A Very Short History of Nominal Christianity

Civilization

In parts of the world where even the most populated areas are only tiny villages, life can be easy or it can be difficult, but it is seldom efficient or inventive. It's only when large numbers of people accumulate in one location that development occurs.

Philosophers, scientists, poets, and other such non-productive professions can be supported only by cities. If everyone in a city of a hundred thousand people were to pay only one dollar of their annual taxes, it would provide $100,000 to support science and art. If everyone in a village did the same, one of them could buy themselves dinner once a year.

Babel

The Bible tells the tale of a time when people had begun to understand this principle and were forming a religion and civilization around it: And they said one to another, come, let us make brick, ... and they said, come, let us build us a city and a tower ... ..

According to the story, God did not want this civilization to develop yet: And the Lord said, Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them...

He intervened to prevent this: So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth: and they ceased building the city.

Our present population and technological civilization has developed only within the last two hundred years, and most of the real advances occurred within the last century. One would be arrogant and mistaken to think that humans were any less intelligent 5000 years ago than they are today. They could have developed science and technology just as easily as we did, and could have destroyed the world just as we are destroying it now.

Divergence

Following this dispersal, one group of people, the descendants of Abraham (Isaac and Ishmael), went on to found the nations whose stories are well documented in the Bible and Quran.

But meanwhile, other groups developed other nations and other religions. One of these in particular continued the dream of an empire that encompassed all of humanity. Babel, now called Babylon, was known as the holy city of Mesopotamia, and was the first city in history to reach a population of 200,000.

Babylon

Like other nations, the Babylonians developed their own gods and legends.

Ishtar (Astarte) was the personification of the planet Venus, a goddess of love and fertility. Her lover was Tammuz, who was killed by a wild boar and was believed to rise from the dead each year. His death was mourned and his rising celebrated annually.

The Bible makes explicit reference to these rituals: ... you shall see greater abominations that they are doing. So he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord's house; and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz.

Ishtar was honored as the Queen of Heaven, and is mentioned by that name in the Bible: The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven ... . These cakes bore the letter t, in remembrance of Tammuz.

The Bull of Heaven was another deity, still honored today as Taurus in the Zodiac.

Sun worship was the greatest part of the Babylonian religion, and it too is mentioned in the Bible: ... you will see greater abominations than these. So he brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house; and there, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east.

Dagon, another Babylonian god, is mentioned in three different books of the Bible: ... the ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god. Dagon is typically shown wearing a large fish, the upright open mouth and eye forming a head covering.

The ritual care of statues of the gods was sacred, their gods' being believed to simultaneously inhabit their idols.

People were thought to be immortal, entering an underworld after death.

The Babylonian dream of a world ruling empire under a universal religion has continued down to today.

Egypt

The image that Dagon is facing in the picture above is known as the Eye of Horus. Dagon's fish-head shaped mitre can be seen in many Egyptian hieroglyphs.

To the ancient Egyptians, Tammuz (Nimrod) was known as Osiris, while Ishtar (Astarte) was known as Isis. Osiris was killed by his brother Set. Isis was both sister and wife to Osiris, and bore a son known as Horus.

Egypt's Pharaoh was believed to inherit a divine power upon becoming King, enabling him to be an intermediary between his people and the gods. The center of their religion was a belief in an immortal soul that survived in the afterlife.

There were many rituals and festivals, including a procession with a priest carrying a god's image through streets lined with commoners to watch the god pass by.

Most other middle-eastern cultures simply and immediately buried their dead, allowing the flesh to quickly decompose leaving only bones. In Egypt though, the body was elaborately prepared, its flesh being chemically preserved from decomposition, physically protected in a sarcophagus, and housed in a stone tomb, the most elaborate being the kings' pyramids.

Rome

Later another city state, Rome, rose to power, eventually becoming an empire reaching across Europe as far as Britain, and into northern Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia. It mollified the religious fears of the various peoples that it conquered by allowing them to continue their religious customs and traditions, but attaching Roman names to their deities. Meanwhile many of those customs and traditions were brought back by the military and became incorporated into the greater religion of Rome.

The Babylonian sun god was a natural match for the Roman sun god Apollo. Apollo was depicted as having the rays of the sun emanating from his head, often as four rays with a circle about them.

