by ·Comments Off on MYTHS ABOUT CHRISTIANITY
myths

Every Religion has its fair share of legends, beliefs and myths that are a profound part of its existence and have often been passed down from generation to generation without fail, even if they are by some means untrue. Christianity too has a vast number of myths attached to it and in this article, we explore some of these.

1: CHRISTIANITY IS A WESTERN RELIGION:
It is widely believed that Christianity originated in Western Europe. This is not true. It neither originated there nor is it confined to Western Europe. Christianity is a world religion that founds its roots in various parts and thus this belief lasted only from around the early 16th to the mid-20th centuries, until it was soon recognised that there were older churches in India, China, Iraq etc.


2: JESUS WAS ONLY A TEACHER AND ZEALOT:
A lot of people believe Jesus is more a teacher and guide as opposed to a revolutionary. His claim to be the ‘only God’ really bothered some people and felt his message about equality scandalous that he preached equality for people but regarded himself as the one true saviour of the world. However, though perhaps not a revolutionary, he was much more than just a teacher.

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3: CHRISTIANITY WAS IMPOSED ON THE NON-WESTERN PEOPLE BY FORCE:
If this were true, even today Non-Western Christians would simply hold a status as just passive recipients of the faith passed on by western dominant ideologies. However, the western missions never had the power to conquer and achieve such a degree of capitulation, even if that’s what they wanted, which was not.

4: CHRISTIANITY STIFLES ONE’S PERSONAL FREEDOM:
Christianity is a liberal religion that does not curb a person’s personal freedom in any way. It, of course, tries to protect its followers from self-deception and wrongdoing but otherwise gives all the freedom necessary to do whatever one wants, by simply remaining accountable to God for the same.


5: CHRISTIANITY IS UNTRUE BECAUSE IT IS BASED ON FAITH RATHER THAN FACTS:
Compelling historical evidence and growing archaeological evidence supports the authenticity and truth of the Bible and the accounts of both the Old and New Testament events and ideas. Thus, saying the Bible is simply a book of guidelines and stories praising the faith would be untrue.

6: CHRISTIANITY IS JUDGEMENTAL AND INTOLERANT TOWARDS OTHERS:
A saying in the Bible quotes “Whosoever will, may come. Who can come to Jesus? Everybody!”
This by itself shows that Christianity is one of the most inclusive religions in the world that is open and welcoming of all. While like most religions, there is, of course, a select group of people that believe their religion all supreme and thus are judgemental to others; Christianity is mostly a very tolerant religion.

by ·Comments Off on DIFFERENT SYMBOLS IN CHRISTIANITY
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Every faith and religion has some symbols that are significant and unique to it. These symbols can be a figure, an object, a colour or more and each has its own profound meaning. They help followers remember the various ideologies and values attached to their religion and remain faithful to them. Christianity too has its fair share of religious symbols and in this article, we explore some of them.

1: THE CROSS AND CRUCIFIX:
Today we see the cross everywhere, often as a sign of beauty adorned with jewels and forget that it is originally and foremost, a symbol denoting a brutal and horrific death.  Execution on the cross was considered the highest form of humiliation by the early Romans back then. However, Jesus Christ’s death on the cross was not seen in the same way. His greatest loss instead became his greatest victory for the cross is now observed and celebrated as a sign of Christ’s defeat over death.
The symbol came to be used and revered from the 15th century.

2:  THE PEACOCK:  The Ancient Greeks believed that the peacock’s flesh did not decompose upon death. It suffered none of the decay brought by death and hence became an important symbol for resurrection and immortality in Christianity. The symbol also represented eternal life in heaven with God and was used in a lot of paintings, mosaics and to complement depictions of the tree of life.

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3: THE PELICAN:
It was believed that Pelicans loved their young so much, they would wound themselves and let the young drink the blood to keep them alive and well fed. This is similar to Christ pouring out his blood and flesh as a sign of sins forgiven, as well as the Eucharist and thus, the bird came to be recognised as a symbol of Christ’s love and passion.

4: THE ANCHOR:
The anchor was seen as a symbol of safety and hope in one’s future existence. Christians regard Christ as an unfaltering sense of hope for all that reaches out to him and thus they regard the anchor as a symbol portraying this hope in their Lord.

5: THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA:
The use of the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet as a symbol in Christianity is derived from Jesus saying of himself “I am the Alpha and the Omega, The First and the Last, The Beginning and the End”. The letters put together shows the eternity of the Lord.

6: THE DOVE:
It is said during the Baptism of Jesus Christ; the Holy Spirit took the form of a dove and descended down to rest on Jesus. As a result, today the dove is used as a symbol of the Holy Spirit and revered by Christians.