Paganism?

One of the major arguments often raised against Christian rock music is that Christians who bring it into the church are doing the same thing that early Catholics did - "Christianizing" pagan things. Here is a quote from them:

"There appears to be a parallel between the attempt today to Christianize rock music and the Christianization of various pagan religious practices in fourth century Rome. The Babylonian mystery religions were introduced into Christianity by Constantine in 313 A.D. as he tried to incorporate the pagans into the newly constituted Holy Roman Empire. The Constantine-led Roman church was willing to adapt and adopt pagan practices in order to make Christianity palatable to the heathen. The heathen festivals were adopted into Christianity, and then eventually, many of the associated pagan symbols and actions were reinterpreted in ways acceptable to Christian faith and practice. Christianization of pagan customs, symbols, etc., occurred as Christianity had to undergo a transformation so that pagans could convert without giving up their old beliefs and rituals.

Has not the modern church of today done much of the same adoption, reinterpretation, and Christianization of what is called rock music in order to make Christianity more palatable to the teenaged lost? And does not this approach smack of the traditional Roman Catholic method of making converts from pagans?-first adopt the pagan practices, and then reapply biblical meaning to them. In this manner, the former pagans can retain their pagan idolatrous heritage by merely renaming the idols and changing the terminology used in the worship of them."

The problem I have with this argument is that the critics go right ahead and participate in "Christianizing" themselves:

  1. Do you celebrate "Easter" (Ishtar, Asherah, Astorah, Isis) - or "Ressurection Sunday"? Do your kids hunt for "Easter" eggs? (Ishtar was found in a giant egg on the banks of the Euphrates river - she was the consort of Baal / SATAN). How many times did ancient Israel get in trouble for erecting Asherah poles? Aren't you doing the exact same thing when you honor the name "Easter" instead of "Resurrection Day" in early spring?
  2. Do you tell your kids about Santa Claus? St. Nicolaus was a man who loved Jesus even more than he loved children. What attributes do you give Santa in the name of "make-believe" and to inspire good behavior? Omnipotence? Omniscience? Omnipresence? Isn't that deifying Santa? How can a little kid possibly know where Santa ends and Jesus begins? Wouldn't it be far better to simply tell the TRUTH - that Santa was a man who loved Jesus, and the gifts are a symbol of Gods gift of Jesus to us? I was at EPCOT one December. They have Christmas traditions from all over the world in their World Showcase. I was explaining to my daughter that many other countries portray St. Nicolaus differently, but people in those countries give gifts in honor and rememberance of the gifts the wise men gave to the baby Jesus. A nearby mother with a young child was furious with me - for destroying the "religion" of Santa Claus she had with her child. I thought I was going to have security called on me for child abuse, because my daughter was never told to believe in Santa Claus! My daughter, incidentally, still can enjoy the many wonderful Santa Claus stories that circulate around Christmas, because she still is able to pretend. She also can point out the little nuggets of spiritual truth in them. But most of all, she will be able to say that her father never lied to her. I was an atheist for 14 years because, as a four year old, I found out that daddy lied to me about Santa Claus. If he lied about Santa, then he probably lied about Jesus ----.
  3. Do you have a Christmas tree in your house at Christmas? Compromise with the DRUIDS who worshipped trees and who killed for humans under them for punishment of the foresworn - what a PERVERSION of the gospel message!
  4. Do you allow your kids to "Trick or Treat" at Halloween? Compromise with the church of Wicca, which celebrates Samhain Eve (one of four major sabbats in their religion) and the church of Satan - the images of death are very important in Satan worship.

The quote above has historical blunders - The Christianization of "Saturnalia" happened by the sainted martyrs of the 1st century church, not by the Catholics, for instance. Are you willing to slam the martyr's blood of the 1st century church?

I acknowlege the help of a member of the church of Wicca in helping to state accurately their beliefs. No matter who you are, or what your belief system is, I welcome factual corrections to these essays.

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