Similarly the mother and child symbols of fertility common to many cultures were merged into one common goddess, and then identified with Venus.

Like Ishtar & Tammuz, the Greek Aphrodite & Adonis, and the Egyptian Isis & Osiris became the Roman Venus & Attis. Attis too was celebrated as rising from the dead each Spring.

The Cross

The sun god was often represented by a cross and circle symbol.

Isis and Horus were often depicted as carrying a handled cross, a symbolic key to life. It is possibly based on a cross section of a bull's spine, from where life was thought to originate. The Egyptian hieroglyph for this cross was changed to have a larger handle and smaller cross, and is today used as the astronomical symbol for Venus, and the common icon for female (♀).

The Queen of Heaven's t-buns bore a similar symbol, one that became a common sign of the developing Roman religion.

Mysteries

During the first century followers of the Persian god Mithra became a Roman cult, known as the Mithraic Mysteries. Mithraism became especially popular among the military, who spread the religion throughout the Roman empire.

Known as Mythras in Latin, Mithra was believed to have been born from a rock, typically within a cave. In Roman tauroctony carvings, he is depicted sacrificing a bull with a knife, while pressing on the bull's spine with his knee and looking behind at the sun god. Banquet scene carvings show Mithras feasting with the sun god while seated on the hide of the slain bull.

The members met in secret, so did not have public celebrations. Their greatest festival, however, was already openly celebrated by the Roman people, Natalis Invicti, the Birth of the Unconquerable Sun.

Mithraism had many rituals. Initiates, males only, took an oath of secrecy and recited a catechism of questions and answers about symbolic meanings. The initiation ceremony included the image of a resurrection, making a mark on the forehead, eating bread, and sipping from a beaker. Physical ordeals were required for advancement through the seven levels of initiation into the cult, the lowest, Corax, being symbolized by a beaker, the highest, Pater, by a mitre.

Three times each day, members prayed to the sun god. Sunday was of course considered the most sacred day of the week. They met in underground chambers, caves, or rooms decorated to look like caves. Each such Mithraeum had an entrance at one end and an altar at the other. A central aisle, with seating on either side, connected the two. Typically there was a nearby supply of water for use in ceremonies.

Samaria

The royal line of David and Solomon had split into two kingdoms, Judah and Israel, each with their own king. Jews and the remnant of Benjamin were in the south (Judah), and the other ten tribes in the north (Samaria). Eventually, the northern kingdom was taken into captivity: the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria ... and the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon ..., and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof.

The new Samaritans (former Babylonians) thought they were being punished for not honouring the gods of their new home, and so wanted to learn the religious practices of the land they now occupied. The Assyrian king sent them a priest from among his Israelite captives. Unfortunately, the Israelites had accepted many pagan practices: ... Israel had sinned against the LORD ... and walked in the statutes of the heathen ... and they set them up images ... they burnt incense in all the high places ... For they served idols .... The Samaritans learned a version of the religion that had been changed very much from what the scriptures called for. By the time of Jesus, the Samaritans were well established, and were looked down upon by Jews because they practised a corrupt parody of what the Jews considered the true religion. (Knowing this helps one to understand the Good Samaritan parable.)

Simon Magus

By the middle of the first century, a man named Simon had become a powerful figure in Samaria. He impressed people with his title of Magus, which designates a Persian priestly class, a member of the Babylonian Mystery religion. When he saw the miracles that the Apostles could do, he wanted that power for himself: Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.

Furthermore: ... when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money... (This attempt to purchase religious power is where the word Simony comes from.)

Simon integrated much of what he had learned from Peter into his religion and co-opted the name Christianity for it. He used a triangle to describe perfection: incorruptible form, universal mind, and great thought. Historian Philip Schaff wrote that Simon Magus unquestionably adulterated Christianity with pagan ideas and practices. Simon claimed many powers and titles for himself, even referring to himself as Peter, further confusing himself with the Apostle Simon, who was also nicknamed Peter.

