08-05-2006, 10:36 AM
Discussing similarities is not what this thread is about. The problem with this thread is that it asks the question : what pagan rituals survive in the RC Mass ? The answer is : none, because there never were any in the first place.
What many of you Europeans may not know is that in this country there have been some books written in recent years by anti-Catholics who claim that the Latin Mass is nothing more than an amalgamation of pagan rituals that the church papered over to make it appear Christian - the sick joke being that the RCC fooled everyone and Catholics are actually practicing paganism , "ha ha ha!" No doubt if you believe this you're a big fan of the "Da Vinci Code." Even more of this garbage can be found on the web.
First of all, it's not only untrue but also offensive. The RCC strongly rejects their claims. Catholic scholars and even a mainstream Protestant have come out with their own books refuting their claims point by point with historical evidence.
(If you don't believe what I'm saying, just "google" in these words : Roman Catholic Mass, paganism - and the first twenty matchings you'll get are almost exclusively anti-Catholic websites that claim the Mass is nothing but disguised paganism. The rest are Catholic websites that refute their claims.)
I don't mind discussing similarities between some pagan rituals and some rituals of the Catholic Mass. But if someone is going to imply that "this" is really "that" dressed up as "this" because the church was run by crypto-pagans, then I'm going to call you out on that. The RCC neither incorporated NOR adapted any pagan rituals or ceremonies into the Mass.
Sure, there are similarities - there are similar rituals between many other religions. But the Church did not adapt any specific pagan rituals into the Mass.
And it's legitimate to point out that certain holidays were replaced by Christian ones, that ecclesiastical garb and the basilica have Roman origins, etc..
But, please, everyone be careful with what you say and how you say it (assuming this thread survives the scrutiny of the moderators.)
Andy (who started this thread) most likely didn't ask his question out of malice but out of genuine curiousity. It sounds like he's heard some misleading information, but hopefully we can set him straight with some factual information.
If you want some good info on the Mass you can get it from the official Catholic Encylopedia here : [url:3pv7fj2t]http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09790b.htm[/url]
It talks about the Mass' origins and its evolution into its present form.
Theo
What many of you Europeans may not know is that in this country there have been some books written in recent years by anti-Catholics who claim that the Latin Mass is nothing more than an amalgamation of pagan rituals that the church papered over to make it appear Christian - the sick joke being that the RCC fooled everyone and Catholics are actually practicing paganism , "ha ha ha!" No doubt if you believe this you're a big fan of the "Da Vinci Code." Even more of this garbage can be found on the web.
First of all, it's not only untrue but also offensive. The RCC strongly rejects their claims. Catholic scholars and even a mainstream Protestant have come out with their own books refuting their claims point by point with historical evidence.
(If you don't believe what I'm saying, just "google" in these words : Roman Catholic Mass, paganism - and the first twenty matchings you'll get are almost exclusively anti-Catholic websites that claim the Mass is nothing but disguised paganism. The rest are Catholic websites that refute their claims.)
I don't mind discussing similarities between some pagan rituals and some rituals of the Catholic Mass. But if someone is going to imply that "this" is really "that" dressed up as "this" because the church was run by crypto-pagans, then I'm going to call you out on that. The RCC neither incorporated NOR adapted any pagan rituals or ceremonies into the Mass.
Sure, there are similarities - there are similar rituals between many other religions. But the Church did not adapt any specific pagan rituals into the Mass.
And it's legitimate to point out that certain holidays were replaced by Christian ones, that ecclesiastical garb and the basilica have Roman origins, etc..
But, please, everyone be careful with what you say and how you say it (assuming this thread survives the scrutiny of the moderators.)
Andy (who started this thread) most likely didn't ask his question out of malice but out of genuine curiousity. It sounds like he's heard some misleading information, but hopefully we can set him straight with some factual information.
If you want some good info on the Mass you can get it from the official Catholic Encylopedia here : [url:3pv7fj2t]http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09790b.htm[/url]
It talks about the Mass' origins and its evolution into its present form.
Theo
Jaime
