"The Devil" Doesn't Want You

I know that those interested in converting to another faith can have a excessively bad time coping with the sense of fear that comes when told of the "realities" of hell-- oh wait-- HELL! (DUN DUN DUUUUUUN!!!!) As a former Christian I had a terrible time with converting, feeling nervous and swallowing hard every time someone so much as spoke about the devil or hell and feeling outrightly scared of someone so much as talking about what my beliefs are. That time is long behind me, but for some it may have just begun or about to as the days and weeks progress. So how does one deal with such distracting thoughts? I mean, it can be hard to uproot and destroy a belief you have been told was valid since youthhood, always being told of the horrors of hell in church, school, and by parents.

The first step would be to consult with yourself of the beliefs you were taught for so long. What proof is there of the existence of hell? Think about it, you're being taught that there is a place somewhere in an alternate reality where people are burned for believing something that goes against biblical teachings. In some traditions, if you masturbate, have sex before marriage, date someone who isn't Christian or don't baptize your baby or baptized yourself you're going to hell. I call bs on this for the simple fact that the primary reason for these rules are for control. At the end of the day that's all it is, a group of people deciding that they want things to be a certain way for whatever personal reasons they have and trying to get others to follow it. Why would you need to have a place of punishment then turn around and speak that the Christian god is somehow loving and all caring? That's like saying an abusive husband who beats his wife on a daily basis somehow loves her; you show love through action and not saying one thing but acting in another. Even the very basis of hell is shady, "the devil", who wants to corrupt your soul and make you stray from Christianity is going to then punish you for doing what he is said to want? So you do something someone wants you to do and they in turn punish you instead of rewarding you...really?

Now for those who hold true to that belief then good for them, but for those who want to think objectively about why they shouldn't fear converting if they so choose, realize the illusion being set up here. This entire issue, these characters such as the devil are things set up to retain control so people fear leaving the faith, or doing things they wish to do. In my outlook it takes away the reasoning of, "I shouldn't do something because its wrong", to, "I shouldn't do this because I don't want to go to hell." Its nothing more than the boogeyman for adults, and once you are able to see the roots of why something is there you begin to identify that it's not a real threat after all. Plus, think of all the people who claim Christianity yet do these things anyway, people who lie, cheat, steal, murder, rape, beat, say the Christian gods name in vain, all that good stuff. If these so called rules hold true then a significant portion of the world is going to this imaginary place of tourture.

Question though, how would people even be able to know that "hell" exists if they didn't already die? Isn't the entire premise of hell founded upon what happens AFTER death? Unless they somehow came up with ways to resurrect the dead (a topic I'm not even going to touch in its entirety) then no one could no what happens when you die beyond going into the ground. The entire topic of the afterlife involves people choosing to belief what happens when you die. In the end no one has proof of what happens because they have no way of knowing, its just wishful thinking, and there's a difference between wishful thinking and hard reality. Reality is an unbendable thing that exists whether we choose to believe it or not. A madman may choose to believe that jumping off a building with balloons attached to him will let him fly, but at the end of the day we know the reality that he will hurt himself- its independent of mysticism and faith. So unless someone has video evidence or hard scientific evidence to prove the contrary, the entire heaven/hell concept remains something in the realm of wishful thinking and a product of pure myth. Because at the end of the day "the devil" doesn't want you because he doesn't exist.

**SIDENOTE**

Also consider the creation/destruction concept, the belief that to destroy one thing means that you create another. In simple terms you can't have pure creation with no destruction nor pure destruction without creation, one needs the other in order to be valid. For example, lets apply this to a pear. If there is nothing but destruction then already the theory of pure destruction is already invalid because were that the case then we wouldn't be here discussing it and the pear wouldn't be here in the first place. If there is nothing but pure creation then it too is already invalid because pears, like every other living thing requires energy. In this case the tree it grows on requires breaking down salts, minerals, and other simple molecules and the like to survive and make energy. Soil itself is nothing but a mass of dead, dying, and nonliving things.