Hippolytus records that he came to Rome also, and fell foul of the Apostles. Peter withstood him on many occasions.. Origen records Also Simon the Samaritan, a magician, wished to filch away some by his magic. And at the time indeed he succeeded in his deception .... Simon Magus fooled many; Emperor Claudius even erected a statue inscribed To Simon the Holy God. Simonians also venerated him under the image of Zeus. Years later, Eusebius complained about those who to the present day belong to his disgusting sect. Following in ... [Simon's] footsteps they slip into the church like a pestilential and scabby disease, and do the utmost damage to all whom they succeed in smearing with the horrible, deadly poison concealed on them.

Apostles

Jesus himself had been aware that this falling away would happen: Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name saying that I am Christ, and shall deceive many. The original Apostles could see what was happening, and exhorted true Christians not to be misled.

Paul wrote: I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel, which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.. He also knew that it would get worse after his own death: For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them..

Peter too was concerned: But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies ... . And many shall follow their pernicious ways ....

The teachings of Jesus were turned into teachings about Jesus; the messenger became more important than the message. For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

For a century after the Bible was written, there is a period in history where almost no recordings of the early Church exist. Later writers refer back to this time, but all records seem to have disappeared or been destroyed. Writer Edward Gibbon wrote: The scanty and suspicious materials of ecclesiastical history seldom enable us to dispel the dark cloud that hangs over the first age of the Church. What remains today is only that which has been preserved by the Roman Church.

Constantine

Constantine became Roman Emperor at the beginning of the fourth century. In 312CE, at the battle of Milvian Bridge, he saw a cross of light above the sun (possibly sundogs), and is reputed to have seen words saying In this sign you shall conquer. He then ordered his soldiers to put a cross on their shields.

There is no reason to assume that he became a Christian at that time though. For nearly a decade thereafter, Constantine continued to issue coins bearing images of Roman gods. The Arch of Constantine, constructed to celebrate the Milvian victory contains no mention of specific religion, only the inscription instinctu divinitatis, whose meaning, inspired by the divine, could very well apply to the old Roman gods.

But Constantine's mother, Helena, had become a Christian, so as Emperor he was not as eager as his predecessors to persecute those that didn't follow Roman religion. In 313CE, his Edict of Milan granted tolerance to all religions. In following years, Constantine provided financial support to various Christian causes, including helping with Helena's obsessive hobby. She made a pilgrimage to Palestine, and funded other expeditions, to locate biblical sites and relics. Among the alleged finds were the three crosses from Calvary, one of which was determined to be Jesus's True Cross; the three crucifixion nails; the Holy Tunic; and the rope used to bind Jesus. She similarly was able to determine the location of such sites as the Burning Bush and Mount Sinai (despite the Bible's saying they are in Arabia), and Jesus's birthplace and tomb.

Helena had churches and monasteries built at each historical site. The relics were broken up and distributed throughout the Empire for veneration.

(To say that her discoveries make the work of today's archaeologists seem pale in comparison, would be an understatement. But who, told by the Emperor's Mother to find the Holy Grail, would dare come back empty handed?)

Constantine's interest in Christianity didn't necessarily mean that he himself followed that religion though. In 321CE, in opposition to the biblical Sabbath, he declared Sunday, the Day of the Sun, as an official holiday, with commercial and government work being suspended on that day. In 325CE, against the conclusions of the First Council of Nicaea, Constantine declared that God wasn't just the Father and the Son, but was a trinity, and those believers that held otherwise were heretics. Similarly, Easter Sunday became an official holiday, and true Christians, who still celebrated Passover, were declared heretics.

40 years later, this was again confirmed: Christians must not Judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, resting rather on Sunday. But, if any be found to be Judaizing, let them be declared anathema from Christ.

In 337CE, 25 years after his cross vision and shortly before his death, Constantine was finally baptized into the Christian Church, whose religion by now had little resemblance to the faith once delivered that had been followed by the Disciples and others since the first first century.

Transition

Over the centuries, both before and after Constantine, the Roman Church grew by allowing converts to retain most of their old practices. Whenever the military conquered a new land, the clergy moved in and converted its people. By appearing universal and appealing to all (the definition of the word catholic), the Church grew to be the largest, then dominant, then only, acceptable religion in the Empire.

But two groups, Jews and Christians, refused to compromise their beliefs. Jews were mostly a race, didn't proselytize, and were already suppressed by the State, so were not a problem. But Christianity was widespread and growing rapidly during the first century and so posed a serious threat to the Roman Church. The Church couldn't convert Christianity, but it could usurp it.

