Andrew Hagstrom

Questions and Answers (7) View all

• Answer added in Anthropology
  45 To what extent are elements of Christian theology drawn from primitive religions, e.g. death and resurrection, redemption, the virgin birth?
  By Andrew Hagstrom · The Catholic University of America
  Andrew Hagstrom · The Catholic University of America

  Good points, Ramdas. What do you think of H.G. Well's suggestion in his Outline of History that a belief in spiritual beings sprang from a veneration... [more]

  Good points, Ramdas. What do you think of H.G. Well's suggestion in his Outline of History that a belief in spiritual beings sprang from a veneration of ancestors? When a wise and powerful tribe leader (whom Wells calls the Old Man) passed away, he still appeared in the people's dreams. Believing that he was still alive (or at least not sure that he wasn't alive), they continued to revere him from fear that he might become angry and hurt the tribe in some way.
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• Answer added in Anthropology
  45 To what extent are elements of Christian theology drawn from primitive religions, e.g. death and resurrection, redemption, the virgin birth?
  By Andrew Hagstrom · The Catholic University of America
  Andrew Hagstrom · The Catholic University of America

  Ray, as I understand the substance of your argument, it is this. Correct me if I am wrong. You assume there is a God. But this God is not too parti... [more]

  Ray, as I understand the substance of your argument, it is this. Correct me if I am wrong. You assume there is a God. But this God is not too particular about how man represents him. He has imparted various religious traditions to different people throughout the world, and he gives people the freedom to alter and develop their respective religions as they see fit. I think there may be some truth to this, in so far as all religions have some common elements as well as well as some divergent elements that may be explained as the product of the people's whims. Religions are certainly not concrete but grow and develop over time. I wonder what the very First religion looked like . . . Andrew
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• Answer added in Social and Cultural Anthropology
  5 What role, if any, did other religions (Mithraism, Zoroastrianism, the cults of Osiris, Dionysius, Adonis) have in the development of Christianity?
  By Andrew Hagstrom · The Catholic University of America
  Andrew Hagstrom · The Catholic University of America

  Thanks, I've actually already read this book. 

  Thanks, I've actually already read this book.
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• Question asked in Social and Cultural Anthropology
  5 What role, if any, did other religions (Mithraism, Zoroastrianism, the cults of Osiris, Dionysius, Adonis) have in the development of Christianity?
  This question bears on the anthropology of religion 
  This question bears on the anthropology of religion
  By Andrew Hagstrom · The Catholic University of America
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• Answer added in Anthropology
  45 To what extent are elements of Christian theology drawn from primitive religions, e.g. death and resurrection, redemption, the virgin birth?
  By Andrew Hagstrom · The Catholic University of America
  Andrew Hagstrom · The Catholic University of America

  Thanks everyone for your thoughtful replies. I just want to make a few remarks. Don, it seems you are saying that Christ is the ultimate realizat... [more]

  Thanks everyone for your thoughtful replies. I just want to make a few remarks. Don, it seems you are saying that Christ is the ultimate realization of what was only darkly reflected in pagan religions and mythologies. He is the one true Man-Son-God-King who came and brought redemption to man. Ok, but even so, could not other elements have sneaked into the doctrine that has developed around Christ? The virgin birth, for instance? What is the use of Joseph being descended from David if he wasn't even Christ's biological father? The virgin birth is not even mentioned in Paul's letters or the Gospel of Mark. It doesn't appear until the later Gospel of Matthew in 90 AD or so. Then again, as Ramdas says, it was prophesied that Christ would be born to a "young woman," not a "virgin" per se. Could not this element have been added later to give authority to Christianity and allow it to compete with the religions of its time? William, you say that we cannot know for certain whether Paul borrowed from other religious traditions. It seems apparent, however, that he borrowed from Jewish tradition and was influenced by pagan thinking as well, which is evident in his address to the Athenians on the Areopagus. Also, what do you mean when you say that the virgin birth was necessitated more by political considerations than by historical ones? Ray, I appreciate the perspective you bring to this issue based on your Native American heritage. We certainly do need a term besides "primitive," which is so loaded with negative connotations, to describe early religions. But I want to particularly address your statement that there is no hierarchy of religions. What if there is actually some objective spiritual reality? Wouldn't one religion be better than another in so far as it described this other reality with more accuracy and urged behavior that was in accordance with the will of these higher spiritual beings? Andrew
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