Turning Our Backs on Jesus: A Humble Request

Warning: You are entering a rant. Brace yourself.

This one is directed at the Pagans among us. Can we talk? Because I would like to humbly propose we make 2010 the year we leave Jesus out of it.

Now, I’m not addressing myself to those of us who have an ongoing relationship of some sort with Mary’s baby boy. I’m not disparaging (or praising, so purists please don’t get your knickers in a twist here) those who consider themselves Christo-Pagans, Judeo-Pagans, Jew-Witches, or Witches for Jesus. Nor am I talking to those who have had a past relationship with Jesus who are still sifting through what that means to you personally, as you explore a Pagan religion; nor to those who have been Pagan who find yourselves drawn, for whatever reason, into relationship with Christ. I am not, in fact, addressing myself to hyphenated Pagans of any kind in this post.

Nope, I’m talking to those of you who espouse a Jesus-free Paganism, whether Wiccan, Khemetic, Asatru, or Hellenic. Whether Druid or Recon, New Ager or shaman, I have a request to you:

If Jesus is not part of your religion, if you don’t have a relationship with him you are interested in pursuing or exploring, can you please, please, please shut up about him already?

I find it valuable and interesting to read about personal spiritual encounters of any kind–Christian or Pagan, or any of the other various flavors in which we experience the presence of Spirit, and find ourselves in living relationship with it. You will have my complete and undivided attention for every post in which you explain to me why you love Odin, Fortuna, Bast or the Tao. I will thrill to the description of your sense of the numinous in your latest blot, procession, circle, or trance journey.

But when you take the time and trouble to write, not of your encounters with the gods, nor even of your personal journey from Christianity to Paganism (for I note that most of the offenders on this one are ex- but not post-Christian) to give me news bulletins about how uniquely terrible the religion of Christianity is, perhaps I may be excused for wondering how much room you have in your spiritual life for your own gods, if you must spend so very much of your time howling at the gods of others?

Please–and not just for Christ’s sake, but for the sake of every Pagan and Pagan deity out there we purport to worship–can we just give Jesus a miss this year?

Let’s make 2010 the year when Pagans turn our backs on Jesus.

We now return you to our regularly scheduled blog.