Traditional religious history preserves a rarely acknowledged
secret that Christianity developed from at least three ancient
roots: a Western structural root derived from Mediterranean Greek
culture, an Eastern spiritual root from Anatolia and Persia, and a
literary Jewish historical root, which masked the other roots and
supported the idea that Christians had taken the place of Jews in
relationship with God by entering a new covenant with Jesus. Each
root contributed something special to the development of
Christianity as follows: Supported by pagan iconography and
rhetoric, the Western root imprinted Christianity with Greek spirit
in a Hellenistic universe. The Eastern root filled the Greek
construct with magic, focused humanity on a divine mission, and
infused popular reverence for goddesses into Christian beliefs
about the Virgin Mary. The literary Jewish root played two
contradictory roles: Jewish scripture served as the reliable
witness that proved Jesus to be both God and savior; and
double-edged moral lessons in the Old Testament explained
catastrophic events in the first century A.D. as divine judgment
against Jews, supporting beliefs by early pagan converts to
Christianity that Romans were good, Jews were bad, and God
abandoned Jews for treacherously murdering Jesus. Two thousand
years ago, Mediterranean cults included practices and beliefs that
modern Christians associate exclusively with Christianity. People
worshipped divine mothers who gave birth to dying and resurrecting
gods on December 25. Saviors miraculously healed faithful followers
and guided them to lead moral lives. Some cults baptized their
followers, some passed their sins and inner demons to pigs, and
some waited for a complete destruction of evil during the imminent
End of Days. Then, as now, people argued whether the end would come
by fire or water and whether many or few souls would be saved.
Numerous symbols and beliefs associated in modern times with
Christianity already existed in pre-Christian Hellenistic cults:
Madonna and child images, angels, God the Father, the cross as a
symbol of life after death, and the gift of eternal life through
the shedding of immortal blood. On temple walls, wise men offered
gifts of incense and gold to newborn gods; and merciful mothers
granted salvation to the poor in spirit who confessed, repented,
and begged forgiveness for their sins. However, Jews generally
rejected all these practices, symbols, and beliefs. Some Jews
believed in physical resurrection, and some did not. Some believed
in eternal life, and some did not. For most Jews, however, a
righteous life required the following of God's laws. If a Jew
sinned against another man, no automatic forgiveness from God was
possible. Forgiveness required acknowledgement of wrongdoing,
restitution, and then forgiveness from the wronged party. Applying
Jewish ethics to problems at the Jerusalem Temple meant recognizing
the corruption within the priesthood, refusing to tolerate the evil
rule of Rome, and giving one's life if necessary to precipitate the
Kingdom of God. Just as God always had responded to the prayers of
suffering Jews in the Bible, he would do so again. Soon he would
send a messiah to deliver Jerusalem from the evil power of Rome and
to cleanse Judea from the polluting practices of pagan cults.
Drawing from both visible and secret roots, Christians freed
themselves from paying for salvation from mystery cults while
preserving the ability to worship a virgin-born hero with all the
trappings of a pagan solar deity. This book explores the roots of
Christianity in seven parts. The first three parts provide an
overview of religious beliefs, practices, and iconography in the
ancient Greek world that influenced Western culture and religion.
The fourth, fifth, and sixth parts describe how the West developed
under Roman influence. Then the seventh part focuses on the life of
Jesus and the emergence of Christian cults in the first century
A.D.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
