Heathens and Kitchen Witches and Jesus Freaks, Oh My

Here's a snippet of conversation I shared at the coffee shop today. Identity has been an anointed topic of conversation within my community lately, as has identifying our generation. This conversation

"You're a pagan, right?" the customer across the counter asked earnestly. I hesitated, unsure how to respond. We'd been talking about fear tactics of religion, Christianity in particular, while I made lattes.

... Despite what religion has told you.
pictured: Simon The Leper

"Well, I guess I don't exactly know what a pagan is."

"You can totally be a follower of Christ's teachings and be a pagan," she explained. "Pagan originally meant country dweller. And did you know heathen literally means one who lives at the hearth."

"I describe myself as a Pagan Eccentric Kitchen Witch," chimed in her husband. "Religious folk seem to immediately jump to the conclusion that I'm anti-God and going to burn in Hell."

He chuckled and continued, "But the funny thing is, these words now associated with damnation and used derogatorily were totally benign until religious and power-hungry people got ahold of them. Kike, for example. It's used as a slur toward Jews, which doesn't make a lot of sense. When they were immigrating, illiterate Jews signed paperwork with a circle, rather than a X. The Yiddish word for circle is kikel. There's nothing derogatory about it."

"You know, its occurred to me that 'Christianity' makes no sense as a label for a religion," I said. "The word means 'little Christ.' It was first used by persecuting authorities to label people they saw doing what Christ was doing. People raising the dead, healing the sick, slumming it with 'lowlifes', feeding and clothing the poor. How many people have you ever seen being so Christ-like you would naturally call them a Little Christ without need for them to label themselves for you?"

"Exactly," he said. "Did you know Christianity is the only religion that includes a Satan figure? A single figure as the source of evil?"

"How do you scare people into obeying religious rhetoric and surrendering their money without the devil? Fear is a powerful controller."

"I've been trying to reclaim the word Christian. Kind of like the SlutWalks are reclaiming slut." They nodded. "But It's occurred to me that while I love Jesus, I'm absolutely a follower, I'm not a Christian. It's hard to explain that in passing conversation, though. At this point, I think Pagan Heathen Heretic Jesus Freak is much more accurate."