Rating: 
Summary: A good start, but a bit weak.
Review: As someone who enjoys interfaith discussions, I am constantly looking for books that compare religions in an attempt to show the beauty of each and the interrelationships among all of them. As I read "Pagans and Christians: The Personal Spiritual Experience" by Gus diZerega, I found it to be an eloquent description of this very process with an unsuccessful attempt to actually do it.DiZerega -- an Elder of Gardnerian Wicca -- begins his dialogue by describing the basic precepts behind Paganism. This is the strongest part of his book, as it is completely within his realm of expertise. The author manages to capture some of the defining elements of Pagan religions without being vague or to restrictive in his definition. The book then goes on to discuss some of the basic concepts of Wicca -- from a clearly traditional perspective, however -- in order to give more concrete examples of the original concepts. By doing this, the author enables his non-Pagan readers to have a clear idea of some ways Paganism can express itself. By doing this only after giving the more abstract concepts, however, he makes it clear that this is not the only possible or valid expression. In the next section of the book, the author begins to offer explanations for some of the criticisms Christians have of Paganism. While I found this section intellectually interesting, I must admit that it was troublesome on a personal level at times. While I followed his reasoning and tended to agree with it, the material failed to resonate with my own being. This is at least in part due to the fact that some of diZeraga's ideas lie outside the realm of my own personal experiences. Because of this, i suspect that a Christian -- who has even less personal experience in common with the author than I do -- may not follow his arguments. This is a genuine and normal problem when intellectually explain that which is meant to be experiential. In the chapter that debated the process of gaining spiritual understanding through nature and personal experience versus gaining it through a sacred text, I found that the author got heavy-handed. While I agree with his claim that the interpretation of any sacred text is not objective, I do not see the point in spending a whole chapter arguing the point. A Christian reader would most likely either acknowledge the point immediately or deny it despite any arguments made -- and quite possibly despite a verse in their own sacred texts that says as much. As such, the whole exercise seemed either needless or pointless. My final criticism is that diZerega's interfaith discussion was one-sided. In most of the book, he defended Paganism while making some valid criticisms about Christianity. To maintain a more balanced discussion, he should have addressed valid criticisms of Paganism and dispelled those made about Christianity that have no merit. In fairness, I suspect that the author lacks the understanding of Christian spirituality and theology to successfully attempt the latter. Perhaps another will seek to fill in this gap. In the meantime, I do credit diZerega with the fact that he does not seek to invalidate Christianity through his criticisms. After setting sucha foundation, diZerega begins to point out the distinct and complementary points of value in each of the religions. In doing so, he sets a groundwork for the process of Christians and Pagans learning from one antoher -- enhancing one's own religion through the appreciation of the other's. In the greatest sense, this book ends at a beginning. It suggests new avenues of thought and perception. It would be best used as a common foundation for Pagans and Christians who wish to understand one another. For this purpose, the author provides many points for discussion and thoughts to springboard into a deeper joint study of spirituality.
