Pagans & Christians: The Personal Spiritual Experience by Gus, Ph.D. Dizerega
Reviewer:AmazonBombshell
I expect that more Pagans than Christians are going to read this book, but as the title and introduction indicate, it's meant for both and valuable to either side, provided that the Christians involved maintain open minds. For the Pagans reading it, the open mind will come naturally, not simply because Pagans tend to be very good at being open to new things, but because the author is a Pagan and his writing makes that fact fairly obvious. Perhaps DiZerega should have collaborated with a Christian minister or writer -- he would better reach the full intended audience, and some of his commentary on Christianity would sound less accusative (I do not think it was intended that way, but the perception remains) if it was endorsed by a Christian authority.
As one who has been both Christian and Pagan (and still worships with both), I generally approve of the book's representation of both spiritual types, but there are problems. The author does seem to "pick on" Christianity a little bit more, though part of that is the literal and exclusionist nature of that religion, as opposed to the extreme openness of Paganism, where there's less to pick on because less is held literally. Also, there is an explanation of Pagan spirituality but none of Christian spirituality. Admittedly, Pagans lack any sort of set-in-stone dogma and are a diverse lot that can be difficult to cover thoroughly, but that doesn't excuse the glaring admission here. Most Christians know little or nothing about any sort of Pagan belief; hence part of the need for this book. While DiZerega certainly points out aspects of Pagan belief where they differ from Christian tenets, he needs to include a full chapter sketching out some of the more generally held Pagan ideas for the benefit of the Christians he hopes will read his book. (It wouldn�t kill Pagans to read such a chapter either.)
Pagans and Christians is meant to challenge the beliefs of Christians about Pagans and of Pagans about Christians, but in all fairness, there is not enough of the latter included. As Pagans, we are all about growing in our spirituality and expanding our awareness, so we should be challenging ourselves to do exactly what we say we do: understand and accept other people�s belief systems. Many Pagans dislike Christianity because it is the �mainstream� that so many of us fled from, longing for the freedom to connect with Divinity in our own way. What we may forget is that Christians, too, are connecting with their God in a very real and beautiful way; their God is just the aspect of Diety that they see, much in the same way that some of us might pray to Isis or Brighid or Zeus.
Dealing with issues like the nature of evil, ideas of the self and diety, and
reasons for suffering and death, Pagans and Christians attempts to fill a real
void in our literature and our culture by pointing out not only the differences
but the commonalities between our belief systems, and stating firmly that the
two are perfectly compatible in our world. While this is a true statement and an
excellent effort of scholarship and fellowship, DiZerega is Pagan-biased and it
shows. If you have Christian friends or family, or you want to understand the
realities of Christianity and how it compares with your own practice, this book
is a good read. I would not, however, suggest handing it over to a Christian
parent (for example) or friend, because its treatment of the two religions is
lopsided enough that it is more likely, unless you are already dealing with a
Pagan-friendly Christian, to burn bridges than to build them.
