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Trickyvicar
Posted May 25, 2012
I thoroughly enjoyed the entire book from start to finish, and there were areas that stood out as having a special significance. Within the section on the Occult and the Church’s tendency to fear Pagan ritual as ‘Black magic,’ the author makes an assertion that I have often made -
Christians can be very good at ‘black magic.’ Of course most of them would not see their prayers of intercession in this light, but when one comes across examples of Christians holding “prayer warrior meetings” to direct their intercessions “against the enemy” (often Pagan groups representing that enemy) then what else can one call it? Gavin Andrew details a scenario where a particular Christian group even rejoiced over the dreadful bodily trauma and pain they believed their prayers had caused a particular Pagan whose influence they were worried about. Even if their prayer and the person’s illness were not literally related, what else can we call the intention of this but black magic?
Other exciting areas covered are the following: The reality of the deeply mutli-dimensional early Christian church, not all of which saw Jesus as the God-incarnate of later orthodoxy; The surprising links between early Christian ritual (which was often ‘sky clad’) and modern Wicca; The chilling accounts of the terrible mediaeval period of witch hysteria.
The book concludes with a chapter called ‘Finding Common Ground,’ where the author highlights three main areas of potential commonality between the two traditions:
The first is, surprisingly, within the theology, and in particular ‘incarnational theology.’ After asserting that many modern Pagans believe in the immanence of the divine within nature, which usually takes the form of either Pantheism or Panentheism, Gavin Andrew rightly alludes to the growing number of Panentheistic
Christians, and also that the whole notion of the Incarnation of Christ implies deity and humanity enmeshed. I (with my Progressive Christian friends) would suggest that Jesus Christ – the part literal / part mythic incarnation – is a symbol of what is true for all people, and indeed all things.
The second point of commonality is philanthropy and, while pointing out the many worthy modern pagan charities, the author pays due respect to the long history of Christian charity and service. Something which he asserts that pagans generally admire and, if they do top, ought to.
And the third point Gavin Andrew makes is on ecological awareness and concern for the environment. Tapping into both the more positive passages of the Hebrew Scriptures and the poetry of the medieval ‘honorary pagan’ St. Francis of Assisi, Gavin Andrew shows how creation centred spiritualty has been a long (and, sadly neglected) area of Christianity. Clearly this must be one of the most obviously places for Christian and Pagan to work together for the common good.
I could say so much more, but let me conclude with this: ‘Paganism & Christianity’ is a brilliant resource for any Pagan or Christian who genuinely wants to better understand the relationship between these two great traditions. It will not be a comfortable read for some; especially Christians who are not prepared to look critically at their own religion’s history. Some of Gavin Andrew’s responses to the claims made by certain voices from within the church about Pagans are hard-hitting, but I believe necessary.
Mark Townsend, author of Jesus Through Pagan Eyes
LendMe™
Overview
The modern pagan revival is one of the fastest growing religious movements on the planet. Yet it continues to be misunderstood by those Christian institutions that condemn, and in some case demonize, pagan beliefs and practices.In Paganism & Christianity, the Pagan Awareness Network’s Gavin Andrew examines the reasons why paganism has traditionally been reviled, uncovering some of the lesser-known aspects of Christian history. This concise resource explores Christianity's deep entanglement with European and Middle-Eastern indigenous beliefs, and reveals the basis for Christian ...