I received an email from my college sweetheart today, after he received my email telling him (again) of my conversion to Christianity. Funny how that happens; it’s happened a couple of times, actually. I’d tell someone I’ve converted, and it was like they didn’t even hear me. Tell them again a few months later, and it was news to them!

Sheesh. “Conversion” is such a strange word to describe changing your whole life around. It sounds like something you’d do to a car. “Honey, I’m taking the car in for a conversion, be back in an hour.”

ANYWAY. Among other things in the letter, he asked me “what was it about paganism that you feel is wrong?”

It’s not that I think paganism is wrong, per se. It was just wrong for me.

You know, every person on this planet, thinks THEY are right about what they believe. If they didn’t think they were right - they’d believe differently! We Christians think we’ve got it right, Muslims think they got it right, Jews think they got it right, Pagans think they got it right, right on down the line. The truth of the matter is, no one really knows. How could we? We’re not omnipotent. Maybe we’ve all got it wrong, or more mind-blowing still, maybe we’ve all got it right. I think the truth lies somewhere in between.

THAT BEING SAID, I can find a lot of fault with a lot of things revolving around Paganism itself. And it’s not just me, either. I’ve heard the same things said by pagans and pagan leaders. (more…)

You would have thought, when I converted back to Christianity, that my pagan friends thought I had lost my every-loving mind. “Why, why, oh WHY would you DO such a thing!??!” they said, lower lips quivering, wringing their hands, beating their chests, tears welling up in their eyes.

OK so no one actually SAID or DID any of that, but they sure were thinking about it.

To say that the news came as a shock to most people, would be an understatement. You see, I wasn’t just your run-of-the-mill, solitary pagan, who putzes around in her moon garden, talking to her 13 different cats and hanging out in AOL chat rooms.

Oh no. I was REDSELCHIE, a.ka. “Battle Red,” a.k.a. “Sunsette.” I was quite actively a pagan. I helped establish our local Red Hills Pagan Council, and served as it’s President for many years. I’d had my pagan website, Heartsease, up & online for over ten years. Hell I was a Pagan Prison Minister, and went to the largest faith-based prison in the world to teach the Holy Pagan Gospel According to Janet.

So, why, why, WHY, after all these years, would I decide that paganism just wasn’t for me, and it was time to convert back to Christianity? What was WRONG with me? (more…)

It’s a Sunday, and I’m SUPPOSED to go to Mass.

Not that I’m Catholic, mind you, I’m just a Catholic wanna-be. I was raised Methodist, but my best friend and neighbor was Catholic, and I went to mass with her almost as much as I went to Church. When I made the decision to return to Christianity, I figured - well, Methodism couldn’t keep me, maybe Catholicism, could.

It’s a beautiful religion, and mass is very moving. The inner dramatist in me, really loves all the pomp and circumstance. When I read up on Catholic doctrine, I’m pretty astonishished on how much I agree with it. I’ve still got some things I need to resolve about it in my head though, before I cross the Tiber.

“Crossing the Tiber” is a lovely euphanism Catholics use for non-Catholics when they become Catholic. It’s a rather royal turn on words, that kinda make you feel like Caesar invading Rome. The fact of the matter is, I feel more like a pledge in her freshman year of college, trying to figure out which Sorority to rush. (more…)

Wait.

Can I even SAY “fuck” anymore, now that I’m a Christian again?

hmmm. Let me think about this for a minute. I’m pretty sure there’s something in the Bible about not taking the Lord’s name in vain…. but I don’t recall anything taught to me in Sunday School about not saying “fuck.” So I guess it’s ok.

Converting back to being a Christian after being a Pagan, especially in such a public manner by announcing it on my website, is a bit like being a celebrity spokesperson for Jenny Craig. Everybody’s watching you, just waiting for that moment when you slip up and misbehave. Worse yet, they wait to see if you’re really going to “stick with it” or if it’s just some new phase you’re going through. (more…)