Am I a Pagan?

Spoiler alert: No, at least, not what you think a pagan is. The long answer is gonna be a bit more complicated. But lucky for you, I did all the research. Which means, you don't have to. I got a little more of my word-study stuff, plus a load more about what people believe about what I believe. And if you'e still interested, let's get into it!

So, first up, that word-study thing. I just love it so much. But then, words kinda are my business. Anyway, about "Pagan." These days it basically means some ignorant idol-worshipping wa-hoo. But way back in ancient Rome (You know, the one that worshipped Zeus?) The word "Pagus" meant uncultured, or rural.* A hick. Later, when Constantine was Emperor, the church started using it for "Anyone but us." And that kinda stuck.

See, the thing is, I'm a faithful Christian. Like, the opposite of what Pagan has meant for a long time. But for ages, our enemies have tried to label us as Pagans, or worse. For example, in the 16th century, in Europe, they said that we're cannibals, because we recieve the body and blood of Christ in communion.** Which is why so many today say it's just symbolic. But even if it's not, taking in God by invitation is way different than eating people.

Later Nazis persecuted Jews and Cristians, and various others because they had this fake Norse Idolatry.*** What we'd call Pagan today. But they flipped the script, saying that we were dangerous religous groups, threatening the state. Of course, in the years since, more support and help has come, free of charge, to Germany, from the Church than from anywhere else.

So why does this matter? Because "We should always be ready to give a reason for our hope."**** And yeah, that means we should tell people about how different we are since meeting Jesus. But it also means, we need to know how we got stuff like the Church we go to today, so we can protect it from people like Nazis, and even just critics. Because as we do, we can then tell everybody about this truth. And spread Christ's love with the stuff we actually do.

*World Wide Words dot com

**Catholic Answers.

***University of Wisconsin

****1 Peter 3:15