Rating: 
Summary: Needed more editing, but overall a good book
Review: DiZerega does a pretty good job of explaining a good portion of Pagan theology to Christians. He comes off as a bit condescending at times to Christianity in general. He spends some time discussing inconsistencies in the Bible, BUT points out that while he's not trying to prove that the Bible is wrong, he IS trying to show that the Bible is not as cut-and-dry as some fundamentalists would have you believe. An important distinction, and a good argument. He also successfully argues that most spiritualities around the world extoll many of the values taught in Christianity, such as love, goodness, patience, and honesty, and that just because one is not Christian does not mean they do not have morals. The book does suffer from poor editing. There are times when he repeats himself, and it seems he cites Pagan philosophers in order to extend his thoughts, rather than to make a point, which gets confusing at times. He does speak of his own experiences with the perfect love of the Goddess, which was nice to read. He also deals with the concept of Satan and evil, but it fizzles a bit. It seems he's trying to make the point that evil is such a subjective term, a one true source of evil doesn't really exist. That's a fine argument, but he doesn't eloquently express this point, so the section is a bit weak. I found this book very helpful to read, as a Pagan who recently came out to her Christian family. However, it's probably not a book you could hand to a Christian and have them understand where you're coming from. A solid addition to any Pagan's library. :)
Rating: 
Summary: The start of a very good dialogue
Review: Having an extensive Christian past and being reletively new to Paganism I found this book very worthwhile and have even sent it to my parents since I read it. It is not written in an accusatory tone and it is clear that a great deal of thought and preparation has gone into it. The first part of the book introduces the reader to Paganism in general and Wicca specifically, and to Pagan spitrituality. The author says he is Wiccan and the Pagan views in the book do seem to reflect that. It is a good introduction I think, especially if the reader has no prior knowledge of Pagan practices at all besides mass media. In the second part of the book addresses and effectively I think invalidates Christian criticisms of Paganism. He does occasionally go off on tangents but usually gets to his point by the time he is back. The tangents he takes are not necessarily bad either, just sometimes unexpected. The third part of the book addresses Pagan criticisms of Christianity. I thought that he did this well. Though some Christians may be offended at his interpretation of some scriptures, because they are not the traditional interpretations, they are not illogical or off the wall interpretations in my mind either. And many of his conclusions are much more intuitive and logical than one will find or hear in the mainstream of Christian doctrine. The last chapter really described his personal spiritual view of Christianity and Paganism and the good things from both that can be garnered to enrich your personal tradition whether you are Pagan, Christian or of another religion entirely. Though I do not necessarily agree with everything that the author says, I cannot at the moment think of the things I thought I needed to think about. I found the work thoughtful and sincere and not written in a way intended to offend anyone. Some Christians may find themselves offended, simply because to come to any kind of common ground they must acknowledge there are other religions in the world that are valid spiritual paths for people, and that the same shoe does not fit everyone's foot. That fact in and of itself will be hard for many. If anyone reads this book with an open mind though, I think they will gain from it. Above all it teaches love, respect and tolerance, which are common principles in most of the world's religions, though many seem to have problems when putting these principles in actual practice.
Rating:
Summary: Biased, but read it anyway. Both sides need an open mind.
Review: I expect that more Pagans than Christians are going to read this book, but as the title and introduction indicate, it's meant for both and valuable to either side, provided that the Christians involved maintain open minds. For the Pagans reading it, the open mind will come naturally, not simply because Pagans tend to be very good at being open to new things, but because the author is a Pagan and his writing makes that fact fairly obvious. Perhaps DiZerega should have collaborated with a Christian minister or writer -- he would better reach the full intended audience, and some of his commentary on Christianity would sound less accusative (I do not think it was intended that way, but the perception remains) if it was endorsed by a Christian authority. As one who has been both Christian and Pagan (and still worships with both), I generally approve of the book's representation of both spiritual types, but there are problems. The author does seem to "pick on" Christianity a little bit more, though part of that is the literal and exclusionist nature of that religion, as opposed to the extreme openness of Paganism, where there's less to pick on because less is held literally. Also, there is an explanation of Pagan spirituality but none of Christian spirituality. Admittedly, Pagans lack any sort of set-in-stone dogma and are a diverse lot that can be difficult to cover thoroughly, but that doesn't excuse the glaring admission here. Most Christians know little or nothing about any sort of Pagan belief; hence part of the need for this book. While DiZerega certainly points out aspects of Pagan belief where they differ from Christian tenets, he needs to include a full chapter sketching out some of the more generally held Pagan ideas for the benefit of the Christians he hopes will read his book. (It wouldn't kill Pagans to read such a chapter either.) Pagans and Christians is meant to challenge the beliefs of Christians about Pagans and of Pagans about Christians, but in all fairness, there is not enough of the latter included. As Pagans, we are all about growing in our spirituality and expanding our awareness, so we should be challenging ourselves to do exactly what we say we do: understand and accept other people's belief systems. Many Pagans dislike Christianity because it is the 'mainstream' that so many of us fled from, longing for the freedom to connect with Divinity in our own way. What we may forget is that Christians, too, are connecting with their God in a very real and beautiful way; their God is just the aspect of Diety that they see, much in the same way that some of us might pray to Isis or Brighid or Zeus. Dealing with issues like the nature of evil, ideas of the self and diety, and reasons for suffering and death, Pagans and Christians attempts to fill a real void in our literature and our culture by pointing out not only the differences but the commonalities between our belief systems, and stating firmly that the two are perfectly compatible in our world. While this is a true statement and an excellent effort of scholarship and fellowship, DiZerega is Pagan-biased and it shows. If you have Christian friends or family, or you want to understand the realities of Christianity and how it compares with your own practice, this book is a good read. I would not, however, suggest handing it over to a Christian parent (for example) or friend, because its treatment of the two religions is lopsided enough that it is more likely, unless you are already dealing with a Pagan-friendly Christian, to burn bridges than to build them.
