"
The Roman Catholic Church, headquartered in
Rome, Italy, has its own powerful City-State, the Vatican, and claims over 968
million members worldwide and 60 million in the U.S. and Canada (as of 1996).
(Catholic membership figures are considerably misleading, though, in that they
count as..."
The Roman Catholic Church, headquartered in
Rome, Italy, has its own powerful City-State, the Vatican, and claims over 968
million members worldwide and 60 million in the U.S. and Canada (as of 1996).
(Catholic membership figures are considerably misleading, though, in that they
count as members every person who has been baptized Catholic, including millions
of people who were baptized as infants but who are not practicing Catholics.)
The Roman Catholic Church, in its pagan form, unofficially came into being in
312 A.D., at the time of the so-called "miraculous conversion" to Christianity
of the Roman Emperor Constantine.
Although Christianity was not made the
official religion of the Roman Empire until the edicts of Theodosius I in 380
and 381 A.D., Constantine, from 312 A.D. until his death in 337, was engaged in
the process of simultaneously building pagan temples and Christian churches, and
was slowly turning over the reigns of his pagan priesthood to the Bishop of
Rome. However, the family of Constantine did not give up the last vestige of his
priesthood until after the disintegration of the Roman Empire -- that being the
title the emperors bore as heads of the pagan priesthood -- Pontifex
Maximus -- a title which the popes would inherit. (The popes also
inherited Constantine's titles as the self-appointed civil head of the church --
Vicar of Christ and Bishop of Bishops.)
Prior to the time of Constantine's "conversion," Christians were persecuted not
so much for their profession of faith in Christ, but because they would not
include pagan deities in their faith as well. Then, with Constantine's emphasis
on making his new-found Christianity palatable to the heathen in the Empire, the
"Christianization" of these pagan deities was facilitated. For example, pagan
rituals and idols gradually took on Christian meanings and names and were
incorporated into "Christian" worship (e.g., "saints" replaced the cult of pagan
gods in both worship and as patrons of cities; mother/son statues were renamed
Mary and Jesus...
To continue please sign in with your Hotsposz ID... If you are new to Hotspotsz you can
register a new ID .
Articles similar to "Roman Catholicism - Christian or Pagan?"
This article was first
printed at Zenzibar on December 17, 2000.
Many of our modern Christmas
traditions began hundreds of years before Christ was born. Some of these
traditions date back more than 4000 years. The addition of Christ to the
celebration of the winter solstice did not occur until 300 years after Christ
died and as late as 1800, some devout Christian sects, like the Puritans,
forbade their members from celebrating Christmas because it was considered a
pagan holiday....Secret Archives of the Vatican
You would think that the Vatican's Secret Archives would be some dumb
conspiracy theory. I mean, it sounds ridiculous. The Vatican's Secret Archives.
Let it roll off your tongue. Surely, we're into serious conspiracy weirdness here.Except, of course, that there really is such a thing. And it's pretty much
exactly what you think it is.
There are a lot of reasons for an organization like the Catholic Church to
have Secret Archives. After all, they've been in the conspiracy business f...Mystery of The Jesus Papers
By
Sara James
What if everything you think
you know about Jesus is wrong? Author Michael Baigent makes controversial
assertions in his new book. Michael Baigent is investigating a grisly crime.
He’s tracking down leads, digging for clues, and trying to shed new light on a
cold case— a case that is 2,000 years old. And this isn’t just any case: It is
perhaps, the most well known story in history—the crucifixion of Jesus. Sara
James, Dateline correspondent: You believe that much o...First Jesus-era house found in Nazareth
Archaeologists have unveiled the discovery of the first-known house in Nazareth that can be dated back to the time of Jesus. The find provides a tantalising glimpse in to what the area could have been like at the time Jesus was achild."Days before Christmas, archaeologists on Monday unveiled what they saidwere the remains of the first dwelling in Nazareth that can be dated back to the time of Jesus — a find that could shed new ...The Trial of Jesus - An Account
By Doug Linder (2002)
Providing an account of the
trial of Jesus presents challenges unlike that for any of the other trials on
the Famous Trials Website. First, there is the challenge of determining what
actually happened nearly 2,000 years ago before the Sanhedrin and the Roman
prefect of Judea, Pontius Pilate. The task is daunting because almost our
entire understanding of events comes from five divergent accounts, each of
which was written by a Christian (who did not witnes...Reality of The Inquisition
Arthur Maricle
"And I saw the woman drunken with the
blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw
her, I wondered with great admiration." {Revelation
17:6} Those who classify themselves as Christians can
be divided into 2 broad groups: those who have chosen to allow the Bible to be
their final authority and those who have chosen to allow men to be their final
authority. For sake of simplicity, I shall refer to the first group as "B...Roman Catholicism - Christian or Pagan?
The Roman Catholic Church, headquartered in
Rome, Italy, has its own powerful City-State, the Vatican, and claims over 968
million members worldwide and 60 million in the U.S. and Canada (as of 1996).
(Catholic membership figures are considerably misleading, though, in that they
count as members every person who has been baptized Catholic, including millions
of people who were baptized as infants but who are not practicing Catholics.)
The Roman Catholic Church, in its pagan form,..."Angels unable to fly" say scientists
A leading biologist has stated that the angels, fairies and other winged sprites of nativity and folklore are anatomically flawed and would never be able to fly despite having feathered wingssproutingfrom their backs."Angels depicted heralding the birth of Jesus in nativity scenes across the world are anatomically flawed, according to a scientist who claims they would never be able to fly. . " View: Full Article | Source: Tele...
All our articles are sorted under categories and topics, making it easier to cross reference different subjects. Below are all the different categories the articles are sorted under alphabetically.
51(50/1) 
Mystery of the Dying God
The Thruth about Easter
Ancient Origins of Christmas
Secret Archives of the Vatican
Mystery of The Jesus Papers
First Jesus-era house found in Nazareth
The Trial of Jesus - An Account
Reality of The Inquisition
"Angels unable to fly" say scientists
