This compiled list of terms will show the origins of words frequently used by mostly Abrahamic religions.
6. Church comes from the Anglo-Saxon root word “circe,” and stems from the Greek name of the goddess “Circe,” the daughter of “Helios,” the Roman Sun-god adopted from Greek mythology. Linked to this goddess in Celtic Pagan worship is the name “Kirce.” From her name comes the word “kirch” which pertained to the building dedicated to Pagan Celtic worship and rituals. The Greek word “kuriakon” was used for the building or “house of Kurios (Lord).”
FyreByrde: Absolutely incorrect. The original word was “kirk”. Anglo-Saxon and Greek are extremely distantly related in the Linguistic Family Tree. (In Old England, there were a number of words which contained a ‘k’, but pronounced either ‘k’ or ’sh’, depending on whether the speaker was Norman, or Anglo-Saxon)
7. Christ/Christian come from the Greek word “Christos” meaning “anointed/anointed one,” and was used in the Pagan Greek and Roman religions to give reference to their Sun-god, “Helios.” Roman Emperor Constantine worshipped “Christos Helios” which means “Christ-The-True-Sun.” Christos originates from the Greek word “Chrestos” which means “good” and alludes to the Greek/Roman god “Chrestos.” “Chrestos” can be seen on a Mithras (Roman cult) relief in the Vatican. “Chrestos” as reverenced by Greeks and Romans was none other than “Osiris,” a Sun-diety of Egypt. Christian comes from the Greek word meaning “good men,” but was derogatorily applied in mockery to Messianic believers because they worshipped “Mashiach/Messiah of Israel” or the “anointed one of Israel” and not the “anointed” Greek god “Chrestos.”
FyreByrde: Check on the reference to “Chrestos”. This appears to be an overcomplication of a simple Greek word.
8. Amen comes from the name of the Egyptian god of life and procreation; identified with the Sun-god as a supreme deity called “Amen-Ra/Amen-Rah/Rah.”
FyreByrde: Utterly incorrect. “Amen” is from Hebrew “Amein” – pronounced “ah-main” – (please don’t ask for the actual characters, this PC is limited to Western scripts). The original meaning of this word would be best translated as “So mote it be”. (Surprise surprise)
9. Fish Symbol was used as a derogatory slur against “Messiah” in conjunction with using the word “christos” as a mockery of “Messiah.” Originally used as a symbol for the Greek fish-deity “Dagon” labeled with the phrase that made up the mystical name of “ICTHUS” which was one of the names of the Greek/Roman Sun-god called “Bacchus/Dionysus/Tammuz,” the symbol became a slur against Messianics and then found on synagogues and artifacts. The five Greek letters of “ICTHUS” mean “Iesous Christos Theou Uios Soter” translated as “Jesus Christ the Son of God the Savior” and reverenced by the Roman Catholic Church. “Iesous” is the name adapted from the name of the Greek goddess of healing “Iesos/Iaso,” the daughter of Apollo, the Sun-deity linked to the Egyptian goddess “Isis” who had a son “Isu.”
FyreByrde: Erm…Dagon? Rather H.P. Lovecraft. No such deity in real life. Also, who is this “Tammuz” fellow? Certainly not either Greek or Roman. Possibly Mesopotamian of sorts.
10. Cross was used as a symbol of the Babylonian/Chaldean Sun-god, the mystical “Tau.” The original form of the “T” became the emblem of the Greek/Roman Sun-god “Tammuz.”
11. Crucify/Crucifixion comes from the Latin word “Crux” and only appears in the Roman Catholic translation of the Greek manuscripts called the Roman Vulgate. The Greek language did not have a word for “crucify” or “crucifixion.” The Greek word used in the manuscripts was “stauros” which implied “impaled on a pole or stake” not a cross.
Steve Hayes: Crucify/Crucifixion comes from the Latin word “Crux” and only appears in the Roman Catholic translation of the Greek manuscripts called the Roman Vulgate. The Greek language did not have a word for “crucify” or “crucifixion.” The Greek word used in the manuscripts was “stauros” which implied “impaled on a pole or stake” not a cross.
