Christianity is (or at least was) the English of the Religious world...
So... you may be familiar with the following quote:
"The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary." - James Davis Nicoll
... I had just realized it could be easily applied to Christianity, especially during its early growth periods, trying to convince the pagans to join them. These were things my religion teachers did not shy away from in their instructions. They explored these points- for instance: Christmas being on December 25th because some Pagan faith had that day as a Sun festival or such, and they wanted to convert them by adopting their holy day. If it wasn't for such things, we'd probably still be celebrating Hannukah like the Jewish faith (along with the rest of their holidays) that Jesus and his Disciples followed so dutifully, even during and after his ministry. Just because they suddenly followed Jesus didn't make them not Jewish anymore, after all.
Most Fundamentalists will say you're lying, though, because they're convinced they are right, without any rational thought or reasoning to back it up. Catholics generally know better, though, because, like me, they were generally taught the facts, not trumped-up religious 'truths' as if they were historical fact.
In any case, yes, Christianity is the English of the Religious world... or at least it was once upon a time, around the Dark Ages and probably a bit before.
Pursuing pagan faiths down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new holy days.
"The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary." - James Davis Nicoll
... I had just realized it could be easily applied to Christianity, especially during its early growth periods, trying to convince the pagans to join them. These were things my religion teachers did not shy away from in their instructions. They explored these points- for instance: Christmas being on December 25th because some Pagan faith had that day as a Sun festival or such, and they wanted to convert them by adopting their holy day. If it wasn't for such things, we'd probably still be celebrating Hannukah like the Jewish faith (along with the rest of their holidays) that Jesus and his Disciples followed so dutifully, even during and after his ministry. Just because they suddenly followed Jesus didn't make them not Jewish anymore, after all.
Most Fundamentalists will say you're lying, though, because they're convinced they are right, without any rational thought or reasoning to back it up. Catholics generally know better, though, because, like me, they were generally taught the facts, not trumped-up religious 'truths' as if they were historical fact.
In any case, yes, Christianity is the English of the Religious world... or at least it was once upon a time, around the Dark Ages and probably a bit before.
Pursuing pagan faiths down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new holy days.