We are told that before Christianity over 2,000 years ago -?

Question

That we humans were barbaric towards one another. And that it was Christianity that changed the way we behaved towards one our fellow human beings.

Now my question is how do we know that humans were barbarions and that Christianity supposedly changed all that. And BC what were peoples beliefs and religions...who did we worship, were we all pagans?

Please note: This question is not meant to cause offence in any way shape or form.

Were there other religions BC?

Just to set things I was not making any reference to the bible.

Answer 1

Pagans do worship Gods, it Athiests who dont

Everyone called each other Barbarians it seemed to be a generic term for anyone who wasnt of the same belief as you

Answer 2

Depends where you lived. In the Palestine region the population were Jewish. In that case, there was probably less barbarity than in many places, after all, the Jews set up and maintained the most sophisticated legal system in the then known world. In other parts, various religions held sway, some barbaric (by our standards) and some, very much like modern religions. Mithraism for example was a monothestic religion worshipping Mithras who, strangely enough, was born in a stable at mid-winter and whose birth was witnessed by 3 wise men. (now, where have I heard that before). So, in many areas, people were no more barbaric than today. Like "certain religions" today, some believed that anyone who didn't agree with them should be killed - even if that involved total genocide.
Anyway, Jews were certainly NOT pagans (nor were the followers of the other monothestic religions of the time).
2 interesting definitions of pagan are:
1. heathen: a person who does not acknowledge your god
2. a person who follows a polytheistic or pre-Christian religion (not a Christian or Muslim or Jew).

Well, the muslims (mohommedans) didn't exist at the time however, similar theocratic religious groups did exist, such groups as the Philistines, the Caananites, the Amalekites. Interesting to note, God, in the Bible, gave specific instructions about their annihilation. So much for genocide and barbarians.
Face facts, there have always been barbarians and, still are. That's why religions are so often at each others throats and why it will take a Messiah to bring about world peace. It's beyond the power of any normal human.

Answer 3

Before Christianity, there were a lot of religions: not just the Roman religion, and many branches of Paganism, but also Judaism (Jesus himself was Jewish. If you look in the Bible, he is taken to Jerusalem at the age of twelve to celebrate the Passover (Luke, 2:41-46)).
To say that Christianity stopped people from being barbarians, though, is an odd claim. Christianity was not a main-stream religion as such for many years after its inception: in fact, the Roman Empire took the step of making it illegal, because it was seen as such a threat to the status quo. Anyway, human nature is in all likelyhood pretty much the same as it was two thousand, or three thousand, or even four thousand years ago, to judge by the myths and legends that have been passed down (you can tell a lot about people from the stories they tell...). There are good people in the world, and there are bad people too. The qualities of "faith, hope and love" (I Corinthians, 13:13) were probably just as much in evidence then as now, although it's always difficult to tell what the past was like when you didn't live in it.
In all likelyhood, the people telling you that before Christianity people were barbarians, and that now we're all lovely and civilised, are Christian themselves, yes? I would simply point to the atrocities of the Crusades, and to the sectarian violence in Ireland. Is it ever justifiable to kill another human being? But it's the winners that write the history books, and Christianity, as a main-stream religion (in Britain, for hundreds of years, the ONLY religion.), is free to put a gloss on its own, at times rather nasty past.
Some people are good, and some people... at the very least, adhere to a different moral code from those we see as "good". Some of the "good" people are Christian, and some of the "bad" people too. As I said. Human nature never really changes.
Rant over.

Answer 4

It's a myth. Christianity is an offshoot of Judaism so therefore for starters, Judaism predates Christianity. Judaism, however, first started to take roots in Egypt and many egyptologists have commented on the simillarities between the 10 Commandments and the Negative Confessions of the Ancient Egyptians.

There are many religions that predate Christianity like Hinduism, Mithras, Druidism etc. Paganism has become an umbella term used to refer to another person's religion.

