Jesus Through Pagan Eyes: Bridging Neopagan Perspectives With a Progressive Vision of Christ [ペーパーバック]

Be warned. This book is trouble. Not least because the author, Reverend Mark Townsend, has a nasty habit of being reasonable when provoked.

When Christian authors address a modern Pagan readership, they are supposed to state that we are well-meaning people in search of the Sacred. Those of a more fundamentalist stripe may go so far as to concede, amusingly, that we don't consciously engage in devil-worship. By the end of their essay, however, they will have told us that we are worshiping the Creation rather than the Creator. They will have suggested that Wicca in particular can be a gateway to other, more sinister forms of occultism.

Most of all, they will have stated clearly that Jesus is the ONLY way (John 14:6).

Thus, the author goes away content in the knowledge that they have fulfilled their `Great Commission' to spread the good news of Jesus Christ to unbelievers, and Pagans go away expressing their distaste for those who proselytise. Prejudices are reinforced, and everyone stays happy.

That is the way it is supposed to work.

Christian authors are not supposed to confess their outright attraction to earth-based spiritualities. They are certainly NOT supposed to use words like `Churchianity' to describe the shortcomings of their faith.

And it gets worse. Reverend Mark Townsend has collected essays by Pagan authors, leaders and interfaith representatives, inviting them to give their opinions of Jesus. People like Emma Restall-Orr, Maxine Sanders, Joyce Higginbotham, Janet Farrar, and Raven Grimassi.

The hide of the man!

In Townsend's words:

"...I noticed that whenever I spoke about it to my [Pagan] friends, while most of them had issues with organized Churchianity, almost none of them had a problem with Jesus himself. In fact some seemed to think of him as an 'honorary Pagan.'

In my discussions I came across many Pagans who still loved Jesus deeply but could not fit him into their spirituality any more."

Regrettably, Rev. Mark Townsend displays remarkable broad-mindedness and desire for dialogue, in a manner quite unreasonable for a Christian.

Quite frankly, if Christians can't express unease at our beliefs and practices, projecting their collective insecurities onto an `other', accusing us of being a symptom of the `attack' upon Christendom... and if we Pagans can't bang on about the privileges Christians enjoy within civil society that are denied to Pagans through both direct and institutional discrimination, well, what is the point any more?

Here is a true heretic, occupying a difficult middle-ground of inclusiveness and acceptance between two intertwined and unreconciled opponents.

Mark Townsend's new book, "Jesus Through Pagan Eyes" begins with a bit of a departure for this master storyteller. In Part One, Mark undertakes to introduce the reader to a Jesus seldom found in the institutional church; one bereft of the theological baggage heaped upon him by centuries of churchianity. Mark skillfully and convincingly weaves oft-forgotten wisdom from early church leaders with modern Historical Jesus scholarship and concepts from the Pagan and Druidic traditions into a beautiful tapestry of both the person of Jesus and the Christ- consciousness that he exhibited. This is a Jesus simultaneously stripped down to a beautiful soul-friend and elevated to an incarnation of love and grace that we can all aspire to emulate. Freed from the ideological shackles of the tradition-laden church is found a Jesus that we should all find. In Parts Two and Three Mark gives way to respected Pagan leaders and invites them to share their own insights and feelings about Jesus in the form of essays and interviews. Whereas Part One was a scholarly yet accessible examination of theological or Christological concepts interspersed with personal reflections; parts two and three are deeply personal and compelling portraits of a Jesus seldom found inside the institutional church. While some of these reflections will be seen as controversial, as will the whole book; the beauty found herein is undeniable. This is a truly remarkable work, as it combines both the cerebral approach and the emotional. As a lifelong Christian and a pastor to boot; I found much wisdom and beauty in this book; and was introduced to aspects of Jesus that had never been exposed to, but found myself asking "Why did I never see this before"?
Revd. Roger McClellan, Co-Founder and Moderator of The Progressive Christian Alliance