Pagans & Christians: The Personal Spiritual Experience » (1 ED)

Gus Dizerega (Washington) has a Ph.D. in Political Science: Political Theory from the University of California, Berkeley.
Gus diZerega is a Third-Degree Gardnerian Elder. He spent six years studying with Brazilian shaman Antonio Costa e Silva, and with other teachers in Native American and Afro-Brazilian traditions. With a Ph.D. in Political Science/Theory from the University of California-Berkeley, he has spent the past sixteen years in the academic field, teaching on the faculties of several universities and colleges. He is a frequent conference lecturer, panelist, or speaker and writer on topics such as environmental issues, community and society, contemporary politics, modernity, and religion.
As an author of both scholarly and spiritual material, his articles have appeared in numerous publications, both in the U.S. and abroad. His first book, Persuasion, Power and Polity: A Theory of Democratic Self-Organization, was published in 2000 by Hampton Press.

Although Christianity is still a major religious force, there are growing numbers of people in other faiths, including the various Pagan traditions. Some Christians have responded to this trend with fear and derision, while some Pagans have reacted to that fear with anger and mistrust.

Much of the problem is due to misunderstandings and lack of communication. This can change with Gus diZerega's Pagans & Christians. Here you will find a penetrating and illuminating comparison, showing that neither path has the single correct approach to the Divine. Rather, either or both can be authentic and legitimate expressions of the appreciation of the Ultimate Source of All.

Pagans & Christians is an ideal way to help bridge what at time seems a wide chasm between Christian and Pagan beliefs. By sharing core ideas of both paths, this book provides a way to give deeper mutual understanding and unity among the religions of the world.

Although Pagans & Christians accepts both paths as valid, the book provides a more in-depth explanation of Paganism ó the minority religion because in some ways, Paganism demands a greater defense and explanation of its beliefs and ideas to dispel misunderstandings. The author is a Third Degree Gardenerian Elder and in Pagans & Christians has presented nothing less than a brilliant defense of Paganism, clearly showing how it should stand beside all of the major religions of the world as an equal. As part of this defense, diZerega gives a listing of biblical contradictions and Christian philosophical difficulties which can help any Pagan responding to a negative attack, and will help any Christian to view his or her religion as away, not the way.

Winner of the 2001 Coalition of Visionary Resources (COVR) Award for Best Non-fiction Book

Publishers Weekly

In the last two millennia, "Pagan-Christian dialogue" might have been summed up by Christians shouting "NO!" That traditional attitude, says Gus diZerega in Pagans & Christians: The Personal Spiritual Experience, is precisely why Pagan-Christian dialogue is so necessary now. Since it is written from a Pagan point of view and published by Llewellyn, it's unlikely that many conservative Christians are likely to heed the book's pointed call for rapprochement, but it's a beginning. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction: Spiritual Truth for Christians and Pagans xiii

Part I
The Nature of Pagan Spirituality
1: What is Pagan Religion?
The World of Spirit
2: Spirit and Humanity in Pagan Religion
3: What Is Wiccan Paganism?

Part II
Christian Criticisms of Wicca
4: Suffering and Evil in the Material World
5: Malice, Suffering, and Evil
6: Biblical Inerrancy and Scriptural Authority
7: Spiritual Truth and Human Experience

Part III
Pagan Criticisms of Christianity
8: Spirit and Nature:
A Christian Blindness
9: Toleration and Violence:
A Christian Dilemma

Part IV
Conclusion
10: Spiritual Truth for Christians and Pagans:
A Pagan Perspective
Bibliography
Index