NOTE: I just wanted to read Nehemiah, which lead to reading Ezra which lead to writing this....REALLY?? Yes things like this will happen. I've learned to Go With It...or better said "Go with God!"
EZRA and NEHEMIAH- lead to paganism vs Christianity
God put the word REBUILD in my heart for 2025. I know why. I need to REBUILD and strengthen what God gave me in 2013. What God births in us, He will continue to grow, but we cannot give up on ourselves. Why do we do this? I think, at times, it could be because we feel so small. What difference can one person make? It’s never about ONE person making a difference. It takes many like-minded people to do that. This is very important in building and or rebuilding. I think of the book of Nehemiah when I think of rebuilding. There was a rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem.
I didn’t realize Ezra and Nehemiah used to be one book. I have read Ezra before but don’t remember it like I did Nehemiah (years ago, I did a study with some ladies and made up worksheets for them, so it stuck better in my head). I started reading Ezra, and God led me to look into the pagan beliefs and compare them to Christian ones.
God used pagan leaders, like Cyrus and Artaxerxes, to restore His people. Why are we surprised at our political system and all the “paganism” that takes place? In reading different articles, I found that paganism was a 4th-century term used by early Christians living in the Roman Empire. It referred to those practicing polytheism, worshiping more than one god. Interestingly, I read somewhere that pagans don’t refer to themselves as pagans. In the Old Testament, God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but many tribes and clans had many gods. Wars were constantly breaking out over land and possessions. What has changed? Jesus Christ came, and people became followers of God because of Jesus, then calling themselves “Christians.” They no longer practiced the pagan way.
If any pagans are reading this, please share your thoughts and help us see how you live if these ways differ.
Many Christians practice paganism today in one way or another. I saw where I do some of the practices the pagans do. Does that make me an evil Christian? Let's go further and find out. I looked up the “rules” of being a pagan, and just as some may look up “the rules” of being a Christian, I’m sure they differ. The “rules” set for a Christian are usually set by a religion. Therefore, there are a lot of different “rules” for different religions. The reality is Christians should be living by the Holy Spirit. How that happens is after receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior, believing He came to take our sins and give us access to God, and then reading His Word, so much will be revealed about how a Christian would live if truly in union with God. This is the main reason I read God’s Word.
Here are the “rules” of being a pagan I found online. Of course, I am asking if you are a real pagan or practice paganism to share information with me. I am open to correction in this area because I don’t want to give false information. I am finding it hard to write this because there is so much information out there on what a “Christian” is.
Here goes: Paganism
1. Respect Nature: Christianity does that, too. The difference is who is the Divine? For pagans, it can be many things: a rock, plant, or anything they want to be their god or goddess. Christians have God the Father of Jesus Christ as the Divine One to worship through the sacrifice of Jesus. Love is the reason Christians worship one God. We have ONE to put our trust in, not many “things.”
2. Celebrate Rites of Passage: This is the same for most Christians as they celebrate births, marriage, death, and transitioning into adulthood. How a Christian and pagan celebrate these things may be miles apart.
3. Perform Rituals: Christians perform rituals in their churches, don’t they? Dare I say taking the " Lord's Supper” weekly in church or praying “The Lord’s Prayer” at every gathering can be considered a ritual? Performing rituals for a pagan is to develop a relationship with spirits. If more Christians practiced getting into a relationship with the Holy Spirit, WOW, how this world would be changed! Christians have a relationship with the Holy Spirit by talking with the Holy Spirit, giving praise, and asking for help for others and themselves. The Holy Spirit has been given to Christians to guide, direct, and comfort. There are many spirits active in this world. Unlike the pagans, Christians allow God the Father to cover them to battle the spirits we don’t need or want in our lives. They do not want to open themselves up to the things that want to kill, steal, and destroy them.
4. Think for Yourself: Christians are called to look into God’s Word and allow it to speak and teach them as only the Holy Spirit can. They are called to question authority. A Christian will not question the authority God has given His Son, Jesus Christ. This is what the Jewish leaders did as they crucified Him. They did not know or see the Truth that was among them. They had their idea of who God was and was to send. They made decisions based on their moral code, as the pagans do today. I couldn’t live that way without a firm foundation; sifting sand is not my friend. I think of it even as being in a work situation where the basis of your employment is constantly changing according to what others say and want.
5. Don’t accept dogma from others and ask questions: This, too, is very important for the Christian. I just heard a preacher say, “You don’t need me to tell you what is in the Word; just open your word and let the Holy Spirit teach you.” Of course, he’s there to help us, and we should be surrounded by those who live as we are called to live and encourage each other.
6. Follow the Rule of Three: This is my favorite as a Christian. The rule of 3 for the Christian is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The energy received from “THE 3 IN ONE,” when allowed to flow, brings back much more than what the rule of three for the pagan is. The rule of three for the pagans is they will receive a threefold return for the energy they put out. Oh my goodness, why would you only want a threefold return when you can receive an unimaginable return poured out to you? You need to know the One who has it all, who is never empty-handed. Three-fold return makes me laugh (I have a blog about God laughing)
7. Nonauthoritarian Religion: I agree with this. No RELIGION should be a person's authority. God, my maker, once I received Jesus, I now belong to Him, and there’s no other authority I want to be under. He is for my good, and His plan never fails for His children.
8. Experienced-Based Theology: There are many things I pray I never have to experience to know God better. The pagan ritual aims to contact the divine; again, the divine can be several different things to them. To repeat the about rituals, prayers for a Christian can be considered a ritual, not to make contact with the Divine; as a child of God, one has contact with the Divine, God, the Father, through Jesus Christ DAILY, not just DAILY, but every second of every day. We aren’t striving to find truth; we have seen it and can experience God working in our lives and the lives of others. God will take us through experiences to know Him better. If we count on “experiences” to lead us to truth, that alone will not do it. As a Christian, I need to know God’s Word in conjunction with the out-of-this-world experiences I have been given. I have no faith if it is all about “experience” and what I see and feel.
If you are a pagan, please let me know if I covered your beliefs, and if not, please tell me more about what you practice, what gets you through this life, and even what you believe when this life is over. I didn’t touch on that. If you are a Christian and would like to further help me explain the beliefs of a Christian, please do so. My email is evapopekjesusrx@gmail. Just a quick note that there is no need to be rude, but if you must go ahead….
No comments:
Post a Comment