Not A Christian

Why I am not a Christian

Defining oneself negatively, or saying that one is "not" something is a dangerous thing to do. Many point out that it is much more fruitful to define oneself in positive terms. However, due to the dominance of various forms of Christianity and Christian ideas about religion and truth, it is sometimes necessary to explain to Christians why one is not a believer or member of their religion. Also, saying that one is not something can be an effective way of definition if done intelligently. The following is my explanation for why I am not Christian. This is done in the hopes that any would-be evangelists or converters will read and learn to understand.

First off, I am not a Christian because I am a Buddhist. Contrary to what some Christian evangelists may think, I do not lack anything as a Buddhist. I don't feel any sense of lack or loss that must be assuaged by a belief in salvation or by allowing god to come into my life. It's not that I have never heard of the Gospel. It's not that I don't know about the Bible. I have explored both of these things and eventually found that they didn't speak truth to me. Buddhist teachings, ideas, and approaches to life do speak truth to me. They make sense. The goal of buddha-hood makes the most sense of the feeling I have that life is infinite and has some intrinsic value.

Secondly, I am not Christian because besides being Buddhist, I am also a Pagan. Specifically a member of the Neopagan religion known as Wicca. Yes, this makes me one of those people who finds truths and meanings in more than one religion. This doesn't make me any less able to fully participate in either one. Where my Buddhism speaks to the growth of humans into buddhas, the impermanence of everything, and a vital energy that moves us at all times towards awareness, my Wicca connects me to things that Buddhism doesn't speak of. Such as: the realization that there are many gods and goddesses in this universe; that we are all a part of that divinity; that life and natural cycles should be celebrated and observed; that some talents we have may be hidden and that these can be explored and developed ("magic"). Where Wicca and Buddhism share is in their insistence on all life and every being having value. But perhaps I found these two religions because they expressed things about the world I had already accepted. Who knows?

Now some things about my Wiccan beliefs, besides polytheism alone, make me unable to be Christian. The way I conceive of deities as Lords and Ladies is one of those. It makes more sense for me to have Gods and Goddesses together as an explanation as to why I may be here, because I can directly point to the fact that it took a man and a woman to conceive of me to bring me into this life. Another thing is the wheel of the seasons which gives me a cyclical view of life. Because of this cyclical view, I cannot believe in an ultimate destiny such as the Christian heaven or hell. I find everything spiritual is revealed in the expressions of myriad things, natural and human-made, around me.

Thirdly, that above mention of polytheism most definitely means I cannot be Christian. Since the Christian religion is monotheist. Christians believe that there is only one god who created and is over everything. I disagree with the idea of creation, first off. Creationist ideas are irrelevant to me since they are not necessary in my daily life. I don't need to have the "origins of all life" explained. And if I do feel the need to find explanations, evolution is good enough for me. I understand the idea of there being only one god, I just don't see it as true since I have experiences with many gods and goddesses. I find the monotheist concept that there is only "one god" leading to all sorts of destructive ideas like "one truth," "one way," "one humanity," etc. Under these ideas, some people have persecuted other people who disagreed or who believed differently. The universe is much more complex and multivalent. Reality is much more complex than to be understood all at once by some human idea of "one truth." Likewise I find the idea of "one god" to be absurd. It doesn't work in my life.

I don't believe the Bible or any collection of texts. Since I am a writer I can clearly see how easy it is to write ideas down and have them bitterly argued for or fought over as if such scribbles are true, when all any writings could ever be are representations of ideas. Thus for me, while there are sacred writings and scriptures, they are not meant to be believed in. Nor can any of them be the word of God, since they are clearly the words of humans. Scriptures are meant to be starting points. Challenges to act and think. I disagree with the notion that any text could be a life-manual or rule-book of not only what to think about but how to think about it. I consider the Bible and its stories to be a collection of written myths. I prefer the mythology of my Pagan pre-Christian ancestors, as well as the modern Neopagan mythology that has recently been developed. I also like the Buddhist stories of great masters and bodhisattvas.

As a Pagan, I also believe that children are born into the world in a state of original blessing, not sin. I do see that there is much evil being done in this world, but I fault the humans doing such things and don't attribute it to any "sinful" inability to be ethical or caring beings. Otherwise, why even bother trying to be better? While there are some beings that may act maliciously (such as human beings), I do not accept that there is any being of absolute evil such as the Christians conceive of with their Devil. Paganism has nothing of the sort. Neither does Buddhism (which views evil acts as stemming from ignorance and misknowledge). Like many Pagans, I also agree with the belief that the divine is within as well as without. This one belief alone disqualifies me from Christianity. I am not saying that Christian views of the divine being "apart from this world" are wrong, it's just that I don't agree. My disagreement and non-belief doesn't necessarily mean that your system is wrong for you. It's just not right for me. If that makes me a heretic, so be it, since the word comes from an old Greek verb for "I choose." But in truth, I can't be a heretic to you, since I am not even a member of your faith.

