Some Pagan1 items adopted by Christians

Take for example, the simple wedding ring. This has profound Pagan origins yet is considered an essential part of the wedding ceremony by many Christians.

Many of today's customs came into Christianity through Constantine who, in 325 AD, began the process of converting the official religion of Roman Empire from Paganism to Christianity. Note the word 'converting'. It seems he modelled Christianity on many customs that were familiar and acceptable to Jews and Pagans at that time. We must also bear in mind that in those days, religion and belief were intertwined with superstition. This contrasts with today's norm - at least in economically advanced countries, with greater access to education and science, most people believe what they believe from reasoning rather than superstition.

Over-emphasizing the relevance and importance of religious symbols can lead to conflict. Consider the tensions raised in France during 2004/5, following the banning of Muslim headscarves, Sikh turbans, Jewish skullcaps, large Christian crucifixes, and other conspicuous religious symbols that don't blend into secular state schools⁵. The 'headscarf issue' resulted in just a handful of school expulsions but more damagingly generated ill-feeling, divided the country and achieved nothing positive.

But far from being an example of a "Clash of Civilizations?" (Samuel P. Huntington: 1993), this could be more accurately described as an ignorance of civilizations ("Civilizations Never Clash. Ignorance Does Clash" by Prof. Eiji Hattori: 2004), where too much emphasis has been placed on religious symbols, to the point that they are used as excuses for prejudicial, negative (or positive) discrimination.

To quote Jacques Cousteau (1910-1997), "where there are few species, like at the South Pole, the ecosystem is fragile. The greater the number of species, the stronger the ecosystem. And the same applies to culture: Monoculture is fragile. If cultural diversity is lost, the human species will become extinct."

And if we look into the origin of many symbols, we see they often have a shaky basis for being considered religious at all. The veil is just one example.

But back to our little look into history. In his 1878 Essay on the Development of the Christian Doctrine John H. Newman wrote:

It is interesting to note that John Newman was a Catholic prelate - this was not yet more Catholic-bashing by a Protestant.²¹. Perhaps many customs and symbols came into Christianity via Judaism, rather than directly from Paganism. Nevertheless, let's consider what John Newman meant by 'origin':

The word 'holy' may be derived from Old High German hulis, meaning 'holly'. The holly tree was considered a sacred plant to Pagans. (See Holy Cross)

From the sprinkling of blood on the altar. (See Blessings)

Our Days, Months and Seasons come from the stars

It is convenient for followers of a religion to conform to society norms, even when there is no religious connection. For example, our way of measuring time (hours, minutes and seconds) are based on an early Babylonian system, and our modern calendar is based on Pagan practices, astrology and mythology.

But whether we are 'religious' or not, we do not think of the calendar as a religious thing; it's merely a means to measure time, using things called "days" and "months". If someone believes a particular date (Easter, for example) has some mystical power, it is the value that person has placed on it. The same goes for the Bible, the cross, and all the other items adopted by Christians that have a Pagan origin. (See Days, Months, Seasons.)

Jesus Fish

Sometimes called the 'Jesus Fish' because of its link to the ancient Greek Ichthys. Currently vogue, the curious fish symbol is not as widely recognised as the cross. It means nothing to most non-Christians and so is largely known only 'in-house'.

The fish is an ancient symbol used by other religions, such as Buddhists and Pagans. Our fish symbol page shows how Christians have hooked this symbol.

The Cross
- an Emblem of Christianity

The cross is a remarkable shape. Usually just two intersecting lines, the symbol is used in mathematics, it stops people parking their cars at the road side, and stops people at international border checkpoints. It's a kiss at the bottom of a love letter and it's a vote for a politician. A death cross in financial terms means a situation where long-term and short-term averages converge. The cross is used extensively in black magic and in innumerable religions.

The Cross - an Emblem of Christianity explains how this simplest of symbols has evolved from its Pagan roots. We explain how it has caused as much grief as it has comforted. A torture instrument, a threat to entire civilizations, and yet used as jewelry and sometimes worshipped. It has associations with illegal psychedelic drugs, SARS, BSE and bird flu, Prince Harry, hatred and despair, love, valour and heroism, World War I, World War II, the Crusades, the invasion of Iraq (again), mythology, Satan, and salvation.

Photo courtesy of
Alpha Choir Robe Sales

Fancy garb does not make the wearer a priest.

To find the origin of albs, cassocks, chasubles, robes, stoles, surplices, etc, we must go back thousands of years. Before Internet shopping, before mail order, before department stores. Before Calvin Klein, before Burberry, (...you get the message), people's clothes were basically whatever was available to protect the wearer.

