Why is a Christian helping a Pagan anyway?

Couple people have asked, so I'll tell you.

Joe doesn't tell you what you have to believe. He just helps. Like Mother Theresa.

Joe's been treated badly by Christians, personally. So have most Pagans. That's bullshit. Jesus wasn't like that. I want to remind Pagans of the message of Christ, that God loves you no matter what. No matter what.The Bible says God revealed himself to Pagans through their poetry and their philosophy (Acts 17:22-28). The Bible says Melchizedek was the forerunner of Jesus Christ, and guess what folks, Melchizedek wasn't Hebrew, didn't worship JHVH, and never heard of Jesus. He just worshipped "The Most High God" (Hebrews 7). It also says Christianity is for Christians and that only God (the holy spirit) can convert anyone. Our job is to love our neighbors as ourselves. That's it.

So in part, I'm trying to make up for my ignorant brothers. (Paul calls a lot of people "ignorant brothers" in the Bible. They've been around as long as Christ.)

Also, Jesus said that when you visit people in prison, you're visiting him. I don't do that. I don't have time, or even the inclination. But I have money, thanks to God's revelations about working with Goetic spirits throughout my life. That's something I can send out.

Another thing is compassion. I am an asshole, as many of my readers know. I don't like people in general. As individuals, most people are alright, and have some redeeming qualities. As a whole, we're an evil lot. I think prisoners are mostly there for good reason, and probably deserve worse. But I've been in jail a couple times. It sucks. I deserved it, and probably worse. I had a mommy and daddy to bail me out. They knew me better than the judge or cops did. They knew more about me than just the crimes I had committed. They saw past the criminal to the human underneath.

The key to the Great Work is found in "Knowing yourself." As a result, we tend to spend a lot of time being pretty self-centered. But the thing about the Great Work is that what we learn about ourselves is applicable to other humans too. It's a Solar understanding, or was for me. Some folks get it at Venus.

Regardless of where we learn it, we learn to see past the crime to the man who committed it, just as we learn to see past the our focus on Growth and Diminishment, the Devices of Evil, the Guiles of Desires, Domineering Arrogance, Daring and Rashness of Audacity, Striving for Wealth by evil means, and the Ensnaring Falsehoods of the realms of form as we ascend through the Spheres and Work with the Celestial Intelligences. I'll go into detail about those in the future,they're from the Divine Pymander, sections 24-26 if you're curious.

But the point is, as we perform the Great Work, ascending and descending in power as outlined in the Emerald Tablet, it's supposed to change us. It changes me. I don't just see criminals who deserve their punishment, I see myself and all the times I fucked up. I see in Joe all the people, my mommy and daddy, my kids, my online friends and father-in-law, all the folks who are there for me in spite of my bullshit, who give and help and guide and teach and show the way when I'm lost and miserable.

Does it matter that he's a pagan? No, it doesn't. He's someone I was lucky to meet through Fr. Bonehead's friendship. Since I know him, and I know he's doing something worthwhile, I'll spend some money on that. It's no big deal, really. I give to other charities too. Cops who get shot, Firemen who get burned, Vets missing limbs, Breast Cancer (the boobies you save may be the ones you love!),  and my Mom's fundy Christian ministry that focuses on getting abused women from Islamic countries to America where they can't have their noses cut off for burning dinner. Sure, they preach the love of Christ a lot as they're helping these women, but honestly, that's not so bad. A loving God is what they need to know about most, imho; Mom's got her issues, but she knows how to teach about the Love of God.

I hope it's coming across clearly. It's a mixture of love, respect, thanksgiving, compassion, and a degree or two of guilt. Joe doesn't guilt anyone. He was born and raised pagan, and he doesn't use the kind of Christian guilt tactics that I used in my previous post. That's great for him, but I'm not above motivating people to give out of guilt for being an asshole. Even a shitty thing like guilt can be turned around and used for good. That's the main lesson of the Great Work anyway. Turn the shit into something useful.