Moral values derived from paganism

  • Thread starter Thread starter unitive_mystic
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
U

unitive_mystic

Guest
Why do pagans claim the moral values of Christianity derived from paganism?
They also claim the family values were also stolen from them.
 
Because many cultures developed many overlapping ideas despite being isolated from each other. Every religion claims to be the ultimate source for such things. I’m sure plenty of Hindus wonder why those Christians think they invented it all.
 
Which pagans? There are lots of pagan religions not just one. Did whoever told you this give you examples of what they mean?
 
Last edited:
I think it may be a matter of knowing some of the truth rather the whole of it.
 
Then they are delusional since they were thousands of miles away from any of the inhabitants of the middle east, including the early Christians and jews. Some people just talk nonsense and there is no good reason to pay them any attention.
 
Christianity was well developed by the time it hit northern europe; the norse “pagans’” are delusional.

Aristotle and some of the Roman philosophers certainly used their God-given reason to reach certain parts of Natural Law, see St. Thomas Aquinas in particular on on Aristotle.

hawk
 
This theme is my husbands No1 anger topic (he´s a migration era focused historian and worked on the north european christianization) 😃
In short what he said to this:
-the “pagan values” are widely unnown for us, as those cultures have not documentated religious beliefs and social practices.
-sources are either from foreigners (roman, arab) and therefore to be taken with a grain of salt or from later periods (the scaldic poetry as the edda) in which christianity and pagan beliefs were coexistent.
-From the later mixed or early christianized era those neo pagans usually take their “sources” for a pagan value system.
…Some basic values like “be friendly to guests, don´t kill without a reason and care for the elders” are to be ffind in most cultures. But to say that the christian concept of forgivness for example, or the view on marriage and the saints is from pagan origin is simply wrong.
 
Reason is common to all humanity and the natural law is written into our very nature. It makes sense that there are many similarities. But, because of original sin, they are also deviations. Christians acknowledge and accept truth no matter who says it.
 
One of the best examples of conversions in the bible is the Centurian who became a believer, from being a Pagan.
 
Jesus said, at one point in the gospel, “even the pagans do as much”. It might have been in reference to loving those who love them back? And Jesus founded the sacraments.
 
Pagan values are derived from the natural law. They just don’t realize Christian values, every good and true, come from the same place!
 
Morality is just what we use to describe the actions of evolved moral agents. Agents that have evolved social moral tendencies of fairness, empathy, loyalty, etc. How they express those moral tendencies of a sense of fairness, empathy, loyalties, etc. is what we label as “acting morally” or “demonstrating moral values”. Religions are just a particular filter through which people are taught how to express these moral tenancies of fairness, empathy, compassion, etc. Whether or not their “acting morally” is the correct solution to the problem is a different matter all together. But humans and other creatures have evolved the capacity to be moral agents; so have higher primates and other social creatures like elephants, dolphins, etc.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top