Migrations-&-World_History_ p_27.htm

What_Do_You_Know_About_the_World_p_28.htm

by Wesley M. Wilson, BS, MBA, JD

Website P. 3 History of the Popes; Numbers; Miracles; Christianity In the Past and Today; the Significance of Virgins; Conclusions

HISTORY of the POPES

The Bishop of Rome gradually acquired more power than other bishops. He began to be called the pope. Beginning with Karl der Gross (Charlemagne), in the Eighth Century, the pope and emperor worked together to enhance each other’s power. In 1309 a French pope moved the seat of the Church to Avignon, France. Italians did not like the change, they selected another pope. For more than 50 years there was a pope in Rome and another pope in Avignon. Each pope excommunicated the other pope. Finally, a reconciliation was made, in 1417, with the pope being in Rome. Popes believed that they had complete control over all kings, even over the "Holy Roman Emperor," who was not really holy, or Roman, or a true emperor.

Before the Fifteenth Century, the popes were married in the Vatican and their wives gave birth to their children in the Vatican. Like earlier pagan temples, many churches had a brothel and collected the earnings of the prostitutes. By the Fifteenth Century, most Europeans insisted that the pope and priests be unmarried, even though they had one or more concubines and many children, who lived near the church. In Sixth Century (and later) Europe it was normal for monasteries and other religious persons to have a large number of slaves. Many monks and priests had regular concubines, or they successfully seduced many village women, married or single. Some monks, priests, bishops, cardinals, and even popes were known to have the seduction of many women as their primary goal. Nunneries had the reputation of being brothels, for the pleasure of monks and priests. Nuns are said to have had many babies, they were often "born dead." The Bishop of Liége, Belgium, was found in 1274 to be the father of 65 children, many of the mothers were young nuns. Spain’s Abbot of Sta. Pelayo, was found in a trial in 1130 to have 70 concubines. The church laity began to insist that a priest have a consort before taking office, to protect the girls and women in the parish. In 1215 the Church began to require that everyone have a confessional at least once a year. Priests then seduced many girls and women during the confessional. In the mid-Fourteenth Century, Boccacio’s popular The Decameron describes the sexual intrigues of many church leaders. In the Middle Ages, popular books with pictures showed monks chasing and making love to lay women. Even nice women said coarse things without blinking. During the French Revolution, beginning in 1789, the primary target for the guillotine was the monks, unpopular, but wealthy, with control of the best land. Monks fled from French monasteries and tried to disguise themselves.

A study of the popes shows that there have been some 262 popes and 38 antipopes. There is some disagreement as to the number of popes; Rome’s Basilica St. Paul, where the pope often preaches, has mosaic pictures of "all" of the 246 popes. It has space for pictures of 25 more. Some were as young as 11 years of age [Benedict IX, reigned 1032-1044]. Some were of poor moral character, little better than common criminals. Some killed the incumbent pope, so they could became pope. The main function of many popes was to seduce as many girls and women as possible. John XII was killed in 964 AD by an irate husband who found the pope in bed with his wife. He was also said to have committed incest with two of his sisters. Other popes who were notoriously not celibate include Sergius III [reigned 904-911], John X [914-928], John XII [955-964], Benedict V [964-966], Benedict IX [reigned 3 times, 1032-1048], Boniface VIII [1294-1303], Clement V [1305-1314], Gregory XII [1406-1415], Pius II [1458-1464], Sixtus IV [1471-1484], Innocent VIII [1484-1492], Alexander VI [1492-1503], Julius II [1502-1513], Clement VII [1523-1534], Paul lII [1534-1549], Julius III [1550-1555], Gregory XV [1621-1623], Urban VIII [1623-1644], Innocent X [1644-1655], Alexander VII [1655-1657], and John XIII [1958-1963]. Pope Gregory VII (Hildebrand) who reigned 1073-1085, forged more than 100 documents, to increase the power of the pope; he was rewarded by being made a saint. Dante, in his great Inferno, completed in 1321, thought that many popes were in the deepest parts of Hell. Pope Paul IV [1555-1559] had Jews persecuted, they had to live in ghettos and wear a yellow hat. Nearly 400 years later, Hitler’s Nazis adopted some of the pope’s tactics. For a detailed study of the lives of popes, see Vicars of Christ, The Dark Side of the Papacy, by Peter De Rosa.

