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To: maryz
But were not these “dying gods” either fertility gods (crops and human) or sun worship gods like the Sol Invicta?

What do these have to do with Christianity and Newman's “Essay”?

8,526 posted on 10/04/2010 12:29:15 PM PDT by count-your-change (You don't have be brilliant, not being stupid is enough.)
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To: count-your-change
What do these have to do with Christianity and Newman's “Essay”?

Read the whole passage from Newman -- though I don't think he went into corn gods as such, he does mention the idea of an incarnate god coming from India, the idea of baptism being of pagan origin, etc. etc.

A big part of the "free-thinker" movement of the 19th century ridiculed Christianity as merely another corn god myth.

8,530 posted on 10/04/2010 12:38:26 PM PDT by maryz
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To: count-your-change

Also, a number of things on your list (without tracking down Newman’s footnoted source, I can’t tell to what extent he was paraphrasing from his source or writing his own opinion) came into the Church directly from Judaism:
temple, incense, lamps, candles; holydays and seasons, processions, blessings on the fields; sacerdotal vestments, ecclesiastical chant (a direct descendant of Hebrew synagogue chant). Maybe the Jews got them from the pagans.


8,535 posted on 10/04/2010 12:47:19 PM PDT by maryz
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