Questions tagged [christianity]
For questions about stories and myths of the religion based around Jesus Christ, the son of the Christian God.
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Why does Dante spend so much time in Malebolge?
Dante spends thirteen cantos in Malebolge, the eighth circle of Hell. This is a lot longer than he spends with any other circle.
Why do the sinners in this circle get so much of his attention?
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Was there a god called Tyrimnas or Tyrimnos worshipped at Thyatira?
I've seen a few Christian sources (such as this one) mentioning a god called Tyrimnos (I've also seen it spelled Tyrimnas) that was worshiped at Thyatira, but I have not been able to find any ...
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Are There Biblical References to Good Magic?
I believe in God and Christianity and have had this question for a while. Are there scriptural references to good magic outside of heavenly miracles or priesthood? I know there are many stories of (...
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Female representations of Satan
Most folkloric representations of the Devil seem to be male. For example, (female) witches were sometimes imagined to have had carnal knowledge of Satan. In most folktales about the devil, said entity ...
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What are the punishments for the seven deadly sins?
In the first season of the TV show Slasher the antagonist is killing people he judges are guilty of the seven deadly sins. Each murder is different, supposedly reflecting the specific punishment the ...
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Is there a connection between Odin or Zeus and the Christian God?
Could the Norse Odin or the Greek Zeus be Christianity's "The Creator" and father of Jesus?
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What is the meaning of the inscriptions on Baphomet arms?
I refer to Latin words SOLVE and COAGULA on his arms.
I understand literal translation of these words but it doesn't throw any light of the real designation and sacred meaning of them. All the ...
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Is there any evidence of Christianization of Egyptian myths?
Christian symbolism can be found in sources for Irish and Scandinavian mythologies, as the authors that recorded it were Christian and probably wrote about it centuries later. Was there ever a ...
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How was Odin influenced by Christianity?
Due to Loki's nature as a trickster, among many other reasons, I believe he was demonized with the spread of Christianity in Scandinavia and associated somewhat with Lucifer/Satan (please correct me ...
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What are the "beasts of the earth" in the fourth seal of Revelation?
When the fourth seal is opened, Death and Hell will kill "a fourth part of the earth" (KJ21):
6:8 And I looked, and behold, a pale horse, and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed ...
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If angels cannot reproduce, then why did God castrate the angel Samael?
It's a common belief that angels are incapable of reproduction, if that is so then why is there a story about God castrating the angel Samael, he wouldn't need to if angels cannot procreate.
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Are vampires vulnerable to crucifixes because of the crucifixion of Jesus?
I wanted to know if the legends of vampires being vulnerable to a crucifix or a cross exist because of what happened to Jesus. Is this so?
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Was the alleged Christian influence of Norse Mythology primarily due to Snorri Sturluson's writings?
Since Snorri himself was a Christian, and his works are some of the most popular sources for Norse Mythology, is he to blame for the modern "Christianized" interpretation of Norse gods and beliefs?
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Did Ragnarök influence the Apocalypse of John?
In my younger days I was convinced the story of Ragnarök was influenced by the New Testament's Armageddon. As I started to learn about the existence of pagan ideas in Christianity, I began to wonder ...
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Is there a deliberate symbolic relationship between the Rockefeller Plaza Atlas statue and St Patrick's Cathedral?
The International Building, part of the Rockefeller Center, stands in Midtown Manhattan. In the building's courtyard, at Number 630 on Fifth Avenue, its entrance is guarded by the dark and imposing 45-...
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Why did God prefer Abel's offering to Cain's?
In the Old Testament, God accepts Abel's offering but rejects Cain's:
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an ...
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Who are the two witnesses in Revelation?
From Revelation 11 (KJ21):
3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.”
4 These are the two olive trees ...
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Are the Nephilim the demi-gods of the bible?
The Nephilim were not aliens, angels, “Watchers,” or rock monsters; they were literal, physical beings produced from the union of the sons of God and the daughters of men.
When man began to ...
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Why is Lucifer three-faced?
In Canto XXXIV Lucifer is presented as a winged giant with three faces:
Oh, what a wonder it appeared to me
when I perceived three faces on his head.
The first, in front, was red in color.
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Would Pantagruel take part in the ritual weeping for Tammuz?
Renaissance Humanists rediscovered Plutarch and Rabelais' Fourth Boook of Pantagruel's adventures quotes at length a famous anecdote from
The Failure of the Oracles (Moralia, 5-29), about a divine ...
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Who is the figure holding a cross next to Christ fallen with the cross in the statue at Budapest 2, Pasaréti tér?
Christian iconography question. This is about a 1936 life-sized statue of Jesus Christ fallen beneath the cross, by sculptor Somló Sári. The statue is at Budapest 2. ker. Pasaréti tér, next to the ...
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What is the connection between Asherah and the custom of Christmas Trees?
Has there been any serious studies into the relationship between the Asherah tree and the Christmas trees, with the possibility of the former being the source of the latter?
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Is Satan a seraph or a cherub?
Satan was once an angel, but was expelled from heaven because of his pride.
What type of angel is he now? A seraph, a cherub, or something else?
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What is the oldest known religious song/chant?
In most branches of Christianity, there are choirs, solo song or even Christian rockbands. I remember reading that in the case of Christianity most people where illiterate when they started making ...
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Who did Adam and Eve's son Cain marry?