Popes often had a large army. They fought kings and acquired much territory, the Papal States. In 1557 Pope Paul VII issued a Bull stating that the pope could depose any king. However, popes had become much weaker after Luther’s successful split from the Catholic Church. Kings had become stronger, they largely ignored the Bull. In the mid-19th Century many people in what is now Italy wanted to create their independent country. They had to fight the cruel pope’s army but finally won. The people in Rome cheered. Italy was finally united, in 1870. Later that year, in the First Vatican Council, the depressed pope made two announcements. He declared that a pope is "infallible." He also declared that the soul begins when the sperm meets the egg, therefore abortion is a sin. Until 1854 the Church largely followed the views of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Thirteenth Century theologian. He believed that a fetus is given a soul only when it looks like a human--after five months or so of pregnancy. Ancient peoples, like Lucretius in the First Century BCE, believed that the "immortal soul" enters the body at the time of birth.

In 1994 the bachelor pope ruled that the decision that a woman cannot be a priest is ‘infallible." Pope Paul VI, in 1968, condemned all forms of contraception; a couple cannot use a condom, even though their use would do much to prevent the worldwide epidemic of AIDS. When a condom is not used, a woman is much more likely to become pregnant. If she does not want a baby, she is likely to have an abortion. Thus, the Roman Catholic Church causes more abortions. The pope ruled that even if a young girl is raped she cannot have an abortion--she must pay for her "sin." The current pope also ruled in 1997 that if a divorced Catholic remarries they cannot have sex with the new wife or husband--it would be a sin. Gregory I, in 590, ruled that it is a sin for a married couple to have sex at any time, even on their wedding night. He was rewarded by being made a saint. The Roman Catholic church has rather uniformly ruled that the only purpose of sex is to have a child; for any other purpose, sex is a sin.

Does religion have to be contrary to biology and common sense? Can any intelligent woman or man be a "good" Roman Catholic? 

The Roman Catholic and some Protestant churches believe that any abortion is a sin, even if the pregnancy will result in the death of the mother or if it resulted from rape or incest, or if the fetus will result in a baby mentally or physically defective. They apparently believe that a fetus a few weeks old is more important than the life of any woman. Half a million women die in childbirth every year, worldwide. I have seen too many of the one billion people on our grossly overcrowded planet who rarely get enough to eat. My wife, a physician, worked in clinics in Pakistan, India, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and among the poor in the USA. She learned that many women would like to know how to prevent a pregnancy or birth of another child, who would starve. However, many churches oppose any information about how to prevent a pregnancy except abstinence, and they oppose any abortion. Some church officials apparently want more babies, to suffer and die, as Jesus suffered and died, so they will be good Christians. Other churches, including the Orthodox churches and nearly all Protestant churches in Europe and some in the Americas, recommend birth control and see no religious problem if a woman decides to have an abortion.

The Roman Catholic Church, like many Protestant churches, abhors homosexuality. Priests and nuns have been ordered by the Vatican to end all ministry to homosexual males and lesbians. At a women’s caucus of lesbians in June, 2000, several priests in clerical garb invaded the room, waving rosaries as a weapon against evil spirits. They then conducted an exorcism to drive out evil spirits from the meeting room. [Toronto Globe and Mail, 6/5/2000] Why doesn’t the Church have compassion for the unfortunate who have a genetic difference that attracts them to someone of their sex? Many priests have been found guilty in court of having homosexual relations with young boys. It has been common knowledge among the Church officials that some priests are sexual abusers, of males and females, but the Church has tried to ignore that abuse until forced by courts to pay money. . Does the Church realize that its insistence that priests be unmarried leads to all kinds of sexual deviance?

Shouldn’t all religions have as a primary goal an end to suffering, and the improvement of the lives of everyone on the planet?

If a man has control over his body, shouldn’t a woman have control over her body, without government or religious interference?

I have been fortunate to learn five European languages, In Italy, a railway conductor recently noticed that I was reading La Repubblica. After chatting awhile in Italian, he said "La Repubblica is a communist newspaper. Communists and the Church have ruined Italy." I heard that view expressed several times in Italy. The family that I lived with in Italy assured me that they were good Christians--they were baptized in the church, married in the church, and when they died they would be buried by the church. However, they told me "the rest of the time, we don’t pay any attention to that old bachelor in Rome."

