What exactly is a "pagan"?

[MiStY223]

I had always thought gentile and pagan went hand in hand...but then one of the people at church used it in a somewhat deragatory manner. What implications does 'pagan' have?

Thanks!!

 

[Monica02]

A pagan is a perosn who worships several gods.

 

[Ann M]

Here is the entry from dicitionary.com

pa·gan (pgn)
n.
One who is not a Christian, Muslim, or Jew, especially a worshiper of a polytheistic religion.
One who has no religion.
A non-Christian.
A hedonist.
A Neo-Pagan.

 

[Gwynne]

A pagan is a perosn who worships several gods.

Not all pagans worship several gods.

It really depends on who you are talking to. By modern definition a pagan is anyone who is not Jewish, Christian or Muslim. However, atheists and most agnostics don't consider themselves pagan.

There is a large movement of people who consider themselves pagan. This covers a HUGE range of belief systems from Reconstructionists, who attempt to follow an ancient religion as they see it based on historical evidence, to Eclectics, who pick and choose from a variety of religious beliefs. Wiccans, members of a specific religion called Wicca, are considered pagans as well.

Gentile does not equal pagan. A gentile is anyone who is not Jewish. I'd venture to say most Christians are gentiles.

The negative tone in the voice of the people using it has to do with many misconceptions about modern pagans as being "devil worshippers." While there are certainly some Satanists, most pagans do not believe in the existence of Satan or any devil figure for that matter and so consider it insulting to be called devil worshippers. In fact it can be extremely detrimental to witnessing to call them so as most will immediately assume you are a "fundie" and either ignore you or argue against everything you present them until you are blue in the face and they walk away laughing.....

By the way... I'm a former pagan...