You see the anti-Catholics & the Radtrad anti-semites have the same boss. They also have the same type of arguments.

Yep!
BenYachov(Jim Scott 4th) | 07.30.03 - 7:41 pm | #

Now that's a doozie of an accusation. Where do these people get this stuff from?
Matt | Homepage | 07.30.03 - 7:45 pm | #

+J.M.J+

Would it make a difference to point out to such a person the etymological flaws in his argument?

For instance, "Jupiter" comes from the term "Zeus Pater", or Father Zeus. "Peter" comes from the Greek word "petros" (rock), which has nothing to do with the Latin term "Pater" (father). Add to that the fact that Petros is the Greek translation of his actual Aramaic name, "Kefa", by which Peter was known during his life, and any tenuous connection to "Jupiter" vanishes entirely!

In Hebrew, Matthew is "Mattityahu", which means "gift of the Lord" and is not at all related to the Persian term "Mithras". Thomas is "Toma", which means "twin" (no relation to the Sumerian "Tammuz"), and John is "Yochanan", which means "the Lord is gracious" (no relation to the Babylonian "Oannes").

Only "Mark" seems to derive from Mars (Latin "Marcus"). But that still doesn't prove that St. Mark the Evangelist was supposed to be the Roman war god (how does St. Mark relate to war?). Since all his other arguments fell flat, this one does as well.

In Jesu et Maria,
Rosemarie | 07.30.03 - 8:42 pm | #

I had a rabidly anti-Christian professor in college who spouted all types of nonsense, including that the early Christian Church believed in reincarnation. I also asked for documentation of his absurd claims, and he backtracked into his own doom. Sheeps who've gone astray will believe anything the wolves feed them.
Jason | 07.30.03 - 9:07 pm | #

man, constantine was a busy guy....changing the Sabbath just to piss off Ellen White, reincarnating pagan Gods....when did he find some "Constantine Time," just for himself, a good book, and some flavored coffee?
Paul Rankin | 07.31.03 - 12:56 pm | #

This is a non-sequitur: "It most certainly did. Otherwise, there would have been no grounds to condemn it in the Fifth Ecumenical Council ..." Councils don't condemn what the church teaches! Certainly there are grounds to condemn a teaching even if the church does not teach it, like if, for example, a random priest starts teaching it (perhaps he does not realize that just because a priest or bishop teaches it, doesn't mean that "the Catholic Church" teaches it).

This nonsense of using a condemnation to "prove" the church taught something is just idiotic!
Eric Ewanco | Homepage | 07.31.03 - 1:58 pm | #

A lot of this stuff is recycled Woodrow ("Babylon Mystery Religion") and Hislop ("Two Babylons") -- these claims don't have footnotes to go with them.
Patrick Sweeney | Homepage | 07.31.03 - 2:22 pm | #

Jason must've had the same professors as I did. It's funny, you know: I'm not a Catholic, but my sociology professor said so many unbelievably retarded things about the Catholic church - and Christianity generally, actually - that I found myself in the unusual position of both explaining and defending Roman dogma to a man who was born and raised a Catholic. He was, of course, rather short on documentation (how did he get that PHD?), but long on theories...
Fast Eddie | Homepage | 07.31.03 - 2:50 pm | #

Interesting. As I like to say about lawyers, you can be arrogant or you can be stupid, but you can't be both at the same time.

Father Bloom has a nice, gentle way about him.

What's also interesting is Bakersfield John's comments about reincarnation being used as a hook to bring in pagans because of its widespread acceptance and the social utility of the doctrine of reincarnation. According to a lecture I was listening to today on Hinduism, reincarnation was never accepted in the West outside of various philosophers and the reason Hindu society was so stable for two thousand years despite great oppression was the doctrines of karma and reincarnation. John just gets everything wrong.
Peter Sean Bradley | Homepage | 07.31.03 - 10:22 pm | #