We have just enough
religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one
another.
Jonathan Swift
I'm not Christian. There, that fact is out in the open. What I am is Pagan, Wiccan, Goddess Worshipping. I am and Kemetic Witch. Kemetic meaning I follow the gods of Ancient Egypt (specifically Sekhmet), and Witch meaning I am a member of the Wiccan religion. And yes, we are a religion.
We are not a cult, and we don't worship the devil. In fact we don't have an evil deity to start with. After all, nature is neither good nor evil. It just is. Another reason is to give evil a name is to give evil power and everytime you say that name you give evil more power.
As a pagan, I don't believe that all the bad stuff in the world and all of man's short comings are the result of a snake, an apple, and woman's curiosoty. Each and everyman is responsible for their own actions. There is no "confesssion" for wrong doing to man or God/Goddess; The gods have seen what you have done and at the end of life, you are judged worthy or unworthy before the Feather of Ma'at.
There is no messiah in my religion. While Jesus may have been True Man and True God in the Christian religion, each and every person is the same; every person has the same connection to Deity as Jesus did. A popular saying in Paganism is "I am Goddess" and we are. By this statement, every member of Paganism is clergy. We can perform weddings and other cerimonies legally.
Every aspect of the divine is legitamite. All forms of Paradise are real.
A note to all Christinas seeking to "witness" to me. Please don't for two reasons -- 1) It's not going to make me convert. I have seen things caused by my gods just as you have seen things caused by yours. 2) It's annoying as Hell.
I think Margot Adler summed up my religion best --
"We are not evil. We don't
harm or seduce people. We are not dangerous. We are
ordinary people like you. We have families, jobs, hopes, and
dreams. We are not a
cult. This religion is not a joke. We are not what you think we
are from looking at
T.V. We are real. We laugh, we cry. We are serious. We have a
sense of humor. You
don't have to be afraid of us. We don't want to convert you. And
please don't try to
convert us. Just give us the same right we give you--to live in
peace. We are much
more similar to you than you think."