Do We Really Want a Paganism Without Christianity?

A common argument is that Satanists aren't Pagans because Paganism is, by definition, any religion that isn't Jewish, Christian, or Islamic. Satan is a divine being shared by all three of those religions. Satanism incorporates symbolism and rituals from those traditions. In some forms, it is nothing more than a reversal and mockery of traditional Christianity. And while it may incorporate Pagan elements - many demons and Satanic figures are little more than Pagan divinities rebaptized; Satanism can be seen as a rebellion against the civilizing and world and body denying aspects of Christianity, including a longing for freedom, wildness, and sexual vitality as much Pagan thought does too - there is an undeniable overlay of Christianity about it. Anything so obviously Christian should be excluded from the ranks of Paganism. On the face of it, that seems like a pretty good argument. But do we really want a Paganism divested of anything related to the Abrahamic faiths? I wouldn't have a problem with that. After all, I'm a Hellenic Reconstructionist, and that's sort of what we're aiming for - reviving forms of worship that flourished before the advent of Christianity. So we wouldn't be too affected by this - but I think that many Pagans wouldn't like what they found if they purged the Abrahamic content of their community. The first thing to go would have to be the Tarot. To begin with, this system was developed relatively late - 13th or 14th centuries by some liberal estimates, all the way up to the 17th century, according to at least one reductionist. While we don't know who created the system, it was certainly popularized by Christian Occultists, and given much of its present interpretation by them. A. E. Waite - whose deck most people begin their studies with - was a highly devout Christian who left the Golden Dawn over the troubling Pagan elements he saw creeping into it. The Trump cards betray an obvious Christian symbolism. Look at their names: the Pope, the Hermit, the Devil, Temperance, the Last Judgement. These are clearly not Pagan ideas, and in self-consciously Pagan versions of the Tarot - such as the Witches' Tarot, or the Robin Wood deck - these elements are downplayed, or changed outright. The Witches' Tarot lacks a Devil Card: instead, it is 'The Horned God' card. Next, we'll have to get rid of the Qaballah. This form of mysticism developed out of a blending of Judaism and Neoplatonic speculation. It is steeped in esoteric interpretation of the Bible, founded on monotheistic principles, involves a host of angels and demons, and incorporates much Christian symbolism and metaphysics. So all of the correspondences, numerology, alphabet-mysticism, speculation about higher worlds, popular rituals like the LBRP and the Middle Pillar exercise, etc - are out. Same thing applies to the whole world of Occultism. All those great old Grimoires. Alchemy. Angel and demon magic. Sigils. Conjurations and banishings. Elements. Those bizarre Hebraic Names of Power. Amulets and talismans. Astrology. Bibliomancy. Necromancy. Astral projection. Most forms of folk magic. All gone. Wicca would be stripped almost bare. Gardner was an O.T.O Initiate and a Mason. Almost all of the philosophy and ritual elements within Wicca derive from those two sources, and both of them have strong Christian roots. From the Masons he got the degree system, the Initiation rite (especially the binding and threat at sword-point), the use of calls such as "merry meet" and "blessed be", the term Craft, many of the ardanes, and the emphasis on secrecy and oaths. From the O.T.O and the Golden Dawn he got the whole complex of Ceremonial Magic - especially conjurations and banishing, sigils, elements, the Casting of the Circle, and the Guardians of the Watchtowers. He turned the Gnostic Mass into the Great Rite and the Law of Thelema into the Rede. Most of the Wiccan holidays were unknown to ancient Pagans. They developed during the Middle Ages as folk festivals on the Feast Days of various Saints. Pagans will have to give up those Saints themselves. No more discussions about how Brighid and Catherine and Denys were originally Pagan Gods until they were adopted by the Christians. No more discussions about how the Virgin Mary, the Magdalene, and Sophia are the Christians' Triple Goddess. We can't claim St. Francis, Teresa of Avilla, Hildegard von Bingen, Meister Eckhardt, or William Blake as honorary Pagans any longer. Ditto Jesus. Oh, I will surely miss talking about the Pagan influences in Gnosticism, the Cathars, the Knights Templar, the Troubadours, the Order of the Garter, and the Rosicrucians. I won't miss all those crappy (re)Paganized Christian hymns, such as Lord of the Dance, Amazing Grace, That Old Time Religion, and Onward Christian Soldiers though. Whoever thought of writing Pagan filks for that stuff should be dragged out in the street and ritually scourged. There's a lot of authentic Pagan material that we'll have to get rid of too. The Mabinogia, the Eddas and Sagas, the Life of King Arthur, the Tain, the Book of the Dun Cow, and numerous other works were written by, or come down to us only through Christian sources. Many of the Irish and Danish Monks diligently recorded the vanishing folk traditions of their people, preserving them for future generations. If it wasn't for Christian and Moslem scribes, we wouldn't have anything left of Plutarch, Plato, Aristotle, Homer, Ovid, Virgil, Celsus, and countless other classical authors. (Of course if it wasn't for the bonfires of their fellows, those works might never have been in danger!) Pagans love to read, and they especially love to read Fantasy and Science-fiction books. I know many Pagans who discovered their faith by reading the Dragonriders of Pern series, for instance. And if asked, many Pagans would probably list Stephen R. Lawhead, C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkein, Mercedes Lackey, Marion Zimmer Bradley, and Madeline L'Engle as some of the most influential - and best-loved - authors they've read. But all of these great authors at one time or another have claimed to be Christian, so they must surely go. I could, of course, continue at great length. For instance, I haven't even touched on the many borrowings from Islam or Judaism, or discussed synchretic faiths like Voodoo, Santeria, and Native American Churches which blend Christian and Pagan elements quite successfully. I haven't discussed the influence of liberal Christians on Pagan activism and ecology, or how Christianity has affected our ethical, philosophical, and metaphysical conceptions. But I think you get the picture and see how impoverished Paganism looks when stripped of its connections with Christianity. The same thing goes for Christianity, when denied its Pagan roots. That's because no religion or community exists in a vacuum. We're all together, challenging, sharing with, and influencing each other. This dynamic participation is the essence of American cultural and religious life - and precisely what makes our nation so great. Therefore, my preferred definition of Paganism is any religion that is not - or is practiced in addition to - Judaism, Christianity, or Islam.