Heard someone mention that certain acts are pagan. So thinking about it, I surmised that marriage, sex, eating certain things were okay and then after G-d gave the law to Moses (supposedly) there was a separation for things, actions etc., that were pagan and otherwise bad. Just wondering what others may think about this.
When did things turn from paganism to religious?
by ssn587 7 Replies latest jw friends
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Quarterback
Paganism is a broad group of religions including modern Pagan religions, and magical and polytheistic religions. Paganism has also been understood by some to include any non-Abrahamic religions, but this is generally seen as insulting by adherents of those religions. It is often taken to exclude monotheism, and to express a worldview that is pantheistic, polytheistic, or animistic, however there are some monotheistic Pagans.[1] Once monotheistic religions such as Christianity and Islam started to become more prominent (in processes known as Christianization and Islamization), names to encompass polytheistic worshipers started to develop; some of these include Hellene, Pagan, and Heathen, at times these names were used as slurs.
Modern knowledge of old Pagan religions comes from several sources, including: anthropological field research records, the evidence of archaeological artifacts, and the historical accounts of ancient writers regarding cultures known to the classical world. Before the rise of monotheistic religions, most people practiced some type of polytheism. Many of these religions started to die out and eventually became extinct. In some cases, elements of polytheistic belief systems continued into folklore. Paganism would later be studied during the Renaissance and Romantic era. Forms of these religions, influenced by various historical Pagan beliefs of pre-modern Europe, exist today and are known as contemporary or modern Paganism, also referred to as Neopaganism.[2][3]
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James Mixon
Check out posted 7 years ago "Lets list everything that has pagan
origins". When did things turn from paganism to religious or religious to paganism,
it will be hard to determine the cross over.
Every day of the week have an pagan origin, yes Sunday also....
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Diogenesister
Also, pagan just means peasant or country bumpkin. I think originally roman or greek...but anyways gave the idea of an uneducated oik. In that case the wtbt$ advocates paganism! -
CalebInFloroda
JWs mistakenly use the term "pagan" when what they really mean is "heathen." Paganism is a religion unto itself and is also the label of the Hellenistic/Roman cults of the first century.
A "heathen" is someone who does not worship the G-d of Abraham and Sarah, and the type of customs and traditions the Watchtower is talking about actually go back to heathen religions.
To illustrate: the names of our months and days of the week come from paganism (mainly Roman paganism), but Halloween and Dia de Los Muertos customs generally come from heathens (Celtic and Native American religions). Halloween is often called pagan by JWs, but in reality it is mostly heathen.
To be honest, unless it comes from the Jewish culture, it is paganism or heathen in origin. Since JWs don't allow the practice of Jewish customs among their members, it itself is pagan/heathen because the terms are generally used from the standpoint of that which qualifies as connected to Jewish, non-Gentile culture.
If you don't walk like a Jew, talk like a Jew, dress like a Jew, eat like a Jew or pray and live like a Jew, you're a Gentile...and if you are religious on top of that, guess what that categorizes you as?
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Half banana
ssn587 your question makes an assumption that is incorrect. It implies that paganism, that is the beliefs of the rustic crowd as determined by the literate town crowd, was not religious. Pagan beliefs were distinctly religious because they made a connection between the visible universe and an invisible heavenly host of gods. The actions of these gods were described by the Sun stars and Moon with their predetermined, predictable course telling daily, monthly and annual stories of heavenly dealings.
Primarily the Sun gods activities were profoundly connected to the farming world since it marked the seasonal work in the countryside. The Sun Gods had offspring who were also Sun Gods who were born at midwinter and died sacrificially and went to their heavenly father at the spring equinox. That was why the sunlight was strongest after Easter to ripen the crops.
Most religions based on agricultural myth has at its root an elaboration of these pagan tales.
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ssn587
I made no assumptions other than its anything religious in nature the was accepted as the norm prior to the Jews being given the "law." Got so tired of hearing oh you can't do that it's pagan because it's prior to Moses and the law, so I said well in that regard wedding rings are pagan, eating drinking etc. Was messing with a dub when this occupied. Thanks for you inputs. -
Vidiot
I would argue that paganism is a form of religiousity.
In fact, so would my pagan co-worker.