2007-05-16 16:08:55 · 24 answers · asked by normalhuman_13 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Nothing new under the sun. There are no new ideas, so they borrowed some and shook the ant farm until it looked like something new.
Osiris is reborn after being dead? Cool. Run with it. Mithra's cult uses blood as a symbol of the covenant between him and his followers? Dig it. Let's switch that to wine, though. Jews are waiting for a messiah? Um, that's our guy, yeah. Totally.
2007-05-16 16:17:30 · answer #1 · answered by Doc Occam 7 · 4⤊ 1⤋
Which bible stories and which pagan customs and how closely related? And isn't it possible that in many of these cases, the pagan customs are influenced by the bible, or the beliefs that would later form the bible, rather than the other way around?
2007-05-16 23:39:39 · answer #2 · answered by Deof Movestofca 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Bible told stories before and during Jesus era. Of course it is closely related to pagan customs. Should the Bible told stories during our era it will be different issues.
2007-05-17 01:01:41 · answer #3 · answered by z_jepoh 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because the bible stories originated in paganism. Paganism came before Christianity. Check out the story of Mithra... can you say Jesus?
It's funny how Christians claim paganism copied christianity when paganism was here LONG before christianity.
2007-05-16 23:19:33 · answer #4 · answered by QaHearts 4 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Why is it that pagan customs are closely related to Bible stories?
But for your answer, maybe the pagans already knew how to relate to God, and worshipped Him as best they could understand Him.
God reveals Himself to all mankind through the creation around us.
2007-05-16 23:16:21 · answer #5 · answered by Bobby Jim 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Consider that the Christian God is all-knowing, and by causing events to happen that are similar to things in other cultures, it allows for easier cultural diffusion, hopefully aiding people on their way to finding God.
If Jesus had done the drum solo of eternal forgiveness, it would not convey the same message as dying for our sins, and it certainly would not make intuitive sense to anyone. God is smarter than all of the marketing executives in the world combined, as well as all of the psychologists, anthropologists, etc.
If God truly desires us, he will try to make our transition as smooth as possible; however, when we become arrogant and think we can "out-think" God, he does not want us in that state, which is probably the issue that you are dealing with personally. This is not to say that we shouldn't use reason and knowledge, but rather that we should know our place in the heirarchy of who has the most power.
2007-05-16 23:21:55 · answer #6 · answered by Solomon's Cry 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is more likely that the pagan customs resulted from the events chronicled in the Bible.
The pagan practices are evidence that the events actually occurred. The events that occurred in the Bible had a huge impact on the world.
2007-05-16 23:16:14 · answer #7 · answered by Kat J 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋
I think of what I tend to call the "Universality of Truth" principle. That across time and culture, you will see certain motifs repeated, because they speak a truth about a reality that really does exist despite cultural re-interpretations of that same thing.
The Christian would hold that while all these cultures will have some access to that truth, it will be in the person of Christ that truth itself will be definitive.
Of course, there will be those who think that a "copycat" thesis is the correct way to approach this phenomenon, and they're fully entitled to that opinion. Suffice it to say, this does not amount to any deductive argument against my earlier remarks, and it would be worthwhile to ask such people why the inclusion of that option amounts to a justifiable invalidation of the Christian view on the matter.
2007-05-16 23:13:40 · answer #8 · answered by Daniel 3 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Sorry to burst your bubble, as I am a scholar of religious philosophies, but "paganism" isn't as "old" as the faith given by the ancient hebrews and this religion isn't the faith of the beginning. Egypt's faith. Pagan beliefs are only around 2600 years old and much of them are confused beliefs relating to "our" faith in "Atum/Amen-Ra." Paganism is like the hippies of the 60's, it took a piece of faith from another much older one and forgot the rest. Problem IS the REST is more important than just a small "piece..........."
2007-05-16 23:22:21 · answer #9 · answered by Theban 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
The answer to that is so obvious as to be painful to many Christians. Denial ain't just a river in Egypt, kids.
2007-05-16 23:15:34 · answer #10 · answered by Huddy 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