The Church standardized its gods and rituals by renaming them to correspond to Christian nomenclature. The common citizens didn't really care about theology, but they did care about festivals and ritual. Whether they referred to a statue as Ishtar, Venus, or Mary didn't really matter to them. Similarly for Tammuz, Apollo or Jesus. Other existing gods and idols were easily identified with saints.

Anyone could continue in their Sun worship, so long as it was done with acceptable terminology. The rebirth of Mithras or of the sun god, could still be celebrated each Spring, so long as one pretended that Easter wasn't really a fertility festival, and that its sunrise ceremonies weren't really about the Sun.

People were used to praying to their favourite gods, but now they prayed to saints instead. Ishtar, the Queen of Heaven, was now venerated as Mary, Queen of Heaven. Mary eventually became more god-like than Jesus himself, being created by an immaculate conception that caused her to be born without sin, and experiencing a sinless life without the temptations that Jesus had to suffer.

Idols, now called statues or relics, were prayed to, supposedly with the understanding that they were mere symbols, not the gods themselves. And if they were claimed to be the cause of miracles, one had to understand that it wasn't the physical object that had the actual power. Theory of course didn't meet actual practice.

The sign of the cross became identified with Christianity. The original Greek version of the Bible calls the instrument of Jesus's execution a stake, but the Church began referring to it as a cross, as have most translations since.

Similarly, Apollo's halo was no longer thought of as representing the Sun, but simply as an indication of Jesus's holiness. After that, halos began to appear on statues and paintings of other holy people. Mithras's birth was celebrated each December 25^th, so it was trivial to declare that day as also being Jesus's birthday.

The original Hebrew and Greek words for grave were now presented as Hell, something with quite different connotations. And since people were now praying to dead people, the Church abandoned the biblical doctrine of unconscious sleep while awaiting resurrection and eventual judgement leading either to glorification or to permanent death. Instead, people were now described as having immortal souls (Satan's first lie: You will not surely die.). Upon death, those that were approved by the Church immediately went to Heaven, while others were first forced to endure possibly thousands of years of torture in Purgatory, another non-biblical concept. Those that weren't in the Church at all went to a Hell where they were tortured for eternity.

The Church now had power to control everyone's fate, and didn't hesitate to use it.

Antisemitism

Rome's Christianity had now become very different from biblical Christianity. Anyone that looked into the matter could see this, but should they ever dare to point it out, they would be accused of Judaizing, i.e. adopting Jewish customs. Jews were presented as evil people, Christ killers, and so any suggestion that could be called Judaizing was of course considered heresy.

It's possible that Jews have been somewhat tolerated in Europe ever since that time simply to provide an example of what True Christians shouldn't be. One couldn't be accused of thinking like a Jew if there were no Jews to compare against.

Truth was now determined by the infallible head of the Roman Church, not by scripture.

Holy Roman Empire

The Roman Empire eventually fell in 476CE; its economy, military, and government collapsing from within, and its civilization being attacked from without. Roman rule disappeared, and Europe broke up into a feudal society of small kingdoms.

But rather than anarchy and chaos, civilization remained stable. For centuries, an immense and powerful infrastructure had been growing throughout the Empire. It wasn't a government and didn't make or enforce laws, but it did control the people. With such power it was able to form many mutually beneficial relationships with the secular governments. The Kings were the apparent rulers, but they knew they were there by the grace of God and they knew where the real power lay.

Eventually this relationship became explicit. In 800CE, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne, and declared him not only King of the Franks, but Emperor. His new empire wasn't as large as the original, but Charlemagne's Holy Roman Empire eventually included most of what is now France, Germany, and Italy, along with various smaller kingdoms.

Using the threat of excommunication and its consequent eternal torture, Popes now had full power, clergy having direct control of the people. The intricate and expensive day to day running of governments and countries was left to the Emperor, Kings, and other nobility. Feudalism, in which control of land represented power was the simplest and most effective form of government. Both Church and State wanted to rule the world, and together they attempted it many times, each one providing strength and support to the other.

