Posted by costas on July 25, 2001 at 23:53:30:
In Reply to: I'm afraid this subject is leading us nowhere: most of the anti-Christians here have no knowledge of Orthodox Christianity posted by Themistokles on July 24, 2001 at 23:43:43:
Merry Christmas?
By Infidel Guy
Christmas was celebrated before the birth of Christ by pagans honoring their god. Today's symbols and celebrations mock the pagan rites. While it is true the Christians Christianized the pagans, it is also true that pagans paganized Christianity. There is no pure Christian religion void of pagan influence in existence. One of the reasons why the Jews rejected Jesus was because he was worshipped in the same manner as a pagan savior god.
Christmas is celebrated on December 25th because Emperor Constantine ordained this date in the early fourth century. He even changed the church day from Saturday to Sunday. Both of these moves were made to paganize the church, for the pagans worshipped on Sunday and celebrated December 25 as the birth of the sun god. From Egypt to Syria the birth of the sun was represented by an infant. They would cry out, "The Virgin has brought forth! The light is waxing!" This was the birth of Mithra. December 25 was the ancient day of the winter soltice. Early depictions of Jesus show him as a sun god with a halo of light symbolic of the sun.
Adonis was born on Christmas eve at midnight. Adonis which means "bread of life," was born in a cave in Bethlehem, which means "the house of bread." Coincidentally this is the same cave God chose for the birth of Jesus. The "First Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ" claims Jesus was born in a cave. This cave is currently a landmark shrine claiming to be Christ's birthplace.
The sacred plastic tree worshipped in our living room is a pagan icon. Nearly every culture worshipped a sacred tree or plant, normally known for its hallucinog enic effect such as the Egyptian sycamore, acacia, or tamarisk. In Hebrew mythology there was the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge.
Attis worshippers used their pine tree at Easter instead of Christmas. Attis died under a pine tree. He imparted his immortality to the tree while he waited for three days to be resurrected. (Sound familiar? Spock did the same thing to Dr. McCoy when he died.) The followers of Attis took a pine tree, sometimes trimmed it in the shape of a cross, decorated it, attached an effigy, and then torched it. The mysteries of Isis made similiar use of a pine tree.
A sprig of evergreen was given at Christmas time during the feast of Saturn, a Roman celebration. Saturn was a kindly old man who lived up north. The feast started on December 17th and lasted up to a week. This was a joyous occasion. Gifts were exchanged. Masters swapped places with slaves (for a day). Many laws were not enforced; gambling with dice was allowed.
The peculiar thing about Santa is his entry through the chimney. In ancient Rome there was a ritual where an individual climbed to the top of his house and lowered himself by a rope via the impluuium ( a hole in the roof to let in rain water and let hearth fumes out). This rite was performed after one was offically declared dead (usually from battle) and needed to be reborn into the community.
The feast of Saturn was eventually combined with the harvest home festival of Compitalia. Compitalia had no fixed celebration date, but was usually held in January. During this joyous feast, family members would hang up a woolen doll. Slaves used woolen balls. Hopes were that the family diety (Lar for crossword puzzle buffs) would hang good luck charms on them. (My bet is that Mommy and Daddy did this too.)
The nativity scene, many claim, originates with the book of Matthew. It is, however, two thousand years older than Christ himself, dating back to ancient Egypt and Sumeria. It is pictured on the temple of Luxor inscribed by King Amenhotep III, circa 1530 B.C. It also appears on an ancient Sumerian cylinder circa 2200 B.C. Around 2000 B.C., a world age (Taurus) was passing and a new one (Aries) was beginning. The ox at the nativity scene represented the passing Age of Taurus. The lamb represents the coming of the new Age of Aries. In 200 B.C. a new world age was born and the Chasidim were frantically searching for a new messiah to usher in the Age of Pisces. The Jesus-Pisces connection is believed to be the reason why two fish were used in all of his miracles (Matt. 14:27, Mark 6:38-41, Luke 9:13-16, John 6:9). Just for the record, we will soon enter the age of Aquaris. Acording to the New Age ideology, the god of the old world age, i.e. Jesus, will be replaced by a new god. this age is supposed to be a period of peace and understanding. It sounds very secular and humanistic. We can only pray.
The Wise Men are also pictured in the ancient nativity scene. Only two are pictured on the Sumerian cylinder. It is broken at the point where a third wise man would be located. Magi, used in Matthew, are Mithra priests. coming from Persia, they would have to travel west by following a "star in the east." One does not need to be a geography wizard to realize the folly of this argument. The "star in the east" was no mystery to the Egyptians or the Sumerians; they knew it as the sacred star Sirius. In spring, Sirius would rise over the eastern horizon (moving westward), signaling the flooding of the Nile and planting time. Sirius is associated with Isis. Orion which moves across the heavens with Sirius is associated with Osiris. The main feature of Orion is his three star belt. This constellation's configuration was represented by the three wise men, who moved across the heavens in a westward direction along with the star of the east. All those specials you see on television, the idea of comets and planetary configurations being the star of the east, are only wishful thinking. The obvious is overlooked.
Reginald V. Finley
The Infidel Guy