For about 99% of human history, animal skins were the most efficient, warm and hardwearing coverings. Then, about 10,000 years ago, roughly woven cloth from fibres such as hemp would be used to make lighter garments. They would still protect the wearer from wind-chill and the sun's heat, yet light enough for a man to chase animals and women (or to run away from animals and women!)

The next development was with finer fibres, such as cotton and silk. This required more time and skill to make, dyes would be used, braids and other decorations added, resulting in a more expensive material and therefore reserved for people with a higher social status. It gave less protection from the weather but this wouldn't matter to the higher classes in their superior quality shelters. The people with such a status would of course be the rulers and priests.

From old works of art we can see that Pagan priests wore such robes, but there is no evidence that these were copied for Christian liturgical use. Indeed, to distance themselves from the Jewish faith, Christian priests of the pre-Constantine era wore normal clothing, albeit cleaner and better quality than day-to-day wear. Christian vestments developed later as the Church became more established; first in the East and then spreading to the West. They have never claimed that the style of vestments is from any Divine command, but simply that special garb is appropriate for special circumstances. This is the same reason that Pagan priests of old wore vestments.

So there we have it. Vestments have always been simply a symbol of status. Even today, bishops and cardinals wear more baroque-style ensembles than priests (see also Pectoral Cross), and lay preachers usually wear an ordinary suit. Vestments are just a tradition passed down through civilization, and whilst considered Sacramental in the Roman Catholic Church, the attire in itself has no power.

Even so, they are important. They are a uniform, concealing the distractions of fashionable street clothing and they announce that the wearer is performing church duties.

(See also the Russian Orthodox Church's Order Of Vesting - a bit excessive for most tastes.)

The early church worshipped in whatever building was suitable and available: an existing temple, a hillside, river bank, or even somebody's home. The early church was dynamic and lively; the actual building design and architecture was unimportant. But like many other things in life, man's urge to enhance and improve things led to more elaborate, 'holy' structures.

Drawing on his knowledge and experience with Pagan worship, it would feel natural for a church building to have a sacred altar on which to place sacrifices. And even though teaching and believing that 'God is all around us', from the early days it was felt necessary and natural to have a central focal point to which everyone would turn and bow. For everyone to show reverence to this focal point would in itself, be a way for the congregation to pool and synergise their worship. The focal point would be to the East⁶, or elevated, believing that heaven⁷ was up there, somewhere.

The point is...(!)

(Strange that Church spires around the world point upwards. Is heaven really up there? And if so, where exactly? The point is, a church spire in the northern hemisphere points in the opposite direction to a church spire in the southern hemisphere. And a church spire on the equator just spins 360 degrees at 1,670 kilometres per hour⁸ with the earth's rotation every day.)

Of course it's symbolic, but the symbolism reflects the Pagan belief that heaven is physically up there where it's light. Once again we find Christians following the ancients by looking up at the Sun god¹⁶, yet they will tell you that heaven is in a completely different dimension and that the design of a church building is wholly incidental. Early church design was based on Pagan structures and that design, well-intentioned though spiritually baseless, remains today.

Since there are Crusading 'Christians' who kill people, sincerely believing they are doing God's work whilst ignoring a basic Commandment "Thou shalt not kill"⁹, it is not surprising that most Christians ignore another: "Thou shalt not make to thee any graven image"¹⁰. (Jews and Muslims have similar laws about murder and idolatry.)

This prohibition of idolatry is not usually interpreted in isolation or literally: the pope hired Michelangelo, Eastern Orthodox churches display icons, Roman Catholic churches contain statues, Protestant churches hang drawings, and they all have one or more crosses. Since pre-Christian times, man has wanted to see his god, but we cannot physically see into a different dimension. So we erect effigies of what we think our god looks like. Often, however, these items become idols in their own right and people start to worship them. (Muslims similarly understand the Qur'an to forbid images of Muhammad, and yet there are many such examples in public institutions in Istanbul, Vienna, and other places.)

An idol can be something coveted, like a statue, a cross, a Bible, a stained glass window. It can be a deep green, ecological perspective of Earth; not far removed from Nature Worship. An idol can overtake God in the importance we place on it. Consider the millions of pilgrims, who for decades have touched the spiritual grotto at Our Lady of Lourdes in southern France. And since many have physically and spiritually benefitted from the visit, it's hardly surprising that people revere the place.

"Our spiritual peril is the new idolatry - the worship of the God of Bigness and the God of Speed." (Mcilyar H. Lichliter)

A monk with his head shaved as a tonsure.
(A balding habit that is thinning out)

Balderdash (n.) a rapidly receding hairline.

The shaven head sported by monks¹¹ and clerics of certain religious orders for hundreds of years, has a simple origin.

