Post by Kirree on Aug 15, 2005 11:55:14 GMT -5
The Devil
First and foremost, pagans are not devil worshipers. They never were, and they never will be.
Anthropologists have seen how, when a culture changes religions, the Gods (and Goddesses) of the old religion come to be regarded as devils or evil spirits in the new faith. This is what happened when Christianity came to Europe. The Christian way of seeing the universe (as some sort of battlefield where a single good God and a single bad devil are duking it out) was completely foreign to the pagan mind. As Christianity became dominant, most of the old pagan Gods and Goddesses came to be regarded as demons, while the popular horned Gods, such as Pan in the Greek world or Cernunnos in the Celtic, came to be identified with the Big Baddy himself. This was essentially a smear job done to make the old religion look bad, thereby encouraging people to submit to the new religion regime.
Modern pagans try to take a balanced view of history. Without meaning to gratuitously slam the Christian faith, pagans reject the propaganda that seeks to link the old Gods with the Christian devil. In doing so, pagans are free to accept, learn about, and revere the old Gods on their own terms.
Blood Sacrifices
Modern pagans also renounce the practice of human and animal sacrifice. They reject the idea what their Gods require blood sacrifice just as much as modern Jews and Christians reject the notion. Granted, there is real evidence that ancient pagans performed human and animal sacrifice - just as in ancient Biblical times, human and animal sacrifice was performed.
This regards the story of Abraham almost killing his son Issac. An angel stopped him at the last minute, providing a ram for him to kill instead. The point of the story, which many people conveniently overlook, is that Abraham thought sacrificing his son was a perfectly respectable thing to do until the angel told him otherwise.
But just as it wouldn't be fair to judge modern Christians and Jews on the practices of their spiritual ancestors, it's also not fair to judge modern pagans on the pagan deeds of ancient times.
Sex, Orgies, & Nudity
Another common misconception about pagans is that their worship always involves a hot, sweat orgy. Some people may secretly wish that this stereotype were true! But seriously, if all you're interested in is group sex, you'll have better luck at a swinger's club than at your typical pagan ritual.
While pagan beliefs about sex tend to be more liberal than some people's, their sexual behavior is pretty much in line with mainstream society. Many pagan groups and gatherings actually have fairy strict standards of sexual behavior. Pagans are just like everyone else in their opposition to adultery, rape, and child molestation. When it comes to such things as gay and lesbian sexuality, bisexuality and sex between unmarried people, however, pagans are probably more liberal than most, but that's simple because pagans believe sex is natural and therefore good.
A small minority of pagans believe in such things as free love and open marriages, but that's also true of society as a whole. Still, most pagans live very ordinary lives in which they fall in love with one other person and either get married or live in some form of committed relationship.
Some pagans, especially those who practice Wicca, sometimes preform rituals in the nude, a practice known as going "skyclad." This is not true of all Wiccans and certainly not all pagans, but it does seem to get a lot of press. I guess society just loves the idea of naked people dancing around a bonfire, huh?
But even those Wiccans who practice skyclad rituals tend to be a middle-of-the-road in their sexuality as most pagans. In other words: They think sex is great with an appropriate partner, but an orgy? No thanks!