Go Back   Religion Board > Individual Religions > Christianity


Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools
  #1 (permalink)  
Old 07-16-2010, 11:11 AM
Josh G's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,592
Default Is it true that Christianity sprang from Jewish and Pagan beliefs?

Didn't Catholocism originate in Rome? Before Catholocism Rome was a place that worshiped gods and goddesses such as Jupiter/Zeus. They controlled a part of Jerusalem at a point in history, the land in which the Jews resided.

If it is true, which of Christianity's celebrations can be considered Pagan?
Actually custom, just to correct one small little detail in your answer:

According to scholars, Judaism sprang from the time period in which the Hebrews were slaves and the Pharoah was the King and his word was law. There was one Pharoah called Ahkenhaten who decreed that everyone would convert from believing in many gods to monotheism. From this, other Pharaohs continued to believe in Polytheism while the Hebrews kept their belief in one God.
Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
  #2 (permalink)  
Old 07-18-2010, 11:11 AM
Layla Noor's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,628
Duh!!! Lol
Reply With Quote
  #3 (permalink)  
Old 07-20-2010, 11:11 AM
john z's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,642
historically......if your read the Catholic gospel of Feb 26, 2006.....it hits on the relationship of the Jewish religion and the beginning of Catholism....
Reply With Quote
  #4 (permalink)  
Old 07-23-2010, 11:11 AM
IslandFun's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,478
Christianity originated in Rome about 2000 years ago. It started out as a fringe religion (Nero, for example, blamed the Christians whenever he needed a scapegoat), and after that... my class hasn't gotten that far yet, but obviously it became more mainstream. It's strongly related to Judaism, in that the basic idea of Christianity is that the Jews were (and still are) waiting for an expected messiah whereas the Christians say he already came. Obviously it's a bit more complex than that, but that's the original idea.

Many Christian holidays were 'designed' to make the religion more pallet able to the Pegan population. For example, Christmas is in December not because this is when Jesus was really born, but because it matches up with the Pagan celebration of the winter solstice. Also the idea of the Christmas tree comes from a Pagan tradition. There aren't any major Christian holidays as that I would are purely Pagan, but most have some Pagan influence in how they are celebrated.
Reply With Quote
  #5 (permalink)  
Old 07-25-2010, 11:11 AM
Peacebone's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,651
I think, "found a home among people who shared those beliefs is a more accurate explanation for the development of Christianity. I am assuming Greeks and Barbarians are happy enough with the term Pagan, you could use the term Gentiles instead, then it becomes a circular argument that adds very little to the under sting of religion.
Like asking; it it true that all people live in New York or outside New York.
Reply With Quote
  #6 (permalink)  
Old 07-30-2010, 11:11 AM
Terry's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,656
Oeganized Christianity, yes, however true Christianity has nothing to do with current buildings where they practice pagan rituals and show their rear ends
Reply With Quote
  #7 (permalink)  
Old 08-04-2010, 11:11 AM
Pongo's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,566
Catholicism is pagan in nature... in that it mixes what is holy with the profane.

However, real Christianity is the fulfillment of the Old Covenant (Judaism). Real Christianity has nothing to do with paganism.

Addition:
Real Christianity came from Zion.
Reply With Quote
  #8 (permalink)  
Old 08-07-2010, 11:11 AM
Giriraj b's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,606
Jewish beliefs Yes, Pagan beliefs no way as far as genuine Christianity is concerned.
Reply With Quote
  #9 (permalink)  
Old 08-10-2010, 11:11 AM
Chris's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,571
Take it back a step, and you'll get a fuller answer.

Judaism sprang out of a time and place where people had many gods, but the belief of this small group was that all the divine action in the world was not the result of MANY gods, but of one god. However, the people wanted to know how to worship one god. In the end, they worshiped the way they had learned to, through sacrifices of animals and men. It wasn't until later that this practice ended.

See how one religion grew out of another, and how their practices changed over time?

Christianity was founded by a small group of Jews, who had learned from a Jew, in Israel - land of the Jews - under occupation by a pagan Roman army. As Christianity grew more and more distant from Judaism, their rituals adopted a more Roman flavor. So many of the Christian symbols (especially in the Roman Catholic Church) are stolen from other religions.

Notable examples:
-Baptism was a Jewish ritual at the end of a period of guilt or mourning.
-Ordaining ministers is common to most religions.
-Catholic priests still wear colored robes today because it was a law in the Roman Empire.
-The altar is stolen from Judaism, which stole the idea from pagan worship. Altars were originally used for the sacrifice of animals.
-The trinity (three persons, one god) is held by Christians, but it was a Greek pagan philosopher who first theorized that God must have three images (mind, thought, and self-reflection).

