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Pagan
January 30, 2004
Tyehimba:
What is your understanding of the word 'pagan'?
Oshun_Auset:
A pagan is anyone that doesn't follow 'your' belief system.(For Christians anyone outside of Christianity, or how the established 'order' defines Christianity, non-Jews to Jews, non-Muslims'infedels' to ect., ect. )
The problem I have with people of one faith or spirituality labeling ancient traditions as 'pagan' is that the newer religions/spiritual systems always borrow/plagerize the elder system's knowledge, symbolism, themes, and concepts. No spiritual system sprung up out of a vacuum. To label spirituality as pagan is writing it off(as well as the people who created it). It is convenient to do for those threatened by knowledge(or their lack of it), or differences...but remember pictures of Salassie are everywhere in Rastafari circles...that can be construed as "pagan" idol worship by others....
None are in a possitin to judge unless oppressionis at hand, that would DEFINATELY be Babylon thinking to do so.
Ayinde:
Pagan
Etymology: Middle English, from Late Latin paganus, from Latin, civilian, country dweller, from pagus country district.
Tracey:
HUH??....
How did the etymology/origins of the word pagan go from "country dweller from pagus district" to...1.One who is not a Christian, Moslem, or Jew 2. One who has no religion 3. A non-Christian. 4. Hedonist?
...perhaps this pagus district was full of country dwelling heathens!
Ayinde:
By my reasoning the meaning of the word Pagan took on a negative value based on who was telling the stories. The practice of considering people who grew up in the countryside as old-fashioned or backwards continues today.
People who live in the countryside do not change as rapidly as the people in the town areas where most social changes spin. In that regard the town folks who felt they were modern may have referred to the people in the countryside as backward or old-fashioned people.
Given that it is usually the town folks who write the history or at least make their version popular, then it is easy to see how the views of the people in the country areas were not properly highlighted when the history of the region is popularly told.
In the countryside the people would retain more of the older practices of the region as the pace of their lifestyle is slower, they live closer to nature, and communication between the towns and the countryside is slower.
So it stands to reason if you want to get a better idea of the history of a region, then the lifestyle of the people in the countryside would demonstrate this.
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