Pagan Apologetics

“Apologetics” isn’t a word you’ll hear in everyday conversations. It tends to be used by scholars and students of religion and is often confused with “apologizing.” But if the word isn’t known, the practice of Apologetics is.

From the Greek “Apolgetikos,” it is the verbal or written defense of ones faith. Webster’s defines it as “a systematic argumentative discourse in defense (as of a doctrine).” Everytime someone defends their faith, they are being an Apologist.

As a rule, Pagans are not likely to proselytize. Pagan groups are not generally seen standing on street corners, handing out pamphlets and offering to pray for someone’s salvation. You’re not likely to see Pagans going door to door, asking if someone has heard the good news.

But this doesn’t mean Pagans aren’t vocal about their faith. Ask just about any Pagan what they believe, and they’re happy to tell you. Get three Pagans together, and you’re likely to get four opinions on faith.

As a loosely grouped set of beliefs, we don’t tend to teach our students how to handle the questions that most of the general populace has about Paganism. We learn by practice, by telling our families and friends, our co-workers and loved ones, about our decision to practice our faith.

I think this lack of training in Apologetics does a great disservice to our faith. While we’re not apt to try to convert someone to our way of thinking about religion, it’s important for all Pagans to be able to answer the objections and refute some of the arguments that are levied against us.

So how should one defend their Pagan faith? Even though everyone has different ways to do so, there actually should be some ground rules for doing so effectively.

First, know what kind of conversation you’re getting into. Is it actually a “conversation,” a discourse in which both parties are willing to hear what each other has to say? Or a “conversion,” in which one person is trying to change the belief of the other?

Pagans are very sensitive about trying to be converted by others, yet sometimes we will get ourselves into discussions that end up as mere shouting matches. This doesn’t do anyone any good. It doesn’t promote any sense of respect for each other’s faith, which goes against what most Pagans profess as an acceptance of whatever faith someone chooses to follow.

Some of the best discussions I’ve had about faith have been with people of vastly different beliefs from my own. I’ve gained great insight into their faith and hopefully provided some useful information to them about mine. We didn’t have to agree with each other, and in fact sometimes had drastically diverging points of view, but we both left the discussion feeling like each other had been heard and each person’s opinion had been valued.

Second, know the mindset of the person with whom you are conversing. Most monotheist religions teach that there is only one right faith. Any deviation from that faith is considered “wrong” or “sinful.” River and Joyce Higginbotham, in their book “Paganism: An Introduction to Earth-Centered Religions” describe this mindset as “Address Anxiety,” the belief that God can reside ONLY at one particular church. With this mindset, should someone believe that God resides at any other church, they must be wrong because that simply can’t be God’s address!

Most Pagans believe that God (or the Goddess and God, or the Lord and Lady, or the Divine, or whatever you want to call your higher power), makes themselves known to us in many different ways. So you can imagine the difficulty in trying to defend a faith that resides not only at a different address, but to the mindset of someone with “Address Anxiety,” in a completely different zip code!

And it’s important to consider the source of their anxiety. Monotheism tends to have an “us vs. them” mentality. It’s easy to belittle or vilify something you don’t understand when you make it your enemy. And the media generally doesn’t help. How many times do Pagans complain, justifiably at times, about the negative or nonsensical portrayal of Paganism?  But if we, as Pagans, haven’t seen any accurate depictions of Pagans, neither have they.

Recognizing this is important. It does absolutely no good to insist to someone that my faith is “right” when they have been taught the address of my sense of the Divine is something to fear. By understanding that this concept is foreign to them, I can acknowledge that our mindsets are different. In this way, I decline to resort to vilifying tactics myself, while also establishing that I respect their right to have a different viewpoint.

One of the most simple and effective ways to be an Apologist is also one of the least used.  Ask some Pagans just what is a Pagan, and they aren’t sure themselves. Ask them how to define “God” and you may get a blank stare. As beliefs go, sure we sometimes take things “on faith.” We may not know how to define a word, but we certainly know what we feel.

But if we can’t define for ourselves what we believe, how are we to define it to others? Conversely, we may know exactly how to define these words associated with our beliefs, but we may not know how others define them.

