Today, in the Year of Our Lord, 2005...
Before I get into the main subject of this post, let me preface by stating I am not a Christian, nor do I practise any specific religion (I kind of don't like the concept of religion in general). My beliefs in the divine tend to fall somewhere between agnostic and pantheistic, in that I do believe in gods (yes, plural) and divine powers, but I don't worship them or live my life by any religious doctrine.
That said, there are many things people misinterpret about religion, particularly Christianity, and you know how much I love debunking common misconceptions, so that's what I'm going to be doing in this post. I apologise ahead of time if anything I say here offends your sensibilities or beliefs, since I know religion is a touchy subject for most, but just know that nothing I say here is intended to be taken as derogatory or insulting, merely informative. Without further ado, let's get into it.
(Another cautionary note: When it comes to quotations from the Bible, keep in mind that the Bible is the most-translated text in the history of the world, and was not originally written in English, so take much of the information about actual lines and verses from it with a grain of salt.)
First, let's get the low-hanging fruit, pun very much intended, out of the way. The fruit in the Garden of Eden is only referred to as just that - a fruit. The Bible never says what specific type of fruit it is. Despite this, many Christians, when asked, will say it was an apple, even though apples weren't even discovered until centuries after the Bible was written. In fact, the specific Hebrew word used is a more general term that refers to any kind of edible plant matter, not fruit specifically, and each religion has a different theory as to what it was - Muslims traditionally say the forbidden fruit was dates, while Jews claim it to be a fig or an ertog. But the fact remains that it is not specifically identified anywhere in the Bible. The apple idea may have come from the similar story of the Apple of Discord in Greek mythology, or from the fact that, in Latin, the words for "apple" and "evil" are the same (malus).
Also, the "original sin" was not Adam and Eve having sex. In fact, God specifically told them to have sex ("Be fruitful and multiply"), and a sin is defined as deliberately disobeying God. In their case, the sin was eating the forbidden fruit, which God specifically told them not to do.
The Bible does not say that exactly three wise men came to visit Jesus, nor does it say they were kings, or that they rode on camels, or that their names were Balthazar, Melchior and Gaspar, or that one of them was black (though it doesn't say any of them weren't black, either). In fact most of the traditional story of the Nativity is completely different from what is written in the Bible. Mistranslations can be blamed for most of the mistakes, but to clear things up: Jesus was not born in a stable. The word used ("kataluma") translates more accurately as "guest rooms", indicating he was most likely born in the living room of a family who had taken their flock in for the night. The wise men also did not come to witness the birth of Jesus - they visited about two or three years later, when Jesus was already a young child. The idea of there being three wise men came from the fact that there were three gifts given - gold, frankincense and myrrh.
The Christian church does not say that homosexuality itself is a sin. By law of the church, homosexuality is considered a disorder, meaning it is beyond the control of the individual and therefore cannot be considered a sin. It does, however, say that homosexual acts are sinful, which many may argue is just as bad.
And on that note, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were not destroyed because of homosexuality. They were destroyed for many reasons, among them rape and refusing to give shelter to the homeless.
The idea of Hell (and Heaven) having multiple layers, each for a different sin, originates in the epic poem Commedia by Dante Alighieri (later referred to as La Divina Commedia, or The Divine Comedy). Nothing even close to that idea appears in the Bible or any Christian mythology. In fact, the word "Hell" is used as a translation for four different words in the original text - Sheol, Hades, Tartarus and Gehenna. Sheol and Hades are two different terms (one Hebrew and the other Greek) for the same thing - the realm of the dead, where all people (good or bad) go after they die. Gehenna is a Greek word meaning "Valley of Hinnom", which was an actual valley that was basically used as a garbage dump - people went there to dump waste and burn the corpses of criminals and the like. Jesus used the name as an analogy to refer to the eventual fate of the wicked, whether human or demon, and it has the same symbolic meaning as the Lake of Fire in Revelation, though people argue over whether it's a place of eternal torment or eternal destruction. In fact, the modern idea of the Fire and Brimstone Hell mostly comes from the aforementioned Lake of Fire.
There is no Book of Revelations in the Bible. It's the Book of Revelation, singular (or "The Revelation of St. John the Divine", to give it its full title). It's also sometimes referred to as Apocalypse, from the Greek "apokalypsis" meaning "lifting the veil".
