Paganism VS Christianity

Paganism VS Christianity
Jeff Pierce
University Of Phoenix Online (Axia) Frank Muller
February 25, 2012

World religions have become a great debate in the last hundred years. People push their religion on any one that is willing to listen to the person that is explaining their belief system that they practice. The religion for this paper is Paganism. Paganism or Neo-Paganism is a newer version of the old religion of Paganism. Paganism is a religion that has really no temples other than Mother Nature and father sky.
Pagans believe in the world around them and worship everything. There may have been temples for the religion long ago but they have been ether forgotten or fade into the annals of history. Pagans were one of the first organized religions of the world. The fact of the matter is that Paganism is one of the few oldest religions that are still practiced.

The interviewee for this paper is Mrs. Cassella. Mrs. Cassella has been practicing Paganism since the age of fifteen. The method for this interview was over the phone on at Saturday at my place of residence. There was no particular site do to the fact that her religion is primarily practiced in the outdoors. Her child hood was open as far as religion was concerned. Her father jumped around from religion to religion no really settling on one. At the age of fifteen she was introduced to Paganism from a child hood friend who mother was a practicing Pagan. She is educating her two children, Nick age (9) and Ellie age (7) on what it means to be a Pagan. The two children have been to many festivals that their mother’s religion celebrates. Mrs. Cassella was informative on the special days that her religion celebrates every year. The hold the full moon every month in high regard, The winter and summer solstice, and a few minor days every year as special days. The thing that Mrs. Cassella faces in everyday life is the criticism from her peers due to the fact that she is a practicing Pagan. People do not seem to tolerate what they do not understand she exclaimed! She also stated that she has lost close friends because of their lack of wanting to understand why she is a Pagan. She stated that her group of people that she practices the Pagan religion with are called a grove. The grove members are a total of forty five members out of which a half dozen are actively practicing other than Mrs. Casselaa herself.
Mrs. Cassella stated that she often practice her religion at home with her husband and kids. She said that getting them to understand the nature of her religion and the impacts on their social life should be brought up so that the kids have an understanding early on what it means to be a Pagan. Being Pagan is nothing to be ashamed she said. Pagans have a great understanding on what it means to be accepting and loving towards everything and everyone she exclaimed. Being a Pagan is has been a fulfilling for me Mrs. Cassella said. It has brought me a deeper understanding of whom and what I am. She said from the age of fifteen to now that there has not been a time in that time frame where she has not felt like she should be a Pagan. The thing that bothers her about being Pagan is the lack of respect that people show her and people like her because the do not want to take the time on getting to know her or her grove.