Crucifixion was a Roman punishment, and the Greek word “stavros” was used to translate the Latin term into Greek.
FyreByrde: However, the practice of crucifiction was popular in Rome, even before the time of Jesus.
12. Divine/Divinity, Deity, Theos are all related words. The Greek words “dios” and “Theos,” and the Latin word “deus” all refer to Pagan gods: Greek “Dieus/Zeus, Teutonic-Germanic “Ziu,” Roman “Diovis/Jovis/ Jupiter/Zeus were all names for Sun-god deities that “shine, have brightness.”
13. Glory comes from the Latin word “gloria” which is identified with the Sun as being radiant, shining, brilliant, and bright as the sun. “Gloria” was a Roman goddess that was half-naked and held the zodiac signs.
14. Halo comes from the Greek/Roman Sun-god “Helios.” Romans applied the word “gloria” to be a sunburst or ring of light around the head of “Helios.” The use of halos around the heads of angels, the Madonna and Son, and Catholic saints has been extremely popular in paintings, artwork, and statuary connected to the Roman Catholic religion for centuries. The Roman Catholic Church still uses the “gloria” sunburst in the Eucharist.
15. Easter originated from the Pagan festival in honor of “Eostre,” a Teutonic-Germanic dawn, spring and fertility-goddess. “Eostre” comes from the Greek dawn, spring and fertility-goddess named “Eos.” This same dawn, spring and fertility-goddess “Eostre” was also known as “Eastre” and “Ostara,” and dates back to the ancient Babylonian/Canaanite cultures where she was known as “Astarte” (Ashtaroth/Ashtoreh poles). In Ninevah, this same goddess was known as “Ishtar.” The idolatrous worship of this goddess revered as the “Queen of Heaven” is mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures in Jeremiah 7:18. The worship of this “goddess” spread throughout all the cultures of the world. She is found in India as the Hindu dawn-goddess “Usha/Ushas,” and in Western cultures and religions of today, including Christianity, called “Easter.”
16. Christmas – 25th of December was the largest Pagan festival dedicated to the birthday of the Sun-god deity celebrated by the Mithras (Roman) religion known as “The Nativity of the Sun.” Mithraism was the major rival of the Messianic faith in 321 AD
17. Holy, Holiday, Holy Spirit are all interrelated and come from the Hindu religion. The words are derived from “Holi” which is the great Hindu spring festival held in honor of “Krishna,” the Hindu Sun-god.
18. Bible comes from the Greek word “Biblos/Biblion” which refers to the Egyptian papyrus reed which the Greeks called “Byblos/Byblus.” The papyrus reed was shipped from the Egyptian City “Biblis” named after its female Sun-deity. It was imported through the Greek seaport called “Byblos” named after its Phoenician Sun-deity “Byblis/Byblos” believed to be the granddaughter of Apollo, the Greek Sun-deity.
FyreByrde: I think this is a bit of a thumb-suck. “biblos” in Greek means simply “book”.
19. Grace comes from the Greek word “charis,” and the Latin word “gratia.” “Charis” was a Greek deity, the wife of Vulcan. From the goddess “Charis” comes the Greek “Charities,” three female deities, daughters of “Helios,” the Greek/Roman high Sun-god.
FyreByrde: Ahem! Firstly: Vulcan is a Roman deity. The Greek would be Hephaistos.
Secondly: The wife of Hephaistos was Aphrodite, similarly the wife of Vulcan was Venus.
Finally: Charis was one of several “Charites” which translates as “Graces” – the goddesses of charm, beauty, creativity, etc.
20. Hades was the Greek supreme deity of the underworld and also known as a Sun-deity. The word “Hades” became used for the word “grave,” and is usually mistranslated as “hell” by translators.
Steve Hayes: Hades was the Greek supreme deity of the underworld and also known as a Sun-deity. The word “Hades” became used for the word “grave,” and is usually mistranslated as “hell” by translators.