I remember an “Aha!” moment in my own life. When I was still active in the Catholic Church as a teacher in the RCIA program, I recall discussing with a co-worker some of the events leading up to the Easter Vigil, when new members of the church would be “initiated.” To the Church, this meant being Baptized, for those who had not been before, and receiving “Confirmation,” a process of acknowledging their faith and becoming full members of the Church. My co-worker heard “initiation” and thought of secret ceremonies, something you’d find in a fraternity or sorority. We were using the same word, but had completely different understandings of its meaning. Once I realized this, I was able to explain myself better so that she understood what I was talking about.

Words associated with Paganism are no different. It’s important to define the terms for myself as well as find out how my counterpoint in the discussion defines them. Otherwise, we’re like the proverbial blind men and the elephant. So the third ground rule of Apologetics is to define the terms.

A large stumbling block, if not the largest, in Apologetics is determining by what authority an argument is presented. Most of the time your counterpoint is going to rely upon the Bible as their authority. Or they may rely upon the instructions given by a leader in their religious community. Pagans don’t have either a codified set of rules or a central hierarchy to rely upon and though that’s something of which we’re usually proud, we can think it’s a stumbling block when it comes to defending our faith.

Instead of one book or a religious leader, our authority comes from studying, from experience and from our own conviction. If you have an area of expertise, say so! Toot your own horn, as it were.

The stumbling block can come from our own fear that we may not sound convincing enough, or we may appear ignorant if we don’t have all the “right” facts.  Don’t be ashamed to admit if you don’t know something, but by all means, don’t “pad” the argument with false claims, either.

The important thing to remember is just because you don’t have a single source for your authority, your argument is not invalid. Be confident in what you believe and your own authority will shine through.

And never, ever, no matter how tempting, get into a Scripture war!!! We can acknowledge that the Bible may be our counterpoint’s authority without getting into a battle for the best quote. In fact, we SHOULD acknowledge if the Bible is their authority, emphasis on “their.” But the moment we get into a battle of “who knows the best verse,” we’re actually acknowledging the Bible ourselves. At the very least, we’re acknowledging that the Bible has authority over the argument at hand.

Take, for example, Exodus 20: 2-3. From the New International Version of the Bible, this verse states “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.” How often have we heard this used as an argument that worship of the Goddess is wrong? How do we refute this argument in Apologetics?

Simple. Acknowledge that it says it. No sense denying it. But also acknowledge that this verse is one of many conditions that the Hebrews agreed to when entering into a covenant with Yahweh. It’s part of a contract! If you’re going to be one of Yahweh’s chosen people, you worship Yahweh only. And it was, for lack of a better phrase, “grandfathered in” when the first Christians also accepted it.

So, if you’re a Christian or a Jew, you agree to abide by this as one of the terms of the contract. As a Pagan who is NOT part of the contract, I am not obliged to follow its terms, any more than I would expect my neighbor to abide by the terms of a contract I signed with my landlord.

In this way, I’m acknowledging that the Bible, and this verse in particular, is their authority, but I am also distancing myself from it. I’m neither squabbling about whether or not it’s contradicted elsewhere, nor am I even tacitly accepting it as a governing rule in my spiritual life.

Yes, it sounds like a lot of work to be a Pagan Apologist. Who knew there was so much involved in just answering a simple question like “What do you believe?”

And what does this all matter, anyway? Who cares if my neighbor down the street thinks I’m going to hell, or if my extended family views me as a devil worshipper?

It matters for many reasons. Propaganda is a tool, one at which some of the more adamant groups are quite skilled. With it, they have been able to marginalize Pagans to the realms of “other” and “enemy.”  While Pagans are making great strides with public and legal recognition, groups that believe it is their obligation to rid the world of “evil” (which includes Pagans), are also garnering lots of attention. They feel they are successful each time they force a Pagan back into the broom closet.

Sometimes, we just want to look at the arguments against us as not even worthy of justifying with a response. Sometimes we want to keep as low a profile as possible to avoid confrontation. And sometimes, those choices may be the wiser course of action, depending upon our own individual circumstances.

But sometimes, it’s important to speak out. Sometimes it’s important to answer the questions or refute the arguments. And I believe that those of us who are in any position of authority within our own Pagan communities, those who act as leaders or teachers, have the responsibility to lead by example. And to teach those in our communities, especially anyone new to Paganism, how to answer questions that come up. For it’s not a matter of “if” they’re asked, but “when.”

Most of all, it’s important for each of us to know exactly what it is we believe. If we can’t answer these questions to ourselves, we’ll never be able to adequately answer them for others.