nbcrusader said:
As I reflect back on my Catholic High School experience, it ignored any Spiritual Truth about God and promoted the institution of the Church as the authority in my life. There was no interest in whether I believed in God, only that I followed the various rules and edicts established by the institution.
I am never surprized when individuals raised in the Catholic Church walk away when they lose faith in an institution.
You know, on this aspect, I will not disagree with you. It is a lot of why I lost faith in the Catholic Church. A lot of their "encyclicals" were purposely written in complex, yet nonsensical language meant to confuse their followers into unquestioning belief. You see, though, I eventually became educated enough to understand all the words they used, and I came to the same conclusion you've come to. A large part of me still regrets that it had to come to that, but, like I said, knowing the truth is the way to find God, not through a comforting lie.
But, in many ways, that's besides the point. That may be where I originally discovered the connection between Christianity and Zoroastrianism, but it is also recognized amongst secular Biblical scholars, whom I believe have no particular agenda to push, except for a scientific compulsion to uncover the truth.
And, honestly, the connections are even in the OT (Books of Daniel and Ezra), along with apocryphal texts like "Bel and the Dragon," which are more explicitly Persian (Cyrus the Great is masqueraded as believing in Judaism, despite the
Cyrus Cylinder being a more accurate depiction of Cyrus' religious beliefs). Ezra, of all people, is a Persian agent given authority by Cyrus the Great to preach the "word of the Lord," as the first chapter of the book makes explicitly clear!
It's staring us right in the face.
Melon