Christianity VS Paganism.
Paganism has been around in a one form or another since man was able to make fire. Paganism is considered by most academics as one of the first organized religion that man has had. Christianity cannot say the same. Christianity has been only been around for the last two thousand years since the birth of Jesus Christ. He was the man reason for Christianity. Paganism is based out of Mother Nature were Christianity has been for the most part been practiced in the confines of a house, temple, or church. Paganism is being comfortable with ones surroundings and every that is in your surroundings. Christianity is believing in that Jesus died for your sins and that you will be brought up to him during the end days on earth. Pagans use Moon cycles and solaces as holidays while Christians are using Christ’s birth, death, miracles and resurrection as holidays. While both religions use family importance as a building block in making their respectable religions strong. Both religions are both strong in their faith. They both use some elements of the other one uses. Both Christianity and Paganism use water in their rituals. Water plays a very important part in both religions. Fire is also incorporated in to both of the rituals of Christianity and Paganism. Each of the religions has played a major part in the annals of human history. Paganism being one of the first organized religions has played a major role in the development of humans. Christianity also has played a major role in the annals of human history. Christianity is partly at fault for the down turning of Paganism in the last two thousand years. Christians often persecuted any one practicing Paganism do to the fact that Christians though if you were practicing Paganism that you were a devil in disguise, or that you were a witch. Christianity has not been to open with other religions other than ones that are closely matched the way that their belief system is. Pagans on the other hand have been most accepting of people of other belief system.
Pagans and Christians in today’s age have gotten along better than they have in any time during the last two thousand years. There is still animosity between Christians and people that follow the Pagan belief. In the United States of America there is a resurgence of Paganism. Due in part to the resurgence of the renaissance fairs. A large majority of people that have converted over to Neo-Paganism have gotten a large majority of the information that has been the deciding factor in the their choice to convert over to Neo Paganism from renaissance fairs and other similar activity’s that have started re-enacting the middle ages when Paganism what so prevalent in Europe and Britain.
Christians and Pagans both have long traditions that span millennia’s and long annals that go along with them. People will believe what they want to believe whether it’s being Pagan or Christian. Both have good things and some bad but it’s the smallest of things that separates the two. Pagan’s biggest belief is that you should be in tuned to what is around you and whatever is in your life. Christians are big in to believing that we will be saved by Jesus’s sacrifice for our sins. They also are big in to believing that that they will ascend to heaven when the day of Armageddon happens. But on the same token Christians believe that you should love everything that is in your life even if it is your enemy. That is really what both of these two religions have in common. Is that you should love and cherish everything even if it is someone or something that you have a disagreement or problem with. Just because you have a problem with someone or something does not give you the right to slander or harm another or something. Teaching one’s faith is the only way to keep that religion going. Christianity is the largest religion on the face of the earth. The same cannot be said for Paganism. Worldwide there may be only a million practicing people. While small in size it plays an important role in the choices for someone to have the choice of religions not just one! That is best thing for humanity to have is the freedom to choose one’s faith. But tolerance and peace should be the goal of any one religion not war.

Conclusion.

The facts of what Mrs. Cassella and others like her have endured over the years and continue to face is puzzling! People still tend to hate what they do not understand. Hatred is a great evil and until humanity can comes to grips with that there really is no hope for peace. Paganism is not evil nor is it good. It takes people that are good to make Paganism good. It takes people that evil to make Paganism evil. The same can be said for Christianity. Christianity is neither evil nor good it takes some one that is evil to turn Christianity to the evil side of life. It takes some one that is good to make Christianity good. Just as there has been people in the annals of history that used Paganism for evil the same can be said for Christianity.
If all religions were the same we all would practice one religion. The fact that there are so many choices to practice means we do not have to choose just one. Paganism will endure for many more millennia just the way it is currently. There will not be any cataclysmic changes within the Pagan religion as it currently is being practiced. Christianity on the other hand may or may not undergo a cataclysmic change any time. What the bible teaches that there will be a second coming of Jesus Christ. That is a large change in the Christian belief system. There will be others that also come with Christianity. They all might not be on such a grand scale as the second coming of Jesus but for Christians it is a major part in what they believe. So people need to take in both religions as they are. Not trying to sugar coat something that it is not. Religion should be used as a tool for the passage of one’s life with purpose.

Mrs. Cassella’s openness and honesty have made researching this paper enjoyable and fun. Her candidness opened doors that not always have been as open. Her knowledge and expertise in her religion has broadened the Interviewers understanding of Paganism and how it is practiced. Mrs. Cassella’s willingness to talk about her history and family with in the Pagan religion is to be commended and applauded. She should be proud of who and what she is and not have to hide behind a curtain because someone does not approve of the choice she made in choosing a religion as a child. The fact of the matter is that it really is only up to her to decide what religion she feels at the best with. She said that she hopes that one day that people will have a better understanding about Paganism. She hopes that one day Paganism will be as acceptable to the masses as Christianity or Islam. In the Interviewers mind it will one day become as acceptable as Christianity. But that day is still a long day off in the future. Till man can come to grips with the fact that not everyone will practice the same religion people will be hateful to what they do not understand. The interviewers hope is that one day that people will be able to walk freely and show what their religion is and what it does for them.

References.

1. Mrs. Cassella 2. http://www.pantheism.net 3. http://roroses.hubpages.com 4. The Holly bible. 5. http://www.neopagan.net 6. http://www.christianity.com/ 7. http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/ 8.

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Smith, M. (2001). Writing a successful paper. The Trey Research Monthly, 53, 149-150.
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