True as far as it goes. Hades was used to translate the Hebrew “sheol”, referring to the underworld, the grave, the realm of the dead. “Hel” was the Norse deity of the underworld or realm of the dead, and so was the northern European equivalent of the Greek Hades (or Latin Pluto), so it’s not really much of a mistranslation, and Christian mythology uses it in a personified sense – “Hell was angered when it enountered Thee in the lower readongs: it was angered, for it was mocked, it was angered, for it was abolished, It took earth, and encountered heaven, it took flesh, and enountered God face to face.”
FyreByrde: Hades is not, was never, and will never be any form of solar deity! Also: Christians may misunderstand the Greek Underworld for the Christian Hell, but Historians do not.
21. Hallowed comes from the description of the Pagan English fall festival of Halloween or Hallow-even. The festival portrays the Sun-image of the “KromKrauch” who was worshipped at this seasonal festival.
FyreByrde: Absolute bollocks! This is arse-about-face: Hallowe’en comes from “Hallows Eve”, which was an early Christian renaming (due to its occurance prior to “All Saints Day”) of the Celtic festival “Samhain” which roughly translates to the “end of [the tenth month]. This was NOT a solar festival, it was a harvest festival – specifically the final harvest before Winter.
“Hallow” on the other hand means “to make holy” and comes from the Old English, which comes from the Germanic language-branch, and means “to make holy”.
22. Sacred comes from the word “Sakra” pertaining to the Persian/Roman god “Mithra/ Mithras.” “Sakra/Mithra/Mithras” became the Sun-deity called “Sol Invictus,” the unconquered Sun-deity. “Sol Invictus” remains in the Roman Catholic Church today.
FyreByrde: Sacred from the Latin “sacer” which translates roughly to “sacred, dedicated [to the gods], etc.”
23. Sanctified comes from the Latin word “sanctus” which comes from the Greek word “sancus” used expressly for the Greek Sun-god “Apollo.”
FyreByrde: Sanctify comes from the Latin “sanctificare” – “to make holy” – which comes from the common compound word group of “sanctus” – “holy” – and “facere” – “to make”.
24. Sacrifice, Sacrilege, Sacrament are all words derived from the word “Sakra” that pertains to the Persian and Roman god “Mithra/Mithras” who became the Sun-deity called “Sol Invictus” which remains in the Roman Catholic Church even today. Sacrifice means “rob.” Sacrilege and Sacrament do not appear in the Greek manuscripts.
FyreByrde: See the above note on these words’ base “sacred”.
25. Obelisks, Spires, Steeple, Church Towers all come from the Pagan worship practices of Babylon and Egypt called Sun-pillars. These are objects are shaped in various tall aspiring shapes appearing to reach up to the heavens. Ancient Babylon built Sun-pillars that held phallic (male genitalia) symbolism incorporated into their Pagan worship. Egypt also built obelisks as part of their Sun-worship. Exodus 23:24 states that YAHWEH commanded the Israelites to break down these pillars. An obelisk or Sun-pillar still stands at the entrance of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome which was erected as a memorial to the merger of Sun-worship and the Messianic faith to become Rome’s “universal” church or “universal worldwide religion.” Church steeples, towers, and the Washington monument are modern day replicas of the original obelisks, which stood for Sun-worship.
FyreByrde: Not sure that all of these were exclusively for sun-worship, or that they were any more than phallic representations.
26. Luck and Fortune are words that originate from the Sun-deity “Lucifer.” Luck is the abbreviation of the name “Lucifer.” The idea of having “Luck” and “Good Fortune” is unscriptural and points to belief in Gad, the Syrian/Canaanite deity of “Good Luck” or “Fortune.”
