கிறிஸ்துவத்துக்கு முந்திய ஐரோப்பிய பாகன் மதங்கள் மீண்டும் புத்துயிர்ப்பு

கிறிஸ்துவத்தை துறக்கும் பல ஐரோப்பியர்களும் அமெரிக்கர்களும், கிறிஸ்துவத்துக்கு முந்திய ஐரோப்பிய பாகன் மதங்களை உயிர்ப்பித்து சேருகிறார்கள்.

இவர்களை பாகன் (pagan ) என்று கிறிஸ்துவர்கள் அழைத்தனர். pagan என்பது கிராமத்தான் என்ற பொருள் படும். அதே போல வில்லன் என்பதும் ville என்னும் கிராமத்தான் என்ற பொருள்படும். கிறிஸ்துவம் என்ற நகரத்து மதம், கிராமத்தினரை ஒடுக்கி அவர்களது மதங்களை அழித்ததை திருப்பி மீண்டும் புராதன மதங்களை மீட்டெடுக்க முயலும் இவர்களோடு இணைந்து போராடுவோம்

வாழ்க வளமுடன்

Pagan Pride draws crowd for inaugural celebration
By Ashley Meeks Sun-News reporter
Article Launched: 10/14/2007 12:00:00 AM MDT

LAS CRUCES — Attendees at Saturday's first Las Cruces Pagan Pride celebration gathered at Veterans Park — an entrance marked by the presence of a man with a fanny-pack, a straw hat, a sign and a huge white cross.

Garland Turner, a member of Bethel Bible Fellowship, said while he routinely paces the city's sidewalks billboarding for Jesus, it was no coincidence where he placed himself Saturday.

"The message is Jesus loves everyone," Turner said, "but he only saves those who accept him. What I think about (the Pagans) doesn't matter. They have to please God."

"Hopefully," he said, smiling, "I'm not being obnoxious."

But the celebration inside the park, which represented practitioners of Wicca, Celtic spirituality, Druidism, Shamanism and other Indo-European pre-Christian faiths, was focused on eliminating prejudice and religious discrimination — and many people not only trekked to the sidewalk to chat with the lone protester, they brought him water as well.

Bearing donations of canned food for Families and Youth, Inc. as admission, an estimated 200 people came out to the inaugural celebration of modern Paganism, which featured yoga and belly-dancing workshops, lectures, music from drums and bagpipes, tarot readings, a midwifery booth and a children's area.
Local midwife Mel Bailey, 27, a pan-en-theist, who believes God is in everything, said she was excited to see the public recognition of varied faiths.

"I think it's kind of revolutionary," she said.

Organizer Sabine Green says Pagans, for the most part, believe in multiple deities and honor the earth and mostly pre-Christian beliefs. It is also a much-misinterpreted faith.

"We want to dispel the myth that we're devil worshippers, that we harm animals or people and the majority of us don't do dark spells to negatively influence anyone," she said. "We don't need a building to worship in. We worship solitary. It's very personal. We don't believe we need clergy."

Scott Russell, who in 1998 completed the largest census on Pagans available at the time, said the faith is experiencing tremendous growth, in part because it doesn't take an "exclusive claim."

"You can be a Christo-Pagan," he said. "You can explore this while going to Catholic Mass ... you don't have to be initiated, no one's checking your card."

In addition, Russell said the movement is becoming more "self-identified" — people aren't afraid to call themselves witches anymore.

"Before, those were derogatory terms," he said.

Now, he said, with the ability of people to network and research, especially online, he said those misconceptions are falling away.

"Not Christian doesn't mean anti-Christian," he said, especially considering the Pagan belief in interconnectedness, that one's actions, whether good or bad, will come back threefold to them. "That puts a real damper on "let's go put a hex on the guy on the corner.'"


Ashley Meeks can be reached at ameeks@lcsun-news.com