To Christians Who Want to "Talk" to Wiccans

I have a Google alert set up for "wicca".  It was my first Google alert and I did it mostly to learn what Google alerts were like, and it has provided a variety of intersting posts over the years, from the sublime to the ridiculous.  Recently there have been a spate of articles from Christians on how to "talk" - i.e., proselytize - to Wiccans/Pagans (Wicca is to Pagan as Baptist is to Christian).  Part of it is driven by a recent Catholic publication on how to convert Wiccans.

If your only interest in me is to convert me, I'll pass on the conversation, and feel that there are some things I'd like you to understand.  First, while there are an increasing number of Pagans overall, and more that have grown up in a Pagan family, a large number, perhaps the majority of Pagans, grew up in Christian households.  We became spiritual seekers and many of us, on finding Paganism, felt like we found that which we were born to be.  It fit us, as Christianity did not.  My point, though, is that we probably know as much about Christianity as you do.  Sometimes more, because the last couple of centuries of Biblical scholarship are addressed in very few churches, and I for one have read quite a bit on it.  I get that you are excited and happy about your religion, and I delight that it fills your spiritual needs.  It did not meet mine.  For while I do think there's some validity to the idea that all religious paths lead to the top of the same mountain, I also accept the idea that different religions address different ideas at their core.  I think most Christians would agree that the concept of salvation is at the core of Christianity.  This is not a concept that resonates with me or many other Pagans.  The reason is that I believe (most days, anyway) in reincarnation, and that every soul lives a cycle of lives until it learns all it needs to know to return to that which is the center of the Universe, call it God, Goddess, All That Is, or something else.

So I enjoy conversations about religion, it is an endlessly fascinating topic.  I'm willing to tell you about my beliefs if you want to hear about them, but have no thought to convert you.  What fills my religious needs may not fill yours, and if you found what does for you I'm happy about it.  What I'd like is the same respect from you. 

Posted via email from reannon's posterous