The UK celebrates Beltane

Introduction

Thousands of Britains celebrate the pagan festival of Beltane.  The fires of Bel will swallow up a 30-foot-high wicker man at the Butser Ancient Farm between London and Portsmouth on May 5 in celebration of Beltane, the pagan celebration of the end of winter and beginning of summer.  According to K-House eNews http://www.khouse.org/ thousands gathered in Edinburgh Monday evening to celebrate the 25th Beltane there and welcome in the May Queen, and other celebrations have sprouted up at different times around Great Britain.

May Day means more to neo-pagans than merely leaving flowers on doorsteps.  It is an ancient pagan rite in which the Winter King is killed, the Green Man is born in his place, and revelers dance in honor of the gods of fertility.

In northern Yorkshire near Ripon, Thornborough Henge provides another site of Beltane festivities.  Web developer Oliver Robinson has built up the celebration at Thornborough Henge, where celebrants honor the ancient goddess Brigantia, worshiped in northern England when the Romans invaded.  'We like celebrating our traditional indigenous local goddess,' said Robinson.

Pagans believe that the ancient goddess gave birth to the god at the Winter Solstice, and at Beltane he is mature enough to become her lover.  The fertility rituals today include the pairing off of mates, when couples choose to 'handfast' by jumping a broom or a fire, or by tying their hands together.

The fires of Beltane are symbolic of cleansing and purifying after the long winter.  Julius Caesar described a horrifying practice the ancient Britons had of burning the Wicker Man after he had been filled with people and animals.  Today’s Wicker Man holds only the wishes and hopes for the coming year.

In our civilized, scientific culture, we tend to think of paganism as something distant, lost in the world of developing nations.  In those places, ignorant medicine men seek to chase off disease through spiritual rituals when they would find better results with a tub of bleach water and penicillin.  The word 'pagan' often brings to mind half-clothed natives dancing around the missionary in the pot, druids chanting inside Stonehenge, human sacrifice, and barbarism in general.

However, today there is a form of Neopaganism spreading that looks surprisingly modern and has followers among intellectuals.  While Judeo-Christian morality is increasingly seen as outdated and 'puritanical' in our Western World, the human need for spiritual fulfillment has not disappeared.  Instead, updated forms of the old pagan religions are spreading once again.  Modern, Neopaganism takes on many of the ancient pagan beliefs about nature and the universe, fitting them to modern society.  College professors, screenplay writers and the leaders of many ecological movements have delved into Neopaganism, and their ideas come home to us through our college students and our children's movies.

It is important that we recognize this religion for what it is and understand how greatly it comes in conflict with Biblical Christianity.  In general, no matter which local flavor, it is characterized by a reverence for nature and usually involves a number of gods, goddesses, or spirits.  Shamanism, Druidism, and the local religions of hundreds of cultures can all be considered pagan.  The most prevalent form of modern Neopaganism is Wicca, or witchcraft, which includes casting spells and seeking 'hidden knowledge.'

Creation Over The Creator

Neopaganism is a religion that reveres Nature as divine.  Pagans see every plant, animal, man and woman as part of that divinity.  Unlike the God of the Bible, who is separate from and greater than His creation, the natural world itself is considered divine and holy.  While the God of the Bible created us in His image, the god and goddess are made in our image - in the image of created things.

To the Neopagan, the divine is both female and male, so that both the goddess and the god are worshiped as loving, wise figures who are seen as completely equal.  There are also other lesser gods and goddesses called pantheons.  Since Nature is seen as female - Mother Earth or Gaia - the goddess tends to be emphasized.  She is seen as our mother, the creator and sustainer of life.  Since she is responsible for all living things, the other creatures on our planet are seen as our brothers and sisters.  For this reason, Pagans are highly environmentally conscious people - sometimes to extreme measures.

Pagan rituals and celebrations follow the cycle of life through the year - birth, maturity, aging and death, spring, summer, autumn and winter - in a continual, never-ending cycle.  Even the universe is in a continual cycle.  When this world ends, another will begin.  The God of the Bible calls Himself the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End (Rev 1:8).  However, Neopagans deny any beginning or end, but see a constant cycle of death and rebirth.  For this reason, they tend to affirm some form of reincarnation.

Sex and nudity are seen as part of nature, and Neopagans have no qualms about sexual activity outside of marriage.  In fact, Neopagans have much in common with the ancient fertility religions and the high place worship that was done in groves of trees thousands of years ago (Ezek 6:13, Jer 3:6).  In that respect, it is interesting that on May 1 Beltane is celebrate, the marriage of the goddess and god.

No Satan? 

Pagans do not believe in sin or Satan.  They are often upset when they are seen as Satanists or satanic, since Satan does not enter into their worldview.  Rather, they accept concepts of karma and positive and negative energy.  They have no rules or guidebook and no leader.  Each pagan follows his or her own spiritual path.  The single solid rule of Neopaganism is: 'If it harms none, do what you will.'  They seek to do 'good' according to their individual understanding of good, to help their communities and take care of the environment and create positive energy.  They are responsible to themselves alone and follow their own values and ethics.

Neopaganism offers spirituality without any rules or regulations, and connection with the spiritual world without requiring submission to the will of the one true God.  Neopaganism teaches that the individual is god, free to choose his or her own path, his or her own boundaries for morality.  This is very appealing to those wanting to throw off what they see as oppressive patriarchal religions in favor of the more 'compassionate' female goddess of Neopaganism.  It has had a great deal of influence in the intellectual world, as well as among teenagers.

Deceptive Spirits

Unfortunately, while Neopagans see their religion as harmless and good for the environment and community, they do not know the spiritual forces that are truly at work behind it (Eph 6:12, 1 John 4:1-3).  Denying the problem of sin is self-deceptive and dangerous (1 John:1:8).  By denying sin, Pagans reject their need for a Savior.  Whether or not they believe in Satan has no bearing on the reality of his existence and his ability to influence their lives.  Paul warns that even Satan can be transformed to look like an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14).  A good con artist never looks like a con. Instead, he offers us what we want, in a most appealing package, so that when we buy into his lie and accept what he offers, he can pillage us and strip us bare.

Neopagans are seeking to fulfill their spiritual needs in a Western culture that has left a void in that area. May the Spirit of God move through us to show the love of God to these precious people for whom Christ died, that He may truly free them from the darkness and lead them into the summer of the Kingdom of Life. 

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