Christianity "plus" anything else isn't Christianity.

Those people aren't married in the sight of God, because they did not seek to be.  They threw a few crumbs to the Almighty, and pulled a stunt worthy of Barack "Many Paths" Obama by using Christianity as a prop.

But ha, ha, isn't it cute.

--Mike 

www.thebrattonreport...

"Although, those of use who know our Theological history, know that Catholicism IS a mixture of Paganism (Sun worship) and the original church of Christ."

Careful -- you tread on very thin ground with statements like that here.  NB has made it clear that sectarian comments and/or debates are not welcome here -- at best, they are distraction from the topic at hand; at worst, they generate fruitless divisiveness and bad blood.  There are a large number of folks out there (namely, orthodox Catholics) who would beg to differ with your inaccurate assessment (Sun worship??) of their religion.

"Steady."  -- Keith Olbermann to Chris Matthews

 Sorry to offend anyone, that is not my intent but, it is a historical FACT that modern Catholicism is what we have left over after Emporer Constantine (Who declared himself a Christian at age 40 but also remained a Sun Worshipper until his death bed baptism into the Catholic Church) made the primal Church of Christ (Known as the Catholic Church from around 100-110AD) the state religion in an empire of mostly Pagan citizens.  Constantine called the council of Nicea and it is out of this council that the modern precepts of the Church of Christ (Catholicism), as we know it today, sprung.

For his support of the Church both Constantine and his mother were made Saints, but after the great schism between Rome and Constantinople only the Eastern Orthodox Church retains his sainthood, while the latin church gave him the title of "The Great".

These are all easily verifiable facts. I am not saying that Constantine MADE the Church, nor am I saying he came up with the principles of the Church...

What I am saying is that he had a great deal of influence on the primal church and due to his influence (and for some political  reasons) there are aspects of Paganism that were adopted into the Church. Such aspects are:

Sunday worship- Original Christians worshipped on Saturday, Sunday was the worship day of Mithras or Helios, the Sun God of Constantine. Sunday worship was adopted by the Nicean Council in 325AD, and made into Law by the Church of Lacedonia in 364 AD.

Easter- Originally an incredibly popular Pagan Celebration of the Fertility Goddess Eastre or Oester complete with Rabbits and eggs. Along the Medditeranean (and well before the birth of Christ) Easter was personified by the story of Attis. Attis was born to a virgin (sound familiar?). He is the god of Vegetation, the lover of the fertility Goddess, and he dies and is reborn annually at this time (sound familiar?).
This holiday was too popular for early Christians to ban, so over time they simply reassigned meaning to the traditions (in the Council of Nicea) and let their pagan converts continue to celebrate.

Christmas- I love Christmas as much as everyone else, and accept it as a celebration of the Birth of Christ... But as most Chistians know, December 25th is NOT the time of Christs birth. In the old calendar December 25 was the winter solstice, a day to celebrate the returning of the sun. In Rome December 17 was the start of a seven day holiday to celebrate the birth of the god Saturn.

The Iranian sun God Mithra (also linked with Helios) was born of a virgin birth, on December 25, and a feast was held in honor of Mithras known as Dies Natalis Solis Invicti.  In many parts of the world the holidays’ original name was Saturnalia. Saturnalia was a celebration that lasted several days and involved feasting and the exchange of gifts. Evergreens, which represented life, were brought into the homes and decorated. Nearly every Christmas tradition, from the wreath to the star, have pagan origins, there are too many to list.

As with Easter the holiday was far too popular, so rather than forbidding newly converted Christians from celebrating it, the Church (by way of the Council of Nicea) adopted the holiday, renamed the day and over time reassigned meanings to the traditions.

Halos- Halos were used on images of Pagan Gods and Goddesses, long before Christianity arose. The halo symbol is a clear reference to the Sun God Helios. Adopted by the Church as a symbolic manefestation of Holiness and power from Pagan converts.

Other things that are common to Chistianity that have Pagan origins are:

-Wedding Rings & why you wear them on your 4th finger.

-Wedding Veils

-White Wedding Dresses

-The "Fish" Symbol (Ichthys)

-Vestments (Robes that Priests wear, although there is also carryover from the robes that Jewish Levites wore in the Temple)

-Elemental symbols of water and fire used in Christianity

-The Triquetra Symbol (Trinity) originally representing the "Three-Part Goddess" Maiden/Mother/Crone.

and finally...

