Ex. wedding rings, wedding ceremonies, funerals (flowers on the grave), pagan design (goddess Liberty is on U.S. coins), pagans assigned days of the week to different gods, etc.
Where do Christians draw the line?
Do you believe that if something has a pagan origin that it does not mean?
Using a symbol is not necessarily a matter of being sinful or without sin. Some things have cultural meaning apart from religious meaning. Using a ring, or a picture of Liberty is more about concepts than about worshiping non-Christian deities. Not all non-religious traditions are sinful. I think it's possible to become overly concerned with details; and lose sight of the hard work of living up to Christs instructions-like the Sermon on the Mount.
Reply:Thanks, daisymae. Some of the early Protestent groups-the Pilgrims-objected to many of the celebrations Europeans participated in, like Christmas and Easter, because these celebrations were not found in the Bible. I think this is where the tradition of not celebrating started. Report It
Reply:Christmas, Easter are pagan. These were celebrations the pagans held, and the church at the time, took over them and made them Christian, so the pagan would be more inclined to accept Christianity. They are still wrong, as God told us to have nothing to do with pagan religions.
Reply:You have to balance things.
What is so bad about the pagans? they have a belief in a greater force or power.
Or do you see pagans as people who prance around naked in the forest during the full moon, smearing their bollocks with mud and shagging trees?
How is Zeus different than God?
Reply:my friend, somethings are universal. There have been weddings and funerals since before the beginning of written history, how do you know they were begun by "pagans" only? As for the days of the week, it doesn't matter what they are called, I don't worship the gods they are named for, so it really doesn't amount to a drop in the preverbial bucket.
Furthermore, the use of incense and prayer are not totally pagan in origen either... nor is the concept of a worship service or temple.
Its the concepts that matter.
Reply:Wow, that's really interesting do you think you suggest a book or a website I could read that would tell me more about traditions originated from the pagan religion?
Reply:Salam
It means someone bent a knot in your bloodline long ago and you finally just realized it.
Reply:Firstly, realize that paganism and Christianity were, and still are to some extent, peer religions. That means that both were in the same area. As a matter of fact, the pagan religions are older than Christianity. The Norsemen, before converting to Christianity, wore the hammer of Thor, eventually the design changed to more of an upside down cross before being flipped. Priests (particularly Jesuits) were very keen to incorporate cultural elements of the people they were trying to convert to make the new religion more appealing to them. Sometimes old pagan gods were even canonized (St. Brigit vs. Brigit the fire goddess of the insular Celts).
Secondly, Christianity is a religion that was brought about through integrating with other cultures, this road on the back of Rome because Christianity started during the Roman empire. As a citizen of the empire it was relativity easy to spread ones ideas to the rest of the Empire. This became paticularly true when Christianity became the official religion of Rome and therefore elements of it were influenced by Roman political and cultural practices.
Whether or not it is sinful to use these things, they occur, and unless you wish to go to the trouble of finding new ways to do them, and then get people to drop their old customs, it should not really matter. Just because something is pagan doesn't mean that it is sinful or evil.
Reply:I draw the line at anything that comes between me and God. None of the things you just named do that.
Reply:Wow! What a creepy question. I don't think of those things as pagan, so to me they aren't pagan. They are enjoyable symbols.
Reply:I really like this question. Do you pay attention to that? I just hate christmas and birthdays parties. Something pagan has to go to the lake of fire with the devil.
Reply:the forefather knew about the coins, look the pagans were here first, and their a creative force, accept it, i did. in ny is a stone artifact on the railroad station, mercury, god of commerce, i knew, christians didn't i guess, look at some of the architectures. LOOK, and SEE.
Reply:I am pretty careful about all that stuff, but have studied it all, in great depth, and know what symbols or artifacts meant way back then and now, and honestly, would prefer not to have them in my home.
My ex flatmate had a lot of "stuff" from a certain country, and she was having terrible depression, and bi-polar problems. I suggested we have a look through the stuff together, and she got rid of about 3/4's of it. It was amazing, a darkness/pressure lifted off the house. Now she is off her medication and a different person. Amazing.
You have to find out for yourself, and YOU make the choice. That is the best way.
Reply:Weddings are God instituted, we just leave out the instilled pagan rituals that became part of weddings. Christians live in the world which means some things you have to use such as the money where you live, using the calendar and such, you don't do pagan rituals where they maybe in certain activities such as a wedding, no throwing of rice, no banging on the table or ringing the glasses or bells to get the bride and groom to kiss,etc. We are in the world but we do not use the world to the full.
Reply:Obviously they don't, because they practice Pagan things all year long. From Christmas to Halloween, and all the Holidays in between.
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