For that matter, "Armageddon" and "Apocalypse" don't mean "the end of the world". As previously stated, "apocalypse" is just the Greek word for "revelation" (roughly translated), and "Armageddon" is a place, specifically a mountain which is stated to be the site of a final battle at the prophesied end of the world.
The Number of the Beast is six hundred and sixty six. Three sixes in a row (666) means nothing in eschatology. Some translations also have it as six hundred and sixteen or two hundred and sixteen (six cubed, or "six by six by six").
The upside-down cross is not a Satanic symbol. It's a common symbol used by the Pope in tribute to St. Peter, who asked to be crucified upside-down because he didn't believe himself worthy enough to die in the same way Jesus did, so to many old-school Catholics, wearing an upside-down cross is considered more humble and respectable than wearing a normal cross. The upside-down crucifix (i.e. a cross with a figure of Jesus on it) is considered offensive, however.
Similarly, the pentacle is used in Christianity to represent the five wounds Jesus suffered while on the cross, and to provide protection from evil spirits. It's the upside-down pentacle, or pentagram, which is the Satanic symbol (which is often confused with the upside-down cross).
Satan does not rule over Hell in Christian mythology. God sent Satan to Hell to be punished, along with everyone else. Hell is not Satan's kingdom, it's his prison. (His kingdom is actually Earth.) The only thing resembling "authority" Satan has in Hell is that it's his job to make sure everyone there is suffering just as much as he is (though he isn't the one doing the punishing, as is commonly depicted - that's God's job). Satan is also never depicted in the Bible as a red-skinned, goat-hooved, barb-tailed, goatee-wearing, and horned man. This depiction came from 19th century depictions of the faun Pan from Greek mythology as a symbol of pagan decadence, being associated with sin and then with Satan. While the Bible never describes Satan's appearance specifically, it does mention that he is capable of changing his form and appearance to suit his needs. The closest he ever gets to looking demonic is in Revelation, where he's described as a seven-headed red dragon with ten horns, though there's debate about whether or not that was actually meant to be taken literally. Given that he was originally an angel, his true form was most likely angelic. Also, "Satan" was not his actual name, but his title. His real name was Helel (in Hebrew) or Lucifer (in Latin), which translates as "bringer of light".
For that matter, angels in the Bible were not winged humans - that idea came from Renaissance-era paintings. The angels in the Bible are given sparse descriptions, but what is said about them makes them sound more like terrifying eldritch abominations than anything else. There's a good reason the first thing they say when appearing before mortals is usually "Do not be afraid" or something along those lines.
In Christian belief, humans do not become angels when they die, and angels themselves are not dead humans. Angels are an entirely separate order from humans, and have been around since the Beginning.
The depiction of God as a bearded human also came from Renaissance-era paintings, which were heavily influenced by classical mythology. There is no description of God in the Bible, and many traditional Christians believe that He has no physical form, or at least if He does, it's a form beyond human comprehension and description, so much so that just laying eyes on Him would cause you to disintegrate. The Mormons, however, do believe that God has a physical humanoid form and that He resides on a distant planet, though many Christians consider Mormonism heretical (and in fact their belief comes from works other than the Bible).
Most Christians do in fact believe in evolution and many Catholic schools teach it. The only ones that don't are the Creationists, who make up only a small part of Christians as a whole.
"Allah" is simply the Arabic word for "God". Muslims worship the same God as Christians, Jews, etc.
Alcohol, gambling and legal drugs themselves are not forbidden by the Bible or by Christian doctrine, only an excess of them. In other words, it's fine to partake in them, as long as you don't let them rule your life.
The Bible does not say the exact phrase "Cleanliness is next to godliness", though it does mention cleanliness several times. Nor does it say "God helps those who help themselves" - that phrase comes from Aesop's Fables, and the actual Bible has quite the opposite message.
In fact, many phrases supposedly taken from the Bible don't actually come from the Bible, or are corruptions of actual Biblical phrases. "Spare the rod and spoil the child" is a corruption of "He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves his son is careful to discipline him" (note also that "discipline" does not necessarily mean "punish"), and "No rest for the weary/wicked" is a corruption of "There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked".
