All of the quotes except for Scripture are from a book by Gus DiZerega entitled Pagans & Christians
. The book is a treatise of sorts trying to reconcile Pagans & Christians.Here I hope to make anargument many Christians will find thought provoking: that Paganism and Christianity are both legitimate approaches toward a closer relationship with the Divine. To make such an argument I had to criticze Fundamentalist claims that the Bible is uniquely objective and without error, and that Jesus' meaning was clear when he said no one could come to the Father except by him. I have also had to criticize the wider claim that Christianity, or perhaps Biblical and "revealed" religions generally, are the only genuine religions.I guess he likes to call destruction thought provoking. In order to make the argument he wants to make, he has to take away essential factors that make Christianity what it is. When he writes that he doesn't believe that "the Bible is uniquely objective and without error," he approaches it more along the lines that the Bible isn't even infallible. Good Christians can discuss whether there are errors in the Bible or not. But when you start saying that the teachings of the Bible are in error and contradict one another, you are going much further than just saying the Bible has errors. He attacks the reliability of the Scriptures.
Jesus was clear when he said that he was the only way to the Father. Whether we want to accept that or not is our choice. The belief that Jesus is the only way to heaven is a central tenet that makes Christianity Christian. If you take that away, you take away Christianity. A more proper title for the book might be "Turning Christians Pagan" or "Pagan Apologetics: How to Resist Christianity." It is much more of an attacking book than I expected it to be.
The book argues that both Christianity and Paganism are both right and valid paths to the Divinity. However, in order to say that the writer has to turn Christianity into something that it isn't. His fictitious Christinaity, which is sadly practiced by many proclaiming Christians, could be compatible with Paganism. But the Christianity that the Bible teaches cannot be compatible.
There are a lot of great insights in the book. Sadly, the majority of his dislike about Christianity are based on actual errant beliefs and practices that Christians hold and practice. For instance:
We do not need to try and discover where Divinity is, for there is no place where Divinity is not. Needless to say, few Pagans are ever troubled by existential angst over the supposed meaninglessness of existence. For us existence is sacramental, the world is sacred, and whenever we fail to live up to these insights the failing is ours, and not the world's.Sadly, his belief about Christians and God seem to be somewhat true among believers. Many Christians seem to believe that God can be encountered more in the confines of a building on Sunday morning or in quiet contemplation while reading the Scriptures in the morning. That does not seem to be what true Christianity teaches. God can be encountered while pulling weeds, sitting in a prison cell, walking one's dog, wrestling with one's children, surfing the internet, jumping out of an airplane, lying in a hospital bed, drinking in a bar, etc. God is everywhere and can be encountered at any time in any place. He is not confined to our buildings, religious gatherings, or spiritual practices. He is visible to any who seek him with one's whole being. He is as close to us on our drive to work as he is at the altar in our churches. He surrounds us and waits for us to open our spiritual eyes to see him.
When one believes that God is completely separate from the world, as is indicated with the common God as potter metaphor, then spiritual truth cannot be found within the world. Like the shape and plan of a pot, knowledge of God's truth has to come from outside Creation. God must intrude upon the brute material world with a revelation. Transcendental religions derive their authority solely from sacred revelations in which God "injects" His truth into the world for the benefit of humankind.From this perspective, the Bible, Qur'an, Book of Mormon, and similar texts provide the only reliable source of information about God's wishes. Individual spiritual insight is validated only to the extent that agrees with established scripture. A great deal of effort is expended in interpreting these texts, for the validity of the faiths they sustain would be shattered if the core of their texts were shown to be wrong.
When we see the world as one dimension of Divinity, rather than radically seperate from It, we naturally look to different sources for legitimate spiritual knowledge and insight. While many Pagan spiritual paths do have traditional texts dealing with various aspects of their faiths, they are less concerned with interpreting scripture than are the world's monotheistic faiths. When Divinity is seen as manifesting within and throughout the world, it is absurd to argue that ultimate authority is within a text, especially one "revealed" in only one language to only one person, people, or tribe. Consequently, to a far greater extent than with transcenedtal religions, Pagan paths emphasize personal experience of the Divine and with Divinities through ritual, meditation, contemplation, trance, spirit incorporation, vision quests, and the like.
The Lord will scatter you among the peoples; only a few of you will be left among the nations where the Lord will lead you. There you will serve other gods made by human hands, objects of wood and stone that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. From there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find him if you search after him with all your heart and soul. In your distress, when all these things have happened to you in time to come, you will return to the Lord your God and heed him. Because the Lord your God is a merciful God, he will neither abandon you nor destroy you; he will not forget the covenant with your ancestors that he swore to them (Deuteronomy 4:27-31).
For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile (Jeremiah 29:11-14).I also think the writer has a misunderstanding of the Christian view of God, the potter reference in Scripture, and his closeness to humanity. The potter story shows a God who is active and working with civilization in order to transform it into the fulness he intended for it.
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: "Come, go down to the potter's house, and there I willThroughout history Christians have struggled with keeping a proper balance between the immanence and transcendence of God. Right now, we are in the Buddy Christ period of Christianity. Jesus is our personal buddy. It wasn't too long ago that God was almost unapproachable and Christians described Him in deistic terms. Healthy Christianity has a balance of the two. God is holy, yet personal and loving.let you hear my words." So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him. Then the word of the Lord came to me: Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the Lord. Just like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it. And at another moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, but if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will change my mind about the good that I had intended to do to it (Jeremiah 18:1-10).
The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge (Psalm 19:1-2)Nature is not at odds with Christianity. Christians have a unique role with nature. We are to be its caretakers. Sadly, many people perceived to be Christians have spearheaded the exploitation of nature, but that was not God's design. He intended for us to take care of it, to subdue it, and to take care of it for future generations. Despite that sin has entered the picture, nature was, and always will be, good.
For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made (Romans 1:19-20a).
Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’The other last thing I would like to touch on is the difference between the view that we have created the Bible and the belief that Christians have that God pursues a relationship with mankind and gave us the Bible to better see Him. We don't just believe that God can be observed in nature, Christianity takes it one step further. God is pursuing us no matter where we are. If we in a place devoid of nature, God would still be pursuing us. God wants each of us to know and follow Him. That is why the Scriptures. The Scriptures shouldn't be v
So God created humankind* in his image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.’ God said, ‘See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.’ And it was so. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good (Genesis 1:26-31)
iewed as a negative thing. They aren't just the ramblings of men from days of old, but they are inspired writings by people who were in touch with God. They show us how God has worked in history, and through those principles and teachings we can see how he will most likely work today.The Lord has made known His salvation; His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations (Psalm 98:2).
There is so much more that I want to write. The book has tons of thought-inspiring comments. I'll tackle more later. Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments concerning what he wrote or errors in what I wrote.
Watch out for potholes.