Rating: 
Summary: Does his baloney have a first name?
Review: I give my assent to the comments of the previous reviewer, Clint Davis. This is a surprisingly learned and tolerant examination of the similarities and differences between the personal spiritual experience of Christian and pagan religions.
You will find insightful and original discussions of the problem of evil, our relationships to animals and the environment, and the differences between oral and text-based religions.
DiZerga argues convincingly that in its millenia-long campaign to exterminate pagan religions, Christianity lost much of its own teaching about the presence of God in nature. Christianity came to the point of adopting the beliefs of the Gnostics and Manichees that considered anything earthly in the possession of the devil. DiZerga claims, along with an increasing number of other writers, that the lengthy Christian persecution of pagan religions ran God out of the world and gave us the secular world we have today, a world to be dominated and used up instead of revered and honored.
The book shows how pagans prefer natural settings instead of building for their rituals, meditation, contemplation, spirit quests, and divine epiphanies. They do not share beliefs so much as common rituals. The final proof of any belief is one's own personal experience, especially one's direct experience of the divine. DiZerga's description of his own encounters with the divine are powerfully moving.
The book is also a welcome appeal for religious toleration. DiZerga tactfully reserves for later chapters a discussion of forced conversions and the prolonged Christian persecutions of pagan religions. He argues that the source of all this violence was the mistaken belief in the exclusivness and superiority of Christianity. Nothing, he claims, could be more opposed to the teaching of Jesus. Christianity or die: what kind of good news is that?
Many other recent books give a much fuller treatment of Christianity's bloody and extended persecution of pagan religions--such as Jonathan Hirsch's new work on monotheism and polytheism. It is not church bashing to bring to light and discuss the atrocities and crimes against humanity committed by Christian officials for centuries. As DiZerga writes, "By their fruits you shall know them," and the Christian claim to spiritual exclusiveness does not pass the test. DiZerga's fine book will go a long way in promoting a Christian examination of conscience and a revaluation of Christianity's most dangerous doctrines.
Rating:
Summary: To Dig Through Scholarly Fluff
Review: I managed to get through about half of this book. As I was reading, I got the impression that everything Dr. Dizerega had to say could be summed up in a paragraph or two, and had to fill it out with quotations and excessive research just to have a book to publish. Overall, mostly fluff, but worth buying for the gems it contains.
Rating:
Summary: Pagans and Christians from a Christian viewpoint
Review: I thought the book was wonderful, as a Christian, I thought it was respectful and historically accurate. It focused on commonalities between the historic monotheistic faiths and modern day Wicca. This was an educating, thought-provoking book!