While the Bible does actually say "Judge not, that ye be not judged", the phrase itself is often misinterpreted. It doesn't mean "never judge anyone" - rather, the context of the full verse makes it clear that the actual meaning is "don't be hypocritical in your judgement of others".
In most English translations, the first horseman of the apocalypse is referred to as Conquest, not Pestilence. In fact, of the four, the only one specifically named in the text is Death (the pale/white rider) - the others are named based on the descriptions of what they're carrying or doing. They also do not represent the four scourges of humanity (hunger, pestilence, war and death), but the four stages of war (parading and posturing, bloodshed, rationing and death).
There is no such thing as "seven deadly sins" in Christian mythology. Pride, Greed, Lust, Wrath, Envy, Gluttony and Sloth are the seven deadly vices, opposite to the seven heavenly virtues (Kindness, Temperance, Charity, Chastity, Humility, Diligence and Patience, not respectively). Remember, a sin is specifically an act, so while acts driven by pride etc. are sinful, pride itself is not a sin. They also don't appear and are not referenced in the Bible at all - they actually come from a sect known as the Desert Fathers who lived in about 300 AD, and the vices and virtues weren't considered part of official Catholic doctrine until about 590 AD.
In fact, originally there were eight deadly vices - Pride, Greed, Prostitution, Wrath, Despair, Gluttony, Sloth and Vainglory (deceitful boasting), which was considered separate from Pride. Later, Despair was replaced by Envy and Prostitution was replaced by Lust.
The Qu'ran does not say that martyrs will get 72 virgins, or anything like it. It also teaches that women have souls and will go to paradise, and that they should be educated, as well as a lot of other stuff.
The Bible does not say "Pride comes before a fall". It says "Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall."
It also does not say "money is the root of all evil". What it does say is "the love of money is the root of all evil", or in some translations, "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil".
Jesus's full name was Jesus of Nazareth, or Jesus, son of Joseph (Yeshua bar Yosef). "Christ" (literally "anointed one") was a title that his followers ascribed to him based on what they believed him to be, not his actual last name. His enemies would have actually considered it heresy to refer to him as Jesus Christ.
There were never any unicorns in the Bible. The word "unicorn" shows up in certain versions, but it's most likely referring to rhinoceroses ("unicorn" literally means "one horn" in Latin).
That said, there are many things people misinterpret about religion, particularly Christianity, and you know how much I love debunking common misconceptions, so that's what I'm going to be doing in this post. I apologise ahead of time if anything I say here offends your sensibilities or beliefs, since I know religion is a touchy subject for most, but just know that nothing I say here is intended to be taken as derogatory or insulting, merely informative. Without further ado, let's get into it.
(Another cautionary note: When it comes to quotations from the Bible, keep in mind that the Bible is the most-translated text in the history of the world, and was not originally written in English, so take much of the information about actual lines and verses from it with a grain of salt.)
First, let's get the low-hanging fruit, pun very much intended, out of the way. The fruit in the Garden of Eden is only referred to as just that - a fruit. The Bible never says what specific type of fruit it is. Despite this, many Christians, when asked, will say it was an apple, even though apples weren't even discovered until centuries after the Bible was written. In fact, the specific Hebrew word used is a more general term that refers to any kind of edible plant matter, not fruit specifically, and each religion has a different theory as to what it was - Muslims traditionally say the forbidden fruit was dates, while Jews claim it to be a fig or an ertog. But the fact remains that it is not specifically identified anywhere in the Bible. The apple idea may have come from the similar story of the Apple of Discord in Greek mythology, or from the fact that, in Latin, the words for "apple" and "evil" are the same (malus).
Also, the "original sin" was not Adam and Eve having sex. In fact, God specifically told them to have sex ("Be fruitful and multiply"), and a sin is defined as deliberately disobeying God. In their case, the sin was eating the forbidden fruit, which God specifically told them not to do.
