I say Ishtar because that is what Easter is derived from. Ishtar (aka Inanna) traveled to the underworld of her sister Ereshkigal; traveling through seven gates. At each of these gates she had to leave an article of clothing behind in order to continue. This is paralleled in the story of Jesus, as he is stripped of his clothes before being crucified. Ishtar passes the final gate and sits upon the throne of Ereshkigal where she is turned into a corpse and then....get this...hung with nails, just like Jesus.
There is more intricacy to these myths that I won't burden you with, but in summary, Easter is actually a celebration of rebirth and renewal, not of ourselves through the resurrection of Jesus, but of the world through the resurrection of Ishtar and Tammuz (aka Dumuzi) who was a shepherd-god. (Surprise, surprise. He was also an "only begotten son" and conceived not through sex, but by the rays of the sun.) As a result of Ishtar being bound to the underworld, reproduction on Earth ceased. In addition, there is a 40 day period of mourning in Tammuz worship (prior to the resurrection) in which meat is not to be eaten. Does this sound like Lent to anyone else? This is merely one of countless myths which Christianity has borrowed from in creating their own myths and culture. Given that this myth in particular has origins dating as early as the 4th millenia BC, it would be interesting to hear a Christian explain the similarities of Christianity to earlier mythologies (Epic of Gilgamesh, Sumerian Enuma Elish, etc) without saying "Satan created those religions to trick us away from Jesus."
As an aside, I like how other religions have Goddesses, because it gives women the importance they are due.
Happy Ishtar, everyone. Enjoy time with your family, because that's what it is all about. Tell us how your Ishtar was and discuss it in the comments!
And I showed this blogue post to Jesus, asking him for his opinion. He was kind enough to respond.
Religion is for the most part, for families, is it not? Look at Mormonism, how can anyone in there right mind believe their doctrines? If religion did not bring people together, I would argue there would be no religion, I think people are less concerned about what happens when they die, but more-so concerned about what immediate effect it has one their day-to-day relations with others.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your input, Luke. (Blackprinze???) :)
ReplyDeleteReligions do center themselves around families. (God the Father, God the Son...Priests are Fathers, Nuns are sisters and Monks are brothers) Kinship is a medium through which these ideas thrive. Religion CAN bring people together, however, I would argue that it divides more than unites. It divides people into the "saved" and "damned" where you can be treated like family if you believe a man turned water into wine, and treated like shit if you don't.
In practice, I believe you are correct. I see the average religious person as more concerned with fitting in to an expected social norm, and seeking the approval of their peers than whether or not they are going to heaven. The same is unfortunately true of the non-religious: many of us are afraid to come out of the "belief" closet for fear of how it would affect family and friendships.
Last Christmas I learned that another person in my family is an atheist, but this person is remaining quiet about it for the exact reason I posted above. Religious difference would put a wedge in their family.
As for how anyone in their right mind could believe in Mormon doctrine, the same could be said for any religion (IMO) but giving scientific explanations of the "whys" of religious belief is a topic for a future post. Thanks for the idea.