There's more, but they'll get you started. It would be more accurate more often to say that our PRACTICES came from other religions, but our beliefs were certainly influenced by the customs of the day.
Reply With Quote
  #10 (permalink)  
Old 08-15-2010, 11:11 AM
MARIA R's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,615
Christians are Christians
Jews are Jews
Pagans,thank God Almighty,are just pagans

There are absolutely no similarities just absolute total differences in every way.
Reply With Quote
  #11 (permalink)  
Old 08-17-2010, 11:11 AM
forsonclan03@yahoo.com's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,657
when Christians took over Rome they add so pagan beliefs to threes so the pagans would have an easier conversion. so there is a lot of pagan influenza in their rituals and placing of holidays, like Christmas (which should be in may or around then).
Reply With Quote
  #12 (permalink)  
Old 08-19-2010, 11:11 AM
marlasobbing's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,626
Show me one god-man in history who was not born of a virgin, who didn't perform miracles, who was not a son of god, who didn't save the world, and who was not crucified. But all those older gods are counterfeits, and Jesus is the authentic one, right? Give me a break.
Reply With Quote
  #13 (permalink)  
Old 08-22-2010, 11:11 AM
thunder_baby04's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,567
All religions on the earth came from pagan religions and can be traced back to them. Through the holidays and rituals it's quite easy to trace them back.
Reply With Quote
  #14 (permalink)  
Old 08-23-2010, 11:11 AM
Gardenia's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,597
yes it is true Christianity sprang from Jewish and Pagan beliefs.
Reply With Quote
  #15 (permalink)  
Old 08-24-2010, 11:11 AM
Hilda Snaglan Rules!!!'s Avatar
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,584
"Is it true that Christianity sprang from Jewish and Pagan beliefs?"

Yes. Christianity originated as a heretical Jewish sect, which was then later influenced by some specific Pagan Mystery religions - including but not limited to the Mithraic, Orphic, and Osirian Cults.

"Didn't Catholocism originate in Rome? Before Catholocism Rome was a place that worshiped gods and goddesses such as Jupiter/Zeus. "

Yes. While some would argue that Catholicism as we properly understand it today doesn't begin until the Council of Nicea, what one could call a pro to-Catholicism began after the Edict of Milan. Rome's transition, however, from its native worship to Christian worship was not sudden or neat. It was a gradual and messy process which spanned several centuries. By the time the Edict of Milan was issued, Christianity - in some fashion or another - was already the predominant religion amongst the masses.

"They controlled a part of Jerusalem at a point in history, the land in which the Jews resided."

Yes. The Roman Empire - and the Macedonian Empire before them - at one time controlled most of the Near East and parts of Northern Africa, including modern-day Israel and Palestine.

"If it is true, which of Christianity's celebrations can be considered Pagan?"

At this point in the game, the Pagan-Nessa is really in the eye of the beholder. There are secular elements in Christian holiday celebrations which are clearly Pagan survivals (tree decorating & gift exchange at Christmas; egg decorating and hunting & 'magical' bunnies who bring presents at Easter, etc), and you can make some connections between the mythology of the Christian story of a dying-and-rising God to the some of the Mystery Cults I mentioned previously.

But you need to keep in mind that the term Pagan is still largely defined in negative terms, meaning, that Pagans are those who aren't of an Abrahamic faith. And since there's nothing new under the sun and everything has to come from somewhere ... Yes, at some point in time each of the Abrahamic faiths ultimately derive from something non-Abrahamic: Even Judaism was at one point in time a polytheistic religion which did not adhere to Abraham's vision of a single God.

However, the passage of time creates distance between the Abrahamic religions and their predecessors such that they become their own thing. In this way, it doesn't really matter if I can point out similarities between Catholic Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve and Mithraic Solstice Celebrations. Catholicism is Catholicism and Mithraism is Mithraism. They're two separate entities now. Much like although you and your cousin have an ancestor in common, you are not the same person.

"According to scholars, Judaism sprang from the time period in which the Hebrews were slaves and the Pharoah was the King and his word was law. There was one Pharoah called Ahkenhaten who decreed that everyone would convert from believing in many gods to monotheism. From this, other pharoahs continued to believe in Polytheism while the Hebrews kept their belief in one God."

Although this is a popular theory, I don't see this as the only source of inspiration for Abrahamic Judaism. The Jews also spent a good deal of time in Akkadia, where they encountered a God called El - a minor Deity who was seen by at least some of His followers to be "at One with All." Such an encounter would certainly pave the way from hard polytheism to soft polytheism/monism. This sets the stage for an easy adaptation of Ankhenaten's example of hard monotheism into Judaism, all it needs is a visionary like Abraham to catalyze the reaction, and voila.

The sources I cite below really only scratch the surface of this fascinating subject. If you are truly interested in this topic, I recommend reading those materials and then reading the source materials cited by them. And then the source material cited by the source material. I guarantee it will keep you busy for at least a decade.
Reply With Quote
  #16 (permalink)  
Old 08-27-2010, 11:11 AM
MaryAnne's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,646
I am so happy to be Pagan.

================

Yes, many of the answers here are correct regarding Paganism and the dates of the holidays that are used in Christianity are in reality Pagan Sabbats.
Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
is true Christianity dependent on suffering for ones' Christian beliefs? allie_web89 Christianity 5 06-27-2009 04:38 AM
Is Roman Catholicism a pagan religion? Or is it true Christianity? Or is it neither o Pagan Earthgirl Roman Catholicism 16 05-31-2009 10:41 AM
How many pagan ideas are found in Christianity? Jessica Christianity 16 05-14-2009 10:29 AM
history shows christianity is all pagan even the names god jesus and its holidays? David L Christianity 4 01-25-2009 07:01 AM
What is the proof that the Baha'i Faith has that their beliefs are true? Mad_Girl Baha'i Faith 4 11-30-2008 08:45 AM

 
Forum Stats
Members: 14,010
Threads: 50,396
Posts: 543,312
Total Online: 56

Newest Member: telson7

Latest Threads

Advertisement