The spirit of Paganism is of Degeneracy, Rebellion and Bloodlust

Paganism is the rejection and hostility towards all Christian virtues. It is not merely the unbelief in fundamental Christian theological doctrine, but the hatred of Christian virtues. This ultimately leads to the active, outright embrace of all manner of degeneracy. The scriptures describes such paganism in Romans 1:18-32:

 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.  Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;  being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

The passage in Romans describes those who know of the truth of God, but reject it on purpose, deliberately and knowingly, to the point that God gives them up to a debased mind. Those with a debased mind have absolutely no sense of moral virtue at all. Speak to a person from such a pagan society about 'morality', and he will give you a blank look at best, or mock and scorn you at worst. Such people in as though there is no such thing a morality, and worse still, that morality is some evil construct that is designed to oppress people. 

The passage is not describing societies that are seeking the knowledge of God but to whom God has not revealed Himself, such that they fail to understand who God is. It is not describe ancient Greece in the time of Aristotle who sought to use natural law to understand the concept of a 'God', or ancient China where Confucianism, which sought to understand the truths about life (the 'dao' or 道) and ultimately about the concept of a 'God' which was conceptualised as 'dao', was adhered to. Both Aristotelianism and Confucianism, though flawed in their conceptualisation of 'God', at least sought to do the right thing, and sought to be virtuous. These cannot be described as paganism as such because they do not actively and outright reject true virtue.

Any worldview that still accepts some or certain Christian virtues, such as kindness, righteousness and humility, though not believing the the fundamental Christian theological doctrines, such as the Trinity, is not paganism, though it is certainly not Christian. Such is the case with Confucianism as well as Aristotelianism. 

Paganism is simply the embrace of all manner of rebellion, embracing the pleasures of the flesh and pride of life, and does not care about the dignity of others. It is simply the celebration of outright degeneracy, self-centred, self-gratifying lusts, and cruelty. It despises anything who opposes its degeneracy and self-centred lusts, manifesting in its inherent cruelty and mercilessness. It will do anything to oppress and suppress those who oppose their wickedness. It disregards the weak, needy and the poor, and tramples them under foot, and thinking nothing of it. 

 

The Book of Wisdom 2:1-23 describes the evil person, as opposed to one who is simply ignorant:

 

For the ungodly said, reasoning with themselves, but not aright, Our life is short and tedious, and in the death of a man there is no remedy: neither was there any man known to have returned from the grave.

For we are born at all adventure: and we shall be hereafter as though we had never been: for the breath in our nostrils is as smoke, and a little spark in the moving of our heart:

Which being extinguished, our body shall be turned into ashes, and our spirit shall vanish as the soft air,

And our name shall be forgotten in time, and no man shall have our works in remembrance, and our life shall pass away as the trace of a cloud, and shall be dispersed as a mist, that is driven away with the beams of the sun, and overcome with the heat thereof.

For our time is a very shadow that passeth away; and after our end there is no returning: for it is fast sealed, so that no man cometh again.

Come on therefore, let us enjoy the good things that are present: and let us speedily use the creatures like as in youth.

Let us fill ourselves with costly wine and ointments: and let no flower of the spring pass by us:

Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds, before they be withered:

Let none of us go without his part of our voluptuousness: let us leave tokens of our joyfulness in every place: for this is our portion, and our lot is this.

Let us oppress the poor righteous man, let us not spare the widow, nor reverence the ancient gray hairs of the aged.

Let our strength be the law of justice: for that which is feeble is found to be nothing worth.

Therefore let us lie in wait for the righteous; because he is not for our turn, and he is clean contrary to our doings: he upbraideth us with our offending the law, and objecteth to our infamy the transgressings of our education.

He professeth to have the knowledge of God: and he calleth himself the child of the Lord.

He was made to reprove our thoughts.

He is grievous unto us even to behold: for his life is not like other men’s, his ways are of another fashion.

We are esteemed of him as counterfeits: he abstaineth from our ways as from filthiness: he pronounceth the end of the just to be blessed, and maketh his boast that God is his father.

Let us see if his words be true: and let us prove what shall happen in the end of him.

For if the just man be the son of God, he will help him, and deliver him from the hand of his enemies.

Let us examine him with despitefulness and torture, that we may know his meekness, and prove his patience.

Let us condemn him with a shameful death: for by his own saying he shall be respected.

Such things they did imagine, and were deceived: for their own wickedness hath blinded them.

As for the mysteries of God, they knew them not: neither hoped they for the wages of righteousness, nor discerned a reward for blameless souls.

For God created man to be immortal, and made him to be an image of his own eternity.

The pagan is barbaric, as he oppresses the poor righteous person, the widow and the elderly. Societies that are pagan are well-known for carrying out human sacrifices on the elderly once they reach a certain age, as well as the righteous who oppose their ways. Pagan societies love death, and support all manner of practices that bring about death against the Will of God, such as abortion and euthanasia, but yet oppose putting the wicked to death for his sins as he deserves, such as the homosexual. Where they do put the wicked to death, it is for wicked motives and reasons. 

 

The pagan mindset is that what one can do is what one should do, whether it is right or wrong. To the pagan mindset, the only right and wrong, is what satisfies one lusts of the eyes, lust of the flesh and the pride of life. The love of such lusts leads to blood lust where one seeks to pursue their lusts at no matter what it may cost to others, even if it is their blood. This explains why pagan societies are full of death and human sacrifice is so normal across all pagan societies, including that done under a more 'clean-cut', modern scientific face. Shedding the blood of the innocent is viewed as normal, and treated with utter indifference in pagan societies.

 

Pagan societies are fundamentally tribalistic, defining themselves by their own tribal ways, attitudes, and characteristics, especially their own tribal degeneracies. These degeneracies are what they are so proud of as a society that they look down upon anyone who opposes, disagrees with or even questions their degeneracies. Such societies are the most racist and intolerant, despite often having the face of 'tolerance', by which they really mean tolerant of all manner of wickedness, degeneracy, rebellion and heresy. Their face of apparent tolerance comes by virtue of not being lax about morality, and not in any way because they are genuinely caring and charitable towards others, such as those who are 'foreigners', being people from other cultures or ethnic groups. 

Pagan societies are always racialist and intolerant towards people of other cultures and ethnic groups, particularly those of non-pagan or religious cultures that believe in virtue and morality. The racism of such societies is not evident where prosperous materially, but where hard times comes, the racism flares up and comes to the surface, owing to jealousy towards others, or looking down up others out of pride when comparing themselves to a less well-off group.

Such societies are always inevitably full of pride in being proud of their ways, including the evil ways of their tribe, just because it is of their tribe. Anything that is foreign to their tribe is immediately rejected as evil, just because it is not of their tribe. This is what makes it so difficult to reach out to certain ethnic groups with the Gospel, because of their racial pride, and racial supremacist thinking. 

The spirit of paganism is of degeneracy, rebellion and bloodlust. It is the active hatred against God that knows about God but rejects God, not merely ignorance about God. It is next to impossible to reach out to such people who are so darkened in their minds, and actively hate God and pursue all manner of lust and pride, to the point of celebrating all manner of evil, degeneracy and rebellion, and being so full of pride.