Pagan Relevance      What does it mean to be Pagan?  Is it important?  Is it helpful?  Beneficial?  Does it explain the world? Us?  Life?  Do these older beliefs answer better or worse than monotheism? Or atheism, for that matter?      What does Pagan mean?  Pagan means the older, original, indigenous beliefs of people groups before the advent of monotheistic religion and culture. In addition, there are core defining beliefs that are shared by almost all Pagan traditions: a belief in more than one deity; that there are both male and female deities; that people can have relationships with these deities and benefit greatly from these relationships; that although there is nothing inherently evil about people, there is most certainly a code of what is right and good; and that there is an energy that indwells all things, even supposedly 'inanimate' things such as rocks or rivers.       To be Pagan means to live by these older, original beliefs and ideals.  If we feel that these beliefs more accurately represent the truth, it is very important to do so.      We feel that being Pagan helps us to determine what is right, true, beautiful, virtuous and helps us to know happiness, goodness and the path to fulfillment.  When you want to get somewhere, ask for the old paths. More often than not, they are the best.      We feel that paganism answers much more satisfactorily than either monotheism or atheism, for both of these other belief systems have at their center a lack of respect for what is human, rational and magical.  Indeed, spiritual.      Do not be confused by signs you may have seen posted saying that Monotheism is good and all else is bad-that there are only two roads, one leading to Heaven and one to Hell. This third road we travel is older and fairer, and has nothing to do with the evil that has always striven to attack whatever is good and fair. ©2007 Oak Hedge Articles Home