Neo-Paganism: Barriers and bridges to dialogue

Pagans often assume that much of western ideology comes from an inherently Christian world view. Pagan ideology clashes with western ideologies on many fronts: materialism, globalisation, consumerism, obsession with shallowness, sexuality, concept of beauty and ecology, to name but a few. A Wiccan expresses the general opinion of pagans:

Unfortunately, the obscene wealth, power and politics surrounding the church probably mean that [moral progress] will never happen. Perhaps the organised church will, one day, be consumed in its own filth. (personal email, 25/08/01)

Christian apologists need to face these issues with pagans.

Ecology

Philip Johnson notes that `western churches have often aligned themselves with the capitalist industrialism that has so exploited the earth’s resources’.[19] Paganism can force us to reflect more seriously on our creation theology, which some Christians are doing. The Earth Bible project[20] calls us back to the way God intended us to relate to the earth. Wilkinson, a Canadian professor, put his biblical creation theology into practice.

. . My wife, daughter, and I were involved in a blockade protesting the logging of the last large areas of old forest on the west coast of Vancouver Island. We were persuaded to participate by a new Christian who was impressed by the spiritual seriousness of the protest and the complete lack of any Christian presence there.

. . . We were coached in nonviolent resistance techniques by a grandmotherly, white-haired woman who said she was a Wicca priestess - a witch. We were given song sheets that included hymns to `the earth goddess’, and sat in the big Circle … in a meeting conducted, we were told, under feminist principles of `consensus and nonviolence’.

After the dawn arrests … we returned from our brief time in jail to the bright, late-morning light of ‘The Circle’. We decided to teach the group a song of our own, the words from Isaiah 55: ‘You will go out with joy, and be led forth in peace, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands’. Many of the protesters seemed surprised that the words were in the Bible - as they seemed surprised at the Scripture texts we had posted:’The Earth is the Lord’s’, ‘Creation groans’ and ‘In Christ a new creation’. But the biggest surprise … for this earnest group of protesters was that Christians were even present at the protest. ‘Do Christians care about the earth?’ was a common inquiry.

Sexuality

Pagans link the western suppression of sexuality to the puritanical church of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Perhaps we need to recapture the message of the Song of Songs and celebrate the mystery of maleness and femaleness. Johnson asks the church to consider celebrating fertility through rites that celebrate puberty, menstruation, etc. Recognising infertility could also be in order. The Old Testament bears witness to the importance and effect of sexual relations, offspring and barrenness.

The spirit of the age

Neopaganism reminds us of the virtue of living simply. This is in keeping with the ethic of Christ, but we have often forgotten this.

Most Christians no longer think twice about buying the best house, car or computer. Pagans can pick it a mile off when we are driven by the marketplace.

Ritual versus world view

Neopagans have a satisfying religion; they are spiritually aware and have a healthy, positive view of life. They will not be convinced by cerebral argument, for their religion is ritual not dogma. This presents a problem for many Christians, for Christianity has become for them one world view or ideology among many. Pagans, like most post-modernists, are weary of ideologies and world views. They help to make sense of the world but they do nothing! Protestant Christianity has largely sold out to this idea. Worship becomes information, a `head spin’ and little else. The church needs to recapture the mystical action of God in its worship and ritual to become relevant to the pagan. The pagan needs to see our triune God as immanent, alive and active, working with power in absolution, holy communion and blessing, at work in creating, loving, caring and healing people. Christianity needs to return to its powerful ritual and throw off the shackles of rationalism. Our dialogue will be effective if we can point to our performative ritual.

This truth extends beyond worship to our catechesis. Instead of teaching people about the faith we need to teach the faith. Another symptom of modernism in the church is that faith has become an object to be studied, being reduced to a set of beliefs rather than practised as an organic relationship with Almighty God. Doing the faith has been replaced by learning about the faith. Faith must move from the page to ritual, in the personal, family and congregational sphere. Bible study needs to be followed by heart study. Christian spirituality is in dire need of rediscovery. Devotions should not simply be a thought for the day but a dialogue between the Creator and the created. We need to rediscover the meditative and contemplative aspect of faith. Many Christian fads could have been avoided if we practised the real presence rather than the real absence of God! Pagan spirituality at least claims to embrace a real presence.

Neo-Paganism - Barriers and bridges to Christian faith
Neo-Paganism - Barriers and bridges - theological

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 •  This page was first posted: Jul. 31, 2006
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