Those who have been reading my blog for a while will notice that “pagan” often gets used as a slur by Christians against those people or movements who they feel are their political or spiritual enemy. Some will say that it is a “conservative” Christian trend, while the “liberal” Christians are above such name-calling, but if you look hard enough you’ll find “pagans” in both parties.

For example, those conservative Christians who feel that environmentalism is only a half-step away from goddess-worship have been raking Al Gore over the coals for his latest film “An Inconvenient Truth”.

“Gore’s agenda is merely a leftist grasp for political power. The environmentalist-wacko movement, that Al Gore has hijacked, is simply the modern version of ancient paganism and worshiping ‘Mother Earth.’” – Scott Tucker, Pasadena Star News

“Gore left divinity school behind for an environmental crusade that has lasted throughout most of his adult life. Unfortunately, those actions merely echo various Christian churches that have come to view the Christian message about sin, redemption and salvation as an inconvenient truth, and seek to adopt instead an almost pagan-like worship of Mother Earth.” – Raymond J. Keating, The Dakota Voice

That is nothing new of course, many conservative Christian groups have been fighting against the “Gaia heresy” for years now. But Al Gore isn’t the only political “pagan” out there, did you know President Bush was one as well?

“The preemptive strike policy Bush has established in his foreign policy, as part of his war on terrorism, is both unholy and pagan. It is not new — many pagan countries embrace it.” – Pastor Steve Brown, M. Div.

“President Bush has been guided by those whose thought bears little resemblance to the philosophy of Christ…In the case of Bush or his handlers, it might be historian Michael Ledeen, a neoconservative whose influence in Washington far exceeds his national fame…Ledeen admires Niccolo Machiavelli. Machiavelli had a cynical, dishonest approach to statecraft. It was realistic but un-Christlike. He championed the virtues of ancient paganism: power, militarism, and fame.” – Jeff Taylor, CounterPunch

The distinction between the two is that while Gore is an active and willing “pagan”, Bush is but the mere puppet of “pagan” thinkers. But the end result is the same, they are tainted by an association with “pagan” thought and not to be trusted by good and decent Christians. In the end it seems that the ultimate enemy of Christianity isn’t a political divide within but a spiritual one without. Because both left and right agree that a great evil lays with listening to (or being influenced by) pagans.

The question may be what does that slur really mean in today’s world, as conservative Christians embrace environmentalism, and more liberal Christians allow tolerance (and in some cases fellowship) with modern Pagans. As our faiths grow in size will we be linked to the slurs of old, or will we forge a new relationship with the Christian world? Maybe quicker than you think, there could be (real) Pagans in both parties.

Tags: Paganism