The Church controlled the people, thereby guaranteeing there would be no threats to the nobility from their subjects, and the sacrament of confession guaranteed there would be no surprises. It put an Emperor in charge of all the land, in exchange for men for the Pope's army, wealth, and other favors. That land was divided into kingdoms, each king having a similar relationship with the Emperor. Their kingdoms were further divided and subdivided, each level using that same feudal arrangement. How each unit was specifically ruled and managed was not important to the levels above; as long as wealth continued to move toward the top, each ruler was allowed to maintain his position of power. If barons, or counts, or kings wanted to fight wars amongst themselves, that was up to them, so long as they maintained their loyalty and obligations to their own ruler.

That relationship between Church and State waxed and waned over the centuries, but it endured. Even in the twentieth century, Hitler and Mussolini were brought to power and supported by the Church in order to found a new Holy Roman Empire. Following the war, the Church's infrastructure created ratlines to help Nazis escape to South America and other safe havens. More recently, the overthrow of Poland's Communist government was due to direct effort and money from the Pope.

Dante Alighieri

In 1320CE Dante published his Divine Comedy, a three part epic fantasy about a journey through the three realms of the afterlife. It was the first significant work to be written in Italian (rather than Latin), and was largely responsible for standardizing the Italian language. The work soon became immensely popular, and everyone was familiar with its story. Unfortunately, even if they accepted the story itself as fiction, most people took its fantasy descriptions of the three realms as fact.

Many aspects of this fantasy already existed in popular legend, and this work served to canonicalize them (just as Coca Cola later canonicalized Santa Claus). The images that Western society has today of Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise are largely based on this work of fiction. It did not take many generations for the Church to use these fictions, first as convenient allegories, and eventually as doctrinal fact.

Renaissance

In the mid 14^th century, Europe was heavily hit by the Black Death plague, killing about half the population over a four year period. Southern countries, in particular Italy, had especially high death rates (some cities up to 80%).

Jewish communities, because they followed biblical hygiene rules, were largely spared, and as a result were often blamed for the apparent curse. Hundreds of Jewish communities were destroyed, 2000 Jews being murdered in Strasbourg alone.

Any descriptions of how bad it was to experience that period of time can only be understatements. But in the following decades, life became far far better than it had ever been. Half the people were gone, but all the land, buildings, roads, agriculture, infrastructure, money, etc. remained. Suddenly everyone had twice as much as they had had before, and the prices of most commodities declined. (Imagine how many of today's problems would cease to exist if we retained the same technology and physical infrastructure we have now but had the much smaller population of a hundred years ago: an instant 90% reduction in pollution, enough land and food that most wars would no longer have any reason for continuing, no refugees, no unemployment, inexpensive water-front cottages for anyone that wants them, etc.)

The newly rich society that soon developed was still large enough that it could support arts and science. Many people became highly educated and skilled, the renaissance man being the ultimate stereotypical example. In Italy alone, arose people like Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael, who were masters of many fields, artistic and scientific.

For a few hundred years, civilization flourished like never before. And, despite efforts by the Church to suppress it, it also meant the discovery of many new scientific facts, and the development of widespread critical thinking.

One invention changed the world forever. Gutenberg's new printing press allowed anyone's writing to be widely disseminated and preserved for future readers. Books no longer had to be written in Latin, and individually transcribed by hand, by monks. People in England, France, Germany, Italy, and across Europe could rapidly share their ideas. Most significantly, the Bible could now be translated into the languages of the common people and read by those people, without the selective interpretation of the Church, which responded by condemning to death anyone involved with such works.

Reformation

In the early 16^th century, Martin Luther, John Calvin, and others realized just how different the doctrines and practices of the Church were from what was recorded in the Bible, and just how much the Church was abusing its power. They dared to publicly criticize the teachings of the Roman Church.

In particular, they strongly objected to the Church's claims of being able to forgive sin and to be able to reduce the time that the deceased had to spend in Purgatory, especially when these indulgences were made available to anyone willing to pay for them. A common saying at the time was: As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory into heaven springs..

They also objected to the blatant idolatry and veneration and supernatural use of relics, and to the concept that salvation could be achieved by good deeds (such as donating money to the Church).

Luther studied the Bible and concluded that the Pope was in fact the Antichrist. In response, Pope Leo X excommunicated him in 1521. Later that year, Luther was brought before the Diet of Worms, a general assembly of the Holy Roman Empire, where he refused to recant his writings. He said: Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience..

