i am a christian woman and i have a question?

Question

i am australian and i have travelled to many 3rd world countries, and let me tell you what i understand about their form of christianity

most black south africans belong to the zcc church and its linked to a lot of african tribal rituals such as voodoo

lebanese and syrian christians belong to the maronite church and its linked to ancesstor worship. i went to their churches and even saw the bones of their people preserved in boxes

christianity on the subcontinent is mixed with hindu buddhist and islamic rights

latin american christianity is mixed with ancient maya practices

why do you think this has happened?

Answer 1

this has happened even in America where most Christian practices are closely linked to paganism. It is because we have a terrible tendency to reject the truths of God for the traditions of man. We are warned of this so many times in the God's word.
Most "Christians" have completey rejected the Old Testament, rejected the perfect instruction of God, hung on to the 'old man' and pagan rituals and traditions rather than dying to self, completely giving up the things offered to false gods and walking in the perfect instruction of God.*And just to note- the Catholic church is one of the MOST deeply rooted in paganism.

Answer 2

If you take a look at Christian history, you will find that the blending of native cultural practices with Christian practices was, and given what you have said here, still is, one of the best means of converting an indigenous population. Example?

When early Christians converted Europe, they blended their pagan practices with Christian belief and practice.

Yule became Christmas.

Ostara became Easter.

Samhain became The Day of the Dead, closely followed by All Saints Day.

Imbolc became Candlemass.

Even pagan Gods and Goddesses were incorporated into Christianity in the form of saints. A classic example of that was the Great Mother Goddess of Ireland known as, Bridget. The people absolutely refused to give her up so the early church canonized her and created Saint Bridget.

So, to answer your question? "Why do you think this has happened?" For exactly the same reason it happened before. It has proven to be a very successful conversion technique. And once converted, you have power over the people.

Answer 3

I not going to give all the Bible verses involved, being a Christian you can read it and find what I say. Mostly in the Old Testament we see that God warns His people about interacting with other religions. The reason is; we tend to incorporate other Beliefs into our own. Example; "God said to Meditate on His word, Hindus use a Mantra to meditate, let's use this too"! As you read through the Old Testament you will actually read where certain Israeli Kings married foreign women and utilized their religion to accommodate their beliefs. A wrong thing to do, but, it happens. OK, you talked me into a few verses; 1 Kings 11:1-13 should give you an idea of what I am saying.
So, to answer your question, it happens because their religion was there first, and they incorporated Christianity into their own instead of making a total commitment to Christianity as a whole.

Answer 4

People have always come to know and love the one, true God in the context of their own culture and customs.

Acceptance of Christ doesn't automatically mean that all the old ways will be swept aside. The process can take generations. Consider the problem the Israelites had with people worshipping false gods, throughout most of their history.

When people are truly faithful and committed to God, they eventually recognize more and more of his truth, and ties to the old ways begin to disintegrate.

There is no 100% pure Christian "culture" to be found anywhere in the world.

You can be sure that the 31000 different Christian denominations reflect the cultural diversity and practices of their congregations as well ... and some of them were and are, not very "Christian" at all.

Answer 5

Because it's hard to change someone's beliefs overnight. These are cultures very different from ours and while they have adapted some new ideas, they still cling to their old ones. Just like if a Buddist missionary came here and told you your religion is wrong and you need to totally convert, you would tell him to go away. These are very personal things and people don't just believe everything other people say. Just because they're Christians doesn't make them right, nobody will know who's really right for sure until either they die or the world ends. It doesn't really matter what you believe in, just that you have faith in something and lead a good life that doesn't involve harming or screwing over other people.

Answer 6

First I will disagree that "most" south africans belong since I know of catholic, methodist, penticostal, and more.
Our own Religious Order has its largest groups in Africa.

While they do use trbal dress and some customs, the message of Christianity is there clear.

But Christianity has often allowed for local customs to be included into thier outward worship.

Same done in Mexico and with the American Indians even in Americas

Answer 7

You must be talking about Roman Catholic Churches. In latin america they have done this. There is also the debate that goes on that Roman Catholics are not christians because of the things you reported..
The Churches in latin america that I know are not involved in this type of thing and are mostly pentecostal or baptist.. no saints, no virgin statues, no idols, no bones, no mayan idols.

A church that does the things you mentioned can be scratched off of the list of christian. These things are not allowed in christianity and you can call yourself whatever name you want the the important thing is Not that you condsider yourself a christian, but does God consider you as a Christian.

Answer 8

ALL religious expression is from God. Any ritual practices or customs that predate the conversion of a people to Christianity have intrinsic value to those people, both as a link to their heritage and as an ongoing expression of their new faith.

Don't worry about it. I suspect that if you check out your rituals you'll find a lot of pagan and heathen practices.

Do you celebrate Christmas? Does that celebration include any of the following: mistletoe, holly, Christmas tree, candles, special foods? If so, then you're incorporating items and rituals which predate Christianity, sometimes by several thousand years.

Do you celebrate Easter? Does that celebration include any of the following: eggs, bunnies, chickies, new clothing, housecleaning, special foods? Again, if so, then you're incorporating rituals and practices that predate Christianity.

Same goes for your order of worship. Unless you belong to some splinter cult, the odds are you do the following: pray, sing, listen to a reading of Scripture, listen to a sermon based on that reading, sing, pray and leave. There may or may not be a communion service as different denominations celebrate that ritual with differing frequency. All of the above except the communion service predate Christianity. They are exact relicas of the order of service for a Jewish synagogue.

Give it a rest, get a life and worry about YOUR standing with the Lord. Remember, Jesus said, "Cast out the beam from thine own eye before thou seekest to cast out the splinter from thy brother's."

Answer 9

Simple- there is over 3000 denominations of the Christian religion. People are always wanting something different than from the original so they start their own church and have their own rules. The Catholic church is the only Christian church that still does and believes what St. Peter started.

Answer 10

It is the only way the church could get people to convert, and support the church, financially, as much they they possibly could....keep your old ways, and add ours in with them.

One story I find of great interest is this:

The church was trying to get the people of Ephesus, Turkey, to convert. But, the Roman populous would not give up their beloved goddess, Diana. (Artemis to the Greeks). So, tho Mary, mother of Jesus, had hardly been mentioned in the Bible, they made her a very important person-a goddess like figure-so that with time they could move Diana out and Mary in, and the people accept the Church of Mary, and the rest of their Christian beliefs.

This is how Mary became of any importance in the Catholic church----something thought up to get followers.