According to Christian mythology, Adam and Eve were the first people created. So their children were living alone in the world.
In Genesis 4:16-17 it says that Cain left Eden and went towards the ...
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Any person/myth Moses Might Have Been Based On?
I know that Moses from the Bible is generally agreed to be a mythical figure and not a real person, especially since no historical sources from places like Egypt or the people of Sinai at the time ...
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Any stories in Bible/Christian mythology about person regaining Adam's primeval innocence?
I read about a sect of Early Christianity called the Adamites who claimed to have regained the innocence that Adam had in the Garden of Eden before he ate the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. Has ...
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When did the Cross of Saint Peter start being used as a Satanic symbol?
Reading the Wikipedia article it seems unclear to me when the Cross of Saint Peter first became associated with Satanism. What is the earliest occurrence of the upside down cross being used as a ...
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Reference texts for Christian mythos
I was wondering if anyone on here has a good reference for Christian mythos in the way of specific characters/Christian mythological creatures, i.e. Nephilim and Seraphim? Anything having to do with ...
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What are the origins of Christmas? [closed]
I know that there are some Pagan origins of Christmas, but what exactly are they?
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What is the legend of the Knight Tondalo?
I was recently reading Martin Luther's commentary on the Sermon on the Mount (English translation by Charles A. Hay, 1892) and I was intrigued by a reference to "the legend of the Knight Tondalo".
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Who are the twenty four elders in Revelation?
From Revelation 4 (KJ21):
4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats; and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment, and they had on their heads ...
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Any examples of dying and resurrecting gods that exist only in heaven, not earth?
In recent years proponents of the Christ-myth theory (e.g., Earl Doherty in his writings) have begun to argue that St. Paul in his epistles was setting forth the view that Christ was wholly divine and ...
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What Christian influences are there in the Prose Edda, besides the prologue?
I've often read that there are Christian influences in the Prose Edda:
Snorri’s Edda was later nicknamed the 'Younger Edda' because much of it derives from older sources. What those sources were ...
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Satan and Angra Mainyu
Many people say that Satan(Lucifer's Devil side) completely originated from Ahriman. I don't know much about the Avesta of Zoroaster but is that true?
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Traditional beliefs regarding guardians of burial grounds
Many years ago (the mid-1980s) someone described to me a belief that a Christian burial ground was guarded by the spirit of the most recently interred body. For this reason, when a burial ground was ...
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If an angel can fall, can a demon rise?
My understanding is that archangel Lucifer was cast out of Heaven was because he refused to accept the humans and that was a sin in God's eyes. This tells us that angels can be bad.
From what I'm ...
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Where does the idea that Satan rules hell come from?
This article on the history of the Devil suggests Dante was the first who portrayed Satan as ruler of hell:
The idea that the Devil governs hell may have come from the poem by Dante Alighieri, The ...
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What do the four living creatures represent?
From Revelation 4 (KJ21):
6 and before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four living beings full of eyes in front ...
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Who is the old man in the Coptic Apocalypse of Paul?
In the Coptic Apocalypse of Paul, Paul meets an "old man" in seventh heaven1:
Then we went up to the seventh heaven, and I saw an old man [...] light and whose garment was white. His throne, which ...
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What is the Ogdoad in the Coptic Apocalypse of Paul?
At the end of the Coptic Apocalypse of Paul, Paul enters the Ogdoad, where he sees the twelve apostles1:
And then the heaven opened and we went up to the Ogdoad. And I saw the twelve apostles. ...
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Who are the seven kings mentioned in the book of Revelation?
From Revelation 17 (KJ21):
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other has not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
11 And the beast that was, ...
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Why did Christians, who take a huge part of their Bible from Jews, not have to follow the same rules as Jews?
As I'm sure all of you know, the Old Testament is the Hebrew bible. Why then do Christians not follow the same rules as the Jews? When Christianity was attracting attention, Paul said that Jews who ...
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Where does the folk tradition of the Easter Bunny come from?
Easter eggs connect with Mary Magdalene, and chocolate ones were first marketed by the J S Fry chocolate company, but what is the origin of the Easter Bunny, the rabbit or hare that is now a popular ...
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How does the Christian Hell come to be called Hell? Is it related to the Norse Hel?
In the Greek New Testament, Hell is referred to by three names, two Greek (Hades, Tartarus) and one Hebrew (Gehenna). But in English, it becomes Hell.
This is related to the Old Norse hellir, and ...
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Where does the story of selling one's soul to the devil first occur in Christian myth?
Many people have been said to have soul their soul to Satan. Musicians such as Robert Johnson and Niccolò Paganini are said to have sold their soul for their musical virtuosity. Faust provides ...
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Where do Easter eggs come from?
In Christian cultures, many people give Easter eggs as presents at Easter. They can be painted chicken's eggs, or they can be chocolate. What are the origins of this practice as a Christian tradition?
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What is the origin of the legend that Jesus visited what are now Cornwall and Somerset in England?
A legend holds that Jesus visited several places in what are now Cornwall and Somerset in England. What is the origin of this legend?
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Who is the woman "clothed with the sun" in Revelation?
From Revelation 12 (KJ21):
1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.
2 And she, being with ...
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Why is easter called 'easter'?
The Christian feast of 'easter' is based on the ancient Yewish religious feast (their main one), is widely spread and was linked to remember the 'Passion of Christ'. Recall that 'Christianity' started ...
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