The Emperor declared Luther an outlaw, forbade anyone to help him, and gave permission for anyone to kill him.

Luther fled, and over the next few years developed a new form of Christianity, much closer to the original. He wrote masses in German rather than Latin so that the people could understand what they were hearing and saying. Similarly, he published a German translation of the Bible so that people could read what it actually said.

His Bible studies led him to understand that people sleep at death, they do not go to an afterlife as the Church claimed. Such a belief would almost completely undermine the power the Church held over individuals, and make a mockery of the Roman doctrines of prayer and intercession.

Unfortunately, Martin Luther was also highly antisemitic (which is what inspired Shuster and Siegel, both Jews, to name Superman's arch enemy Luthor). He wrote works such as On the Jews and Their Lies, and claimed that Jews should have their property and money confiscated and be imprisoned or banished. More unfortunately, this attitude left him unable to accept many reforms that his studies had led to, such as honoring God's Sabbath day rather than the Sun's day.

His upbringing and past faith also made it difficult to accept other doctrinal changes. While admitting that it was wrong, he continued to refer to Mary as Queen of Heaven. He also retained belief in her immaculate conception and her perpetual virginity.

William Tyndale produced an English translation of the Bible, but it was banned in Britain. He denounced prayer to saints and the immortality of the soul, and taught that justification was by faith, and that Christ would return just as he had promised. In 1536CE he was strangled and then burned at the stake for heresy.

The Bible was translated into other European languages so that it might be read by the common people, and again such works were generally proscribed by the Church. Pope Innocent III stated The mysteries of the sacraments of faith should not be explained everywhere to everyone, since they cannot be understood everywhere by everyone, but only to those who can conceive of them by their faithful intellect..

Meanwhile, other Protestant groups were forming throughout the Empire. While they all rejected the authority of Rome, they often differed about what doctrines should constitute true Christianity. Almost all agreed on the doctrine of Sola Scriptura though, the doctrine that the Bible is the supreme authority in all matter of doctrine. Unfortunately, yet again, their long-time traditions made it impossible for them to apply this principle in practice.

Even today, Protestant churches claim Sola Scriptura as a doctrine, all the while accepting many doctrines whose origin lies strictly within the Roman Church. The Church itself is well aware of this hypocrisy. The Catholic Doctrinal Catechism for instance says: Question: Have you any other way of proving that the church has power to institute festivals or precept? Answer: Had she not such power, she should not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her - she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday, the seventh day, a change for which there is no scriptural authority.

And Plain Sermons on the Catechism says: And where are we told in Scripture that we are to keep the first day at all? ... the reason why we keep the first day of the week instead of the seventh is for the same reason that we observe many other things, not because the Bible, but because the church has enjoined it.

Conflict

Paulicians

A captive, who had escaped from Syria, returned to his home in Armenia, bringing with him a New Testament manuscript, which he showed to Constantine of Mananali. They and others studied it and soon realized that what claimed to be Christianity really wasn't, and as a result recreated an approximation of the original Christianity of the Bible. They rejected the powers of the Church; the ceremonies of mass, communion, and confession; the adoration of crosses; the worship of Mary; the concept of a Trinity; Christmas, Easter, and other holidays; Sunday worship; and many other Roman additions.

Instead they kept the ten commandments and holidays such as Passover, and practised full-immersion baptism, but only for adults, and only following repentance and understanding.

In The Key of Truth, an 1898 translation and study of a manual of the Paulician church of Armenia, F.C. Coneybeare said: we have before us a form of Church not very remote from the primitive Jewish Christianity of Palestine.

In 843CE, Empress Theodora persecuted the Paulicians, murdering 100,000 of them and confiscating their land and property.

Waldensians

Still further west, the Waldensians were located in southern France and northern Italy. Like other groups that looked to the Bible rather than to Rome, they rejected such teachings as transubstantiation, relics, and holy water. They referred to the Pope as the Antichrist, and Rome as the harlot of the Apocalypse.

In 1545, Francis I of France attacked the Waldensians using French and Papal soldiers. Two dozen villages were destroyed, possibly thousands of people killed, and hundreds of surviving men forced to work as galley slaves.