FyreByrde: Luck: is directly related to Germanic word variously spelled as “gheluc”(Middle Dutch), “lucke” (German – excuse the lack of uhmlaut), “geluk” (Afrikaans or Modern Dutch). None of which have anything to do with the Latin “Lucifer”, which is related to “lux”(“lucis”), which means “light”. The two have absolutely no common linguistic basis whatsoever. The second half of “Lucifer” is from the Latin verb “ferre”, which means “to bring”. Thus Lucifer would translate directly as “Light-bringer”
“Fortune” on the other hand is directly from the Latin “fortuna” which means chance and luck.
There is absolutely no grammatical formation or extra vocabulary in Latin whih could bring the word “Lucifer” even close to meaning “luck and fortune”!
27. Names of Days and Months on the Gregorian calendar are derived from Roman and Teutonic-Germanic names of Pagan deities. The traditional Jewish calendar contains Babylonian names.
FyreByrde: Unless you’re accepting the Roman nouns, numerals, and emperors as deities, this statement is, when speaking of the months, a gross overstatement. Only January, March, May, June, and in broader terms, April (which actually derives from a genitive noun meaning “of Venus”), are named after the Roman deities Janus, Mars, Maia, and Juno.
February comes from the Latin noun “februa” which means “purifications”.
July is named for Julius Caesar.
August is named after Augustus Caesar.
September through December come from the Roman numbers septem, octo, novem, and decem, indicating that they are the seventh through tenth months of the year.
In terms of the week, Sunday is not named after either the Norse/Teutonic, or Latin deities, in either the Germanic/English or Romance languages. In any of these, its name is self-explanatory.
28. Baal, Bel, Babylon are all interrelated words pertaining to chief Sun-deities of Pagan Sun-worship. Baal means to “shine,” also used for “Lord/husband.” Bel is another name for “Satan”. Babylon was the ancient Canaanite city where Sun-worship began and from there spread to all ancient cultures of the world and remains in the world today as the counterfeit religion of Satan under the guise of the Roman Catholic Church and its off-shoot religions (daughters) including Christianity.
FyreByrde: Actually, “Ba’al” is a generally semitic word, which translates only as “Lord”, and would probably be used as an honorific for all male deities, but without any specific meaning. “Ba’alzebub” is a minor exception, translating directly as “Lord of the Flies.”
Bel is a Babylonian overlord-deity, whose name comes from the Babylonian “belu” which, again, translates only as “lord/master”.
Sun-worship did not have a specific birth-place, and the Babylonians were certainly not the progenators of a standardised sun-religion.
The history behind #8 is fascinating and something I have studied and turned into a novel to be published this Fall. Check out the website!
Sounds like an interesting book.
A lot of misleading and false etymology there, and a lot of urban legends as well.
It needs to be revised by someone who knows a bit more about it.
@Steve: I’m all ears hoping to learn something here. I’ve only compiled the list from various sources, would love to hear your side as well.
http://www.equalitybasedonthesoul.com
Historically Christian and Muslim faiths have their roots in Judaism,
so at their core concepts about the soul, creation and God are all the same.
I would like to address certain linguistic and philosophical similarities common to both Jews and Hindus, which may open up a broader discussion.
1. Names of God,
a. The most holy of all names of God for a Jew is KNA or KANA, Rabbi’s have slapped my face when I have said this name out loud.
This is considered to be the most intimate name for God in the Old Testament. Where it is translated, “I am a jealous God, have no other gods before you”, the literal Hebrew translation is, “My name is EL KNA, have no other gods before you.”
This name expands to KRE ShTN as Rabbi Aryeh Kapln,in Meditation and the Kabbalah explains
“On Monday, you must intertwine the associated name “KRE ShTN”"
b, From a Vedic (Hindu) view point, Kana is also an affectionate name of Krishna, The pronunciation used above “KRE ShTN” is very similar to the way south Indians pronounce Krishna.
2. Abraham and Brahma: Very few know that there are two Abrahams in Jewish philosophy
a. There is a description of how the universe was in chaos until Abraham appeared. It is said, “Over the whole, there hovered Tohu (chaos) and as long as Tohu dominated,the whole world was not in being or existence. When did that key open the gates and make the world fruitful?
