Paganism Defined

I am going to be starting some discussions about who God is and how we relate to God. The first part of the discussion will be a definition and discussion of a historically popular, and wrong from the Christian perspective (and from the Jewish and Muslim perspectives as well,) way of knowing and relating to God, paganism.

Paganism, or Animism, is and view that sees a god or gods as directly involved in controlling and manipulating the forces of nature and who will actively do so for their own amusement, or the betterment or determent of humanity. These gods are often petty, cruel, and sadistic towards humanity. They are often at war with each other and use humans as pawns in these battles or humans simply get caught in the middle.

The religious practice of paganism is based on the notion that a god or gods can or must be manipulated or appeased in order for humans to experience a favorable natural outcome or avoid natural disaster. If one can bribe a god with the proper sacrifices, flatter a god with the proper praise and worship, or manipulate a god with the proper prayers, then on can expect the fertility of one's livestock, fields, and wife. If, however, one offends a god, and these gods are often notoriously easy to offend, one will experience natural disaster. If a natural disaster occurs, than someone must have offended a god. In that case, one would have to try to appease that god, or curry the favor of another, stronger, god to intercede, or fight, on their behalf.

As you can see, the pagan relationship with deity is far different from the relationship with Deity we claim as Christians. Although our God is the God of nature and will use nature to make a point, (think about the Flood and the plagues on Egypt during the Exodus) our God has been reveled to us as a God who prefers to work through people, as individuals and communities, and through history, rather than through nature. Thus the claims of some "Christian" leaders who make statements, like those that were made in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, that natural disasters are God's punishment, are operating from a pagan world view rather than a Christian one.

In the next post we will discuss how God is moving the people of the Old Testament from pagan world view to a new understanding of God.