The movement persisted though, and in 1655 the Duke of Savoy ordered their slaughter. The troops humiliated, tortured, mutilated, raped, flayed, burned, and murdered about 1700 Waldensians, including babies.

Many of those that escaped were able to get to the New World, using an underground railroad set up by Calvinists.

Mennonite and Baptist authors and scholars have linked their Anabaptist origins to the Waldensians, accepting that the Waldensians preserved the apostolic faith and were descendants of Primitive Christianity.

Inquisition

Although in its early years the Roman Empire had killed Christians and others for entertainment in the Colosseum, it generally punished its citizens with exile, not torture or death. But once it became the Holy Roman Empire, that changed, and such punishments became the norm.

In the 12th century, the Roman Church created an organization known as the Inquisition, whose primary purpose was to suppress heresy, and whose members were primarily Dominicans. The principle targets were the Cathars and Waldensians, and later the Husites and Beguines. Its scope expanded during the Renaissance, with independent branches working in different countries, the Spanish Inquisition being the most infamous.

Anyone whose views might be considered to not be fully supporting the Church was in danger, whether they be Jews, Muslims, witches, scientists, or simply considered heretical. Mass conversions of non-Christians occurred, those that wouldn't convert, even under torture, were killed. In the newly discovered Americas, natives were similarly converted or slaughtered. Scientists, most famously Galileo, were forced to publicly retract their discoveries.

In the 19th century the Inquisition became more internal to the Church (examining clergy and publications for heresy), its widely hated name was retired, and the organization continued as part of the Roman Curia as the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith. At the time Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI in 2010, he himself was head of the Congregation, the Grand Inquisitor.

Knights Templar

The Knights Templar were a religious order reporting directly to the Pope. For two centuries, they fought in the Crusades and helped protect pilgrims and guard religious sites. As a result of their pillaging, they became quite wealthy and often acted as bankers, lending money to European governments.

Their secret rites made them the object of suspicion, and many secular leaders resented their wealth and power. France's King Philip IV in particular was heavily in debt to them, and on Friday the 13th of October 1307 had leader Jacques de Molay and other Templars arrested for fraud, treason, and heresy. Under torture by the Inquisition, many confessed to the crimes.

Pope Clement disbanded the order, and when de Molay and the others later retracted their forced confessions, they were charged as relapsed heretics and burned at the stake.

(This event is considered the beginning of the Friday 13 superstition. The most believable theory about the Shroud of Turin is that the image on it is that of Jacques de Molay.)

Revival

Over the next few centuries, various other Christian groups opposed to Roman teaching and practice arose. Some, such as Mormons and Christian Scientists, believed completely new ideas, while many others wanted to return to a more biblical theology.

Ecumenicalism

Over the last few decades, most mainstream churches have greatly watered down their teachings and become far more tolerant of other beliefs. Cooperation between various organizations has increased, and society's pressure to continue this trend is growing. Even what used to be fundamental beliefs are now being thrown out: the family used to be central to society, now it has become barely defined; homosexuality used to be considered an abomination, now it is welcomed; Jesus used to be the only way to God, now he is only one of many.

Meanwhile, the Roman Church welcomes this trend. More and more people see the lack of faith and guidance presented by these churches, and more and more people drop out. And many of those that need real faith and guidance are discovering the Roman Church. Even some Anglican priests and bishops are converting to Catholicism.

Some Protestant churches that want to preserve their positions are talking with Rome, possibly considering returning to the mother church. For example, in 2013 the Lutheran and Roman churches published a joint paper, From Conflict to Communion in which they declared: Lutherans and Catholics today enjoy a growth in mutual understanding, cooperation, and respect. They have come to acknowledge that more unites than divides them ....

Prophecy

The Bible makes many prophecies about the future of Christianity. Even non-believers can notice the coincidence with reality.

Most of the post-crucifixion scriptures predict that the Christian church will become corrupted, both from within and without. Given that they could already see the process at work, that didn't require a lot of insight, but other predictions are more far reaching.

Jesus knew that the true Church would remain small: Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom., and that many others would only appear to be Christian: But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men..

Paul gave warning of this false direction: For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.. He believed that Satan was keeping the majority of mankind from knowing the truth: ... the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them..

