Should A Conservative Christian Read A Book About Paganism?...You Bet!
I begin today with my reading of Never Again The Burning Times: Paganism Revived, by Loretta Orion. I am a conservative Christian minister, and I must admit that reading this book will be a challenge. My Bible instructs, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” – Eph. 5:11 (KJV). Some interpret this to mean one should only read “Christian” books, view “Christian” movies, and hang out with “Christian” people. That would make for an awfully dull world for me, because I experience God’s truth and presence from all kinds of places and people. I will go so far as to say that, sometimes, I sense a stifling of God’s presence when with exclusively Christian people. Please do not misunderstand. I enjoy worshiping with these people, and I know heaven will be full of them. But, sometimes I need to just step away and get a breath of fresh air. I am not talking about indulging in “sin”. But I find myself to be a more complete person, a happier person, when I invite a variety of other persons to be connected with my life. Jesus did that. He made a habit of being around the so-called “publicans and sinners.” – Matt. 9:11. I am sure an important intent was evangelism. But I also think He just liked these folks. He enjoyed them; not necessarily their behavior, but their intrinsic worth as human beings.
So, I will read this book. It may not be quickly, because I am somewhat busy these days. I will learn from it. No doubt there are truths to absorb, facts and figures, and hopefully some good stories. And I can almost guarantee I will disagree about many things. There is just so much compatibility to be allowed between “mere” Christianity and another faith. Some matters just cannot be compromised. Jesus spoke much about the inevitable clash when Christianity butts heads with other worldviews (Matt. 10:34-39).
I know you can find used editions of this book on www.half.com and www.amazon.com. Fairmoon and I will be sharing a healthy discussion as we go along. I promise to seek to be fair, kind, studious, and honest in this dialogue.
I challenge you to grab a copy of this book( and, while you are at it, I encourage you to read Mere Christianity also) and join in!