Rating:
Summary: A much needed look into the theology of Trad Wicca
Review: Most of the literature currently available about Wicca is being presented in a watered-down, unattractive, regurgitated manner that offers the practitioner very little in the way of solid theology for personal growth. This book makes a delightful exception to the bland standard set by the publishing world. DiZerega wrote this book with the intention of creating points of dialgoue between Christians and Pagans (especially Wiccans) so that each group might better understand the other, and in turn, enrich their personal spiritual experiences. This is probably the one way in which the book doesn't quite succeed--although there is a fountain of deep analysis of Wiccan ideas and philosophies, the book is heavily biased toward Wicca, and at times almost dismissive of Christian beliefs. However, if one reads this book as a study of Traditional Wiccan beliefs and theology, it is invaluable. Much of the market is saturated with books on Ecelectic Wicca 101, so much so these days that if you've read two or three, you've read them all. "Pagans & Christians" is a much needed departure from that, offering the reader insight, thoughts to chew on, and perhaps most necessary, a peek into the philosophy of Traditional Wicca. This is an important book for the Wiccan religion, and one that all serious students should have on their bookshelves.
Rating:
Summary: trying to find some common ground
Review: So much of modern Neo-Pagan literature published today is composed of oversimplified "how to" books. There is little if nothing published about the philosophical components of the Neo-Pagan religions. DiZerega works very hard to build a common ground of terms and ideas from which interfaith dialogue can emerge. diZerega respects the beliefs of both Christians and Pagans as "unique and valuable" ways of knowing "the Sacred," a view that invites not just tolerance but genuine interest in learning from one another. Rather than falling back on pseudo-history to explain why Pagans believe as they do, DiZerega uses his Ph.D. in political science and his fifteen years as a Gardnerian to deconstruct Pagan theology and philosophy in ways that make them easily accessible to both Pagans and non Pagans. The first part of this book discusses the Neo-Pagan worldview. Topics range form perception of time and ethics to conceptions of the divine. I found this section to be highly informative and easy to digest. The second part of this book, "Christian Criticisms of Wicca," discusses and attempts to answer many of the issues a lot of Christians have about Wicca and other Neo-Pagan religions. DiZerega discusses the nature of suffering and evil, spiritual authority, ethics and morality, clergy, and more. He answers the standard Christian objections with respect and with numerous quotes from the Bible. While this section is unlikely to convince many Fundamentalist Christians that Pagans are not following Satan it is well thought out and would hopefully be well received by a majority of non-Fundamentalist Christians. The third section of Pagans & Christians addresses the some of issues Pagans often have with Christianity the perception that Christians are intolerant of others. DiZerega explains how most of the objections many Pagans have with Christianity simply aren't supported by the Bible and Christian tradition. In other words, many of the problems Pagans have with Christianity aren't really with the teachings of Christianity in general, but with the teachings of a relatively small number of fundamentalist Christian sects who shout down the larger, open-minded groups. DiZerega does not pretend to have all the answers, but sets the reader on the path of finding his or her own answers.
Rating:
Summary: Too bad the people who SHOULD read it, WON'T read it!
Review: The basic premise of this book is that both Paganism and Christianity can be "right". DiZerega posits that the two traditions have more in common than they realize, and that both paths are valid for those who follow them. There is a place in this world for both religions. Being a Wiccan himself, diZerega focuses mainly on Pagan beliefs. He explains what Pagans believe, and rebuts Christian misconceptions of Paganism, in a well-documented text that is intelligently written and yet not pedantic. He also challenges the belief that Christianity is the one true way, using both Scripture and his own beliefs to back up his claim. I would recommend this book to any Christian who has a Pagan child, significant other, or friend. Unfortunately, the Christians who truly need this book are of the closed-minded variety and wouldn't be listening anyway. If you believe that all Pagans are going to Hell, you aren't going to read this book, and even if you do, you won't consider its arguments. "Satanic propaganda, no doubt." And the open-minded Christians who are willing to accept Paganism as a valid spiritual path for some? They don't need this book. They already know there is a placxe in the world for many different belief systems. If certain uber-conservative political figures were to read this book and truly consider it, the US might be a better place. But they won't. Mostly, Pagans and open-minded Christians will read it. DiZerega is preaching to the choir.
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