Pagan Apologetics

A Pagan is a person who follows a non-Abrahamic polytheistical religion. In the context of this website it specifically refers to the ancient religions which have been "revitalized" in recent years. The two most popular of these "neo-Pagan" religions are Wicca and Druidism. Smaller groups include Hellenic (Greco-Roman) and Kemetic (Egyptian) traditions. Norse religion (Astaru) is usually categorized among the neo-Pagan religions although followers refer to themselves as "Heathens" rather than "Pagans".

I oppose the New Age because I believe it is a blasphemy of ancient practices. Feminist (Goddess-only) Wicca is not polytheistical, therefore it should not be considered a Pagan religion. If Wicca is to be considered a valid Pagan religion, it should prove its historical validity. Satanism is not a Pagan religion, both because it is non-polytheistical and non-historical. Please keep our religions pure!

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Apology is defined by Webster's New World Dictionary as "1. a formal defense of some idea, doctrine, etc."

Christian apologetics are not hard to find. They believe that their God has given them explicit instructions to convert the entire human race to their religion. Therefore, they defend their religion (and attack other people's) as a matter of religious duty. Pagans do not have this "Great Commission" and so there are few Pagan apologetics. I hope to help reverse this trend. I support only the truth and will try not to stoop to the tactics of Christian Fundamentalists and Evangelicals.

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Well, that is a huge topic and essentially unanswerable. If one were to ask the question "What do Christians believe?" you could generally answer something along the lines of the Apostle's Creed:

"I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth: And in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried. He descended into Hell; the third day he rose again from the dead, He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy Catholic Church; the communion of Saints; the Forgiveness of sins; the Resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen."

Unfortunately, there is no such creed in the Pagan world because we are from many different religions. I have some of the basic definitions and beliefs of some religions on the web site. But if you really want a basic creed which most Neo-Pagans would adhere to, here you go:

"I believe in God(s) and Goddess(es) who are part of the world we live in. They are part of nature, just as the plants and animals. Therefore, I give a high priority to the protection of the environment. I also believe that I alone will bear the consequences of my actions."

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That question is not even worth answering. If I were to answer, I would say, "Of course not! I don't even believe in him!" But Fundamentalists would reply either that "Satan is the Father of lies, they are lying." or "Anyone who doesn't worship Jehovah is a worshipper of Satan." So, I cannot answer that question. If it is any consolation, I do not overtly worship Satan.

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I purposely did not include Satanists and Setanists on my list of Pagan religions. This is because most Satanists are non-theists and Setanism is not historically viable.

I do suggest that everyone should become familiar with Satanic doctrines by reading (at least) "The Satanic Bible" by Tony "Anton Szandor" LeVey. I am working on an essay which will examine the history of the Satan myth along with Christian, Satanic and Buddhist (Mara) interpretations and my views.

Essentially, I do not adhere to all but two of the "Nine Satanic Statements": "3)... wisdom, instead of hypocritical self-deceit!" and "9) Satan has been the best friend the church has ever had, as he has kept it in business all these years!"

I do not have a problem with viewing Satan with the same mindset as the Buddhists do Mara. That is, a symbol of "sin" (in the Buddhist sense). But I only view him as a symbol not to be emulated unlike the LaVey Satanists who seek to emulate that symbol.

Setanism is basically just Satanism forced onto a Kemetic God. I do not really see a difference between the two.

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Well, Pilate didn't get an answer (John 18:38) so I don't know if I can answer this. I believe that Truth exists - but we can't completely understand it. If you want to put this as Gandhi did: "God is Truth and Truth is God" then you can if you re-define "God" as to not be the Abrahamic God and something more like a Platonic or Gnostic/"Inner Mysteries" God.

And for all of you who say "Aha! You admit that you can't understand Truth. Therefore, you might be wrong and Christianity right. You might not know what Truth is, but I do." you misread what I said. I said that we cannot completely understand Truth.

There are many beliefs about the nature of the Gods. I think that each culture's Gods are the reinterpretations of the world around us. Now, I am not going to say whether the Gods exist exactly my religion depicts them but rather that we cannot know whether there are Gods that control the natural world.

So, I suppose you might call me a fidelic agnostic. I have heard the Gods speak to me and have felt their presence and learned what they have taught me. However, if I were asked to present evidence for their existence - and conversely, for their non-existence - "I should not be able to find such proof." (Bertrand Russel - of "Why I am not a Christian" fame). However, I do believe that I can show why Christianity and monotheism is false and why atheism and infidelic agnostism are wrong. If both monotheism and atheism is false then we are left with polytheism. Therefore, I am a polytheist.

In fact, I have yet to understand why Truth is so important. I believe in doing what is most beneficial and least harmful. Sometimes this is best done through truth and sometimes by a lie. So, let me ask you "What is Truth?"

