The Bible as a cultural movement

As I mentioned, there was a wild turn from the teachings of the Old Testament into the New Testament, and I see a clear resemblance to this in our class lessons. Learning about such things as the transitions from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance to the Baroque period to Gothic Europe to the Romantic era to Avant-Garde to Modern Italy, it is clear that each cultural movement sought to take the teachings, beliefs, and customs of the immediate predecessor and turn them on their heads. I can see the correlation between this and the Christian book. The Bible seems to be trying to correct all of the fallacies and shortcomings that the writers perceived in the earlier work. A cruel god becomes merciful, two books filled with line after line of rules and regulations are replaced by four books essentially telling the same story of a young man seeking to help the weak and unfortunate and giving his own life for the masses. Whether this thought process was actually going on in the heads of the writers, I think this acts as just one more example that every generation seeks to outdo all that has came before.

Transition of old to new testament

To most people, I would assume that there is a distinct difference in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. In the Old Testament, the God is often seen as a cruel figure bent on punishing his people and tricking his servants into doing horrendous acts in order to prove their devotion. Turning people into pillars of salt just for looking at a city, flooding the entire world, circumcision, telling a man that he must sacrifice his own child. These are not the acts of what most would say is a just god. In the New Testament, we see a new flavour to the God, one that is more kind and forgiving, and even willing to sacrifice his own son in order to make a way to help all the peoples of earth.This is an odd, rather quick transition from down right evil to all-around buddy buddy. When I thought about this, and how to incorporate it into some kind of actually educational topic, I thought about the cultural movements in that we have discussed in class.

Gaudy churches

I have talked on the large churches of Italy and how the tourism does nothing but distract and enrich; I have even spoken on how the elaborate gaudiness of the buildings is an artform. Now I intend to touch on the actual purposes of this elaborateness and why it is also a contradiction to religious practices. I could go on and on about the different statues and painting within the churches and whether they are truly icons that are worshiped (whether the patrons intend them to be or not) or whether they are pieces that are meant to hone respect and reverence instead of worship. I will choose not to because this is a thought that could, and has many times, turn into a full on academic thesis. Instead I would like to say that even though, at one time, these pieces could be seen as a way of telling a story to the common folk who were illiterate, I see it more as a way to strike immediate fear and intimidation into the hearts of onlookers. Giving them elaborate paintings that are not only skillful masterpieces but also of subject matters that range from hell to heaven and all the places in between, they act as a way to remind the people of their religious beliefs and also as a display of wealth and power that is bestowed by the church.

Pienza’s pure simplicity

Pienza is a jewel of a town, small and elegant, beautiful and compact, located in the Montepulciano comune in Tuscany. Not only does it have all the places to walk and small artisan shops that are beloved throughout the area by locals and tourists alike, but for its size (maybe a five-minute walk from end to end), I was amazed by its churches. Located on the piazza is a classic, somewhat grandiose cathedral, with the grand architecture and frescos within that are well-known in Italy, but it also has a beautiful quaint church just past the front gate. With a very plain yet rugged exterior, I would probably not have realised that it was a church if I had not had a tour guide. Within, I was struck by the pure simplisticity giving rise to classic beauty, even with a modern touch. Nothing lies within except for a few wooden pews, some old, faded, frescos, and a interesting looking stone alter, which I was told is something like 30 years old, and was carved from a solid marble piece especially for this purpose. We were the only people within, and I was overwhelmed with emotion, loving how stark a difference it struck when compared to the elaborate gaudiness of most Italian churches.

Small vs. large churches

This is yet another of those two part posts. First I will discuss the differences in small and large churches and their pros and cons in my opinion. Then I will give and describe a fabulous example of a small church.The most popular and visited churches in Italy are the large, elaborate buildings that stand as works of art to themselves, such as Saint Peter's and the Duomos of Milan and Florence. Now, not even I can argue that these churches are awe-inspiring pieces of artistic brilliance, but I seriously doubt that there can be an argument that valid states why these costly buildings are worth their price tags in the name of a god. They draw people in and maybe at one time helped with conversion, but in this day and age, the massive storming of tourists does nothing but distract those who truly want to be religious and put loads of money in the pockets of the religious elite. Now, I truly felt at home in the smaller, less ornate churches. These more religious friendly churches used less-ornate structures of more commonplace buildings and did not have the unnecessary frills that were prevalent with the more ornate ones.

Italy’s overbearing amount of churches

Christianity, like many of its founders, has been a nomadic religion. Starting in the Middle East, it spread to Europe, where Italy could certainly be seen as the religious heart. Nowadays it could be argued that America is the religious heart of Christianity, but I would still disagree. After traveling through Italy, I can note that even though there may be many large, fanatical churches and peoples in the States, and the Bible Belt of the American South does have an impressive number of churches, nothing beats Italy. From the gaudy nature and size of the world-famous churches and cathedrals, to the small, more homely ones, churches are every where in Italy. Even in a small town like Montepulciano, there are many many religious houses. I'm not certain on the number, but I would wager a guess at maybe 6 or so just inside the walls and in the close proximity. Now, with a population of only like two thousand people in that area, that is impressive, especially with the knowledge that these are a Tuscan people that are often non-religious, and for some, even atheistic.