It was when Abraham appeared.” [Genesis II 4] As explained in the introduction to the Zohar The Soncino Press LTD–London New York
There is also this reference one needs to ponder It is said, “Angels are supposed to have no back and four faces, so always to be able to behold God.”
[Talmud, cf. Ezek i. 6]
b. In the First Canto of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, there is a long description of how Brahma created the planets, stars etc. It is well known that the Brahma of this universe has 4 heads.
3. DEMIGODS AND ANGELS have the same function in both trations.
a. The Midrash teaches, “There is no blade of grass that does not have a constellation (Mazal) over it, telling it to grow.” [Sefer Yetzirah 4.6]
“As commentaries explain, ‘God’s providence works through the angels, but the angels, in turn, work through the stars and planets. As some authorities put it, the angels are, in a sense, like souls to the stars. Thus, for example, some sources speak of the stars as having intelligence, but the commentaries note that this is actually speaking of the angels that are associated with them.’” [Sefer Yetrzirah 4.6]
b. The Vedic conception is that there are many specially empowered demigods who help manage the affairs of the universe including the planets of our solar system.
The controlling demigods, although not eternal them selves, function within various posts that exist as long as the universe exists. For example, one of the principle demigods is Lord Indra. Indra is the name of the post, but the particular demigod who occupies that post during a given period has his own personal name. Just like President of the United States is a post, but there have been many presidents throughout history.
4. Durga in the Bible?
a. “He summoned to issue from the side of Darkness a kind of female moon, which rules over the night, and is associated with Adonai, the Lord of all the earth. In his days, the moon was magnified and reached her fullness. A thousand mountains rose before her, and she blew them away with a puff. A thousand mighty rivers flowed before her, and she swallowed them at a draught. Her nails reached out in a thousand and seventy directions and her hands in twenty-four thousand, so that nothing could escape her. Thousands of bucklers clung to her hair. From between her feet went forth a youth who stretched from one end of the world to the other with sixty clubs of fire…” [Zohar]
b. The Vedas describe the ghastly form of Goddess Kali, another name for the Goddess Durga. There is a reference of Goddess Kali in the Srimad-Bhagavatam in the history of Jada Bharata, when she manifested herself to protect him. It is stated, “Intolerant of the offenses committed, the infuriated goddess Kali flashed her eyes and displayed her fierce, curved teeth. Her reddish eyes glowed, and she displayed her fearsome features. She assumed a frightening body, as if she were prepared to destroy the entire creation. Leaping violently from the altar, she
immediately decapitated all the rogues and thieves with the very sword with which they had intended to kill Jada Bharata. She then began to drink the hot blood that flowed from the necks of the beheaded rogues and thieves, as if this blood were liquor.
5. (BRAHMAN) EFFULGENCE
a. “The Most Recondite is beyond cognition, but reveals of Himself a tenuous and veiled brightness shining only along a narrow path which extends from Him, and this is the brightness that irradiates all. This is the starting point of all esoteric mysteries, itself being unknowable.” [Zohar IV 146b]
b. The Absolute Truth is expressed as Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavän.” [Srimad Bhagavatam.1.2.11] Brahman refers to the impersonal all-pervasive spirit.
That is the same as the brahmajyoti, the effulgence of the Lord.
6. METATRON AND MAHA-VISHNU
a. It is said that a personality named Metatron cooperates with God to teach the young. While God devotes the last three hours of the day to this work, Metatron is in charge during the remainder of the day. (A.Z. 3b) [Everyman's Talmud, II, III] Regarding the revolving sword or flaming sword that revolves, it is said “the manner in which the sword rotates depends on the readiness of the individual attempting to enter. If he is worthy, it becomes the mirror through which he perceives, while if he is not worthy, he is burned out and cut off by the fire of this sword. The one who oversees the sword, preventing the unworthy from entering, is the angel Metatron.” [Meditation and Kabbalah p 80 Chapter 4, Teachings of Rabbi Abraham Abulafia]
“Metatron is therefore not a proper name at all but a designation for the whole category of celestial powers performing a mission.”
