tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15625783.post114140207089488178..comments2024-01-02T21:15:59.849-06:00Comments on The First Presbyterian Church of Jackson Mississippi: Resurrecting RalphLigon Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09153063931277545598noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15625783.post-1142462958135509542006-03-15T16:49:00.000-06:002006-03-15T16:49:00.000-06:00Bradford, thanks for the recommendations. Unfortu...Bradford, thanks for the recommendations. Unfortunately our library did not have "God in the Dock." I did, however, read "Surprised by Joy" and "Till We Have Faces." Both were a pleasure to read.<BR/><BR/>The big difference between the paganism of our current era and the paganism that Lewis describes is the cult of blood sacrifice. In fact, opposition to blood sacrifice in pagan ritual goes back to the days of Pythagoras.<BR/><BR/>Most Americans have a roast of some sort on holidays, so the sacrifice still exists. Instead of a priest performing the deed, it is done at the slaughterhouse.<BR/><BR/>At the time of Christ, there was a debate over blood sacrifice between the Essenes and the Pharisees. The Essenes opposed the practice. They said the temple of Jerusalem had been polluted by it.<BR/><BR/>I don't think anything Emerson wrote or did points in the direction of renewing the practice. In fact, he opposed the traditional communion sacraments, which can be seen as a shadow of blood sacrifice.<BR/><BR/>As for the writings of C.S. Lewis, there is a strong hint of gnosticism in his approach. This may come from his eclectic education.<BR/><BR/>Thanks again!Sophia Sadekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06303748450821405889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15625783.post-1141565285938752532006-03-05T07:28:00.000-06:002006-03-05T07:28:00.000-06:00Thank you for your feed back. You might enjoy read...Thank you for your feed back. You might enjoy reading C.S. Lewis' (an Anglican writer and literary critic) perspectives on paganism in "When Myth Became Fact" in God in the Dock. Also see his Surprised by Joy and Till We Have Faces. Let me know what you think.Bradford Mercerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12293824890840032221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15625783.post-1141565143159735312006-03-05T07:25:00.000-06:002006-03-05T07:25:00.000-06:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Bradford Mercerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12293824890840032221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15625783.post-1141503959064186222006-03-04T14:25:00.000-06:002006-03-04T14:25:00.000-06:00Thanks for elucidating the "pagan" thing.One of my...Thanks for elucidating the "pagan" thing.<BR/><BR/>One of my favorite "pagan" authors is Plutarch. His essay on superstition has disturbed many devout Christian theologians. Emerson mentions the influence of Plutarch on himself and other influential literary figures.<BR/><BR/>The gist of the essay on superstition is that those who fear divinity are worse than atheists. When people comment to me that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, I point out that, "Yes, that is true. But it is not the *end* of wisdom."<BR/><BR/>If you seek to exterminate pagan influence in western culture, you'll have to burn all of the libraries in western civilization. That includes private as well as public libraries.<BR/><BR/>Also, to characterize the pagan influence as "anti-Christian" is unfair to Christ. After all, he was a pagan philosopher. Most of the founders of the Church were educated in one pagan school or another. Catholics have been worshipping pagan gods as saints since the days of Theodorus. Not to mention all of the pagan holiday figures such as the Easter bunny and Santa Claus.<BR/><BR/>May the blessings of divinity reign at your house!Sophia Sadekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06303748450821405889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15625783.post-1141489753894315482006-03-04T10:29:00.000-06:002006-03-04T10:29:00.000-06:00G.K. Chesterton once quipped that "the term 'pagan...G.K. Chesterton once quipped that "the term 'pagan' is continually used in fiction and light literature as meaning a man without any religion, whereas a pagan was generally a man with about half a dozen." Being "spiritual" is in. But this "new" pagan spirituality wants nothing to do with the Christian Church, with an inerrant Bible, with the sacraments, with church authority. It seeks the same sort of inward divine spark that characterized Emerson's self-reliant pantheism. Bloom and others are seeking to reintroduce and popularize Emerson's aggressively anti-Christian worldview.Bradford Mercerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12293824890840032221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15625783.post-1141481253452153522006-03-04T08:07:00.000-06:002006-03-04T08:07:00.000-06:00Good post. Much is going on in the blogosphere as...Good post. Much is going on in the blogosphere as bloggers are really pushing their theology on things like free grace theology, federal vision, emergent church movement, theological liberalism and so on. Calvinism is being mischaracterized and attacked with a vengence by some of these bloggers. I hope this blog can help keep us informed on these things even morejazzycathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16720471765591930568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15625783.post-1141418296026695472006-03-03T14:38:00.000-06:002006-03-03T14:38:00.000-06:00Thanks for the posting!I've just completed a study...Thanks for the posting!<BR/><BR/>I've just completed a study of Ralph Waldo Emerson. He was an extraordinary American. And, he still is.<BR/><BR/>Your comment about paganism has me a bit puzzled. Could you elaborate?Sophia Sadekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06303748450821405889noreply@blogger.com