If these practices are "rooted in ancient Roman paganism"...then why are they found in every ancient Church, even the ones that, geographically, had zip zero nada to do with Rome? For instance, we have the St. Thomas Christians of the Malabar Coast of India. Nowhere near Rome. Do they invoke the saints? Why yes they do. We have the Ethiopian Christians way down in Africa evangelized from Egypt in the 4th century--again, not much contact with Rome. They also invoke the saints.
If the ancient, pure religion was corrupted by Roman paganism...and "syncretistic" practices were introduced, then why in Sam Hill did none of the ancient writers complain about it? We have Christian authors from the 90s on, minutely dissecting every heresy from Gnosticism to Nestorianism. Did any of them see firsthand this "corruption" and call it out? Fight it? Show me where. Give me chapter and verse.
Calvin was a devotee of St. Augustine....did he not read St. Augustine's homilies on the feast days of the saints?
Oh yeah? When? Where? Who did it and how?
Oh we can all bask in these vague conspiracy theories, but it's quite another matter to cite a primary source to back it up.
Go find a writer from the 4th century who saw this happening and said something about it. Go ahead. I'll wait.
It’s not not just Roman pganism.
The similarities to Buddhist ritual is very strong.
The role given Mary is analogous to Guan Yin.
I think it was something that came with the growth and spread of Christianity.
The saints that Catholics revere, when given reverence in the correct way, are not revered in any way like what the pagan deities were revered or idolized.
If you're going to demand high rigor to support your particular viewpoint, then you should give the same consideration to opposing viewpoints as well.
How does the Roman Catholic Church determine sainthood? [Catholic Caucus]
How Many Miracles are Required to Canonize a Saint?
Saints [Catholic, Orthodox, Open]
SAINTHOOD 101: Rules for Becoming a Saint [Catholic Caucus]
The Process of Becoming a Saint (Canonization) [Catholic Caucus]
Pope Lists Criteria for Causes of Canonization
This is like asking Obama or Putin “What’s wrong with America?”.
Paging Ralph Woodrow. Recant your recantation of your book, Babylon Mystery Religion?
Will the circle be unbroken?
BTW, why is it that Armenians and Ethiopians reverence relics and pray to saints? None of them were ever under Roman political or cultural control.
“Calvin ... demonstrates... veneration of relics... Roman paganism...”
The early Christians were Jewish and the Hebrew people venerated relics. The early Christians continued with the practice that was found in the ancient traditions of their roots since the time of Moses.
Joshua 3:15; 1 Samuel 4-6;2 Samuel 11-12; numbers 21:9; 2nd Kings 13:21 - especially this one!;Acts 5:15; Acts 19:12
Exodus 29:37 - Clearly!! the Jewish people held that material “creatures” (created goods) had the ability to become sacred conduits for God’s power in the right circumstances.
The pagan Romans HATED the early Catholic Christians and martyred them - because their worship DIFFERED from pagan beliefs, not because they were the SAME as pagan Roman beliefs.
In particular the Roman pagans were suspicious of and killed the early Catholic Christians for their literal re enactment of the Lord’s supper (eucharist) on Sundays. The eucharist is explicitly referenced in the still preserved writings of St. Ignatius of Antioch who wrote within 50 years (or less) of the resurrection. There are other early records (Didache) that show beyond doubt that the earliest Christians were Catholic and had the mass and sacraments.
Calvin dropped sacred Tradition (small t tradition that bible warns against is NOT the same as sacred Tradition) and made up an interpretation of the bible that is his own own opinion in the 1500’s - over one thousand years after Christ.
Were both the eastern churches (Orthodox) and the western (Latin) churches in error for all of these centuries? of course not; it was Calvin who was in error with his made up biblical interpretations; did the Lord “protect” Christians from the Truth until the heresy of Calvin?
Saint Thomas Aquinas could out think and refute Calvin’s absurd premises in a nano second.
To reiterate: Jewish tradition allowed for the recognition of material relics as holy (see above biblical proof texts) and the early Christians continued the practice.
Air tight case eh? We’ll see self-ping ...
I started reading the Google book on the subject. Look at page 7 to see one pagan origin in the 2nd century.