Divine Nature Versus Christian Narrative
There’s been this whole back and forth on here about how Christians can’t be pagan and I’m not about to debate whether they can or cannot.
The issue really is that there’s a good reason why people are incapable of communing with the Gods and it tends to be because the overarching philosophy of the ability to speak/be with Them is overshadowed and overcrowded by Christian philosophy.
I’m not just talking about omnipotence, omnibenevolence, either, because that’s the main thing people seem to get tied up in. I’m talking about immanence, reciprocity, and responsibility.
Immanence -
There is a concept like this in Christianity though you’ll see it moreso in Catholic-adjacent denominations versus Protestant denominations. You may see it in some problematic attitudes that God acts upon the world in order to punish or creates a whole if/then scenario and scale that tends to make people believe that because God is active in this world, that he will act upon it to exact punishment, guilt, or shame. Of course, there’s other ways that this happens beyond the punishment - but there’s no context for the levels at which the Divine can come down (or drawn down) and be among people nor is it spoken about.
In a polytheist context, immanence means that a God can inhabit objects, places, things, and even beings. If it is true that the Divine is energy, energy can be pervasive and can move in and out of objects at will.
Examples of this are shrines where the Deity can inhabit objects like an image, statue, or object that is linked to Them to be used as an anchor.
Deities can also manifest in people. When someone says they have a “godphone,” can hear what a God is saying, can channel, or even do possessory work - a piece of the Deity essentially lowers from a high vibrational state to a lower one in order to inhabit a higher vibrating person. Any level of hearing a Deity is a manifestation - even if it’s just images or single words. In order to make the manifestation stronger, I recommend you look into my post about it here.
Reciprocity -
In Christianity, it is expected that the Divine be automatically able to give to humans as a result of humans being its creation. The Deity is expected to give in return for showing up to some place on a weekly basis, or even simply saying you are a follower.
That is not the case in polytheism, as expected. Reciprocity demands that both sides give and no one side should give too little and expect much in return. Of course, the ratio is highly disproportionate. If one were to say that they give an offering and expect a new job in return is unlikely unless you already have given the Deity a path towards that new job that you yourself have created and They can push the odds into your favor. Sometimes that path comes to light either by Their doing or the doing of the odds surrounding you already. Deities can either take or create luck in this way - if that job wasn’t going to be to your benefit, in their opinion, it is likely They either will help you get it to make a point as to why you shouldn’t do that from now on or they prevent you from walking down that path.
Essentially, it is most pertinent to understand that the Gods are not vending machines. You do not put a coin in and expect something. You don’t give an offering and expect a gift in return. Offerings are more about what you do with them and why you are giving it than about what you receive.
To give an offering is to provide energetic nourishment for the Deity in question. If you give without providing energy - if you just leave an offering on a shrine without being there, lighting a candle, creating the offering itself, it is not a very good offering to give. Even if what you give is just water - if you were to sit and enjoy the Deity’s presence or light Their candle and give your time to Them in addition, that is what is considered a very good offering. Give without asking for something directly after. Give without the expectation of receipt.
Not all Deities are going to want your offering. Not all offerings are created equal. Not all Deities are going to respond to you right away or give you the time of day - to be terribly honest, they simply aren’t interested in half-assed attempts at gaining Their favor. Or asking for a relationship that you get to cruise through and They put in the work to tend to it.
This is the point of a gift for a gift. You expect to be able to consider yourself an important figure to Them, but you have not the authorization, the commitment, the time, nor energy to do so, you cannot expect Them to appropriate Their resources to you.
Risk can become a form of reward in and of itself. Taking risks do not mean splurging all your resources on a shrine, or doing something unsafe or putting yourself in harm’s way - taking risk means getting uncomfortable with yourself. Authenticity, vulnerability, emotional output and input, and courage will be met with Divine reward and favor - not doing something because you think you have to in order to get a reward.
That is the risk of being involved with the Divine. You do not know for certain who will be on the other side of it, but you can at least say that you’re doing what you feel most called to do and taking a risk to do so - regardless of what society or family or friends or people online say you should do.
Responsibility -
Being held accountable by the Divine is not the same as in Christianity. In Christianity, repenting of your sins in the case of error or misjudgment is what is considered taking responsibility by way of morality combined with doctrine and expectation. Additionally, Christian leaders expend their efforts on attaining certification from other humans and announce to the world their leadership skills and Divine favor.
In polytheism, however, responsibility comes in the form of being good on your word and doing what you say you’re going to do. If you promise a Deity an offering and don’t show anything for it, you are not being responsible with your words or actions. If you show you have some sort of authority without actually having it, you are also not being responsible with your power and Divine gifts.
If you feel the need to police Tumblr because of some behavior or feel the need to announce your power and title to everyone you meet, you are also not likely going to be very successful in your ambitions to become what you think you’re going to become. That is a show of ego and pride - not courage and judgement. Your actions should speak for themselves - your actions in your daily life should be enough to reflect what it is you claim to be.
If you should say to someone who you are, they should already know and have had a purpose in meeting you in the first place based on what you do and who you are inherently, not because you do so to assert dominance or authority. To be at peace with yourself is to acknowledge your own worth in what you do without the need for others to back and validate your efforts.
You are responsible for your own self and what you get out of this practice and belief. You are responsible for your own sense of self worth and self preservation and decision-making - not letting others do that for you and not letting you do that for others. The Gods are capable of making something of Their own for Their own need - not you asserting Their need on your own and not you giving yourself that ability because you said you are experienced.
In summary -
You sell yourself short if you do things because Christians don’t do them or get emotional about why Christians need to be handled a certain way in pagan communities. Christian doctrine overshadows a great deal of pagan concepts and belief because we don’t have the context for what lies outside of Western culture and religion. What we do with it is our own problem - not anyone else’s.
We are to acknowledge this bias and walk away - not blame the other opposing population for the decline of your own sense of self preservation and worth. It gets nowhere at the end of the day.
