Religions are always changing, and that's led to some pretty huge misunderstandings
over the years.
In fact, you've probably even believed some of these common false facts about ancient
religions.
Holy misconceptions, Batman!
Priests never married
Everybody knows that Cathcolic priests can't marry.
They forgo such earthly pleasures because of their devotion to God.
"You see, bowling for money, is my only vice."
"Here's your drink."
"Thanks sugar."
At least, that's how it's been lately.
There was a time when priests were as free as anyone to be husbands.
In the early A.D. days, priests still knew the bliss of endless compromise and physical
pleasure with a spouse.
That started to change in 306 when the subject of clergy marriage was raised.
It was still allowed, but the Church began pushing for chastity among its religious representatives.
The last legs of a priest's wedding march were kicked out in the 11th century as part
of the Gregorian reforms.
Priests who could not live celibate lives were seen as lacking moral authority.
The church was growing and wanted to shore up its authority as a moral leader.
According to some scholars, this even helped make the case for the Crusades, which were
not exactly a high point in morality.
"Run away" "Run away"
"Run away"
Hell always existed
Believe it or not, that fiery pit of eternal torment where Grandma condemned you for sneaking
that cookie hasn't always been part of religious canon.
Truth is, faith took a while to heat up.
The Old Testament contains the story of creation, the first humans, the first murder, and horrendous
acts of violence, but no Hell.
Theologian Thomas B. Thayer explained in 1855 that, in the beginning, there was Sheol, a
place for the dead.
It's a place for shame or depression, but not a real afterlife.
Think of it like Ron Burgundy's phone booth.
"I'm in a glass case of emotion."
The fires of hell were actually lit in Gehenna, a valley in Israel where executed criminals
were left to burn.
According to Christian author William West's research, this was, quote, "the severest judgment
which a Jewish court court could pass upon a criminal."
A place of punishment, neverending fire and the dead burning?
Now, that's much more like what Granny had in mind.
"Hey watch where you're stepping.
Oh, sorry."
Centuries later, the New Testament unveiled the idea of a multiple-choice afterlife, and
hell as we know it finally showed up.
Buddhism hates violence
The most famous example of a Buddhist is probably the Dalai Lama, the perfect encapsulation
of Buddhism's peaceful tenets.
The guy even has a sense of humor.
"No no no you can't reincarnate the demon into me.
Yes"
What's not to love?
Well, for all that talk about peace, the wages of karma actually offer some wiggle room on
the value of a life.
As historian Peter Harvey explains, there are texts that allow for murder, even stories
of the Buddha taking one life to spare others.
According one Buddhist saying:
"Killing one in order to warn a hundred is not a violation of the precept of non-killing.
It is a meritorious action to save the lives of human beings."
There's no one path to Nirvana, and in some cases even holy men will fight to get there.
Religions enjoy images of faith
If you look around, there's no shortage of religious icons in the world, from Renaissance
artwork to stained-glass windows, right up to Yeezy's Jesus piece.
God even does commercials.
"haha."
But back in the day, depicting the face of God was considered sinful and forbidden.
"Bingo!
Yahtzee!
Is that your final answer?
Survey says…
GOD! Bing bing bing bing."
the Abrahamic faiths didn't advertise
The fear was these images broke the Second Commandment, which prohibited making "graven
images" to worship.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, this was thought to be too close to how pagans
worshiped.
Virtue aside, there was a practical reason: money.
As Jeffrey Spier explains in his book Picturing the Bible, the early Christian community was
just too poor to pay someone to paint the pictures.
Judaism and Islam still keep away from images today.
You might think that Islam forbids depicting the face of Allah or Muhammad, but it's a
little more complicated than that.
The easy way to say it is it depends on the sect - but it's in best practice to not show
Muhammad's image - EVER.
Practitioners of Judaism prefers to write G-dash-D for fear of having to ever erase
his name.
Catholics were debating the issue even up until 1866, until they decided that artistic
interpretations of the scriptures could help spread the word and deepen understanding.
Saints are all great
The word "saint" conjures the idea of a good person, someone who gives their last dollar
to someone less fortunate and is capable of incredible holy things.
But you can't just sprout wings and shoot off to heaven.
There are actual rules to becoming a saint, and it can take a few centuries to be canonized.
Those centuries must help, because, looking back… man, those saints were into some weird
stuff.
It's common in the lives of saints to find hardcore fasting, the faithful pushing themselves
to the limits of physical endurance in extreme penance.
Then there's Saint Macarius the Younger.
The Lives of The Saints tells us that he mastered starvation in the desert.
Then he accidentally killed a gnat and was so mortified that he ran to a swamp, where
he lived naked for six months at the mercy of stinging insects until "his whole body
[was] disfigured by them."
If body horror isn't your cup of tea, meet Saint Simeon Stylites the elder.
New Advent has compiled his path to sainthood.
He stood on a series of columns, each higher than the last, getting food from his followers
for 36 years.
"He's good.
With my help, he could be the best."