NUMBERS

A popular number in the Middle East is 7. Genesis tells us the Jewish version of creation, over a seven-day period. Ancient Egyptians and many peoples in Western Asia created the seven-day week; it is about one-fourth the length of all the phases of the moon. Jacob had to work seven years for the father of each of his brides. [Gen. 29:18-28] Jacob is said to have bowed seven times before his brother Esau. [Gen. 33:3] The Egyptian pharaoh is said to have dreamed about seven healthy then seven lean cattle near the river. [Gen. 41:2,3] After a bullock or goat is sacrificed, a Jewish priest is told to dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle it seven times. [Lev. 4:6; Lev.16:19] A priest is told to sprinkle anointing oil on the altar seven times. [Lev. 8:11] A Jewish woman is considered to be unclean for seven days after the birth of a child. [Lev. 12:1] The tenth day of the seventh month is a religious day. [Lev.16 :29 ] The 15th day of the seventh month is a feast, for seven days. [Lev. 23:34] Jewish people are told to eat no leavened bread for seven days in the seventh month. [Deut. 16: 3] The Jewish people have a feast for seven weeks. [Deut. 16:9] Many Jewish people celebrate the Feast of the Tabernacle for seven days. A Jewish creditor is told to release his debtor after seven years. [Deut. 15: 1] Ancient Egyptians carried a gilt cow seven times around the temple. Sir James Fraser believed that the gilt cow probably represented the goddess Isis, looking for her murdered husband, Osiris. [Gld Bough p. 433] Near the ancient Sacred Lake in Luxor, Egypt, I saw local people walking seven times counter-clockwise around a granite column with a scarab beetle on top, for good luck. In the Middle East, worshippers walked seven times around the Temple of Baal. Today, worshippers walk seven times around the Kaaba in Mecca. Jesus’ apostle Paul is said to have heard a great voice, then he saw seven golden candlesticks. [Revel. 1:12] He also saw seven stars in the right hand of God. [Revel. 1:16]. Paul reported that he looked through a door to heaven, where he saw a throne with seven lamps of fire burning before it, representing the seven "Spirits of God." [Revel.4:5] He said he also saw a lamb with seven horns and seven eyes. [Revel. 5:6] Later, Paul saw seven angels with seven vials full of the last seven plagues. [Revel 21:9]

Another popular number in many religions and cultures is 40. Most people could not read, write, or count in the old days, so numbers are only a guess. Ancient Jewish people, like Mary, the mother of Jesus, were considered to be unclean for 40 days after the birth of a male child. When the 40 days was up Mary is said to have had a ritual purification ceremony. Lent is the 40-day period of toned-down eating, drinking, and frivolity before Easter. In the Old Testament, Noah’s Great Flood is said to have lasted for 40 days. Other Middle Eastern myths say the flood was for only seven days. Moses and his followers are said to have wandered in the desert on their return from Egypt for 40 years. Moses stayed on Mt. Sinai for 40 days, where he was instructed on the Ten Commandments, but he apparently had no food or water! [Exodus 16:33] When I visited the Jebel Musa Mountains, including Mt. Sinai, I found them to be very dry--I doubt that a camel could survive 40 days without water. On another trip to Mt. Sinai, Moses is also said to have stayed there for 40 days, when he received tablets with the Ten Commandments. [Deut. 4:44] Elijah required 40 days for his trip to Horeb (Sinai). [I Kings 19:13-21] The Christian Lent was originally 40 hours, to commemorate the 40 hours that Jesus spent in his tomb. It was gradually increased in length, and within a few centuries it became 40 days. This period is now said to represent the 40 days that Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness.

Sbeitla, Tunisia, Roman temples honoring Jupiter, Minerva and Juno

MIRACLES

Some ancient peoples believed that a god or goddess could walk on water. Ancient Greeks believed that Euphemus, a son of Poseidon, the sea god, could walk on water. Euphemus is also said to have sent out a dove to explore, like Noah. Jesus and his disciple Peter were said to walk on water. [Matthew 14:25-33] Believers in each religion believe that their gods or goddesses must perform miracles, to prove their divine power. Jesus is said to have fed 5,000 hungry men, plus women and children, with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread, by multiplying the quantity. [Matthew 14:7,16-18] The Old Testament and the New Testament are full of stories about miracles, as many folk tales tell of miracles. Many "miracles" were invented to persuade an illiterate ignorant people to become followers. Christians seemed to be asking other people, "Can your god do that? Our god is more powerful than yours."

During my travels in most of the countries on the planet, I have visited many sites where a Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, or other leader or prophet is said to have healed the sick and lame. Some of those "miracles" are likely to be factual. Physicians report that many ailments result at least in part from a mental attitude, and a strong belief may cure the ailment.

