30 Oct 2012

Pagan Art: "Romulus and Remus" by Peter Paul Rubens



Following on from the Renaissance, the pagan myths of Greece and Rome became common themes in Western painting. Interestingly, the revival of Roman Catholic power in the Counter Reformation intensified this tendency.

21 Oct 2012

Fictitious Saints and Hidden Gods


One of the great mysteries of Christianity is why there are so many saints. In the Catholic church there are said to be over 10,000, with even more in the Eastern churches. Which ever way you think of it, the numbers seem excessive. Part of the reason is that many of these saints were created to provide a Christian focus for a local pagan god or religious tradition. Without a saint in place, the local customs would have continued in their original pagan guise and the local gods would have retained their pagan identity. The reason so many saints were created was to prevent this.