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From Christianity to Paganism: An Interview (part 1)

This is part 1 of an interview with my girlfriend Shannon. It is basically a response to a conversation we both had with Shanny’s mum, after I revealed to her that I was no longer a Christian, but a Pagan. She wasn’t super happy about it as she and most of Shan’s family are Christians, but what really bothered me was that after my shocking revelation, she turned to Shanny and asked if she was no longer Christian, to which she replied, rather hesitantly, “no”, and her mum’s response was that the only reason why she had “fallen away” was because of my influence (as if Shan has no mind of her own!!). This goes back to Shannon’s previous marriage to a stage magician, an activity frowned upon by her Church as Satanic. So in her Mum’s mind it is a case of history repeating itself. I love Shan’s mum. She’s a wonderful lady, but unfortunately her beliefs (along with other members of her church and possibly family) are not very accommodating towards other systems of religious expression. Anyway, here’s part one of the interview…

Shanny and Me

Mahud: Before I get into the Paganism, I’d like to ask you about your Christian beliefs. Did Christianity have a transformative effect on your life growing up?

Shanny: Christianity was really the essence of my life while growing up. When I was very young, my grandma took me to church every Sunday. She was and still is a huge role model to me by her love for others and her commitment to God. My parents weren’t Christians at the time. They partied most weekends and so my sisters and I stayed with her. When I was 6, my dad had a heart attack and the doctors told him if he didn’t change his lifestyle that he would be dead within the year. So, my parents started to go to church as well and became Christians. Seeing their transformation really made me want to have what they had. When I was 8, I decided to become a Christian as well. I was filled with so much faith in my heart towards God, that I never questioned anything. My dad passed away when I was 12. I tried to be the strong one in the family and my faith in God was what gave me the strength. I was baptized to declare my faith when I was 13. Also, I had a huge desire to help others, especially those in need. When I graduated from High School, I decided to go off to Bible College so that I could become a missionary in the Philippines to the street kids. It hurt my heart so much that others were suffering in the world and I really wanted to help them.

Mahud: I didn’t really have much of a religious upbrigging myself. I became a Christian in my early twenties which lasted on and off for 10 years. Due to my SA, I was unable to attend Church and most of my Christian education was confined to books read in my bedroom. Eventually though, I began questioning the Biblical Scriptures and began to accept that there were problems and inconsistencies. I still considered myself Christian for a couple of years after that, which was around the time I met you. How and when did your perception of Christianity change for you?

Shanny: After Bible College, I got married. The first few years, was the same for me. I didn’t question what I was taught and tried to be a loving and supportive wife to my husband. As the years went by, my husband (who was a Christian), was verbally and emotionally abusive towards me. We also went through a lot of financial struggles. I tried to connect with Christians in the city we lived, but I was never honest or myself with them, because I was ashamed of my husband and of our struggles. I started questioning what I believed and started searching for fulfilment, because everywhere I went, I couldn’t see any hope. We got to the point where we couldn’t afford rent or food. The church refused to help us and we ended up moving in with his parents for 2 years. I was completely disconnected from any social contact. I was just with my abusive husband and his parents. And whenever I tried to connect with other Christians, they would judge me and condemn me. I realized that this is not what I believed to be true. That what I thought was “Christian” really wasn’t what I thought it was. I started to observe more behaviour from Christians that threw up flags to me. Then I started to see other religions and way others treated people and noticed that some of the “Non-Christians” treated others the way I always thought Christians were suppose to treat others. So, I started questioning the Bible and was Christianity really the life changing experience I thought it was.

Mahud: I have similar experiences. Christians are promised to have dynamic power/spiritual gifts, etc, but it was only on very rare occasions I actually met people who truly had this power. Sometimes you can see the love beaming from their eyes. It’s individuals such as these that reveal to me that there is a true spiritual dimension, but I also see the same love in the eyes of believers of other faiths. For example my non-biological Grandmother, who was Muslim, had those same all telling eyes. Here was a woman with true spiritual power and a devout Muslim, who, on more than one occasion, made the pilgrimage to Mecca. She wasn’t a Christian but “you could say” she was a follower of Christ, in the sense that she fed the hungry, clothed the sick, the very qualifications that according to the Gospel of Matthew (25:31-46) is evidence that she was a true lover of God. My biological Grandmother, whose belief in God isn’t church orientated also taught me that true love transcends Christianity.

Mahud: So where did this questioning take you?

Shanny: I agree with you. True love surpasses all religion. It is the heart that matters, not necessarily what the doctrine teaches. This is what I started to discover in my searching. My faith in God kept growing, but my faith in Christianity was slipping away. I guess it was like I had a veil over my eyes and my naivety to the world was beginning to be pulled away. I had a lot of prejudice inside of me towards others. And it started to break down as well. I never wanted to have anything to do with people outside my faith, because I thought that they were evil. But with this veil leaving my eyes, I started to have more love for others and accepting heart.

Mahud: I’m convinced that all humankind is essentially good at heart, and born with the capacity (to varying degrees) to develop their “spiritual selves”, whether it be through Paganism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and other belief systems, and that we are all born connected with the sacred, rather than separation from God at birth through Original Sin. I was worried that you only became a Pagan because I did, but in reality, our Paganisms are quite different from each other. I came to Paganism through my study of comparative mythology and World Religions. Paganism interests me because it provides me with a spiritual foundation that I can build upon. I am also drawn to Paganism because of its organic nature and develops over time naturally, which allowed our ancestors to build upon tried and tested practices, while those practices that are no longer relevant to the community fall out of use. This is basically the way I’m living my Pagan Life. How about you?

The interview concludes in Part 2

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