How much of Christianity is based on Paganism?

Is not many of the symbols we have, a sign of ancient and modern human behavior or whatever you want to call it?
We bow for someone higher than ourself, a God, an authority, a person we want to show respect.
We fold our hands or at least hold them together in prayer, in meditation and when we listen to something of importance.
The pagans have figures of their Gods. Don´t we do the same thing as Christians? There are art of God, Jesus and saints. We put up statues of our heroes, what ever kings, dictators or stars and starletts.
We sing hymns, we chant religious chanting, we sign national anthems, we scream our hearts out when we see our idols.
The wish for something higher is there and has always been there and will continue to be there. With something higher I do not only mean a God or Gods. Just look at all the politicians who have become some kind of idols - and did not deserve it.

Do you forget the theme of the topic? the reason you drummed up the scripture was in support of pagan practices in christian worship.

You didn't directly address the point of which denomination. The specific denomination was Roman Catholicism through Constantine. So do you believe that the roman catholics had Gods Divine backing in this matter?
I am not talking purely about idols, I am talking about idolatry, pagan rituals and themes of worship. You say what once was pagan is now christian, Id suggest looking at the actions of the Hebrews on mount Sinai

4 Then he took the gold from them, and he formed it with an engraving tool and made it into a statue of a calf. They began to say: “This is your God, O Israel, who led you up out of the land of Egypt.”
5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. Then Aaron called out: “There is a festival to YHWH tomorrow.”

So they took something distinctly Egyptian, the worship of bulls, and they made it their own, declaring a festival in the name of Yahweh. Gods response?

9 God went on to say to Moses: “I have seen that this is an obstinate* people. 10 So now let me be, and I will exterminate them in my burning anger, and let me make a great nation from you instead.”

are you really so sure that this same God has no qualms about a little pagan ritual or two in our worship today?

If I had to bet my relationship with my God on it, I personally will continue to err on the side of caution.

The arguments in the video seem pretty convincing to me. You certainly can't argue with the astronomical facts. It also seems highly probably to me, given the historic record of successive religions basing themselves on precursors all derived originally from purely Pagan ceremonies.

A fairly accurate discussion of the infusion of pagan customs and practices into nominal christianity may be found in Alexander Hislop's The Two Babylons. It may be read online through various sites.

Talk about a confirmation bias--i bet you just love that old horseshit.

From the Wikipedia article on The Two Babylons, some comments on Hislop's "scholarship:"



Rex used to try to peddle that hooey here, i'm surprised you never chimed in, Neo, if you're so enamored of Hislop.

I said fairly accurate. Let the reader beware.

As far as the "scholars" are concerned. Those embroiled in nominal christianity would have every reason to discredit his work. Reader beware again. IMO, of course.

Adonis and his chums can't have been much good to have let themselves be completely upstaged by a young carpenter from a bunch of mud huts called Nazareth..

I don't give a rat's ass about the catholic church mate, they go their way and I go mine..
As for Pagan practices and rituals, I don't know any Christians who do that stuff. If they did, they wouldn't be Christians..

Are you saying that if you came upon pagan practices, rituals or celebrations, even those now claimed as Christian, you would reject them completely?

If I came upon a group of maidens prancing naked round a maypole under the full moon and they said "Join us, we're celebrating Jesus", I might strip off and join them, but if they said "We're celebrating Selene the Moon Goddess" I'd make an excuse to leave and say "Sorry, I want to get down the chip shop before they close"

You miss the point, same story different characters, that and a useful state religion are what lead to its success.

As for the young carpenter, the jury's out as to whether or not he actually even existed.

Who do atheists think lived here, Mary Poppins?

An interesting response.

So at the bottom of Mount Sinai would you have joined the Calf worship?

You sir do not know, nor do you have any regard for your god.

I am beginning to believe you would have no objection to overpainting a doggie drop and using it as a table centerpiece.

The ancient Israelites had the wacky idea of making a golden calf to worship, but when Moses saw it he smashed it up in disgust and I'd have probably helped him unless it could have been turned into a mechanical bull to amuse the kiddies..

Why would you help him smash it up? Was it not built to honour the God of the Hebrews?

The golden calf was made in honour of assorted gods-
"..after Aaron had made a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel" (Exodus 32:4)
which is why God told Moses to smash it up because it violated the First Commandment-