Both Egyptians and Romans¹² shaved the head of a slave as a mark of subservience. To proclaim themselves slaves of Christ, early monks began to shave their heads. And although the practice is thinning out (the Catholic Church abolished the practice in 1972) it is still used by some orthodox followers.

Hair¹³ is a curious part of the body. With the exception of ear lobes and lunula¹⁴, hair is perhaps the only part of the body that has completely lost its original function. No longer is it a head protector, but simply a fashion accessory. Lose control of your hairstyle, and you lose a considerable amount of your desired image. Hence the uniform haircut used today in prisons, boot camps, and anywhere else where a master's authority over a slave is to be indicated.

The choir sings an antiphon during the tonsure ceremony. Origin of the Barbershop Choir?

For the Christian Church, the tonsure has been both a way to control ringworm that was rife in the monks' poor living conditions and also an indication of subservience. The main reason though was to comply with the old-fashioned idea that women should be veiled in a church (with long hair or a cloth) and men should expose their heads¹⁸. The circular crown of thorns monastic tonsure differs from the transverse tonsure (shaving of the hair in front of a line drawn over the top of the head from ear to ear) as worn by the ancient Celtic Druids.

Bridegrooms: Don't worry; you are not required to have a tonsure before your wedding! (See Isaiah 61:10)

Trappist Monks, famous for their contemplative silence, follow the Scriptures¹⁵ so that the voice of the world might be shut out and the voice of God might be heard. But Christian monks didn't invent the idea. Pythagoreans from around 530 B.C. took the practice of silence seriously; breaking the vow of silence carried the death penalty. And the priestess-guardians of the sacred Roman fire, the Vestal Virgins, lived in silence for years at a time.

Vidar, son of Odin¹⁶ was the Norse god of silence and Muta was the Roman's minor goddess of silence (hence the word mute).

Songs in the form of chants, poems, and later as hymns, cantatas, anthems, oratorios or motets, are useful mnemonic methods. Singing makes us feel hearty and that's why we sing; whether it's a chant or any other form. Singing helps us feel young and energetic, even if we're not very proficient. Singing helps relieve tension. Singing is therapeutic. Communal singing turns an audience into participants.

Chanting has never been restricted to Christianity - Pagans used it as part of their worship too. Like the word Glory, chants are not even restricted to religion. They are used by squads of jogging soldiers, team-sports players in training, supporters at a match, supporters at a political convention, children reciting nursery rhymes and the alphabet song.

One particular type of Christian hymn is called a carol, which is sung at Christmas time; another custom with Pagan roots:

At Christian Sunday Schools, children are taught that Santa Claus evolved from the good Saint Nicholas, and most people are happy to leave the story there. But followers of Paganism know a bit more about our Jolly Santa.

The tough old god Odin¹⁶, whom most people have forgotten even though we've named Wednesday after him, was imagined as a paunchy white-bearded old man in a long cloak.

A mixture of the characterisations of both St. Nicholas and Odin is thought to result in Father Christmas, whom for the past eighty years or so has sported the Coca Cola colours.

Saturnalia was a festival held between 17th and 24th December, which began in the days of the Roman Empire. This was a week of feasting, gift-giving and an excuse for a bit of an orgy during the Northern Hemisphere's winter solstice. The objective of this debauchery and dancing around (carol) was to give the Sun a nudge and send a message to Mother Earth to begin reproducing for the Spring. This seemed to work quite well because sure enough, in Spring things started growing again. The traditional Christmas colours of red and green, being on opposite sides of the colour spectrum, represent male and female, and hence fertility. Other Pagan things still seen around Christmas include the red berries and green leaves of holly, evergreen trees, mistletoe and wreaths. Yule festivities are a mixture of customs and beliefs going back thousands of years.

Celebrating the Solstice was forbidden by the Church, but many customs survived anyway. In the 4th Century, Pope Julius I declared that 25th December was Jesus' birthday and so celebrations were in order. This effectively transformed the Pagan occasion into a Christian holy day (holiday). (See also Christmas Cross.) This was not, however, merely a convenient way to 'Christianize' a Pagan celebration. There is no historical evidence to prove what date Jesus was born on, or the season, or even the year. But after many years of calculation, contemplation and argument, 25th December was assigned. And since the 'why' is more important than the 'when', that date has been good enough for Christians ever since.

A prayer is a collection of words spoken aloud or silently, to our god. Man has prayed to the nature gods for millennia; it was certainly not a new invention for Christianity. And it was natural, like all the things listed above, for Christians to adopt this form of communication with their God.

(more.....)

Amen (in Hebrew)

Even Amen, the very last word in the Bible¹⁹, most probably has Pagan roots. Yet Christians, Jews and Muslims invariably end their prayers, scripture readings, and hymns by saying Amen as an expression of concurrence. (more...)