Post Awfh5LdM9CgGoLL5AO by Cat_LeFey@pagan.plus
 (DIR) More posts by Cat_LeFey@pagan.plus
 (DIR) Post #Awfh5LdM9CgGoLL5AO by Cat_LeFey@pagan.plus
       2025-07-30T17:34:27Z
       
       0 likes, 1 repeats
       
       I think a lot of modern pagans have this belief that all of the ancient pagans were forceably converted to Christianity. But when you really think about it, that doesn't make sense. It happened slowly over hundreds of years, some pagans probably converted of their own free will. After all, that Jesus guy sounds pretty cool. Helping the sick, feeding the poor, seems like something I would look into. A significant portion of early Christian converts were women. I remember reading Ronald Hutton's take on this and he said, basically it was because it taught men to treat their wives more kindly, stay faithful, and keep their hands to themselves before marriage. Makes sense. Many other cultures of the time, including pagans, were just as patriarchal as Christianity. With the Christians, while they were still only property, at least they were *precious* property. Also, a lot of pagan traditions were wierd cults. Like, Pythagoras (yes, the math guy) wouldn't let his people eat fava beans because he thought they were human souls. And if you eat them, then you fart out the souls.Anyway, it just seems obvious that at least some pagans converted to Christianity of their own accord. It might be better for us to acknowledge that and examine why, so we can learn from it, instead of thinking paganism was so awesome that no one would leave willingly.#Pagan