"When they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were
thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was
darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the
glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and
to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave
them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their
own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and
worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for
ever. Amen." - Romans 1:21-25
Pagans in Utah stepped out of the broom closet, so to speak, earlier this
month to declare their existence and to dispel misinformation about paganism and
witchcraft. "A lot of the misinformation is that witches are evil, that witches
are green, that witches are ugly, that witches sacrifice children or eat babies
or whatever the case may be, that there is worship of Satan, things of that
nature," said pagan entrepreneur Rita Morgan, whose store Crone's Hollow in
South Salt Lake not only sells ritual supplies but serves as a meeting place for
local covens.
The pagan festival of Samhain ("Sawin") was celebrated by
the Celts as the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter, halfway between
the summer and winter solstices on about October 31st. With bonfires and
(rumored) human sacrifice to shy off the dead, the holiday was considered a day
in which the door opened between this world and the next, and the dead walked
among the living. Other historical efforts to protect oneself from evil spirits
involved dressing in costume and lighting carved-out turnips or beets.
In our civilized, scientific culture, we tend to think of paganism as
something distant, lost in the world of developing nations. In those places,
ignorant medicine men seek to chase off disease through spiritual rituals when
they would find better results with a tub of bleach water and penicillin. The
word "pagan" often brings to mind half-clothed natives dancing around the
missionary in the pot, human sacrifice, and barbarism in
general.
However, today there is a form of popular paganism that looks
surprisingly modern and has followers among intellectuals. While Judeo-Christian
morality is increasingly seen as outdated and 'puritanical' in our Western
World, the human need for spiritual fulfillment has not disappeared. Instead,
updated forms of the old pagan religions are spreading once again. Neo-Paganism
embraces a wide variety of religious traditions, including Wicca, Druidism,
Asatru, Shamanism, and neo-Native American beliefs, mixing a variety of the
ancient pagan beliefs about nature and the universe, fitting them to modern
society. College professors, screenplay writers and the leaders of many
ecological movements have delved into modern Paganism, and their ideas come home
to us through our college students and our children's movies.
Many people dive into Paganism innocently - out of a desire to find out
more about God and the spiritual. They love nature, or they are weary of dry,
boring church services. Many do not know the Bible well enough to recognize
red flags, and a large number of people consider themselves "Christian" pagans.
It is important that we recognize when Neo-Pagan beliefs come in conflict with
Biblical Christianity and not confuse being "spiritual" with being led by the
Holy Spirit. With a better understanding, we can help prepare our families to
deal with the lure of modern Paganism.
What Do Pagans
Believe?Paganism in general, no matter which local flavor, is
characterized by reverence for nature and usually involves a number of gods,
goddesses, or spirits. Shamanism, Druidism, and the local religions of hundreds
of cultures can all be considered pagan. The most prevalent form of modern
Paganism is Wicca, or witchcraft, which is an occult form of Paganism that
includes casting spells and seeking 'hidden knowledge'.
Modern Paganism
is a religion that reveres Nature as divine. Pagans see every plant, animal, man
and woman as part of that divinity. Unlike the God of the Bible, who is separate
from and greater than His creation, the natural world itself is considered
divine and holy. While the God of the Bible created us in His image, the god and
goddess are made in our image - in the image of created things.
To the
Pagan, the divine is both female and male, so that Pagans worship both the
goddess and the god; loving, wise figures who are seen as completely equal.
There are also other lesser gods and goddesses called pantheons. Since Nature is
seen as female - Mother Earth or Gaia - the goddess tends to be emphasized. She
is seen as our mother, the creator and sustainer of life. Since she is
responsible for all living things, the other creatures on our planet are seen as
our brothers and sisters. For this reason, Pagans are highly environmentally
conscious people - sometimes to the extreme.
Pagan rituals and
celebrations follow the cycle of life through the year - birth, maturity, aging
and death, spring, summer, autumn and winter - in a continual, never-ending
cycle. Even the universe is in a continual cycle. When this world ends, another
will begin. The God of the Bible calls Himself the Alpha and the Omega, the
Beginning and the End (Rev 1:8). However, Pagans deny any beginning or end, but
see a constant cycle of death and rebirth. For this reason, they tend to affirm
some form of reincarnation.
Sex and nudity are seen as part of nature,
and Pagans have no qualms about sexual activity outside of marriage. In fact,
Pagans have much in common with the ancient fertility religions and the high
place worship that was done in groves of trees thousands of years ago (Ezek
6:13, Jer 3:6). In that respect, it is interesting that on May 1 Pagans
celebrate Beltain, the marriage of the goddess and god, when the god becomes Oak
King.
Pagans do not believe in sin or Satan. They are often upset when
they are seen as Satanists or satanic, since Satan does not enter into their
worldview. Rather, they accept concepts of karma and positive and negative
energy. They have no rules or guidebook and no leader. Each pagan follows his or
her own spiritual path. The single solid rule of Paganism is: "If it harms none,
do what you will." They seek to do 'good' according to their individual
understanding of good, to help their communities and take care of the
environment and create positive energy. They are responsible to themselves
alone, and have their own values and ethics.
Paganism offers
spirituality without any rules or regulations, and connection with the spiritual
world without requiring submission to the will of the one true God. Paganism
teaches that the individual is god, free to choose his or her own path, his or
her own boundaries for morality. This is very appealing to those wanting to
throw off what they see as oppressive patriarchal religions in favor of the more
'compassionate' female goddess of Paganism. It has had a great deal of influence
in the intellectual world, as well as among teenagers. Teens who love nature
anyway, and who don't want to be told what to do, find Paganism an attractive
form of religion.
Unfortunately, while Pagans see their religion as harmless and good for the
environment and community, they do not know the spiritual forces that are truly
at work behind it (Eph. 6:12, 1 John 4:1-3). Denying the problem of sin is
self-deceptive and dangerous (1 John:1:8). And by denying sin, Pagans reject
their need for a Savior. Whether or not Pagans believe in Satan has no bearing
on the reality of his existence and his ability to influence their lives. Paul
warns that even Satan can be transformed to look like an angel of light (2 Cor
11:14). A good con artist never looks like a con. Instead, he offers you what
you want, in a most appealing package, so that when you buy into his lie and
accept what he offers, he can pillage you and strip you bare.
God wants
us to seek Him with all our hearts, and He said we would find Him when we do so
(Deut 4:29, Jer 29:13). We need to make sure that our seeking Him is according
to truth, and the Bible is God's Word to us, His own revelation of who He is.
We must always be like the Bereans in Acts 17:11, who "received the word with
all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily" to make sure the
things they were being taught were so.
is not a set of techniques for winning people to Christ. It is not a set of argumentative templates designed to win debates. It is a willingness to work with God in helping people discover and turn to his glory. We are to “follow Him” by casting our nets out to everyone and pointing them to the greater reality of God and the risen Christ.
William Lane Craig
I'm surprised at how quickly Darwinists have abandoned any claim that evolution is a powerful process at work today, retreating to the position that its power is a thing of the past. The convenience of that stance, of course, is that it enables them to insist that natural selection was a powerful mechanism without committing themselves to the more risky proposition that it still is.
