When I was discussing the various religions with some coworkers of mine (when I was employed), I mentioned that I am Wiccan. The immediate response from one of the Christian members of the conversation was “oh, so you do not believe in God.” Well, that’s not exactly true. It made me think about what it really means to believe in God.
Christians believe in God the Father, Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit. To them, anyone who doesn’t believe in their version of God doesn’t believe in God period. But that isn’t true. Others believe in God, just not the Christian version of God.
A Wiccan or Pagan believes in the Goddess or God or both. They believe in other forms of Deity, which are usually polytheistic. They do not see just one face or form of Deity, they see mulitple forms or faces. This does not make them non-believers in God.
An aetheist however, does not believe in any sort of higher power or deity. They do not believe that any sort of deity exists and they believe that any and all things can be explained with science and logic. But there is another – an agnostic. They acknowledge the possibility of the existence of a higher power or deity, even if they themselves do not believe in or worship them.
It frustrates me to no end to go to YouTube and see videos made by fundamentalist Christians who have nothing better to do than bash other people’s faiths. They claim true believers never leave their faiths. Well, that is correct. A TRUE BELIEVER in a particular Deity will not leave the faith that allows them to believe in and worship that Deity. So it DOES stand to reason that a TRUE BELIEVER in Christ would not leave the Christian church. However, just because someone does, that does not mean the “Devil” is working on that person. It means that they exercised their free will and left a place that was not good for them.
But to me, the word Believer should not be reserved solely for the Christians. I believe there is a higher power. I believe that higher power is made up of the Goddess & the God. I BELIEVE so I am a BELIEVER. Do I believe that Christ existed? Yes, I do believe that a man named Jesus Christ existed. Do I believe that he did all they say he did? No. I also do not believe the Bible to be an infallible book of Scripture for the very reason that HUMANS translated it to the different languages and HUMANS are not infallible! I do not believe that a book contains all the rules, regulations, and laws for how we are to live our lives – especially when that book is entirely subject to the reader’s interpretation.
How do you feel on the subject of Believers, Aetheists, or Agnostics? Which are you? A believer? (In ANY Deity) An Aetheist? Or an Agnostic?