Over the past few days, in connection with posts about Islam’s innately violent nature (which I see as being different from the fact that Europeans used violence in Christianity’s name), I’ve come up with a little mantra:
Europeans, who initially were not that far from paganism, brought the sword to Christianity. Christianity, which came from the Jews not the European pagans, did not bring the sword to Europe. Islam, by contrast, brings its own sword to the game.
I’ve also suggested that Europeans, by abandoning Christianity, are reverting to paganism. There’s that word again: “paganism.” It’s been sounding in my brain like a tocsin.
The more I look at Europe, the more I’m convinced that Europe has returned it its roots. It is, once again, a pagan continent. America is running in that direction too, but to the extent our continent was populated by post-pagan people, who destroyed or marginalized the indigenous pagans found here, we are traveling down that same path more slowly.
Before I start running away with this concept, I’d better start defining my terms. What exactly do I mean by “pagan”?
1. Pagans are not monotheists nor do they believe in an abstract god. Instead, pagans are earth worshippers, who see mystical forces behind natural processes and assign gods (plural) to explain those forces. The gods are not driven by rational or just behavior, but act like humans would if there were no constraints on them.