RE: Vatican

  -----Original Message-----
  From: asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu [mailto:asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu]On
Behalf Of RFaussette@aol.com
  Sent: Tuesday, November 15, 2005 6:42 AM
  To: panterragroup@mindspring.com; asa@calvin.edu
  Subject: Re: Vatican

  In a message dated 11/14/2005 1:58:07 PM Eastern Standard Time,
panterragroup@mindspring.com writes:
    ----Original Message-----
    From: asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu [mailto:asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu]On
Behalf Of RFaussette@aol.com
    Sent: Monday, November 14, 2005 11:20 AM
    To: panterragroup@mindspring.com;
    Subject: Re: Vatican

    In a message dated 11/14/2005 11:54:00 AM Eastern Standard Time,
panterragroup@mindspring.com writes:
    Hmm, don't like the word novel, how about just bizzare?
    How about you do a little more reading to expand your horizons. Then,
theological concepts presented in the major works of Judeo-Christianity
won't strike you as "bizarre" or "novel."

    rich faussette

    Tell me that the Kabbalah , a combination of babylonian religion,
astrology, myth, magic, persian zoroastrianism, dualism, gnosticism, and
neoplatonism doesn't contain ideas that would be considered bizarre.

  Bizarre? This comparison was recently published on the Ancient Bible
History list:

  "Found this interesting list comparising Zoroastrianism with 2nd temple
Judaism

  1. no images of God
  2. a revealed religion with categories of sacred books: revelation,
  psalms, commentary (Avesta ~ Torah, Gathas ~ Psalms, Zend ~ Talmud)
  3. linear concept of time, broken into sections, with eschatology &
  apocalyptic
  4. official monotheism; lesser gods become 'angels'
  5. dualism (God vs Devil ~ Jews vs non-Jews)
  6. a prophet (Zoroaster ~ Moses)
  7. messianism (saoshyant ~ messiah, christ, saviour) leading to a
  paradise on earth (not in heaven), with a resurrection of the body
  8. male orientation: God is male, female menstruation pollutes
  9. emphasis on ritual cleanness, pollution laws, keeping separate
  from outsiders, who are called pagans (in Judaism goyim, the nations)
  10. no temple (Zoroastrian) cf. only one temple (Judaism)
  11. missionary activity
  12. fire orientation (burning bush, Mt Sinai)
  13. sanctity of the number 7 (7 arch-angels, 7 days of creation)
  14. ban on marrying out
  15. opposition to celibacy
  16. clean & unclean species of animals
  17. a state religion with imperial aspirations
  18. hereditary priestly tribe/caste (magi ~ levi, cohen)

  The Persian king of kings was clearly establishing a pro-Persian
  Parsi/Pharisee group situated strategically in the Levant when he
  allowed the Jews to return and rebiuld their temple."

  Bible historians on the list (400) did not find this bizarre. Note, some
of these components also form a major part of Christian orthodoxy, while
some of them regarding the maintenance of a kin group are abandoned with
Christian universalism. Present day Parsis are very much like Jewish
orthodox groups with their strict boundary between insiders and outsiders
and their accent on pronatalism.

  richard faussette

Again, Tell me that the Kabbalah , a combination of babylonian religion,
astrology, myth, magic, persian zoroastrianism, dualism, gnosticism, and
neoplatonism doesn't contain ideas that would be considered bizarre.

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