Jerusalem, Blue  Mosque, built 687 AD, with the Dome of the Rock,         Interior of Blue Mosqaue

where Abraham is said to have offered to sacrifice his son

CHRISTIANITY in the PAST & TODAY

Reasonable people believe that many of the stories of the Bible are only myths, legends, folk tales, gross exaggerations, or fantasies. Could two or more of each of the thousands of animals, birds, insects, and reptiles on the planet survive, along with their food, for 40 days on a boat like Noah’s Ark, only 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, three decks high? [Genesis 6:14-17] Wouldn't a wooden boat that large fall into pieces? The boat built by Utnapishtim, the Persian god, was said to be 120 cubits high, or about 180 feet. Perhaps it could hold his family, cattle, and many other animals and birds. There was no claim that Utnapishtim took two of every animal. When Voltaire questioned the veracity of the story of Noah’s ark in the Eighteenth Century, he was sent to the Bastille and was forced to exile himself from France for a few years. Any keeper of a great zoo today would like to know how to feed and shelter two each (or more--extras were to be sacrificed) of thousands of creatures for so long on so little food, in such a small space. Adam is said to have lived 930 years, Seth lived 912 years, Enosh lived 905 years, Methuselah lived 969 years, and Noah is said to have lived 950 years. Could a man really live to be that old? [Genesis 5:2 ] Could so many women, each several hundred years old, have a baby? Could a man 600 years old, with the help of three sons, build a large boat like the ark, with primitive hand tools? I have visited many small shipyards in Oman and Zanzibar, where men using only hand tools build wooden dhows, but it takes months for several men to build each boat, much smaller than the ark.

Is there a personal god? If yes, what control, if any, does he/she have over people, animals, or things? How is that control exercised?

Is it possible that any god can know what each of the 6.5 billion people on Earth is doing or thinking? Is any god fluent in all of the several thousand languages spoken on planet Earth? The most powerful computer on Earth could not keep records of what everyone in a small country is doing. How can prayers uttered by millions of people, speaking many languages, be heard by a god who is far away? Voodoo believers say that their main god, Mahou, got tired of hearing complaints and requests from a few million believers, so he withdrew from active duty, delegating all official duties to his two assistants. Mahou is now inaccessible. Is that more reasonable than the belief that a personal Christian God can hear everyone and take action, based upon what he/she hears ? Moses realized that he could not solve all of the problems of the 12 small tribes of Israel, he told them to select leaders to solve those problems. [Deut.1:9-13] They selected 70 elders to solve most problems. Is it realistic to believe that any god can hear each of the more than six billion of us and solve our individual problems?

Christianity has adopted many local practices, beliefs, and superstitions of primitive people. In the US and some European countries, during the Christmas season, if you hold mistletoe above the head of someone of the opposite sex, you are supposed to kiss that person. Mistletoe has long had special meaning for people, since it grows on a tree in the air, without touching the ground. Many Europeans believed that mistletoe would cure ailments such as epilepsy. They thought it protected anyone against witchcraft, sorcery, and nightmares. People put a sprig of mistletoe at the door threshold to protect the people who lived inside, and also fed a little to their animals to protect them.

Are many of the beliefs and practices of all religions only a superstition?

Let’s look at some of the differences in Christianity. Some early Christians adopted the use of rosary beads from Buddhists. Coptic Christians, common in Africa and the Middle East, follow somewhat the teachings of Nestorius, a Fifth Century scholar and bishop of Constantinople. They believe that Jesus the man was son of Mary, but Jesus the god was not. In the council of Ephesus, 431 AD, the Roman Catholic Church decided that Mary was the mother of a god, not a human. On one of my visits to Ephesus I was shown the cottage on a hill, where the aging Mary was said to live with disciple John the Baptist. The Roman Catholic Church decided that the Holy Spirit came from the Son as well as the Father, and that all three are equal. The Orthodox Churches do not agree to adding "the Son," and they do not agree that the Son or the Holy Spirit are equal to God. Orthodox Churches use many icons, the Roman Catholic Church does not use icons. Orthodox churches have few, if any, seats to use during their long services. Most Roman Catholic and Protestant churches have seats. The Roman Catholic pope excommunicated the head of the Orthodox Church, the Patriarch of Constantinople, in 869 AD, causing a schism, which became a divorce in 1054.