Later, John would have an end-time vision of this universal deception: And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world .... He also saw that the number of true believers would be small, and noted how they could be recognized: And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ..

This woman is a metaphor for true Christianity. But John also described another woman representing false Christianity: And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. ... And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth ... for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.. Most biblical commentaries agree that this is referring to Rome.

John also described a beast (representing a government) that worked in cooperation with the woman (religion): ... I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy ....

The people were completely fooled by them: And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them ....

John was told that the religion controlled people of many nations and languages: ... the waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues., and that parts of the beast represented individual kingdoms within the empire: And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, ... . These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast..

The explanation continued: These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful..

This vision very clearly fits the Roman church and empire, their relationship, and their persecution of Bible-based religion. Compare this to Jesus's prophecy that a false Christianity would arise: For many shall come in my name saying that I am Christ, and shall deceive many.. Combine that with his prophecy of end-time persecution and a war that would destroy all humanity: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved ..., and it looks very much like the Roman Church and a near future Holy Roman Empire lead by Germany (which is what is happening now with the European Union).

Today

Traditionally, Mary has been pictured wearing a blue cloak, often with her head surrounded by 12 stars. It is no coincidence that this is exactly what appears on the flag of the European Union. Mary is also often depicted using the same madonna and child images used to represent Isis.

So called Christian cerebrations are filled with pagan symbols and traditions. Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny are obvious examples, but there are so many more. Christmas trees, Yule logs, mistletoe, etc. are taken from German and Nordic religions. Many of the traditions that do appear biblical actually aren't (e.g. December nativity, not born in a house, three wise men). Similarly, Easter eggs, ham dinners, sunrise services, and almost everything associated with Easter are non-biblical at best and anti-biblical at worst. The Crucifixion wasn't even on a Friday, nor the Resurrection on a Sunday. Hallowe'en is taken directly from the Celtic festival of Samhain, and has incorporated many aspects of Satanism and death worship from other world religions.

In English, four of the days of the week are named for Nordic gods: Tiu, Woden, Thor, and Frige. The other three days, and in most other European languages all seven days, are named after heavenly bodies and their associated god: Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn.

Like the Mithraeum caves, Church buildings are traditionally large stone enclosures laid out with an entrance at one end, an altar at the other, a central aisle connecting them, with seating on each side. From above they can be seen forming the shape of a Latin Cross, often with an accented roof-line. Given that human flight didn't exist until a century ago, one can only wonder for whom that symbol is intended.

Similarly, the initiated members of the Church are all male, use oaths and a catechism, and have a leader called Pater, the top level leaders wearing mitres (Dagon's open-mouthed fish with eyes). Many groups within the Church practice self mortification and other physical ordeals. Holy water is used in many ceremonies. And like Mithras's, Jesus's December 25 birth is said to have occurred in a cave used as a stable. (The Bible supports an autumn birth, in a house, inn being a blatant mistranslation.)

The Roman Church is full of images of Biblical characters and events. From being a babe in a manger to hanging on an impossible cross, Jesus's life is laid out in detail and celebrated by all. Everything is oriented to the messenger, not to his message. (Imagine a physics course that teaches everything about Einstein's life and praises his theories, but never teaches the meaning or significance of General Relativity; or admirers of Beethoven that spend most of their time studying his birth and upbringing, yet never bother listening to his music.)

Many items, including clerical robes, bare the IHS initials of the Egyptian trinity: Isis, Horus, and Set. Like the Egyptians, Roman Catholics embalm their dead, seal them in coffins, and often use stone crypts and tombs. And similarly, public processions with priests carrying images of Jesus, Mary, or other saints are common.

And like a Pharaoh, the Pope is believed to have a direct connection with God, and to be infallible when making certain declarations. Yet even a brief look at a history of these leaders of the Church shows a long tale of corruption, power struggles, adultery, and murder.

Today's Pope is helping to bridge the gap between the secular philosophies of communism and capitalism by encouraging thinking about a third way, a way that is in many ways similar to feudalism.

The Pope makes appearances from the balcony of his apartments overlooking St. Peter's Square. The square itself is actually a circle, like the Sun, and is laid out facing the East. The centerpiece of this most public center of Christianity is an ancient Egyptian obelisk, a representation of the sun god Ra.

What more can be said?