christian paganism

“Christian” and “Paganism” in the same sentence sounds like an oxymoron. That’s exactly what some aspects of modern Christianity have transmogrified into; a religious oxymoron. A Christian is a follower of Christ who adheres fully to the doctrine of Christ. A pagan is one who, with or without the knowledge of Christ, doesn’t adhere to the doctrine. The requirement of fully adhering to Christ means that you can’t be partly Christian and partly pagan. The implication is that being ninety-nine percent Christian and one percent pagan makes you a hundred percent pagan. You cannot be, and not not be.

Deuteronomy 30:19 ESV

“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live”.

A Christian’s archetype is the Jew. A Jew is a descendant of Abraham, who is a believer and follower of YAHWEH through full adherence to the Mosaic Precepts. A Christian is a follower of YAHWEH, through Christ who is the substance of the Mosaic precepts. It was by being a descendant of Abraham, and keeping the whole Law that one was considered a Jew and a true believer and follower of YAHWEH. Likewise, it is by fully adhering to Christ; the substance of the Law, that one is considered a Christian and a true believer and follower of YAHWEH.

Colossians 2:16-17 NKJV

“So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ”.

The substance of the whole doctrine both for the Jew and the Christian is YAHWEH. The Foundation of faith should exclusively be built on YAHWEH and under no circumstance should it be diverted. Any diversion thereof amounts to paganism. Diversion of faith creates a new object; an idol, effectively replacing God as the supreme reference.

Matthew 22:37-39 NKJV

“Jesus said to him, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and Prophets.”

Amongst the Jews, the antithetical belief was that one belonged to the community of God through the customs and traditions. Putting faith in the ordinances themselves was an imperative doctrinal departure. By idolizing the observances, they were returning to paganism and were no different from the gentiles who were unreservedly pagans. Indeed, an immense part of Jesus’ ministry was re-establishing the imperatives of the Jewish faith; to the Jews first then to the Gentiles.

Christianity seems to be replicating the misadventures of its prototype. Many are proclaiming Jesus while putting their faith on subsidiary objects. Besides our own tribal & cultural biases, some have elevated their pastors to the level of the gospel. Products claimed to contain miraculous powers are being sold in churches. Many are seeking mysticism in wonders and miracles. Others with the hope of prosperity are putting their faith in the proverbial seed. While giving is a biblical concept, leveraging is a shift of faith. Some with outrightly absurd practices blur the lines between witchcraft and Christianity.

Idolatry subtly embedded in legalism is rampant in Christianity. It can take any form including idolizing certain days of worship putting more premium on the day than the one to be worshiped. It is the same mistake some Jews made on the Sabbath forgetting that a mere observance of the day did not amount to worship. We have put faith in recitals, creeds, religious paraphernalia, etc. The way we demonstrate our faith in him should be driven by our love for him. Works with no love shifts faith to the works and is akin to idolatry.

1 Corinthians 13:1-2 NIV

“ If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing”.

Due to our three-dimensional nature, we have a limited comprehension of the sovereign attribute of our eternal God. We hugely underestimate the infinite ways in which he can move. Just because he moved in a certain way in one’s life doesn’t mean he can’t opt for another. For an Eternal sovereign God, who can move in infinite ways, limiting him to just your way is actually a huge insult to him. You would have to be eternal and infinite yourself to fully understand the infinite ways in which he moves. Since this is exterior to our dimension of existence, he has compounded the requirement into just one thing; love.

Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts”.

A relationship with him built solely on his indicative ways would require one to be infinitely aware of his ways without which the relationship amounts to naught. It is by the acceptance of our limitations in this regard that we should embrace love; the avenue through grace, through which the requirement is fulfilled. As Christians, we should be careful not to fall into meaningless traditions and practices devoid of God’s love just as the Jews did. When such traditions and practices replace him as our object of faith, we are not different from the pagans.

John 4:19-24 NKJV

“The woman said to him,” Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.” Jesus said to her,” Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and truth.”

Insistence on our own carnal approach to a relationship with God is akin to exalting our minds over his which is a self-defeating endeavour and in itself idolatry. The higher leads the lower and thus it’s only by walking in the spirit, fully submitted to him that we are effectively led by him. Christianity without a walk in the Spirit is a nullity. Without a walk in the spirit, it is a complete waste of time and a religion dead in its works befitting of the oxymoron; “Christian Paganism”.