Most Orthodox priests are married. Since the Eleventh Century, most Roman Catholic priests are not married, but many have had a great number of sons and daughters, called "nieces" and "nephews." Many priests, not permitted to marry and lead a normal sex life, have misdirected their libido to seducing young boys, or women, married or single. The Orthodox and Roman churches have disagreed on these issues since at least the Eleventh Century. Jesus’ disciples Peter and Paul were married. Protestant churches on most of the Pacific Islands will not ordain any man unless he is married. They believe a bachelor priest or minister would have too many temptations, too many willing girls and women. When the Roman Catholic popes moved from Rome to Avignon, France, in 1305, several changes were made. Tithes at the rate of 10 percent were required, something like today’s income tax. The marriage of bishops and other Church officers was prohibited, to protect the Church’s property. Priests and bishops had many children, with their wife or concubines. The wife and children insisted upon the right to have property that the Church also wanted. However, in many areas, such as Iceland and Scandinavia, Roman Catholic bishops and priests continued to marry. Iceland changed from Roman Catholicism to Lutheranism at the same time as other Scandinavian countries, in the Sixteenth Century, by killing the Roman Catholic bishop, his "wife"  and his many children.

Before the Fifth Century, paintings began to show Jesus, Mary, and saints with a halo over the head. They copied earlier paintings of Roman emperors that showed a halo over the emperor’s head. Romans copied earlier Greeks, who painted a halo over the head of some gods. A square halo shows a living person, usually the then-current pope.

The Roman Catholic Church has often been very intolerant of beliefs and practices that conflict with those of the pope. The Albigensians in southern France said they followed the teachings of Jesus and God, but they did not follow many of the Church’s teachings in the Twelfth and Thirteenth centuries. The pope insisted that a crusade be fought against them, in 1209. During the next 20 years, many thousands of Albigensians were killed, plus several thousand Roman Catholics in Beziers, France, who tried to protect the free speech rights of the Albigensians. Pope Clement VII in 1377 insisted that his army kill all 8,000 Christians in Cesena, Italy, because they did not submit to the pope’s authority. One of the greatest problems of the Roman Catholic Church is that supreme authority rests with the pope; he believes he is God on Earth. Any criticism of the policy he espouses is rejected. Any other opinion is considered to be heretic. The pope and other high officials of that church do not listen to others, they know what is right, and are not interested in other point of view.

A young student in a Roman Catholic school in the USA, when asked to write an essay on miracles, had obviously been thinking. He wrote that "the greatest miracle was when Jesus rose from the dead and managed to get the tombstone off the entrance." In 200 BCE the Cybelle Cult in Rome began to celebrate the resurrection of Attis after a "death" of three days, much like Easter, later adopted by Christians. Cybelle was the "Great Mother." On the day of Attis’ burial, priests cut themselves in mourning, the "Day of Blood." That evening the tomb was opened, and Attis had risen from the dead! The next day, March 25, was a day of festivities, with celebrations and wild sex. Christians, to keep a low profile, adopted a day close to the day of Attis’ resurrection for the day of the resurrection of Jesus. They chose a popular holiday.

Easter was the name of a pagan goddess of spring, representing the resurrection of new plant life. The Christian doctrine believes that we can receive a new life after death, because Jesus died and was resurrected for our right to have a new life after death. In 325 AD at the Council of Nicaea, churches decided to celebrate Easter, when Jesus arose from the dead, on a Sunday, but the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches now choose different Sundays. In Central and Eastern Europe, people boil hens eggs and decorate them with colors. Sometimes an onion skin is wrapped around the shell and boiled, for color. In some countries the eggs are not hidden. Boys sometimes hit each others’ eggs, the boy with an unbroken shell was the strongest. One Easter my wife and I were in Armenia. Our hotel served colored eggs for breakfast. They were artistic but not so beautiful as Easter eggs in Ukraine, which we visited a few days later. Designs are written in wax--triangles represent the Holy Trinity, fish represent Christianity, curls represent water. Many colors are then used. Black represents night, when evil spirits came out. When people went out at night they would carry a rooster to scare away evil spirits. Now some eggs have a rooster design. Good Friday, the last Friday before Easter, is sometimes a holiday. Lent is the 40-day period of toned-down eating, drinking, and frivolity before Easter.

Christianity, like other major religions, grew out of, and modified, early "pagan" beliefs. Many of those pagan beliefs and practices remain. I discuss many of them in my book, Curious Customs and Bizarre Beliefs Around the World. The priests and other religious professionals attempt to eradicate beliefs and practices that are clearly pagan. During the Middle Ages in Europe, laws passed by or approved by the Church often prohibited anyone from going to a fortune teller, hand reader, crystal gazer, or gypsy for advice; they were treated as sorcerers. Believers in voodoo consider those who practice sorcery to be their main enemy. They believe that long ago, there were two brothers. The good brother founded voodoo, the bad brother founded sorcery.