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I want to clarify that my web site is for all Pagan religions. I am currently a Hellenic Pagan but I have been a Protestant Christian, Heretical Christian, Agnostic, Atheist, Pantheist, Feminist Wiccan, Wiccan, Eclectic Wiccan, and finally Hellenic Pagan. This seems like a lot but it was done in a really fluid motion and I think that you can see how each thing led to the next.

I am writing a paper on my religious history, but I will give a shortened version here. I was raised a Protestant Christian and I wondered why the Church kept contradicting what the Bible said and I became something of a heretic. I became kind of cynical and gave up on trying to reform the Christian religion and they couldn't change me back. So I became an Agnostic and then an Atheist because I couldn't see God in real life. I did what some Atheists do and became a Pantheist (no personal God, the Universe is God). My Pantheism evolved into Panentheism (the Universe is part of God) and I thought some more about a personal God. I found out about Wicca and became a Feminist Wiccan (I didn't really call myself that but I really left the God out). Even a gay guy can stand only a certain amount of Feminism and so I became a more equally-balanced Wiccan. Wicca's beliefs that all Gods are manifestations or interpretations of the God and Goddess led me to investigate other neo-Pagan religions and I became interested in Hellenic Paganism. So, after passing through a sort of "polytheistical agnostic" (God is one or many? - can't know) stage, I became a Hellenic Pagan.

But since I have passed through many stages in my life path I can argue for or against everything from Christianity to Atheism to Paganism. Since I am currently a Pagan, I argue for that and against Christianity and Atheism. But I have even written a reply to an anti-Islamic article as a Muslim. I mean no disrespect to anybody's religion by writing as one of them but I do this so that I can exercise my writing abilities and also so I can defend people's religions and pursue truth. (now you're going to ask me why because of the last question - I don't know).

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I don't really know what the Afterlife exists or what it has in store for us. Some Pagans use a New Age, religion-neutral "Summerland" when speaking about the Afterlife. Others believe in re-incarnation. But generally they follow the historical teaching of their religion.

I have a hard time believing in a Heaven and Hell, as Christianity imagines them, that are imposed upon people regardless of their actions and just because of their beliefs during their life or just on the whim of some Deity. The results of our actions are apparent on this plane of existance, why would they be irrelevant on the next?

I believe that there are three destinations in the Afterlife. The vast majority of people are going to to the realm of Hades (sort of like Limbo). Those people who were incredibly evil in this life will be tortured (like having to push a rock up to the top of a hill only to have it roll down again, or eternal thirst with golden fruits just out of reach). Those people who were extremely good in this life will be counted among the "dying Gods" such as Heracles. (See Hesiod's Theogony ll. 950-955)

Thus, my belief in the Afterlife is something akin to the Catholic teaching of Hell, Limbo, and Heaven. (A temporary punishment like Purgatory may or may not exist - I haven't found that any of the poets mentioned it). But quite unlike the Christians, I do not believe that your faith has anything to do with where you go in the Afterlife, but only your works.

Beliefs about the Afterlife are differnet for every person, there is no single Pagan Afterlife.

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That's not a question. I just explained that I don't believe in the Christian Hell. "So," you say, "just because you don't believe in it doesn't mean you can't go there." Granted, but just because you don't believe in Hades, doesn't mean that you won't go there. I have already rejected the Christian religion, therefore I have committed "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit" and am an "antichrist". So, according to the Bible, I have no chance of being "saved". So, why should I even consider Christianity?

Actually, if you believe in a single omnipotent, omnipresent, and all-good God then you can't believe in Hell. Answer me this: If God is omnipresent, is He in Hell? If Hell is defined as "a state of punishment apart from God" and God is in Hell, how can Hell be Hell? Therefore, belief in Hell is illogical.

In the teachings of Jesus (a "Son of Man", not a Prophet, not the Messiah, and certainly not God), Hell is a state of being in sin and apart from God. Likewise, the "Kingdom of God" is a state of purity and closeness to God. Show me one place where Jesus talks about Hell and the Kingdom of God as being in the Afterlife. Jesus' teachings are not a part of any Pagan religion but a non-traditional, symbolic approach may be used to help find Truth. Likewise, I interpret the Buddhist teachings as refering, not to physical reincarnations, but to states of mind in this life.

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I am always looking for help on my web site. If you have any web hosting or am willing to pay for it that would be appreciated. Also, if you are an apologetic for another religion that is unlisted or a non-Pagan one and you would either like to contribute to my site or simply dialogue then you may e-mail me.

E-Mail: PaganApologetics@email.com

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My voice is not the only one of Hellenic Paganism. There are many other sites which talk about what we believe. (For non-Hellenic religions, see the About Our Religions or the Links page. These are some Hellenic FAQ and belief statements:

• World Congress of Ethnic Religions: Hellenism http://www.wcer.org/members/europe/Greece/helleng.htm
• The Omphalos FAQ http://www.cs.utk.edu/~mclennan/OM/GRNP-FAQ.html
• Nomos-Arkhaios FAQ http://www.nomos-arkhaios.org/faq.html