Gaia

The Pagan HONORS Mother Nature. And surely you meant Satan, not Santa? Although I must admit, the first time I was introduced to Santa, it scared the Hell out of me!

Here's a litlle rundown on what Pagans "believe", just to clarify, not to "push" anything on anyone.


The Concept Of Deity

Pagans see the divine as being manifest at all levels of humanities limited ability to comprehend the universe world around us. The fact that some may call upon or associate with the divine by different names does not necessarily mean that we see a complete seperation of deities.

We accept that different aspects of the divine combine to make the whole. In this view, we recognize and attune ourselves with nature and the creative force in a way the individual or group is most comfortable with. The following is an explanation of this concept which most agree upon.


The Supreme Creative Force:

The One is the all encompassing unity of all things which exist. This includes that which is manifest to our limited awareness and understanding as well as that which is not. The One is infinite to a point that the human mind simply cannot comprehend its vastness.

Polarities of The One:

The Goddess and God are seen as a manifestation of the feminine and masculine forces of nature. Each having unique characteristics that when combined result in the harmonious creation of life.

We see examples of this in everything around us as nothing can exist without the interaction of feminine and masculine energy. This creative energy is omnipresent. They are concepts that allow the human mind to comprehed the creative force of the world around us.

Giving name to the divine or feminine and masculine energies is in many ways irrelevant and certainly cannot justify the wars and bloodshed history has seen because of it. They are simply names humanity, a culture or specific belief system has created over time for association purposes.

It really matters little whether we associate with the divine as the "Father, Son and Holy Ghost" or "The One, Goddess and God." Ultimately, the concept is the same.


Gentle Breezes!

Jonesy

You must have missed the 11th commandment. It is written on page 666, in invisible ink. It clearly states, "Thou shalt not take money from God".

Environment Man

Cool. But Pagans put too much emphasis on nature and take too much credit from God. To the extent Pagans DO recognized God as the sovereign and nature and his great creation, then fine. Your description is better than my understanding of Paganism, for my impression is that they elevate nature to be equal to God.

Gaia

One can not place "too much" emphasis on Nature. We depend on her for our very Lives. No Nature, no Life.

Your impression is wrong. Or ill-informed, either way, before you paint everybody who does not believe exactly as you do, with too broad a brush, by calling them "Pagan", it might be to your benefit, to inform yourself a little (okay alot) more. Paganism is more a way of life, than a religion.

Environment Man

Jesus Christ is replaced in Paganism so it is anathema to my beliefs. But your description is fine and is similar to these descriptions from the web:

Paganism is a religion of nature, in other words Pagans revere Nature. Pagans see the divine as immanent in the whole of life and the universe; in every tree, plant, animal and object, man and woman and in the dark side of life as much as in the light. Pagans live their lives attuned to the cycles of Nature, the seasons, life and death.

2. Unlike the patriarchal religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism) the divine is female as well as male and therefore there is a Goddess as well as a God. These deities are within us as well as without us (immanent); they are us. They are not simply substitutes for the Muslim or Judeo-Christian God. This is because the Gods of the major religions tend to be super-natural i.e. above nature whereas Pagan deities are natural, symbolizing aspects of nature or human nature. Having said that God and Goddess are split from the Great Spirit or Akashka which probably equates to the God of the patriarchal religions.

GurnBlanston

I must've missed that in my studies.

Jonesy

Ideas are the keys to many of Pandora's boxes. But the ideas themselves can only unlock.

Comicsartist

But without ideas, what good would be in the world?

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