Christians and Pagan Practices?

Question

This question was prompted by another user asking what Bible verses to write on her Easter eggs for her child's Sunday school.

Everybody knows that Christians borrowed a lot of practices from the Pagans, and yet, most Christians think Pagans are evil, devil-worshipers. Now, doesn't that seem a little hypocritical? Of course, it's all about intent, right? Easter eggs, baby animals, and pastel colors, for Christians, are a representation of Christ - somehow. Now, for us Pagans, Easter, originally known as Ostara, was/is a celebration to welcome the warmer months and the rebirth of the earth. So, if Christians don't intend Easter to be about the earth, and we Pagans don't intend our celebrations and practices to be about your Satan, how do Christian's justify calling us Pagans devil-worshipers?

If you celebrate the seasons like us Pagans do, you become just like us; practitioners of Paganism. Thus, you become just as "evil" and "devil-worshiping" as you claim us to be.

Answer 1

There has been a rather staggering amount of research and investigation showing that almost the entire christian faith was plagiarized from Pagan beliefs and rituals. Everything Jesus said or did was done by previous pagan gods (Osiris-Dionysus)... Their only explanation for this was "Diabolical mimicry" - that the devil knew Jesus was coming and imitated the story several times beforehand... Yes it's weak, but it's their official explanation.

Of course they don't have to explain it very often. The church launched a massive smear campaign against the Pagans, calling them evil, devil worshippers, accusing them of the blood libel, ritualized murder, withcraft and everything else evil.

The idea that was that no "good christian" would investigate the Pagan beliefs and find out the truth that the bible is a blatant plagiarism. Anybody who did look into paganism and notice the undeniable similarities was summarily killed - tortured and burned to death as a heretic and served as an example of what would happen to those who looked into Paganism and were "twisted" by their "evil ways."

Just like antisemitism and other prejudices, that has carried on and survived into modern times.

I admire that you're willing to be a pagan despite persecution from the majority of the population. Good for you.

Answer 2

First of all, most Christians don't consider Pagans as devil worshipers unless you are doing exactly that, worshiping the devil. Most pagan worship is revolved around Gaia, the worship of the Earth. That is the distinction that Christians do not agree with. Christians agree that everything that is, originated with the Creation done by God.

Secondly, secular practices such as Santa Claus and Easter eggs is just commercialism connecting to Christianity. No, Christians didn't come up with the Easter Bunny, but guess what, Pagans didn't either (although it is usually circulated as an ancient Pagan tradition, it does not appear before 1990). Ancient Greeks died eggs as a symbol of Springs renewal, which is probably the basis for the Catholic custom of eating brightly colored eggs as a symbol of the blood of the sacrificed Christ. Rabbits and hares are both lagomorphs; they are prolific breeders. It is therefore not surprising that rabbits and hares should become fertility symbols, or that their springtime mating antics should enter into Easter folklore.

The difference lies in what we worship. Pagans worship...well, just about anything and everything they please to suit their needs (in my opinion). Where Christians worship God, the creator, the Lord Almighty.

Answer 3

I think earlier posters answered the question about sabbath observance no longer a law for Christians. Did you realize when you were reading excerpts for Cardinal Gibbons' book that the point he was making was that the Roman Catholic Church claims the God given authority to change the sabbath day? Not that the Church was disobedient to the bible? He makes the point also that Protestants, by observing Sunday sabbath, are unwittingly acknowledging the Church's authority. The entire book was written as a defense of American Catholics in a predominately Protestant America. There are probably other Christian theologians who would agree with your understanding of the bible, but Cardinal Gibbons can only be used in this way when taken out of context.

Answer 4

The duel practices was started by Emperor Constantine in order to please both the growing Christian population and his own pagan people. So if anyone really wants to complain about pagans, they should know that Christianity derives from judaism, which was originally pagan because they started out worshipping pagan gods before a messenger of the bible heard from the One God.

Answer 5

Honestly, it is because most christians are actually very uneducated about the history of their religion. Most commonly, the actual creation of christianity.

I think it would be an interesting survey to go around and ask proclaimed christians about Constantine, the Council of Nicea, and the Roman Empire in the 4th Century and earlier. I am willing to bet most will not know much about any of it.

Answer 6

Short explaination (mine):
Pagans are without God. God says that you are either with him or against him. Since Pagans are not with God, they are "evil", if that's the term you want to use.

Long explaination (not mine):
Paganism (from Latin paganus, meaning "a country dweller" or "civilian") is a term which, from a western perspective, has come to connote a broad set of spiritual or religious beliefs and practices of natural or polytheistic religions. The term can be defined broadly, to encompass many or most of the faith traditions outside the Abrahamic monotheistic group of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. This group may include some of the Dharmic religions, which incorporate seemingly pagan characteristics like nature-veneration, icon-veneration, polytheism and reverence of female deities, and are thus diametrically opposite to the Abrahamic faiths. Ethnologists avoid the term "paganism", with its uncertain and varied meanings, in referring to traditional or historic faiths, preferring more precise categories such as shamanism, polytheism, or animism. The term is also used to describe earth-based Native American religions and mythologies, though few Native Americans call themselves or their cultures "pagan". Historically, the term "pagan" has usually had pejorative connotations among westerners, comparable to heathen, infidel, and mushrik and kafir (كافر) in Islam. In modern times, though, the words "pagan" or "paganism" have become widely and openly used by some practitioners of certain spiritual paths outside the Abrahamic and Dharmic religious mainstream to describe their beliefs, practices, and organized movements.

Answer 7

What your celebrating makes all the difference.

Easter is a time of hope for us all...Christ was the first to overcome death and be raised into heaven and sit at the right hand of God the Father.

To those who have faith in Christ as their Saviour, they too will be saved. It's simple, yet life-changing.

Some celebrate Easter to be the onset of Spring and warmer months...Christians, however, celebrate Easter as the resurrection of our Lord; life eternal for the faithful. We celebrate the Creator, rather than the Creation...it makes all the difference.

Answer 8

You are wasting precious cyber ink on the poor Christians. They don't get it, and most of them won't get it, until the Messiah shows up and tells the ones who got out of their own trap that Jesus wasn't who he thought he was. People who follow Paganism will be able to understand him a lot quicker than those who don't.

He did happen to be born on Orthodox Easter though. Coincidence maybe?

Regards,

Chris

Answer 9

Quick answer, the Church had two ways of weaning people off their old religions and converting them to Christianity. The first was to pretend that their gods were demons, evil, etc. The second was to saint them.

Which is actually better than what the early Church fathers did to Judaism. They originated much of the slander that later became the anti-semitic rantings which contributed to pogroms, exiles, massacres, and the Holocaust.

Answer 10

jesus was clear on those who belong to him and live their lifes according to his teachings and directions.

you have many self proclaimed christians who obviously dont get it because even though we do not mix pagan traditions with Gods word, it dosent mean christians were instructed to condem the pagans and tell you that you are devil worshipers.

these people are just bigots and falsely represent the love and mercy God is truely all about.