Differences between Paganism and Christianity?

Question

NB: Any answers with obvious bias are unlikely to get best answer.

Answer 1

Woo a difficult one.

OK 1st need to deal with definitions.

"Christian" is someone who follows a variety of interpretations of the Xian bible. Mainly the teachings of JC (as recorded by some of his historical followers), suplimented by selected bits from the Jewish texts of the Old Testament.

"Paganism" is not that simply defined. Generally speaking it is a blanket term to describe the Indigenous Old World (pre-christian) Spirituality - all modern path are "Life Affirming". But there are flaws with that. The main issue is that most Pagan Paths are deeply personal ones and so the definitions are open to interpretation.

Now for Spirituality. (no insult intended here but) Christians are mainly dogmatic. (recognising there are exceptions to this comment), while most Pagans are spiritual explorers. Does not make one right & the other wrong. They just have different approaches to their spirituality.

Having said this I recognise that ALL generalisations are flawed - as with this statement. But Ihope it gives you an idea.
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Answer 2

Most new age pagan traditions are based on ancient European traditions. Christianity is a Middle Eastern theology. Paganism generally believes in the universality of the spirit, that is all spiritual paths are real and relevant. Christians believe they have the One True Faith that makes all others spiritual paths False and paths to Damnation. Pagans work with their dieties, their 'worship' being closer to adoration and mutual cooperation. Christians are taught to fear their God and to totally subjigate themselves to Him. Paganism respects life, holds to reincarnation and the world's immortality. Christians believe they were granted dominion over the earth by God, believe in only one life, and either look forward to or anticipate the End of the World. Pagans are non-evangelical, we don't try to convert others. Christianity is based on social conformity, converting others is a major priority because they have the One True Faith and someone who isn't Christian will be tortured forever upon death. I knew a vampire who was only nominally into paganism. Whenever an indepth discussion about ancient dieties was started, he would always retreat into what he knew about the Bible. I not Middle Eastern, why should I follow a Middle Eastern tradition? On the other hand, Christ had some good ideas and just because a person respects/adores/works with Him doesn't mean that they follow every Biblical practice or every Christian dogma. Christ isn't the problem. Christians are. Im into ancient Germanic dieties, but I find the teachings of the Buddha to be immensly helpful to my self-improvement.

Answer 3

Wicca would be considered Pagan.

The following list of affirmations and denials are held by most Wiccans. But because there are differences among Wiccan traditions, not every we can will affirm or deny every statement listed here. Nevertheless, the list is accepted by almost all Wiccans


Affirms
The existence of a supreme divine power known as "The One," or "The All"
"The All" is not separate from the universe, but part of it.
That from "The All" came the god and goddess.
That the god and goddess are manifested in various forms in the universe.
Nature worship and, therefore, environmental concerns are high.
Divinity is within
Biological evolution.
That there are different and valid paths to finding the truth about God.
That all creatures have a life force, a soul.
The male and female principles are in balance throughout the universe.
The equality of the sexes.
That each person has male and female aspects that need to be balanced.
Multiple reincarnations
The teaching of karma
The practice of rituals designed to attune Wiccans to the natural life forces.
That upon death a person is released back to a place called Summerland
That different paths to spirituality are acceptable as long as they don't hurt anyone
Personal responsibility for one's actions
Denies
The concept of Heaven and Hell (Matt. 25:46)
The existence of the Devil and the worship of the devil, Lucifer, etc. (Matt. 4:1ff)
The existence of absolute evil (Psalm 34:14; 35:10)
The inspiration and authority of the Bible (2 Tim. 3:16)
A need for salvation (Rom. 3:23)
Moral absolutes (Exodus 20)
That Jesus is the only way to salvation (John 14:6).
The male headship presented by Christianity (Eph. 4:11; Eph. 5)
A religious authoritative hierarchy (Eph. 4:11; Eph. 5)
The concept that humanity is to subdue the earth (Gen. 1:28).

Answer 4

Neo-paganism or historical paganism?

If you mean historical, then you wold also have to tell us which one to compare Christianity to. There are obvious parallels between what was written of Jesus and what was written of other god-figures such as Osiris, Bacchus, Marduk, etc. It's well documented and hardly worth going over again.

And then there are the various things the Church borrowed from the various pagan tribes when converting them such as Yule (Christmas), Samhain (All Souls Day), possibly Ostara (Easter), and several saints, like Brigid.

If you mean neo-paganism, then I would have to admit that I'm not sure there are many parallels besides the holidays and the reclamation of Christian saints as deities. They're recconstructionist...

Answer 5

Pagans do not believe that Jesus is the son of God, but a regular man who walked the earth giving testimony....

Blessed Be....

Just for the record pagans do not worship the devil. Those who are informed and educated know that. Being closed minded is no way to understand different religions. Actually paganism was one of the first religions, it predates Christianity. Do some research on the topic...

Answer 6

The two biggest are multiple Gods and Premarital sex.
I actually just did a small study on the close similarities and was pretty surprised by how close they are and thier worldview.
Still Paganism is waaaaaaay more accepting and laid back. Pagans love everyone with out judgement or rule.

Answer 7

I find some of these answers amusing.... As a pagan let me put the first item I saw at rest. Pagans are not Satanists, in fact they do not believe in Satan. Being a pagan means that you are polytheistic instead of the Christian monotheistic. It means you believe in more than one god/goddess. Pagans were around long before Christianity and will remain for a long time to come. Pagans existed long before there was a God or a Devil. Those are the basics.

Answer 8

I would say that their are dogmatic differences. Also, if you think of Genesis, God GAVE Adam reign over all things whilst pagans honor nature as intrinsically part of them. Pagans have more than one deity they honor and I feel that the ceremonies and rituals are more elaborate. Catholicism is strikingly Pagan once stripped of dogma (I mean no disrespect at all when I make this comparison). These are the 2 major things I can think of right now. Good question! Namaste

Answer 9

There are several differences between Christianity and Paganism. Tolerance of those of different beliefs, appearances and cultures; respect for the environment; and beliefs in reincarnation, just to name a few

Answer 10

Much of paganism was based on various things that were not well understood being explained. That is, the trees seem less deific when you realize that if they don't get water, they die, and the wind can knock them over.

Christianity has the advantage of basing itself on things that are less tangible (and therefore harder to disprove). It also has the virtue of simplifying one's belief system. That is, there is only ONE source of the mysterious.

I believe this is why multi-god religions have generally phased out while monothestic ones have become stronger.

The less you know, the more likely you are to think something is supernatural.

Or as Arthur C. Clarke said: Sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.