Answer 5

There were many religions before Christianity. It is the youngest religion and the ideas in it were not very original. The teachings of Christ were strongly reflective of the teaching of the Buddha which were written over 500 years before Jesus walked the earth. The teachings of the Buddha were influenced and predated by Hinduism which is the oldest surviving religion on earth. The other pagan religions that existed were largely made up of peaceful people that were wiped out by violent Christians.

The pagan religions the Bible speak of are from the Greek and Roman mythologies, as well as the Egyptians. These groups were brutal at times but this was necessary for survival in the violent climate of the area they lived. Most later became the dominant Christian group and were never different after converting than they were before in terms of violence.

The scope of the Bible was very narrow and only applies if you restrict it to the historical context of the lands in which it was written. Otherwise it makes it look like God had a blind eye to most of the world.

Answer 6

Most reference books list Hinduism as the oldest world religion. This is probably because Hinduism has the oldest "recorded" roots, from Dravidianism. All societies have roots in earth worship or "animism", that is believing spirits are in innate objects like rocks, flowers etc. Most societies believed in Shaminism and other forms of the like.

The Barbaric behaviour talked about in Christianity refers to what was happening in that corner of the world, but there was not much connection to many other places, so as a fact is a little ridiculous in my opinion. To be honest if you look at the reality of the world, I don't think that it has changed much. I think there has been many acts; like the genocides in the last 60 years across the world, that don't show a change in human behaviour. Barbarianism is still alive and well.

Answer 7

I don't think much have changed at all and what those crusaders did... wasn't that barbaric?

Before Christianity (and still after) there were many different religions. In the Mediterranean where Christianity started out there were both Roman and Greek divinities worshiped. (We mostly know them as fairy tales though. Hercules?) There was also Jews of course and several pagan beliefs.

Christianity has actually borrowed parts from the religions that was established when Christianity was still in its cradle.

Answer 8

This is a question about ethics, how people should treat each other ideally. All societies through history, before and after Christianity have had codes of ethics.

Many of these codes of ethics are based on principles of 'reciprocity.' This is essentially the 'Golden Rule' or "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." However not all societies conform to western expectations. For instance, the Easter Islanders considered it ethical to steal from others. In ancient Sparta, infanticide was sanctioned. The definition of marriage has varied widely. In the old testament, polygamy was considered 'traditional marriage,' whereas today it would be considered a transgression of the law.

Most of the laws which Christians hold sacred were originally developed by the Jewish people. These laws were in turn part of an evolution of legality from the Babylonians, e.g. the code of Hammurabi. So Christians have no monopoly on ethics, nor did they originate the concept.

Answer 9

never mind 2,000 yrs ago humans are barbaric towards each other now. Christianity nor any other religion has not made any difference, if anything its properly made thing worse,god is supposed to be love but the things that go on in this world sounds like the devil to me

Answer 10

First, there was no "jeebus", it's a mythical figure.

Second, there were civilized societies all over the Earth for four thousand years before the cult of christianity reared its ugly head.

Third, the fruits of christianity - the Crusades, the Inquisition, the "burning times", the enslavement of blacks, Nazism, among many other events - have been the most murderous and vile in all of human history.

The sum total of murders committed in the name of communism and all other religions combined (even on a percentage basis) can't equal the abomination that is christ-inanity.


.

Answer 11

I've been a Christian almost my whole life, but I've never heard that before. And I read, a lot.

Yeah, the ancient world is a barbaric place, but I wouldn't say it stopped in 30 AD around when Christ was resurrected. There is still a battle between Good and Evil. There are good and bad people on both sides of the issue. A lot of people who claim to be Good are Evil, but I've never heard anyone claim to be evil unless it were true.

Some people are good before they become Christians. Some people become Christians, but don't become good. Some were downright evil before they became Christians, and are now just mildly bearable, and still worse than some nice non-Christians.

Christians aren't better, just forgiven. That means that they SHOULD be better, but we're lazy Americans (ok, the guys I know) and can't help ourselves for being stupid. That's why we need forgiveness in the first place.