"Libertarius" <Libertarius_at_Nothing_But_The.Truth> wrote
>
> Weatherwax wrote:
>
> >
> > It is unfortunate that the Bacchanalia, which celebrated
> > the god Dionysis, degenerated into the drunken orgies of
> > Rome. Some scholars believe that it is one such
> > celebration which Paul describes in Romans 1:18-32.
> > The language in that passage has often bothered me
> > because Paul is not talking about the sinners as people
> > who never knew God. Paul is talking about them as
> > people who abandoned God:
> >
> > Romans 1:21 For although they knew God,
> > they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks,
> > but they became futile in their thoughts and their
> > senseless hearts were darkened. 1:22 Although they
> > claimed to be wise, they became fools 1:23 and
> > exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God in
> > likeness of an image of corruptible man. or birds
> > or four-footed animals or reptiles.
> >
> > Paul was obviously familiar with worship of Dionysus and
> > borrowed from the cult. However, upon entering Rome,
> > he saw its corrupted form. He saw people take a religion
> > which was close to Christianity, and debase it. Thus he
> > criticized them for abandoning God:
>
> ===>Note that his claim is that they abandoned
> THEOS, whom he calls the FATHER (THEOS PATER
> -- JUPITER?) not YHWH!
> Also, that his CHRISTOS was the KYRIOS, a term used,
> among others, designating Pagan deities:
Dionysus, the son of Jupiter (Zeus) and a mortal woman (Semele),
is the prototype for Jesus Christ. This includes the
Indo-European motif of the suffering god, who becomes immortal
after his death.
It was not a large step from the Greek mystery religions to
Christianity.
--
Wax
Received on Fri Apr 02 2004 - 13:21:48 PST