The Bible does not say that exactly three wise men came to visit Jesus, nor does it say they were kings, or that they rode on camels, or that their names were Balthazar, Melchior and Gaspar, or that one of them was black (though it doesn't say any of them weren't black, either). In fact most of the traditional story of the Nativity is completely different from what is written in the Bible. Mistranslations can be blamed for most of the mistakes, but to clear things up: Jesus was not born in a stable. The word used ("kataluma") translates more accurately as "guest rooms", indicating he was most likely born in the living room of a family who had taken their flock in for the night. The wise men also did not come to witness the birth of Jesus - they visited about two or three years later, when Jesus was already a young child. The idea of there being three wise men came from the fact that there were three gifts given - gold, frankincense and myrrh.
The Christian church does not say that homosexuality itself is a sin. By law of the church, homosexuality is considered a disorder, meaning it is beyond the control of the individual and therefore cannot be considered a sin. It does, however, say that homosexual acts are sinful, which many may argue is just as bad.
And on that note, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were not destroyed because of homosexuality. They were destroyed for many reasons, among them rape and refusing to give shelter to the homeless.
The idea of Hell (and Heaven) having multiple layers, each for a different sin, originates in the epic poem Commedia by Dante Alighieri (later referred to as La Divina Commedia, or The Divine Comedy). Nothing even close to that idea appears in the Bible or any Christian mythology. In fact, the word "Hell" is used as a translation for four different words in the original text - Sheol, Hades, Tartarus and Gehenna. Sheol and Hades are two different terms (one Hebrew and the other Greek) for the same thing - the realm of the dead, where all people (good or bad) go after they die. Gehenna is a Greek word meaning "Valley of Hinnom", which was an actual valley that was basically used as a garbage dump - people went there to dump waste and burn the corpses of criminals and the like. Jesus used the name as an analogy to refer to the eventual fate of the wicked, whether human or demon, and it has the same symbolic meaning as the Lake of Fire in Revelation, though people argue over whether it's a place of eternal torment or eternal destruction. In fact, the modern idea of the Fire and Brimstone Hell mostly comes from the aforementioned Lake of Fire.
There is no Book of Revelations in the Bible. It's the Book of Revelation, singular (or "The Revelation of St. John the Divine", to give it its full title). It's also sometimes referred to as Apocalypse, from the Greek "apokalypsis" meaning "lifting the veil".
For that matter, "Armageddon" and "Apocalypse" don't mean "the end of the world". As previously stated, "apocalypse" is just the Greek word for "revelation" (roughly translated), and "Armageddon" is a place, specifically a mountain which is stated to be the site of a final battle at the prophesied end of the world.
The Number of the Beast is six hundred and sixty six. Three sixes in a row (666) means nothing in eschatology. Some translations also have it as six hundred and sixteen or two hundred and sixteen (six cubed, or "six by six by six").
The upside-down cross is not a Satanic symbol. It's a common symbol used by the Pope in tribute to St. Peter, who asked to be crucified upside-down because he didn't believe himself worthy enough to die in the same way Jesus did, so to many old-school Catholics, wearing an upside-down cross is considered more humble and respectable than wearing a normal cross. The upside-down crucifix (i.e. a cross with a figure of Jesus on it) is considered offensive, however.
Similarly, the pentacle is used in Christianity to represent the five wounds Jesus suffered while on the cross, and to provide protection from evil spirits. It's the upside-down pentacle, or pentagram, which is the Satanic symbol (which is often confused with the upside-down cross).
Satan does not rule over Hell in Christian mythology. God sent Satan to Hell to be punished, along with everyone else. Hell is not Satan's kingdom, it's his prison. (His kingdom is actually Earth.) The only thing resembling "authority" Satan has in Hell is that it's his job to make sure everyone there is suffering just as much as he is (though he isn't the one doing the punishing, as is commonly depicted - that's God's job). Satan is also never depicted in the Bible as a red-skinned, goat-hooved, barb-tailed, goatee-wearing, and horned man. This depiction came from 19th century depictions of the faun Pan from Greek mythology as a symbol of pagan decadence, being associated with sin and then with Satan. While the Bible never describes Satan's appearance specifically, it does mention that he is capable of changing his form and appearance to suit his needs. The closest he ever gets to looking demonic is in Revelation, where he's described as a seven-headed red dragon with ten horns, though there's debate about whether or not that was actually meant to be taken literally. Given that he was originally an angel, his true form was most likely angelic. Also, "Satan" was not his actual name, but his title. His real name was Helel (in Hebrew) or Lucifer (in Latin), which translates as "bringer of light".