When Christianity arrived in Europe the old religions did not die, they were absorbed into Christian beliefs and practices. Missionaries erroneously taught that all pagan beliefs and practices honored the Devil. Witches are believed to have magical powers, and to use herbs and drugs as magical potions. They are usually active at night. Some people believe that the early witches became Satan or the Devil in Christianity. Joan of Arc was burned as a witch by the British in 1431, but some French helped in her capture. Today she is a heroine in France, and a group meets at her statue in Paris to honor her each year. In much of the world, including "Christian" countries, many people still believe in witches and the supernatural. In 1484, the pope issued a Bull, having the impact of law, against witches. Older or eccentric women throughout Western Europe were then burned as witches. In Salem, Massachusetts, a Protestant clergyman started the witchcraft hysteria in 1692. Male ministers are said to have insisted upon thoroughly inspecting women’s naked bodies, carefully looking for signs of any mark that the devil might have made. Judge William Stoughton sentenced many innocent women to death as witches. Mass hysteria, usually coupled together with race, religion, sex, or patriotism, sometimes envelopes a country.

Some churches honor particular saints as a "holy day." Many churches honor All-Saints Day on November 1, just after Halloween in the USA. Most Christians recognize Sunday as the holy day, the Seventh Day Adventists recognize Saturday. In the "Bible Belt" of the US South, plus Samoa, Fiji, and Tonga, fundamentalists try to force stores and other businesses to close on Sunday. Judaism recognizes Saturday. Islam’s holy day is Friday, but that is the busiest market day in many Islamic countries, even those near Mecca on the Arabian Peninsula. In Israel the many secular Jews complain that the the conservative and Orthodox Jews try to require that all businesses close on their Sabbath.

Mexico celebrates the Day of the Dead, something like Halloween in the USA. People make fun of death, and eat a special kind of bread, pan de muerto-- "bread of death." After a feast, some families leave delicious food decorated with flowers out overnight, for the souls of little children and other relatives to eat. Church bells are rung to attract the souls. A day or two later the family eats the food that the souls, mice, and the insects did not eat. This practice is one of many remnants of beliefs that preceded Christianity in Mexico.

THE SIGNIFICANCE of VIRGINS

A virgin has special status in many cultures. Ancient Romans selected girls age six to ten to serve as Vestal Virgins for about 30 years. They kept the eternal fire burning in the Forum and must remain a virgin. The father of one virgin committed incest with her, she then killed her father. In retaliation, Romans cut the head off of the statue that represented her. Many religions feel it necessary that the principal goddess be a virgin. It is not necessary that a male god be a virgin. The Church doctrine for 14 centuries was that Mary was conceived in original sin, like everyone else. St. Thomas Aquinas and the Dominicans agreed. In 1476 and 1477 the pope [Sixtus IV, an Italian Franciscan] sided with the Gray Friars [Franciscans]--they were determined to erase every distinction between the Virgin Mary and her Son. The pope offered to pardon all sins to anyone who added to the Ave Maria ["Hail Mary"] the clause "and blessed be thy mother Anna, from whom, without blot of original sin, proceeded thy virgin flesh." The Orthodox Church and most of the Roman Catholic northern clergy held this clause [the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception] to be flat heresy. For years they also refused to celebrate the new feast the pope invented at the same time, "the feast of the miraculous conception of the Virgin."

It was common in early Eastern religions for a god to have a virgin birth, a symbol of human sanctity and purity. The ancient Chora Church in Istanbul has many mosaics and murals purporting to show the early lives of Mary (also called Miriam), Jesus, and Ann (also called Anna), the mother of Mary. In one mosaic, Jesus holds a baby, representing the soul of his deceased mother, Mary. To determine whom she would marry, at age nine, Mary was given a choice of 12 sticks, each representing a man. She chose a green stick, representing Joseph. Thus, she agreed to marry Joseph. After Jesus was born, three wise men brought a purple cloth to Mary. They told her that she would forever be a virgin, symbolically, regardless of how many children she bore. The first time that I visited Nazareth, my Jewish guide pointed out the cave where Mary apparently lived as a girl. He also pointed out a nearby cave where Joseph, a carpenter in the town, was believed to have lived as a youth. He said that when Mary discovered that she was pregnant, she was worried, fearing that Joseph would refuse to marry her, since he could not be the father. One night she had a dream--to tell Joseph that it was an immaculate conception. He actually believed her! Stories continue to circulate that Mary was seduced or raped by a Roman soldier stationed in the area, resulting in the birth of Jesus. The St. Prisca Church in Taxco, Mexico, built 1751 to 1758, has a famous painting of Mary, clearly showing her to be pregnant. It was quite controversial for showing Mary to be like all other expectant mothers. Many scholars believe that Jesus had several brothers, including Jude Thaddeus, one of his 12 disciples. He also may have had several sisters. [Mat. 13:55-57; Mark 15:40]

