When it comes to religious traditions, it may be that superstition plays a part in the evolution of those traditions. Every denomination seems to have specific rituals that are part of their brand. At times, it seems that every denomination, if not an individual church has a favorite passage or section of the Bible that becomes their foundation for worship.  If that wasn’t enough, even religious holidays have questionable origins.

So, why don’t our faith leaders tell us about this? What are they hiding?

It might be fair to assume that the prevailing attitude of the clergy is that certain information would be confusing or even contrary to the messages they deliver on Sunday mornings. Why, they might ask, why would we want to sow seeds of doubt in the carefully tended garden of faith?

And they are probably right. Very few of us are going to dig that deeply into the history, philosophy, and politics of the Biblical era. Very few of us are going to analyze the Bible to the extent that we can make an intelligent judgment about the validity of some of the Bible texts. Few of us will ever research other records to compare against stories in the Bible, or investigate the politics or culture of the times.

To further complicate the picture, if we did dig deeper, we might find that the history of Christianity is tarnished by influences outside the church. Christmas is celebrated world-wide, on December 25th, yet that date is more likely an arbitrary time established by the Emperor Constantine, and Pope Julius I,  some three hundred years after the fact, and may have been commandeered from the pagan traditions celebrating the winter solstice. The Bible itself may provide the story of Jesus’ birth, but is silent about the date.

Most of the Old Testament of the Bible is a historical record of the Hebrew nation and their relationship with the Creator, but we need to acknowledge that it was written by men. Even though it may have been influenced by God, it was still written in the language and symbolism of the people of that time, and sometimes is in conflict with itself.

Actual ceremonial rituals vary from church to church and may have roots in acts preceding Christianity. When it comes to ceremonial rituals, many other beliefs share similar elements. Some of those elements are clearly more superstition or age-old custom than functional.

Before we deny the possibility that the Christian community may have borrowed or adopted elements from outside mainstream Christianity, we need to recognize that the history of the church isn’t free of error or misdeeds. Some of the early Popes were more political than pious, and the extreme acts of the defenders of the faith in other denominations were less than Christian in their implementation.

Perhaps the most effective way of navigating the puzzles of the Christian community is to focus less on the debates of correctness and more on the important core message.

“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” – John 15:12

Everything else just falls into place.