gillyflower wrote:

Does anyone know of a good essay or article that describes well the differences between Christianity and Paganism?

Thanks!
Gilly

Well, it's not an essay, and calling it good might -- just might be a stretch, but have you given consideration to DiZerega's book?

I think that that is a very good book SG. :)

Not for everything, but his compare and contrast chapters rang true to this former Christian/current Pagan.  And he did it without being insulting or demeaning--which is more than I can say for another book I read that purported to compare the two types of faiths, but was full of strawman falsehoods about Wicca/Paganism which she then refuted.

I'll never get that time back.

And much as I despise book thieves, I can't quite bring myself to to mourn that that one went missing from our local library. It was That bad.

Thanks! I'll see if I can't find that book. There is a Christian I know who seems unable to grasp Paganism and complains that "Pagans" who discuss it with him don't make sense, that it is all too vague. At first I thought I just had to try to explain better, then got frustrated. He seems to expect something different and I don't know what that might be. Now I'd like to read a bit about the differences to better understand where he is coming from.

gillyflower wrote:

Thanks! I'll see if I can't find that book. There is a Christian I know who seems unable to grasp Paganism and complains that "Pagans" who discuss it with him don't make sense, that it is all too vague. At first I thought I just had to try to explain better, then got frustrated. He seems to expect something different and I don't know what that might be. Now I'd like to read a bit about the differences to better understand where he is coming from.

Maybe you'd both benefit if you asked him to briefly tell you what he thinks "Pagan" means.

Then talk about Jesus being a human sacrifice whose blood and body are consumed at Mass via transubstantiation.

Also, talk about Jesus' official birthday being on the Winter Solstice - the day the Sun is reborn.

Ponder evergreen Christmas trees being Pagan symbols of Nature's perseverance through Winter

Maybe point out the coincidence that Easter corresponds with Spring, when Nature seems to come back to life. Also point out the etymological connection of "Easter" with 'estrogen', 'estrus', the name of the Goddess Austron, who was worshipped at the Spring Equinox, and even 'yeast' and the direction "East", which is the direction in which the Sun rises... you know how Jesus (the Son) is believed to have risen, etc.

It might be a bit late to mention, but as you are a college student you have access to the EBSCO host essay collection. I have pulled a great many interesting essays regarding the differences between paganism and Christianity. Talk to your librarian about being able to access this source. Th egood news is, essays pulled from EBSCO count as primary sources, not secondary, even though they are online. Woo!