A religious leader who is believed to have been born of a virgin mother acquires status, he is apparently more divine, more powerful. There are many wonderful stories about a virgin birth, in addition to Jesus. Other gods who had a virgin birth were Buddha, Mithras, and the Hindu Surya. Hercules, the mythical son of the Greek god Zeus and the wife of a king, was often said to have had a virgin birth. Myths that Alexander the Great had a virgin birth were widespread before Jesus was born. Ancient Egyptians in Memphis believed that the sacred bull Apis was born of a virgin cow, impregnated by a god. Lao Tzu, founder of Taosim (Daoism) is said to have been fathered by a shooting star. Ancient Persians believed that the god Saoshyant was born of a virgin, who became pregnant by the preserved semen of Zoroaster while she swam in a lake. Saoshyant will appear to save the world and resurrect the dead. Humanity will be cleansed by a torrent of molten metal. Those who have lived good lives will feel the molten metal only as warm milk. Zoroaster was another ancient Persian who was said to have a virgin birth, when a ray of light impregnated his mother, Dughdova.

If human beings are successfully cloned, will they be virgins, and have the power to become religious leaders? Will "God" be their father?

Ancient Greeks believed that the god Agdistis was castrated, but an almond tree grew from his penis. Nana, the daughter of a river god, picked one of the almonds from the tree, put it into her lap, and became pregnant, with a son, Attis. He was also an important god in ancient Phyrgia, part of today’s Bulgaria. Another version of the myth is that Nana put a ripe almond into her bosom, causing her, miraculously, to become pregnant with Attis. Others say that Nana put into her bosom a ripe pomegranate "sprung from the severed genitals of a man- monster named Agdestis." Greeks also believed that the goddess Athena, though a virgin, gave birth to a son when the god Hephaestus ejaculated on her leg. She quickly wiped his semen off with a piece of wool and threw it onto the ground. Mother Earth was thus fertilized, giving birth to Athena’s son, Erechtonius. Ancient Romans believed that a goddess, though a virgin, gave birth to Caeculus. When a girl sat by the fire, a spark flew onto her and into her bosom. She became pregnant; Vulcan, god of fire, was considered to be the father. The Kirghiz tribe of Siberia believed that a maiden should be kept hidden until she is ready for marriage, she should not even see the sun. A powerful khan kept his pretty daughter locked in an iron cage. She finally persuaded the old woman who took care of her to let her see the bright world outside. She is said to have fainted when she saw the sun, it made her pregnant. Her angry father locked her into a chest and floated it away on the sea, liked Moses and others.

Sir James George Fraser, an anthropologist, concluded, in The Golden Bough, at page 403 "Such tales of virgin birth mothers are relics of an age of childish ignorance when men had not yet recognized the intercourse of the sexes as the true cause of offspring."

CONCLUSIONS

The Old Testament and New Testament have many wonderful stories. They are also interesting for any student of ancient history. The Bible should be read by every educated person in the American and European cultures. However, the stories should not be considered to be factual. True believers say we must accept the Bible as the word of God, and not question it. Have we lost the ability to think? We have learned a lot about the universe by using the scientific method of an open mind, a hypothesis, tests, and proof. The Bible has been compiled and written, copied and re-copied, by many men, some of whom were barely literate, over a period of 30 or more centuries. Part of the New Testament was apparently written by some of Jesus’ apostles, many years after his death. Apparently, neither Jesus or God actually wrote even one word in the Bible. Are the Old Testament and New Testament more scientific or authentic than other great religious books, such as the Koran, the Buddhist "Bible," and the Hindu Vedas, Upanishads, and Ramayana?

