If the Catholic Church is pagan isn't the New Testament a pagan book?

Question

I am Catholic so please do not take this as anti-Catholicism. I am sick of being called pagan by people quoting the New Testament that our kind Bishops graciously canonized for them.

Answer 1

I don't agree with the catholic religion I am pentecostal but I don't criticize anyone who is catholic.
I believe we both meet the same goal as far as worshipping God
just because someone does it differently than I doesn't make it wrong

Answer 2

I have no longer heard of the Catholic church being known as Pagan however I bet if persons do hurl that accusation it's typically situated at the celebrations like Christmas coinciding with the date of pagan fairs and so on. Where do fundamentalists get the proposal that the title of a different set of ideals ie Paganism is an insult? Probably from this verse: Matthew 6:32 For the pagans run in any case those matters, and your heavenly Father is aware of that you want them. The time period Pagan is translated Heathen or Gentile in different translations. Hence to a couple the time period Pagan not refers to a particular faith however a capture all word to consult any individual they don't remember one in all their possess. Oh a different phrase that I wish will aid fundamentalists and catholics realize each and every different a bit greater: Fundamentalists believe as passionate approximately the inerrancy in their bible as catholics believe approximately the infalibility of the pope.

Answer 3

Good question. Original catholic-orthodox writers wrote the New Testament, and the original Church weeded out the fallible books to determine the New Testament canon.

Wikipedia reports: The African Synod of Hippo, in 393, approved the New Testament, as it stands today, together with the Septuagint books, a decision that was repeated by Councils of Carthage in 397 and 419.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_canon

Since fundamentalists reject the Church as pagan, they should be more careful about the writings, which are filled with dangerous Catholic ideas.

For example, Matthew 16:18 shows that Jesus appointed Peter as leader of the original Church.

John 3:5 shows that we must be born again in baptism to be saved, and Mark 16:16 quotes Jesus: "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."

John 6 repeatedly and shamelessly teaches us that we are to eat the Bread of Life, which is literally the body of Christ.

Cheers,
Bruce

Answer 4

The Catholic Church isn't Pagan but they did incorporate many Pagan holidays and celebrations so that they could introduce themselves to the Pagans and convert them.

The question of paganism in Christianity is a thorny one. Protestant reformers have long been troubled with it. The Puritans (one of the more extreme Protestant sects) would not even celebrate the birth and death of Christ during Christmas and Easter because of it's pagan roots.

But Paganism can also be found in the Old Testament too. There is reason why Hanukkah is celebrated during the new moon just after the solstice even though the victory Maccabees and retaking of Jerusalem most likely happened in the fall and not the winter.

Paganism as long been suppressed but hasn't gone away. There are way too many differences between Catholics and Pagans to say they are alike.

Answer 5

Dont worry about it. I used to live in the subarbs and the nearby Catholic church never even had confessions, no one had to kneel-at all, and EVERYONE took the eucharist, oh and the chior director was gay, the preist was obsenely greasy and fat and obviously gay himself and his ego was oozing out of his pores and I wouldnt even go if my parents wanted to go to church there instead of driving 20 min into the city for real mass. Ive learned to just worry about your own faith, not what anyone thinks of it, and you should be fine. Think about the ppl calling you pagan.....yea see, they are all complete morons :)

Last time I checked...pretty much everyone celebrates Christmas and Easter...so how does that make us Pagan?

It is true though, in order to convert the pagans, they lat them still celebrate their holidays but changed it to celebrating it about Jesus or whatever...I dont worry about it really, I dont even like Christmas, I just like the season of it. As far as celebrating it as Jesus birthday, I find praying the rosary and contemplating the mysteries is better than me wondering if im getting Ugg boots and a new surfboard for Christmas...should I visit my family back home or have them spend the money on a gift card to Ikea...I think materialistic is the word, not pagan

Answer 6

The Catholic church is not pagan. The status of the Catholic church has no effect on the status of the Bible. First the Bible has never been solely in the possession of the RCC. Secondly, and I am not saying this is the case with Catholics, God can and has used heathens and unbelievers to do His will.

Answer 7

Pagan celebrations and symbols were adopted into Christianity over the course of many centuries, beginning with the Nicean council in the 4th century.

The NT books all predate the Nicean council, so the NT would not entirely be considered Pagan - however the writings of Paul would be considered as pagan/idolatrous to any who consider that God is ONE without partner, as Paul was the first to teach the divinity of Jesus, peace be upon him. Likewise, the Book of Revelation is a book filled with pagan and idolatrous symbols and teachings, and the author is not considered by historians to be the same John who was a true desciple of Jesus, pbuh.

The Quran confirms that the Gospel given to Jesus was an authentic (monotheistic) book, but does not confirm any other book in the NT. Unfortunately, we cannot have confirmation of what parts of the 4 different Gospels are true to the teachings of Jesus, as there are some conflicting points as well as other insertions which are not attributable to the words of Jesus, pbuh.

The synoptic gospels are the ones that support each other and agree with each other in their descriptions of Jesus pbuh ministry, his manners, teachings, etc - these are Matthew, Mark and Luke. The Gospel of John is NOT a synoptic gospel.

Not that the opinion of Muslims are important for Christians, but since in Islam we accept all previous prophets and books, the synoptic gospels would be considered the closest to the the authentic, monotheistic teachings of Jesus, peace be upon him - and therefore not pagan. However we cannot verify their originality, nor their authenticity, so Muslims approach these books with caution and do not accept every verse as authenticated fact - especially if it contradicts the authentic & original, unaltered verses of the Quran.

Answer 8

The Catholic church isn't Pagan, but a lot of their symbology has Pagan roots.

Answer 9

I believe that the Pagan accusations against Catholicism are the NON Biblical practices that are part of the RCC

Answer 10

Christians are not pagan. They borrowed a few pagan traditions and even rituals, but that's all