[Origins of the Kabbalah, III, 6]
b. In the creative process,it is from Maha-Vishnu that all of the universes emanate, Sudarshan Cakra (flaming sword that revolves) controlled by Visnu similarly punishes and grants liberation. “Without illumination,nothing can be seen, especially in this material world.
The illumination in this world emanates from the effulgence of Sudarshan, the original vision of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
The illuminating principles of the sun, the moon and fire emanate from Sudarshan.
Similarly, illumination by knowledge also comes from Sudarshan.” [Srimad Bhag. 9.5.7, Purport]
Also there is a series of Visnu expansions each with a chakra.
7. THE LORD IN THE HEART
a. When the soul is about to descend to this world, it first goes down to the terrestrial Garden of Eden and sees there the glory of the souls of the righteous, and then goes down to Gehinnom and sees the wicked who cry “Woe, woe”, and find no compassion. That holy form (God) stands by him until he emerges into the world, after which it keeps him company and grows up with him.” [The Zohar 43b] [KI TAZRIA (LEVITICUS)]
b. In the Bhagavad-gita “Yet in this body there is another, a transcendental enjoyer, who is the Lord, the supreme proprietor, who exists as the overseer and permitter, and who is known as the Supersoul, Paramatma.” [Bg. 13.23]
8. GURU AND RABBI
a. In Judaism, knowledge is also passed from the rabbi to his students, but not everyone is qualified to become a student. “As a matter of law, the sages state that these mysteries ‘cannot even be taught to a single individual, unless he is wise enough to understand with his own knowledge.’ Even in such a case, the complete tradition was only given over to the head of the group, and he would then only instruct those whom he saw fit. Only individuals
possessing the highest qualities of scholarship and piety would be admitted to the circle of initiates.” [Introduction to the Bahir, Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan]
It is also stated that “One who reaches the highest level cannot reveal it to anyone. All he can do is give over the keys, so that the enlightened individual
can open the gates which are sealed to exclude the unworthy.”
[Meditation and Kabbalah, p 79]
b. In Vedic culture, although a guru would speak to whoever wanted to learn the Vedic science, he was traditionally very selective whom he would initiate as his disciple. He would only accept those persons who qualified themselves by humble submission and service. Lord Krishna states in the Bhagavad-gita, “Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master, inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.”
9. VEDIC AND JEWISH CALENDARS
a. The current Hebrew year is 5767. In this calendar, the year in which Adam was created is counted as year one. If we then count the Biblical genealogies from the time of Adam, we find that over 5,000 years have elapsed since the time he was formed. However, the Kabbalists clearly say that other human beings existed before Adam, and this is even supported in scripture [Drush Or HaChaim] The fifth cycle was the one that brought life, and this took
place around two and a half billion years ago. Around 974 generations before Adam, or some 25,000 years ago, man developed all of the physical and mental capabilities that we possess today…but he still lacked the divine soul that would make him a spiritual being. God then created Adam, the first true human being with a soul, ‘and He blew in his nostrils a soul of life’. [Genesis 2.7] [Sefer Yetzirah 4.15]
b. The Vedic calendar states that Kali-yuga lasts 432,000 years, out of which we have passed about 5,000 years.
10.The Ecstasy of Chanting The Names Of God
a. People who have dedicated their lives to the service of God may at times feel unlimited joy or ecstasy while engaged in prayer. It is said, “Permute the letters back and forth, and in this manner, you will reach the first level. As a result of the activity and your concentration on the letters, your mind will become bound to them. The hairs on your head will stand on end and tremble. Your lifeblood is in your heart, and regarding this it is written,
“the blood is the soul” [Deuteronomy 12:23]. It is likewise written, “The blood in the soul will atone” [Leviticus 17:11]. This blood within you will begin to vibrate because of the permutations that loosen it. Your entire body will then begin to tremble, and all your limbs will be seized with shuddering. You will experience the terror of God and will be enveloped with fear of Him. You will then feel as if an additional spirit is within you, arousing you and
strengthening you, passing through your entire body and giving you leisure. It will seem as you have been anointed with perfumed oil, from head to foot. You will rejoice and have great pleasure. You will experience ecstasy and trembling–ecstasy for the soul, and trembling for the body.