Scientists continue to discover more about our universe. There is an order to it, which could have developed or evolved naturally over eons of time. If there is a superior being, it is possible that the being may have designed the original universe, for it to evolve naturally. On the subject of religion, many of us have lost the ability to think objectively, to reason. We only "believe" or we "do not believe." Common sense tells us that no single being could continuously control or even be aware of all of the events, thoughts, and acts of people in the universe. 

Our amazing brain  has developed over eons of time. Primitive  man, and many traditional people today, living close to nature, its sun, moon, stars, plants, animals, birds, insects, and weather, worshipped and feared nature. As man became more prosperous, with leisure time for at least a few,  an intelligent group developed various gods and goddesses and attributed all kinds of abilities, stories and myths about them  Gods and goddesses are apparently created in the image of man, they are a "superman." Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, were perhaps more advanced, since they decided that there is only one or a few gods and goddesses. However, Hindus believe that Vishnu (with several names or incarnations) is the real god, and Buddhists believe that Buddha is the real god. All others are of much lesser importance.  

World travelers should respect the followers of all religions regardless of our personal beliefs. If a nation establishes a "national religion," it should be tolerant of others. Most of the conflicts among people of various religions are caused by the fundamentalists, the ultra-orthodox. They fight against outsiders. They "know" that God, Jehovah, Allah, Buddha, or Krishna is on their side. In Israel, some Jews believe the ultra-Orthodox Jews are little more than parasites--they refuse to serve in the army, they pray three times daily, and they oppose any commercial activity on their holy day, When the Chinese army invaded Tibet some 40 years ago, they cruelly killed many monks and destroyed many Buddhist temples. However, some one-third of the men and youths in Tibet had spent most of their time in prayers and religious activities, doing little or no productive effort--they were like parasites. In some Islamic countries, men spend much of their time in prayers, five times each day. Can any devoutly religious nation be productive and succeed in the competitive modern world?

Fundamentalists believe every word of their bible or principal religious work. The most devout often have the least social compassion--less sympathy for the feelings of others. They try to impose their practices and even their narrow religious beliefs on others. They try to suppress books, science, and teachings that do not wholly support their view. They often seek to limit the education of girls and women, and they want to prohibit them from having control over their own body. Zealots believe they know the right path for all of us, but since we are too dumb to follow, we must be forced to follow their path. They want to prevent, by law, war, or other force, our making mistakes--i.e., from taking actions of which they do not approve. But it is all for our benefit. Eric Hoffer, the California longshoreman and philosopher, said in The True Believer "where a mass movement can either persuade or coerce, it usually chooses the latter. Persuasion is clumsy, and its results uncertain."

Each of the great religions has attractive features and some problems. No one religion has a monopoly on either truth or myths. All religions perform a great service in giving believers a peace of mind and in helping the needy. Many churches, temples, and mosques are beautiful, inside and out. Some of the most impressive and exhilarating music ever written or composed is played and sung in churches. All government policies should be neutral with respect to religion, so long as a religion does not seek to impose its standards and practices upon the rest of us. Let’s remember that all men are brothers and all women are sisters. We should be tolerant of the beliefs of all religions, so long as they do not attempt to cause harm to others, or limit their actions or beliefs, or "convert" us to their beliefs. No religion or its believers should attempt to impose its beliefs and practices on the rest of us. The fundamentalists and zealots "know" that their religion is the true religion and their god is the true god. We must beware of any religious zealot or fundamentalist, whether Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, or other, who is also an official in any government. They brought the Spanish Inquisition, other inquisitions, Europe’s Thirty Years’ War, the "troubles" in Northern Ireland, the great Islamic wars, the Buddhist wars, wars between India and Pakistan, between Jews and the Palestinians and other Arabs, and more. Some people believe that the positive aspects of religions equals or even exceeds the suffering and harm that religions have brought to mankind over the centuries. All religions should welcome the seekers of truth, by scientists, historians, or others.

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Curious Customs and Bizarre Beliefs Around the World, Peanut Butter Publishing, 1999

Countries & Cultures of the World, Then & Now (3 volumes), Professional Press, 1997

Five Languages Made Simpler: French, Italian, English, Spanish, & German, Professional Press, 1997

Know Your Job Rights, Dow Jones Irwin, 1976

The Labor Relations Primer, Dow Jones Irwin, 1973

Labor Law Handbook, Bobbs Merrill, 1963; cumulative pocket supplements, The Michie Co., 1968-1985

This is www.acurioustravler.com/p.3originsofreligions.htm

Cur. Cust. P. 4

Voodoo P. 7

Basic Languages P.25