Thursday, April 11, 2013

Why I Am A Pagan

Why am I a Pagan?
It's not an easy question to answer.  Just as when someone asks 'what does it mean to be a Pagan'?  Those are not easy answers to give.  With many other faiths, you can say 'I am Christian because I follow Christ' or 'I am Muslim because I call God by the name Allah and follow the Q'uran'. 

To be a Pagan is to be a little bit of everything I guess. 

As a child, I grew up in a household that were Christians, though we never went to church or got baptized, just Christian because it was the 'thing' to do.  When I became a preteen, I began exploring.  The world was small to me, and while I was aware that there were a multitude of religions in the world, I didn't really thing of them as religions, but more other lifestyles.  I didn't know any better.  So I started going to church, many different denominations.  Seventh Day Adventist, Catholic, Baptist, Church of Christ, Church of God.  But none of it made sense to me.  There is even a passage in the Book of Genesis 1:26: Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness"  The plurality of that statement was always confusing to me, since it was taught that there was only one God, a male figure.  And I wondered, why would He use 'Us'?  Also, if we are made in His image, and there are two sexes, wouldn't that imply a male and female Deity?  Now that made sense.  So as I got older, I explored the possibilities, and it came to me.  It was possible that there were male and female Creators.  After all, women are the bearers of children, not men. 

As I came to this realization, it was as if the universe opened up to me.  Where most people would see something insignificant or plain, I would see so much more.  Where people would see science, I would see a miracle.  A tree is not just a tree, it is an integral part of the world, creating life through it's oxygen and shade through it's leaves. 

And if I listen to the simple miracles of life all around me, I can almost hear the Gods of Old talking to me.  And my ancestors as well.  I have been the family genealogist for over a decade now and I have traced lines of ancestors far back in time, and I feel like it's a way to honor our past.  It's a way to learn about the way life was before it was complicated by industry and technology.  It's a simpler way of living. 

To be Pagan, I am accountable to myself and my community.  There is no guidebook for Pagans, our morals and life lessons come from nature, from our own conscience, and from our community.  To me, it is a very honorable thing to teach my children, that all ways lead to God, by whatever the name you choose to call them.  If you lead a good life, a noble and helpful life, you will arrive in a peaceful place when this life is done. 

I hope this way enlightening, for those who read all of it.  And as always, I am open to questions.  However, I do not like to be told that 'I am doing it wrong' or that 'I am going to Hell'.  I shed the God vs. Devil, Heaven vs. Hell worldview long ago.  Ask me anything, I'm an open book.

Have a great weekend everyone!