Pagans & Christians: The Personal Spiritual Experience [ペーパーバック]

DiZerega works very hard to build a common ground of terms and ideas from which interfaith dialogue can emerge. diZerega respects the beliefs of both Christians and Pagans as "unique and valuable" ways of knowing "the Sacred," a view that invites not just tolerance but genuine interest in learning from one another.

Rather than falling back on pseudo-history to explain why Pagans believe as they do, DiZerega uses his Ph.D. in political science and his fifteen years as a Gardnerian to deconstruct Pagan theology and philosophy in ways that make them easily accessible to both Pagans and non Pagans.

The first part of this book discusses the Neo-Pagan worldview. Topics range form perception of time and ethics to conceptions of the divine. I found this section to be highly informative and easy to digest.

The second part of this book, "Christian Criticisms of Wicca," discusses and attempts to answer many of the issues a lot of Christians have about Wicca and other Neo-Pagan religions. DiZerega discusses the nature of suffering and evil, spiritual authority, ethics and morality, clergy, and more. He answers the standard Christian objections with respect and with numerous quotes from the Bible. While this section is unlikely to convince many Fundamentalist Christians that Pagans are not following Satan it is well thought out and would hopefully be well received by a majority of non-Fundamentalist Christians.

The third section of Pagans & Christians addresses the some of issues Pagans often have with Christianity the perception that Christians are intolerant of others. DiZerega explains how most of the objections many Pagans have with Christianity simply aren't supported by the Bible and Christian tradition. In other words, many of the problems Pagans have with Christianity aren't really with the teachings of Christianity in general, but with the teachings of a relatively small number of fundamentalist Christian sects who shout down the larger, open-minded groups.

DiZerega does not pretend to have all the answers, but sets the reader on the path of finding his or her own answers.

DiZerega -- an Elder of Gardnerian Wicca -- begins his dialogue by describing the basic precepts behind Paganism. This is the strongest part of his book, as it is completely within his realm of expertise. The author manages to capture some of the defining elements of Pagan religions without being vague or to restrictive in his definition.

The book then goes on to discuss some of the basic concepts of Wicca -- from a clearly traditional perspective, however -- in order to give more concrete examples of the original concepts. By doing this, the author enables his non-Pagan readers to have a clear idea of some ways Paganism can express itself. By doing this only after giving the more abstract concepts, however, he makes it clear that this is not the only possible or valid expression.

In the next section of the book, the author begins to offer explanations for some of the criticisms Christians have of Paganism. While I found this section intellectually interesting, I must admit that it was troublesome on a personal level at times. While I followed his reasoning and tended to agree with it, the material failed to resonate with my own being. This is at least in part due to the fact that some of diZeraga's ideas lie outside the realm of my own personal experiences. Because of this, i suspect that a Christian -- who has even less personal experience in common with the author than I do -- may not follow his arguments. This is a genuine and normal problem when intellectually explain that which is meant to be experiential.

In the chapter that debated the process of gaining spiritual understanding through nature and personal experience versus gaining it through a sacred text, I found that the author got heavy-handed. While I agree with his claim that the interpretation of any sacred text is not objective, I do not see the point in spending a whole chapter arguing the point. A Christian reader would most likely either acknowledge the point immediately or deny it despite any arguments made -- and quite possibly despite a verse in their own sacred texts that says as much. As such, the whole exercise seemed either needless or pointless.

My final criticism is that diZerega's interfaith discussion was one-sided. In most of the book, he defended Paganism while making some valid criticisms about Christianity. To maintain a more balanced discussion, he should have addressed valid criticisms of Paganism and dispelled those made about Christianity that have no merit. In fairness, I suspect that the author lacks the understanding of Christian spirituality and theology to successfully attempt the latter. Perhaps another will seek to fill in this gap. In the meantime, I do credit diZerega with the fact that he does not seek to invalidate Christianity through his criticisms.

After setting sucha foundation, diZerega begins to point out the distinct and complementary points of value in each of the religions. In doing so, he sets a groundwork for the process of Christians and Pagans learning from one antoher -- enhancing one's own religion through the appreciation of the other's.

In the greatest sense, this book ends at a beginning. It suggests new avenues of thought and perception. It would be best used as a common foundation for Pagans and Christians who wish to understand one another. For this purpose, the author provides many points for discussion and thoughts to springboard into a deeper joint study of spirituality.

Being a Wiccan himself, diZerega focuses mainly on Pagan beliefs. He explains what Pagans believe, and rebuts Christian misconceptions of Paganism, in a well-documented text that is intelligently written and yet not pedantic. He also challenges the belief that Christianity is the one true way, using both Scripture and his own beliefs to back up his claim.

I would recommend this book to any Christian who has a Pagan child, significant other, or friend. Unfortunately, the Christians who truly need this book are of the closed-minded variety and wouldn't be listening anyway. If you believe that all Pagans are going to Hell, you aren't going to read this book, and even if you do, you won't consider its arguments. "Satanic propaganda, no doubt." And the open-minded Christians who are willing to accept Paganism as a valid spiritual path for some? They don't need this book. They already know there is a placxe in the world for many different belief systems. If certain uber-conservative political figures were to read this book and truly consider it, the US might be a better place. But they won't. Mostly, Pagans and open-minded Christians will read it. DiZerega is preaching to the choir.