[Meditation and Kabbalah, Treasury of the Hidden Eden p85-86]
b. The stage of bhava, love of God, is manifested by eight transcendental symptoms, namely inertness, perspiration, standing of hairs on end, failing in the voice, trembling, paleness of the body, tears in the eyes, and finally trance. [Srimad Bhag. 2:3:24 Purport]
11. GOD’S BEAUTY
a.The Jewish scriptures describe a vision of God. “His head is a treasure of fine gold. His locks are hanging, black like the raven.” In both Talmudic and Kabbalistic traditions, one of the interpretations is that it relates to a vision of God; “when He is visualized in battle, He is seen as a young man with black hair.” [Sefer Yetzirah Ch 6.1]
b.The Vedas refer to the form of the Lord. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam it is stated, “the Lord is super excellently beautiful on account of His open and merciful smile and His sidelong glance upon His devotees. His black hair is curly, and His garments, waving in the wind, appear like flying saffron pollen from lotus flowers. His glittering earrings, shining helmet, bangles, garland, ankle bells, waist belt and various other bodily ornaments
combine with the conch shell, disc, club, and lotus flower to increase the natural beauty of the Kaustubha pearl on His chest.” [Srimad Bhag. 2.24.47-48]
What an interesting read, thanks William!
I see several references to the Kabbalah, does it refer to the original Jewish Kabbalah or Hermetic Kabbalah?
There are far too many errors and mistaken associations to deal with them all in a comment, but I’ll give a couple of examples:
11. Crucify/Crucifixion comes from the Latin word “Crux” and only appears in the Roman Catholic translation of the Greek manuscripts called the Roman Vulgate. The Greek language did not have a word for “crucify” or “crucifixion.” The Greek word used in the manuscripts was “stauros” which implied “impaled on a pole or stake” not a cross.
Crucifixion was a Roman punishment, and the Greek word “stavros” was used to translate the Latin term into Greek.
20. Hades was the Greek supreme deity of the underworld and also known as a Sun-deity. The word “Hades” became used for the word “grave,” and is usually mistranslated as “hell” by translators.
True as far as it goes. Hades was used to translate the Hebrew “sheol”, referring to the underworld, the grave, the realm of the dead. “Hel” was the Norse deity of the underworld or realm of the dead, and so was the northern European equivalent of the Greek Hades (or Latin Pluto), so it’s not really much of a mistranslation, and Christian mythology uses it in a personified sense – “Hell was angered when it enountered Thee in the lower readongs: it was angered, for it was mocked, it was angered, for it was abolished, It took earth, and encountered heaven, it took flesh, and enountered God face to face.”
You can find more on hell in a post on my blog Go to Hell!.
You might also liketo look at this one Urban legends about Christmas.
Thanks!!
The original
Please all see
http://www.allaboutradha.com
http://www.equalsouls.org
for more details
also see not all see sorry
Very interesting read Steve!
I guess one can start a separate entry just to correct what needs to be corrected, but which sources do I trust? For every source of information, there’s an equal amount of disinformation which was purposefully created to achieve something.
Well, Re@Ps, you’ve seen my analysis. Basically, I have to agree with Steve on the linguistic and historical inaccuracies.
I don’t know much of the Hindu religion or Kabbalah for obvious reasons, so I can’t agree or disagree with you, William, though you seem to know what you’re talking about. :)
Anything else (or other common myths) that needs correction?
Good Morning
Thanks I have been researching this topic for the last 30 years.
A good source of more accurate information on Christian festivals (Easter, Christmas, Halloween etc) is Ronald Hutton’s Seasons of the sun.