Now some of you who may be Christian Fundamentalists can resort to the argument that I am deluded or mislead by the devil or by some other thing, but I can just as surely turn that around on you. I can say that you are deluded and mislead. Or I can say that you are following a "false religion." And I can come up with just as much so-called evidence as you claim to have when you try to prove your claims. The problem here is that you can rant and rave and call me deluded all you want, it won't change the fact that I am satisfied with my religious practices. And these religious practices, insights, and truths are just as valid and righteous as you feel yours are. If you think that this last assertion is offensive then it makes you a spiritual supremacist - a person who believes their own religion or practice is superior to all others and is prejudiced against even the notion that any other religion could be just as real and right as they feel their own is. Spiritual supremacy is as much of a social and mental sickness as is racial or cultural supremacism. It is high time we sentient beings stop putting up with this sickness.

I don't feel that my religions are superior to Christianity. I simply feel that they speak truths to me which Christianity does not. If I felt that Christianity spoke the truth or truths to me, then I would be Christian. The fact that I am not should make it obvious to any of you that your religion doesn't do anything for me. I can accept that neither Paganism nor Buddhism does anything for you. I expect the same courtesy extended to me.

Many of you Fundamentalists can try to tell me that I am "bashing you" because I feel I have a right to defend my own faith against your blasphemous attacks. But that is because you don't even know what "bashing" is. And you are being blasphemous when you call my Goddesses and Gods demons or false, or when you lie about who we Pagans are and what we do. (Such as many of your Fundamentalist writers do when they claim that Paganism is devil-worship or that all other religions like Buddhism are "false" religions.) I don't go around calling Jesus a demon, nor do I call your religion devil-worship, because frankly that is a lie and I have no right nor cause to do so. So those of you who slander or lie or blaspheme against other religions that don't believe in Jesus should stop your misbehavior.

Also, don't expect me to accept any of your religious or spiritual claims seriously since you have seen fit to so blithely dismiss mine. If you want a true dialogue or discussion, I am all too happy to participate but only if you can come to the table accepting the rest of us as equals. (You know, "the rest of us," as in the other people - all those people from non-Christian or non-Abrahamic faiths.) And if you are going to go around criticizing and attacking other people's religions for not being able to stop immorality or social abuses, take a good look at your own religion. Perhaps you may want to listen to the words of your wise leader when he said "Let the one without sin cast the first stone."

For you Christians out there who may object by saying that I have not addressed the real beliefs of Christianity, I see no need to. But I can, if you wish, go point by point over each aspect of Christian faith itself, and spell out exactly why I disagree, using arguments that are just as poetic, powerful, emotional, and logical as any of the greatest Christian apologists. If you cannot handle such a spirited and intelligent debate or discussion, don't even bother trying to contact me. One point I will spell out here for you is this: Sincerity of Belief.

Sincerity of Belief:
Many Christians often resort to the fallacy that sincerity of belief makes that belief true. Otherwise, as this reasoning goes, why would people be willing to die for their beliefs? Think about the horrors that martyrs went through. Would they have died knowing their beliefs were false?

This reasoning is an emotional appeal but it really isn't logical. Simply put: Sincerity of belief proves nothing about the validity of that belief. Of course the martyrs who died for their Christian faith didn't believe they were suffering and dying for a lie. They were quite sincere in thinking that they knew the truth. But still, that doesn't make that belief any more true. People used to believe that the sun revolved around the earth. People used to think that certain skin colors made certain humans inferior or superior. All kinds of beliefs have been sincerely held, fought over, suffered for, and died for. To those Christians who say that that is irrelevant because Christian faith is true, I ask them this: What about Muslims who have died for their faith? What about Jews who died for their faith? What about Buddhists who have died for their faith? What about socialist revolutionaries who died for their causes? How about the anarchists who only a hundred years or so ago, were being beaten, imprisoned, and murdered for their cause? (The anarchist cause being human liberation from any and all forms of coercion.) What about the witches? What about the heretics and free-thinkers that the Christians persecuted? What about the scientists who died for simply trying to push the boundaries of knowledge?

You see, all types of people have died for all sorts of reasons, all of them sincere in their beliefs and/or causes. But that sincerity, at worst tactically stupid and at best wonderfully courageous, does not demonstrate the least bit of proof of truth. It is indeed tragic that people will oppress others for believing differently. But to some people, it is even more tragic to realize that one's level of sincerity in their faith does not make that faith any more true. This can be devastating, but it doesn't have to be.

Irreverend Hugh, KSC
of the Discordians for Softer Sandpaper Society (Purple Monkey Mafia)

Kallisti! Eris, Metros Theon!