Paganism In Christianity

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Recommended: 2 religions and compare and contrast

Religions across the globe have their own distinctive rites and rituals, idols, traditions, and values. Each have in common a desire to explain something unexplainable by common wisdom, or attributing some aspect of life to some higher power. Many religions have at their heart etiological stories, which explain some sort of natural phenomenon through the physical manifestation of their deity or deities. From high winds and thunderstorms to love, fertility, and the sun, such religions focus on the physical world in this life. Other religions try to explain the "next" life or the afterlife. These religions usually give a moral code to live by, with stricter adherence to this code offering a better afterlife.
So, aside from obvious differences in practice and ritual, not all religions even address the same issues. In the online Merriam-Webster Dictionary, religion is officially defined as:
1 : the service and worship of God or the supernatural
2 : commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance
3 : a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices. Religions have in common three things, then: first, a supernatural being to worship; second, a commitment to this being; third, a set of rules to guide the follower through his or her devotion.
Throughout the ancient world, there were many different peoples worshipping in many different ways, as there still is today. Many of these religions were polytheistic in nature, and were of the etiological type. Greco-Roman religion in particular was the basis for a rich culture, giving rise to an extremely artistic and creative period of time.
Greece had philosophers and playwrights such as Aristotle, Socrates, Plato, and Aeschylus. These men eloquently told of their gods, and provided ideas to strengthen the moral character of their culture. You might almost say they were the real prophets of the time. The Buddha guided other nations, Jesus still others. They were pioneers in their own time, and are still revered today. These men looked deep into the heart of the human spirit, and asked what it was to be human. Their insights have given meaning to many people's lives, and have been the basis for many beliefs held today. These men and the cultures they came from have heavily influenced the fields of ph...

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...eligions past and present it has tried to subdue.

Works Cited

Ansari, Muhammad F.R. Islam and Christianity in the Modern World. World Federation of Islamic Missions, Karachi, Pakistan. 1965 (1940).

Doane, T. W. Bible myths and their parallels in other religions. 1882

Gordon, Ruth. Halloween - Harmless Fun or Pagan Ritual?. The Watchman Expositer
1992.

Holy Trinity. "excerpt of Sermon Holy Trinity"
<http://www.bogusnews.com/holytrinity/sermons/1997/97trin.html>
- Hacienda Heights. 1997

Holy Trinity. "Part Six in the Christchurch Fundamentals Series"
<www.swordinhand.org/outlines/030401.htm> March 4, 2001

Massey, Kundan L. Tide of the Supernatural. Here's Life Publishers, San Bernadino,
1980

McCabe, J. Rationalists Encyclopaedia.
<http://www2.prestel.co.uk/littleton/jmpagani.htm>. 1998.

McDowell, Josh. Answers to tough questions skeptics ask about the Christian faith.
Wheaton, Ill. Campus Crusade for Christ. 1980
<www.facethefreedom.com/apochrypha.htm>

Misha'al Abdullah ibn. What Did Jesus Really Say?.
<http://wings.buffalo.edu/sa/muslim/library/jesus-say/ch3.html>. 1996.

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