Churches want money

With the onslaught of tourism in the famous Italian churches, it is no wonder that the churches try to make money off of it. In the States, the mammoth churches make millions of dollars by forgetting about the core Christian beliefs of charity and humility. The Bible clearly states that “It is easier for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to get into heaven,” but apparently that is one of those lines of scripture that the religious folk so often choose to overlook. I have already expressed by dislike of allowing tourists into the churches, but if that is going to happen, I understand that rules need to be enforced and people need to be hired to do that. These people need to be paid, and an easy way to do that is to charge admission, which happens at a lot but not all churches, with the large amount of tourists, it is easy to figure that the money that these churches draw in is massively more than is required to pay the employees. One can only hope that the remainder truly is going to charity. 

Tourists suck

Doing two part posts has been a theme here that is only here to continue. I had decided to travel to Italy with an open mind concerning the religious wonders and to try to appreciate the beauty of it all. That was extremely harder than I had ever thought. When visiting a popular religious site or church, it is almost impossible to take a step in any direction because of the sheer amount of tourists. I knew these sights were popular, but I guess I had assumed that entrance into the churches would be limited to small parties at a time. With the churches in Florence, Sienna, and Roman as an example, I was amazed that there were literally hundreds of tourists within these churches at any one time. Although all of the tourists were attempting to be quite and reverent, with that volume of people, it was impossible. The noise and commotion made any attempt at actual religious worship impossible. Christianity is not my religion of choice, but I was still incredibly disturbed to find out that the people who did want to ‘get their religion’ on were not able to.

Pantheon p2

It must be stated that even though the outside is still an ancient Pagan masterpiece, the inside has been transformed into a modern Christian church. I was apparently ill-informed about its contents, because I was under the impression that the Pantheon was a ruin similar to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. I was definitely mistaken. Within there is a Catholic alter, tourist booths and signs (which will be ranted about later), along with paintings and sculptures representing the Christian beliefs. It is still amazing to look up and see the wonderfully beautiful and simplistic ceiling, not at all similar to the gaudy painted and vaulted ceilings that are common in more illustrious churches. And to think that the open hole in the ceiling is said to still not all rain to hit the floor is amazing. Pagan magick or Christian miracle, I cannot say

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Pantheon

Some people might consider Saint Peter’s Cathedral in the Vatican City to be the religious heart of the World, and in a modern sense, they could very well be correct, but it cannot go unsaid that this location lies a mere 20-minute walk from a more true religious heart of Italy. Before the rise of Judaism and Christianity, the World was still just as, if not more so, religious as today. The peoples of old focused their entire lives along a Pagan path. Lying probably a mile from the Vatican City is the Pantheon, a temple, whose name literally translates to All-Gods, that was a true home religious piety and wonder. When I visited, I was totally struck by not only its size, by far the largest Pagan religious structure that I have ever laid eyes on, but also the simplicity and atmosphere surrounding it. Upon first view, the day was turning to dusk, and there were crowds of people gathering still, with music playing, and vendors chattering. I the next post, I plan to talk on what lies within.

Christianity’s theft of Paganism

It is highly important to say this at the beginning that this is not something known to the mass public of Christians, and I, in no way, am trying to put the fault on them. To me, as long as you are a good person and treat others appropriately, any and all religions are acceptable, whatever makes you happy and gives you comfort. Now to begin on the important topic, Christianity has, from almost the very beginning, usurped different practices, customs, holidays, and religious sites from the common Pagan folk. The first that comes to mind is the holidays of Christmas, Easter, and All Saint’s Day. Christmas was an adaptation of the Pagan Yule, Easter from Ostara, and All Saint’s Day from Samhain (or All Hallow Day). As far as practices go, there is something interesting that I doubt most people are aware of: the common Catholic practices of elaborately dressed religious men, candles, ‘iconography’, censors waved and wafting incenses are customs actively incorporated into the Pagan practices of new and old. The final section, religious sites include everything from churches built on the sacred lands of the Pagans to old Pagan structures reused as Christian churches, like the Pantheon, which will be discussed next.

Witchcraft

Being a personal practioner of witchcraft myself, I always enjoy having a class lecture that is focused on the subject. Although I rarely learn something new from it, I find joy in being reminded of its past and in knowing that others are learning it as well. Paganist practices were so often revolved around the layman, and to know that even in a time of chauvinistic male-rule, a well-learned woman could be looked up to for her skills in the craft is a fact that is falls very close to home. Especially while living in a time where homeopathic and herbal medicinal methods are becoming less and less eccentric and more often accepted, I feel that knowing the past is a very important thing. From religion to religion, up next, I will discuss those Pagan practices that were appropriated by Christianity and passed off as their own in order to help with the conversion process.