Applying this to the theological realm, in Christianity the Christian God and devil are seen as noncomplimentary forces that are independent of each other. You can't say that they are a team of sorts, one creates and the other destroys, because they are seen in the Bible as spiritual forms that do not connect or relate to each other in any way beyond the savior, nemesis thought form. Now since both are not tied in any partnership format and represent pure creation and the other pure destruction then both heaven and hell, the Christian God and Devil can't exist in their preset forms and thus cannot logically exist. This already without taking into account the biblical belief that Satan, and death will one day be banished to never exist, which further strengthens the impossibility of pure creation.

Is Paganism For Me?

Congratulations! You've made the first step of free thought by wondering if you truly belong in your hone taught faith! Even though it sounds like nothing, its something that plenty of people have to deal with on a daily basis. Feeling that even though they're making their parents and family happy that they are really lying to them, putting on a mask to hide their identity. The fact that you have made this first step in wondering if another faith is for you shows that you are becoming more self aware and brave enough to consider the unknown. Few are brave enough to think such thoughts, even fewer leave the faith they grew up with, feeling as if they are in a prison they can't escape from.

You must ask yourself why Paganism? Of all the faiths out there that are more popular and well known, what made you choose this hidden and oft misunderstood spirituality?

Before I left my native Christianity for eco-Paganism I was terrified, all the thoughts that were ingrained in my head made me reluctant to leave, fearing the worst. I was but a teen then, in tenth grade to be more precise, and boy was it a momentous occasion. I had it with Christianity and felt that I got no spiritual fulfillment being on my knees praying to a God I was told existed but never felt. No matter how I prayed I always felt restrained, held back by family tradition of going to church, praying, all that jazz Christians are supposed to do. Adhering like a robot to its commands, not thinking, not questioning, just acting- I had it.

You may or may not be at this point, but if you are, I heavily stress that you weigh your options carefully and not make rash and knee-jerk resopnses. We have enough people old and young who jump into esoteric faiths like Wicca or witchcraft just to make a statement, not for real spiritual reasons.

Do you think you could put up with your family if they somehow found out about your conversion? Even if you're really secretive that doesn't mean that its impossible for them to find out. All it takes is to see one Facebook post, one journal entry, one little finding to unravel all the secrecy you cloaked yourself in. You need to know that without a doubt you can handle whatever they throw at you no matter how negative it may be. "But DeShadara",you may say, "my parents love me and wouldn't do anything to make me feel bad or ashamed." I'm glad you feel that way, and you know your parents better than I, so you can speak of them more accurately than I,but remember that things aren't always how they seem. If they have strong religious convictions and you come to them talking how you're involved in another faith then things may not be as strawberry and roses as you think.

This goes even farther though. Do you think you could deal with the pressure given to you by others who will try to convert you to Christianity?

I'm not trying to scare anyone out of wanting to be Pagan, whether that be Wiccan, witch, Druid, Asatru or what have you. I'm trying to make sure that you, the perspective convert, know what you're getting yourself into, there's no point opening the door if you have no idea of what's on the other side. To make that next step into conversion means that certain things will change and could change if you decide on actually doing it, I just want to give you forewarning.

So once you figure out if you want to be in the faith you need to figure out why you want to. What sets paganism apart from your current faith? What rules, traditions, way of thinking, customs make things so unworldly terrible that you feel the need to leave it? Now is a perfect tine to consider these things because you can really give yourself a reality check. Everyone has their own reason, and you don't have to explain yourself to anyone, but you will soon question why you made this life altering choice in the first place. Better prepare yourself by packing up everything you will already need than to go into the journey wishing you had.

Once you've crossed that hurtle, plus whatever else you think you need to address, you need to do your reasearch. There are plenty of good and bad sites out there just as there are good and bad pagans, you just need to have the discerning eye to question everything. I like to say walk in with the highest and strongest question mark on your face, ask why something is the way it is and the history/story behind it. ALWAYS QUESTION even the most mundane of pagan topics because everything has a story tied to it. Never just take things as they are because of customs, that's taking the easy and ignorant way out. Even though I could tell you sites that I personally liked I used on my journey up until now, that would be taking away the thrill of the search, so if you think you're ready to take the plunge then its time to start hunting!