Posted by Achilles on July 16, 2001 at 19:45:25:
In Reply to: Re: Orthodoxy vs. Ancient Hellenic Religion? posted by Elizabeth on July 16, 2001 at 03:46:03:
Elizabeth wrote:
Many people raised in Christian cultures are starting to explore and re-discover their pre-Christian past. The Scandanavians are rediscovering the Norse religion...the Celts are doing the same. I think its a commentary on how irrelevant Christianity has become for many people.
What are they getting from it that they didn't get from Christianity?
Many Greeks are rejecting the Judeo-Christian traditions altogether mainly because they are foreign to our ancestral roots.
The “whole” concept of Christianity although a nice ideology has proven over time to be inconsistent through practice.
What most Christians fail to realize is that the Christian faith was forced upon the citizens of Greece under Roman rule. The people did NOT embrace the faith.
This was done as a means to strategically manage the expanding Roman Empire under Emperor Constantine, and to prevent any political/military uprisings from within the Empire.
The theory in itself was quite brilliant, by suppressing the masses through this new theocratic government (Christianity) the citizens would remain in an intellectual frieze. Much like today’s modern colleges and research facilities, many schools of thought were destroyed back then, along with most of the contents in the libraries.
The ancient Hellenes were tortured and killed for their “heathen” beliefs.
It took about 400 years before all of Greece forcefully converted to Christianity.
Think about it…Jesus Christ is referred to as the king of the Jews not the king of the Greeks. The foreign traditions which have been mostly forced upon the modern Greeks are Judaic based. The prophets are Jews, the bible is Jewish, the Old and New Testament is Jewish. I would say that since the induction of Christianity the progression of Hellenic thought has all but ceased.
I personally believe that Christianity was and still is a virus of ignorance.
Fortunately things are changing, and eventually Greeks may completely liberate themselves from that horrible mental constraint which the Orthodox Church imposes on others as condemnation for having an independant opinion.
And finally to answer your question:
What are they getting from it that they didn't get from Christianity?
For starters, how about freedom in all its forms. Equality amongst men and women. Re-connecting with Hellenic identity, not Jewish. Liberality as opposed to the authoritarian strongarm of the church. Evolution of the mind and consciousness through higher education. The list goes on and on. But most importantly, I believe that Greeks who are identifying with our Hellenic ancestors are realizing that they are descendants of one of the greatest civilizations the world has ever known. And by truly embracing their heritage. They revive the glory of our past which ultimately can influence our present.
Here are some sites to explore the revival of Hellenism:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/7773/
Christian Persecutions Against The Ancient Hellenes
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Cyprus/3470/persec.htm
Achilles