Mungo said:
Absolutely right.
For example Avram says:
It seems that Mr. Woodrow would have us to believe that there is no connection between Babylon and Rome. He tells us that his new book, The Babylon Connection?, ‘is an appeal’ to those who have a need to find, ‘Babylonian origins for present-day customs’. But just on a superficial level, where did the Pope get his huge ‘fish’ hat from? (Hislop, p. 114, 215).
"fish hat" !! I find it difficult to believ that people are still flogging that nonensense. But is probably sums up the value of Avram's criticisms of Woodrow
Avram also says:
Mr. Hislop has displayed the vast horizon and spread of paganism from before the beginning of recorded history by matching the recorded identities of the pantheon of the gods and goddesses. In this we see for ourselves the immense network and link back to Babylon.
If Hislop is working 'from before the beginning of recorded history' how can he know anything for certain, much less that there is an "immense network and link back to Babylon"?
I know, I've heard all that nonsense. Hislop hated the Catholic Church and his one single purpose was to "prove" his eschatological interpretation was correct, that the Roman Catholic Church was the "Mystery Babylon" of the Revelation. I suppose he thought outright fabrications about history were perfectly acceptable as long as they served to prove what he knew just had to be true. Twisting facts to make them fit beliefs is the hallmark of false teachers.
One of the areas of Christology I have been passionately studying for many, many years is how the things of the Old Covenant foreshadowed and prefigured the things of the New Covenant, and of course an important element of that has been a study of the Temple and it's ministry. And now mind you, I am not and never have been Catholic, and do not agree with everything the Catholic Church teaches and practices. I'm a Protestant so I say these things not necessarily in defense of the Catholic Church, but in defense of the truth.
And the truth is, the source of all the ceremonial and regalia of the Catholic Church, and in fact all the "high churches" including the Coptic, Russian Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, etc., the source is not paganism, far from it, it's Judaism. I won't launch into a lengthy discourse on it, but since you mentioned the priest's miter, let me show you something:
View attachment 149
Notice that on the left is the Jewish priest in the background and High Priest in blue in the foreground. Now look at the priestly "mitre" of the orthodox christian priests. Top left is the Coptic Church, top right Russian Orthodox, bottom left Roman Catholic, and bottom right Eastern Orthodox.
It is blatantly obvious where the priestly headdress for Christian orthodox churches is derived from, and its' not paganism, but Judaism. In fact, the high churches, by very early on adopting so much of the Temple ceremonial has in fact preserved things that otherwise would have been lost after the Temple's destruction in 70 A.D. and the end of the Jewish Temple worship. Music historians suggest that much of the old plainchant (later developed into Gregorian style) was actually derived from the psalmody of ancient Jewish worship and the Levitical choir. In this music form we can hear echoes of the worship music that would have filled the Temple during the time of Jesus as the Levites stood on the 15 steps that led from the Court of Prayer to the upper courts leading the congregation in worship:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Q8i0CYs-CM
But that's all a subject for another day. I just thought since you brought up the priest's mitre you might find that interesting.
In Christ,
Pilgrimer
P.S. Information about the Temple music comes from the Mishna, Succah 5:5. Also see the excellent work by Alfred Edersheim "The Temple, It's Ministry and Services as they were at the time of Christ," Chapter II, "Temple Order, Revenues, and Music," page 76 - 81; and also Edersheim's equally classic work, "History of the Jewish Nation."
