Ex-Pagan 4 Christ

There are many reasons why a person may decide to become a pagan, witch or other occultist. You may wonder what the use is of discussing this - but if we know why a person became sucked into paganism we can address those specific motivations and so win them to Christ.

The first and most important motivation any pagan has is rebellion. God's Word tells us this in 1 Samuel 15:23a: "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry." To follow false gods and to perform witchcraft is a profound act of rebellion against God. Many people, especially young people, enjoy rebelling against authority. God represents the ultimate authority to them, and the pagan gods seem to offer a great deal of freedom - no laws, no set beliefs, its a religion you can make up as you go along. By the time they discover that they are in a greater bondage to Satan than they ever would be to God, it may be too late. Rebellion against God's laws is also common - homosexuals, feminists and fornicators in particular find God's laws not to their liking and may be atracted to religions which do not recognise sin. It is important that we acknowledge and combat this rebellion against the conviction of sin. Others rebel against their parents' religion, against "respectable" religion, against traditional values. This is a symptom of our society which promotes rebellion and disrespect, and can easily be countered by showing that a soul on fire for God is rebelling against the world in a truer sense than worshipping the god of this world could ever be!

Another reason people become pagan is the lure of the new. We live in a throwaway society where old things are considered worthless. Just as people will not wear a shirt from "last season" they do not want an older religion. We first saw this trend in the late 1950s when interest in religions other than Christianity started, beginning with eastern religions. At around the same time paganism began to get started and hit its boom in the 1970s, only increasing in volume from there. Paganism is ever-changing, becoming whatever the practitioner wants it to be at any given moment and so, unlike a formal religion, can change with the fashion of the day. You may worship Woden today, but you can worship Ra tomorrow, as you please. Paganism remains forever new because it has no base to draw upon - only the practitioner themselves. Of course this is not a very satisfactory state of things - what sort of god does not know what he believes and wants his followers to do? Why bother worshipping such a god? And which, exactly, god do you worship if you keep on chopping and changing? All of us need stability, but Satan cannot offer it, only God can.

Peer pressure and influence is another powerful motive. In recent years (and not so recent - remember "Bewitched"?) there has been a wealth of pagan and Wiccan themes in popular TV shows such as "Charmed" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"; in films such as "The Craft" and in books like "Harry Potter" and the teenager's series called "Wicca" by Cate Tiernan (a dangerous series which will be discussed later) as well as quasi-historical books like "Witch Child" by Celia Rees. Many of these books are aimed at teenagers, and this has led to a boom among teenagers for witchcraft in an effort to become like the powerful and sexy protagonists of these works. Pagan authors have also increasingly proselytised teenagers, producing brightly packaged books and sets for "teen witches", despite their official insistence that the under 18s are not welcome in covens. Satan is well aware that if he can get his claws into children then he can so mould their characters as to drive them away from God in adulthood. If the "cool crowd" at school proclaim themselves Wiccans or pagans, then it becomes hard for a child not well grounded in God to resist the pressure to join with them.

Ecological awareness has been growing since the 1960s, and is a major concern to many young people. With its worship of the earth as a god, paganism seems to offer an ecologically friendly religion. Christianity has been sadly lax in its care for the earth, considering it to be merely something for man to do as he likes with rather than a creation of God to be tended for Him. The delayed acknowledgement of this by Christians gave pagans the chance to implant an image of Christianity as a selfish and destructive religion which should not be true.

Love of nature also plays a role. Many people find religious meaning when in nature. For Christians this involves a natural worship of the Creator of this natural beauty - for pagans a worship of nature. When we sesne only religious feeling in nature we may become confused and believe this religious sense is directed at nature and not at the Creator. Again Christianity has often failed to acknowledge the beauty of nature, regarding it as fallen without drawing out the implication that the world before the Fall must have been even more beautiful than this! Two scriptures should be borne in mind with regard to this motivation:
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. (Romans 1:20-23, 25)
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork (Psalm 19:1)

Love of culture is another strong motivation for some people. Paganism taps into and makes use of folk tales, legends and songs in their worship. Most people - particularly in the UK - grow up with tales of ancient gods and goddesses such as Woden and Thor, the Greek pantheon and most especially the celtic gods. Ancient legends and folktales contain reference to mystical figures such as Arthur, witches, wizards and fairies, as well as old tales about ancient gods. For a pagan to make use of these tales taps into a feeling of nostalgia as well as giving a cultural base to people often confused by increasing globalisation. What pagans tend to remove from these legends is their Christian component - the search for the Holy Grail in the Arthurian legend, the tales of local saints, the intervention of God in certain tales. To take an example - stories about fairies in Britain generally contain references to God and Christ - to be protected from evil (as fairies are portrayed) one need only call upon God. Pagans conveniently ignore the fact that our cultural heritage is Christian and claim that these stories are pagan without proof of that assertion. The Carmina Gadelica is another example. This collection of prayers and poems from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland is explicitly Christian, but has been transformed into paganism. It should be pointed out that there are cultural evidences of Christianity and that it is perfectly possible to be a fundamental Christian and retain a national and local identity. We are part of an international brotherhood in Christ, but we are still citizens and the products of our homelands. We can reclaim the original legends and poems from our cultures for Christ. It may be helpful to use Christian authors such as C S Lewis and J R R Tolkien here, as both loved and used British culture in their works.

Pagans also tend to love arts and literature and to use them in their faith. For sensitive people, believing that Christianity produces no art, no literature, no poetry, may well encourage them to join a faith orientated to just these things. We should, of course, point out that the Bible contains a great deal of beautiful poetry - most notably in the Psalms, and wonderful writing, and that the King James Bible is world-renowned simply for its literary value. Read any book of great poetry and you can find Christian poems from the very earliest beginnings of our faith. There are many, many Christian artists - go to any art museum and you will see many Christian themes. Anyone who believes Christianity is artistically lacking has not looked far enough.

These are the main motivations I can pinpoint for people to enter paganism, and may help our witness to rescue people from Satan. If you know of any others, please do contact me.