensome rituals, but a river of life! It would be a wonderful thing for you to experience the blessing of knowing Him for yourself.

Be at least a little bit willing to consider the evidence for the Good News of Jesus Christ and the message of the Bible. There have been many abuses, since Satan has also been at work inside the church – not only outside. But if you seek for God with all of your heart He will be found by you.

Perhaps it is not too late for you to know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Why not check out some of the testimonies on this and other sites.

If you want to communicate over the internet, send me an e-mail. I want to pray for all who write to me, and God-willing and time-permitting, I would like to write back. I will try to make time.

You might like to read some related ideas in my special short message to New-Agers. Also of interest may be this article on reincarnation.