Pagans: About your "No Preaching" rule?

Question

First, forgive me if I sound like a christian newbie, but there is an extreme need for more people to embrace nature and life on this planet, and this need does have a deadline, after which the planet will be tipped into a disastrous future.

How do you approach issues like global warming and the destruction of forests and the extinction of species without trying to convince people to adopt a more pagan attitude towards the world and our place in it?

Folks, Kallan is addressing the issue that worries me: christianity

Answer 1

I don't think that it's necessary to adopt a pagan attitude toward the world to understand that global warming is a dangerous problem affecting all of us.
Al Gore isn't pagan and he does it.
The bottom line is that this is the only planet capable of sustaining our life form in this galaxy.. this is the only home we've got.
The biggest problem is in trying to convince christians who believe that they are "in this world but not of this world" and that "Jesus will come back and fix all of the problems" so they have no responsibility to it.
Since Jesus hasn't returned in over 2000 years, you'd think they'd care enough about their children and grandchildren's quality of life to come.

Answer 2

Well I try and encourage those I know to live greener but I don't use my religion as a justification.I would never say 'Oh you must recycle or you'll pollute the planet and offend the Gods!' I use logic and the fact that if we all lived more 'greenly' it would make the world a cleaner and better place for all of us.

I think the problem is that many people think no big environmental changes will happen in their lifetime so they are not that bothered.Christians expecting that one day Jesus will return and make the world perfect again doesn't help but it's not the worst problem.

Answer 3

It's not necessarily a "Pagan" attitude - it's as much a christian and even Atheist attitude. Look at Al Gore - big christian (one of the very few who walks that path with integrity) - he's making it a HUMAN attitude, which is what it should be. Pagans are the caretakers of Nature, but it's really everyone's responsibility regardless of which path they walk. Global Warming is not a Pagan issue, it's a humanity issue.

Answer 4

Well, I'm not aware of any "No Preaching" rule within the broader spectrum of Paganism.

Traditional Wicca has a rule about attempting to convert people and many Neo-Pagans have adopted this as well. But that is not the same as attempting to influence people on a particular issue such as environmentalism. These issues are socio-political not religious.

Answer 5

that would count number on no count if i became employing a "Bo" or the fast version of the "Naginita". To that are You referring? The 'Bo' is a 6 foot long wood team, or bamboo pole, utilized in martial arts. The "Naginita" is likewise a wood team or pole measuring the two 6 or 8 feet in length yet with a curved sword-like weapon at one end. yet have been used for inner maximum close quarter wrestle weapons with the help of the eastern Samurai warriors. i does not touch a chum with one.

Answer 6

I'm not pagan, but I have an answer, albeit a sad one.

We need neither paganism nor global warming to understand that we are affecting our environment in bad ways. It should be common sense. Unfortunately, there are people who will just never care about any of it. We can give them evidence, whether through science or simply through SHOWING them (letting them see) the effects they are having on the environment, but they do not change.

Answer 7

It is not a pagan issue, it is a human one. All one needs to do is approach it with the options we are leaving for our children. Not all environmentalists are pagan I would venture to say that the majority are Christians who see what people are doing to the planet.

addendum: delsydebothom just what does 99% of your biblical history lesson have to do with the question?

Answer 8

I try to minimise my carbon footprint, and urge others to. How do I do it. I don't drive, I walk, ride a bike, or use buses that have lowered their pollution output (easy to tell as they state it on the side here). I switch off my electrical devices by the plug and opt for energy efficient devices, etc. etc.

When it comes to others, I urge them to do the same. For me it's not about religion, it's about leaving a place for my descendants to live that's habitable, but we live in a world of consumerism, we buy multiple homes and cars, and don't think about consequences. People read into their religion what they want to justify living the way they want.

Answer 9

Please do not confuse what is being done presently in USA, and call it 'Christianity'. God uses a 'purity rules', the USA uses 'majority rules' presently. Yesterday, I received a reply letter back from the local diocese bishop; and teh way I took it then, and today, was they would 'change' something if 'strong concensus' emerged. (Right or wrong did not seem to be an issue despite the glaring scriptural evidence).

Answer 10

Basically you tell people to treat the planet better for the sake of the planet and their own good, not because a deity wants it. Go at it from an environmental angle, not a religious one.