A
Azazelle
Guest
Alright, I’m writing this because I saw a few ‘anit-islam’ thread on this page (well, naturally I think) and I was mostly bugged by one argument: there are people out there stating that Islam is satanic because the crescent is the symbol of an old oriental mood goddess.
I don’t know if that’s true, but even if it is, I’d like to say that why yes Christianity used a whole lot of pagan stuff, too.
For example Easter: HUGEST Christian holiday ever, and named after the Germanic goddess of spring and fertility: Ostara. (in Germany, it’s easier to see, as Easter = ‘Ostern’ ) and not just that. Easter bunnies? old pagan symbol of fertility. Eggs? Old pagan symbol of rebirth and fertility again.
Same thing with Christmas. Yes, Christmas. the date of Christmas, the 25th of December used to be the holy day of Natalis Solis Invictus (for everyone not knowing Latin: ‘birth of the invincible sun’) which was a holiday devoted to all the sun gods and goddesses out there. You have to admit that the date is just about perfectly set of the birth of Christ because the going-to-be Christians already celebrated the return of light/end of winter on this day. Christian mission couldn’t have picked it any better.
another - if smaller - example would be all hollows eve. The day is set one day before the classical date of Samhain, the day in the Germanic calendar when the borders between netherworld and our world would be the most blurred. And when we today light candles on the cemeteries and pray rosaries there are some astonishing parallels between ancient ‘pacifying of the ancestor spirits’.
I’m fully aware that most people will probably not like to hear those things.
But I’d still like to make my point: religions don’t evolve out of nowhere, without external influences. that fact that Islam might have picked the crescent from an ancient pagan goddess should make everyone forget that Christianity picked a whole lot of stuff up along it’s way, too.
It should be about the message, not the package.
I don’t know if that’s true, but even if it is, I’d like to say that why yes Christianity used a whole lot of pagan stuff, too.
For example Easter: HUGEST Christian holiday ever, and named after the Germanic goddess of spring and fertility: Ostara. (in Germany, it’s easier to see, as Easter = ‘Ostern’ ) and not just that. Easter bunnies? old pagan symbol of fertility. Eggs? Old pagan symbol of rebirth and fertility again.
Same thing with Christmas. Yes, Christmas. the date of Christmas, the 25th of December used to be the holy day of Natalis Solis Invictus (for everyone not knowing Latin: ‘birth of the invincible sun’) which was a holiday devoted to all the sun gods and goddesses out there. You have to admit that the date is just about perfectly set of the birth of Christ because the going-to-be Christians already celebrated the return of light/end of winter on this day. Christian mission couldn’t have picked it any better.
another - if smaller - example would be all hollows eve. The day is set one day before the classical date of Samhain, the day in the Germanic calendar when the borders between netherworld and our world would be the most blurred. And when we today light candles on the cemeteries and pray rosaries there are some astonishing parallels between ancient ‘pacifying of the ancestor spirits’.
I’m fully aware that most people will probably not like to hear those things.
But I’d still like to make my point: religions don’t evolve out of nowhere, without external influences. that fact that Islam might have picked the crescent from an ancient pagan goddess should make everyone forget that Christianity picked a whole lot of stuff up along it’s way, too.
It should be about the message, not the package.
