From: PA142138@utkvm1.utk.edu (Nancy Proctor)
Subject: From Xian to Pagan(was Hitler and Christianity)
Organization: The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1992 20:10:11 GMT

In article <1992Aug26.044738.4544@wolves.uucp>
wolfe@wolves.uucp (G. Wolfe Woodbury) writes:

>
>In article <1992Aug24.220857.14243@unislc.uucp> erc@unislc.uucp (Ed Carp) sez:
>>Albert Lunde (Albert-Lunde@nwu.edu) wrote:
>>
>>: There *are* Christians who have more in common with neo-pagans than
>>: with the fundamentalists. Admitting this is one step short of leaving
>>: the Christian church entirely.
>>
>>Oh, I somehow doubt that.
>
>Ed, which part are you having trouble with?  That there *are* "Christians"
>that may actually share more with the neo-pagan spiritualities?  Or that for
>them to admit to being more mystically inclined places them in jeopardy of
>being pushed out of the "Christian" community (as re-defined by the
>conservakooks)?

    (lots omited)

>As to their precarious position within the "Church", I'll not really comment.
>
>
>				Wolfe

From my experience, it is rather difficult to develop you own sense of
mysticism and remain securely planted in the Christian Church.  I was
raised in the Methodist Church and count myself fairly fortunate in that.
The preachers *never* talked about getting saved, going to hell, or being
washed in the blood of the lamb. They did talk about building a better
society, feeding the poor, and freeing the oppressed. (Pretty sane stuff.)

I felt fairly comfortable to believe whatever I wanted.  I discarded bits and
pieces of scripture on a steady basis and had no reason to feel that I was
in any way diverging from the Church and it's doctrine, because I really didn't
know what the doctrine was supposed to be.
Then in graduate school, I really started looking at Church history
and the development of Christian dogma.  WOW, what a shock!  The early church
fathers were bonkers! really crazed!  So what was a girl to do?  I couldn't
stick with a church that I couldn't make any sense of, now could I?
Obviously, I had to try and find a way to fix my perception of the Church.
So I tried to make excuses, I looked at the Gnostics, the medieval mystics,
the writings of various saints and pop preachers.  None of it clicked into some
thing that I could make work for me.
Then as luck (or the Goddess) would have it, I stumbled onto _The_Laughter_
_of_Aphrodite_ by Carol Christ.  Now, the stuff she had to say was workable.
You know, like create my own religion from the remnants of our pagan past.
Create Goddess in my own image.  If we can't know what the deal is (if there
is a deal in the first place), why not do-it-yourself religion.

Custom tailored mysticism or spirituality or religion (whatever anyone
chooses to call it) makes it damned difficult to continue experiments designed
to make Christianity work.

Of course I know that this may not be everyone's experience, but once you start
delving into homemade religion (and personal mysticism makes this really
easy to slide into) it becomes harder and harder to connect with any organized
group, especially the Church.

Anyway, I guess I'll hush now,

Sincere best wishes and many blessings,

Nancy Proctor