-The Crucifix, originally the symbol of the Sun God Mithras (Helios), and the Babylonian God Tammuz. Adopted by Christians (Catholics) after (Guess who?)... Constantine who was a Sun worshipper (Sol Invictus?) at the time, had a vision of a Cross in front of the Sun.

Prior to 300AD the association of the Cross with Christianity was very rare (but not unheard of), Christians preferred the use of the Fish symbol which is itself a Pre-Christian Pagan symbol.

Again, I am not trying to offend anyone and I apoligize if I do. I am just stating simple facts, sorry if truth stings. Historians from both the Mother Church and Protestant denominations have clearly stated that over time, Pagan traditions have crept into and become recognized practices in modern Christianity.

Don't believe me, look it up. 

PS. I've updated this post to include main links to the CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA to make it easier for you as well as some supplimentary links.

Doc

"Although, those of use who know our Theological history, know that Catholicism IS a mixture of Paganism (Sun worship) and the original church of Christ."

Christianity (i.e., Catholicism until the Reformation) has at a number of times in history assimilated some cultural practices into its liturgy, but Christianity has never mixed the two beliefs.

During the first three centuries, especially the second and third, Christians in Rome adopted the iconography of pastoral local art, such as Christ shown as a shepherd in a Roman style (which, of course, perfectly conformed to Christ's own description of himself as the Good Shepherd). During the same time, newly converted Christian artists adapted images of Helios, the sun god, as a model for depicting Christ. Let us not forget that Christians, an unfavored group under threat of persecution (until the Constantinian conversion), did not portray the crucifixion, which could have discouraged the catechumens in the catacombs. They preferred more benign and hopeful depictions.

After Constantine, Christianity began to exhibit a more robust iconography. In the Eastern churches, the Pantocrator (Christ the Judge) was adopted as a popular image, but still, in buildings like St. Apollinaire in Classe, Christ was portrayed as the Good Shepherd with twelve sheep.

Later, as the Church expanded into the farther reaches of the Roman Empire, it encountered and eventually converted many different people, such as the Celts in Britain, and absorbed such things as the term for "Easter" from them. Roman missionaries reported that the local Christians who had been previously evangelized celebrated Easter on a different date from the one established in Rome. See Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the British People for more details about this and other matters.

New and improved post! 

 "Although, those of use who know our Theological history, know that Catholicism IS a mixture of Paganism (Sun worship) and the original church of Christ."

Christianity (i.e., Catholicism until the Reformation) has at a number of times in history assimilated some cultural practices into its liturgy, but Christianity has never mixed the two beliefs.

During the first three centuries, especially the second and third, Christians in Rome adopted the iconography of pastoral local art, such as Christ shown as a shepherd in a Roman style (which, of course, perfectly conformed to Christ's own description of himself as the Good Shepherd). During the same time, newly converted Christian artists adapted images of Helios, the sun god, as a model for depicting Christ. Let us not forget that Christians, an unfavored group under threat of persecution (until the Constantinian conversion), did not portray the crucifixion, which could have discouraged the catechumens in the catacombs. They preferred more benign and hopeful depictions.

ChristAsSol.jpg 462×494 pixels 

 Good_shepherd_01_small.jpg 450×436 pixels

 earlychris1.jpg 1000×682 pixels

After Constantine, Christianity began to exhibit a more robust iconography. In the Eastern churches, the Pantocrator (Christ the Judge) was adopted as a popular image, but still, in buildings like Sant' Apollinaire in Classe, Christ was portrayed as the Good Shepherd with twelve sheep. 

Pendentive_(San_Vitale_in_Ravenna).jpg 1296×972 pixels 

Basilica_of_Sant_Apollinare.jpg 800×600 pixels 

Later, as the Church expanded into the farther reaches of the Roman Empire, it encountered and eventually converted many different people, such as the Celts in Britain, and absorbed such things as the term for "Easter" from them. Roman missionaries reported that the local Christians who had been previously evangelized celebrated Easter on a different date from the one established in Rome. See Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the British People for more details about this and other matters.