For that matter, angels in the Bible were not winged humans - that idea came from Renaissance-era paintings. The angels in the Bible are given sparse descriptions, but what is said about them makes them sound more like terrifying eldritch abominations than anything else. There's a good reason the first thing they say when appearing before mortals is usually "Do not be afraid" or something along those lines.
In Christian belief, humans do not become angels when they die, and angels themselves are not dead humans. Angels are an entirely separate order from humans, and have been around since the Beginning.
The depiction of God as a bearded human also came from Renaissance-era paintings, which were heavily influenced by classical mythology. There is no description of God in the Bible, and many traditional Christians believe that He has no physical form, or at least if He does, it's a form beyond human comprehension and description, so much so that just laying eyes on Him would cause you to disintegrate. The Mormons, however, do believe that God has a physical humanoid form and that He resides on a distant planet, though many Christians consider Mormonism heretical (and in fact their belief comes from works other than the Bible).
Most Christians do in fact believe in evolution and many Catholic schools teach it. The only ones that don't are the Creationists, who make up only a small part of Christians as a whole.
"Allah" is simply the Arabic word for "God". Muslims worship the same God as Christians, Jews, etc.
Alcohol, gambling and legal drugs themselves are not forbidden by the Bible or by Christian doctrine, only an excess of them. In other words, it's fine to partake in them, as long as you don't let them rule your life.
The Bible does not say the exact phrase "Cleanliness is next to godliness", though it does mention cleanliness several times. Nor does it say "God helps those who help themselves" - that phrase comes from Aesop's Fables, and the actual Bible has quite the opposite message.
In fact, many phrases supposedly taken from the Bible don't actually come from the Bible, or are corruptions of actual Biblical phrases. "Spare the rod and spoil the child" is a corruption of "He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves his son is careful to discipline him" (note also that "discipline" does not necessarily mean "punish"), and "No rest for the weary/wicked" is a corruption of "There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked".
While the Bible does actually say "Judge not, that ye be not judged", the phrase itself is often misinterpreted. It doesn't mean "never judge anyone" - rather, the context of the full verse makes it clear that the actual meaning is "don't be hypocritical in your judgement of others".
In most English translations, the first horseman of the apocalypse is referred to as Conquest, not Pestilence. In fact, of the four, the only one specifically named in the text is Death (the pale/white rider) - the others are named based on the descriptions of what they're carrying or doing. They also do not represent the four scourges of humanity (hunger, pestilence, war and death), but the four stages of war (parading and posturing, bloodshed, rationing and death).
There is no such thing as "seven deadly sins" in Christian mythology. Pride, Greed, Lust, Wrath, Envy, Gluttony and Sloth are the seven deadly vices, opposite to the seven heavenly virtues (Kindness, Temperance, Charity, Chastity, Humility, Diligence and Patience, not respectively). Remember, a sin is specifically an act, so while acts driven by pride etc. are sinful, pride itself is not a sin. They also don't appear and are not referenced in the Bible at all - they actually come from a sect known as the Desert Fathers who lived in about 300 AD, and the vices and virtues weren't considered part of official Catholic doctrine until about 590 AD.
In fact, originally there were eight deadly vices - Pride, Greed, Prostitution, Wrath, Despair, Gluttony, Sloth and Vainglory (deceitful boasting), which was considered separate from Pride. Later, Despair was replaced by Envy and Prostitution was replaced by Lust.
The Qu'ran does not say that martyrs will get 72 virgins, or anything like it. It also teaches that women have souls and will go to paradise, and that they should be educated, as well as a lot of other stuff.
The Bible does not say "Pride comes before a fall". It says "Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall."
It also does not say "money is the root of all evil". What it does say is "the love of money is the root of all evil", or in some translations, "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil".
Jesus's full name was Jesus of Nazareth, or Jesus, son of Joseph (Yeshua bar Yosef). "Christ" (literally "anointed one") was a title that his followers ascribed to him based on what they believed him to be, not his actual last name. His enemies would have actually considered it heresy to refer to him as Jesus Christ.
There were never any unicorns in the Bible. The word "unicorn" shows up in certain versions, but it's most likely referring to rhinoceroses ("unicorn" literally means "one horn" in Latin).
Comments
Post a Comment