It's tough being a Christian in a pagan world. I know this might sound weird to most Pagans living in a America where the Religious Right runs the government. But that's really not the world I live in.

I live in Austin, Texas. The liberal capitol of Texas. The one place county in Texas that voted for John Kerry. And I work at Renaissance Festivals.

I was raised Presbyterian. When I was growing up, I didn't really know what a Pagan was. To me, it was someone who was not a Christian. I admit, I was a little bit scared of them.

Once I started working at Renaissance Festivals in Texas, that all changed. The majority of the people I met were Pagans. Then I found that many of the Celtic music groups we performed alongside were Pagans.

Eventually, I got used to this “new” religion. Sorta like when I was educated about Judaism as kid in Maryland. I learned a lot.

Soon I met one of my best friends, Stacy. She's a chinchilla breeder her in Texas. She is Pagan, and she radically changed my world.

Pagans were no longer “devil worshippers”, they were Pagans. They had their own faith, whatever that may be. In Stacy, I found one of the sweetest, kindest, most-loving, and dare I say, Godly women I've known. She knows how to love. And she's not a Christian. Course, that's where the problem arises.

Many of the Christians I know are self-righteous. They judge Pagans for their beliefs. But the Pagans aren't alone. My own Christian faith is judged nearly every day by another Pagan who is just as self-righteous, and just as unlikely to admit it.

Actualy, it's kinda funny being able to look at faith from both sides of the coin.

I guess I'm writing this, because I'm sick of both sides. I'm tired of “Christians” who judge non-Christians, and I'm tired of “Pagans” who judge Christians.

To me, faith is a very private matter. I feel God has watched over me throughout my entire life. He's protected me and loved me. I feel the love of my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and I am proud to be a Christian.

But it's not just that. It's that Jesus has taught me to love in the most unlikely of places. He taught me to love in part from a Pagan. And I like to think that people who know me experience the love of Jesus through my love. Yes, it's rather cyclical.

To conclude, I encourage you, whatever your faith, to open your mind. Right now, you're probably reading this and thinking, “yeah, I wish others would open their mind too.” But I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about YOU.

If we are ever to be able to truly love people as people, we must start with ourselves. I have my own closed-minded thinking that I struggle to overcome. So I'll work on me. You work on you. Together, God willing (whatever God you choose to worship), the world will become a much more loving place.