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Pastimes : History's effect on Religion -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sun Tzu who wrote (208)	8/3/2005 4:08:38 PM
From: 2MAR$	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 520

I think there is still a small enclave of Zoroastrians settled in India that remain today , though their numbers are quite small. Only some 20,000 or so . There was one nice fellow this last century who was to rise to some prominence in some eyes who was raised Zoroastrian , called Meher Baba , who had attracted many , and was a pretty lovely soul. I can see that one interpretation of the greek scriptural text identifies the "holy spirit " with water. we also swim in water in the mothers womb , and the breaking of the mother's water precedes every birth . Earth air fire and water , the four elements , but water naturally being the one to identify with birth, renewal and the etrnal spring. There is even water running under the earth...same as it ever was. Interestingly , despite the ban on many items coming in from the moors of spain in medieval europe , the first colored glass began arriving , and the mosaics of stained glass first began to adorn the sanctums of the cathedrals . The effect was powerful to be bathed in such light streaming down . Many thought it was as close to seeing the pure essence of God on earth as could be found , back then . They went pretty wild with the stained glass application , though initially there was a sentence of death for the first smugglers of it . Being considered taboo, but once they began seeing what it could do to pure white light , they relented in a hurry . It's a good approach to examine the myths and rituals of the other religions , as the tendency is to take one's religion as the only fact. As all the permeations of the other beliefs are looked at, a more complete picture of the meaning of message may be . Then you can really start to get the experience > The reason we are interested in the mystery religions is because one of the requirements for an initiate entering a mystery religion was for the individual to be baptized. This symbolized a cleansing, as in Jewish proselyte baptism, and it also identified the person with that particular religious group. So with baptism already being practiced in the mystery religions, it would be common enough for the people to recognize its meaning. Being made pure by water , then to be baptized in the "light" . Can be used to denote a special category , but in reality all human beings do share the same experience essentially...or potentially. though the eskimo and inuit prolly did not baptise their young for the frozen cold state of the envirionment , still appreciated its beauty . They just called it "snow" , fifty different ways ! ;)