Ancient Religions

Animism

Europe: Greeks, Romans, Norse, Witchcraft

America: North American Indians, South American Indians

Africa: Santeria, Voodoo, Candomble, Palo Mayombe, Macumba,

Abacua, Egyptians.... Art Gallery

Asia: Hindus, Tao, Ancestors, Babylon...

Oceania: Totemism, Maoris, Ancestors...

http://www.religion-cults.com/ancient.htm

Animism:
the whole Bible, Bible Gateway
Jesus on the Cross
1,093 prophecies and types of the Old Testament fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah and
His Church

Greeks, Romans, Santeria, Voodoo, American Indians, Mayas, Witches, Ancestors,

Hindus...

The "Primitive Religions" were born in the five Continents, more than 3,000 years ago,
mostly in the form of "Animism", because they believed that everything has a "soul", an
"anima" in Latin, a "spirit"... including animals, plants, rocks, mountains, rivers, stars...
each "anima" is powerful, spiritual, that can help or hurt them, including the souls of the
dead, the "ancestors".

For thousands of years they deified animals, stars, idols of any kind... and practiced
Spiritism, witchcraft, divination, astrology... and they used magic, spells, enchantments,
superstitions, prayers, amulets, talismans, charms... often with the worship of an
Absolute, or the Great One...

Today Animism is represented, among others, by the Mormons, Hinduism and the New
Age. They proclaim that every human is God, and their practices will help each one to
realize it.

The Bible destroys this way of thinking in the first verse of he Bible:
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Gen.1:1). There is only one
God, everything else in the heavens or earth are "creatures of God". The sun and the
moon are "creatures of God", and the rocks and animals and oceans, and all the
mountains and stars, and each man and woman is also a "creature of God", is not God.

But they usually did not care much about a Creator God, only about the "spirits" that can
help or hurt them... and what they sometimes called "gods", are "demons"... or simply a
"lie"... and this is why the Bible condemns them with very strong words: abominations
to God, stone them to death, the fire shall burn them (Deut.18, Lev.20, Isa.47).
- 10There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to
pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter,
or a witch. 11Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a
necromancer. 12For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and
because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
(Deut.18:10-12)
- 27 " 'A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death.
You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads.' " (Lev. 20:7).
- 12Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries,
wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be
thou mayest prevail. 13Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the
astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from
these things that shall come upon thee. 14Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall
burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not
be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it. (Is.47:12-13)

God, for the Animist, is not a person... as for the Hindu, god is the Energy, the Force, the
Power, the Universal Mind, the Absolute, the Unknown, the Divine Being... is not a "he"
but an "it"... it is not somebody but something... but something powerful able to get
wonderful things for you using Magic... and worshiping it!... yes, worshiping the Force or
the Energy...

Since god is not a person, there are no revelations from a non-person... you never find in
Animism or Wicca or Hinduism, God said... Yahweh calls...

The gods never existed, they are the product of novels or the imagination... they are
myths, legends... but they never existed and they do not exist today.
The big problem is that "Today" an estimated 40% of the world's population is animistic
(Van Rheenen), including all kinds of occultism, often in syncretism with Christianity,
Islam, and Buddhism...

The Animism is attractive because infuses the sacred into the real life, and mainly,
because offers people a way to cope with one's everyday needs and problems:
Healing of an illness, to be successful in a business, or in love, or to find a job, or to
restore a soured relationship, to find a mate, to gain guidance for the future...

The animist views the "formal religions" as being relevant

with respect to "ultimate" issues, but irrelevant when it
comes to addressing the "immediate" issues of everyday
life... which is totally wrong!, because Christianity, Islam,
and all "formal religions" deal with issues of every day's
life... but this is the reason why a Christian or a Jew go to
the witch or consult the Zodiac... They go to church on
Saturday or Sunday to take care of their soul, and they go to
the witch or astrologer on Monday to take care of their
business or illness... absolutely wrong!...

Come to Jesus... Believe in him... is the solution of all the

problems in this life, and on top of the glorious life on earth,
he offers you eternal life of joy in Heaven.

The World View of Animism:

Pantheism is the first logical consequence of Animism: All the world is divine: A
mountain is god, a rock, an animal... you are god!... though you can't make stars not even
atoms, but you are god!... a planet, and even a cockroach is god!... they are the "idols"
often mentioned in the Bible.

Polytheism is the next obvious consequence: There are thousands of gods... the
concept of 333 million deities is believed to emphasize the fundamental doctrine of
Animism, Hinduism, and Wicca...

The first verse of the Bible contradicts these views: In the beginning God created
the heavens and the earth... so, in the Bible, there is one God, a person, and everything
else in the world are creatures of God... God created and is the soul and life and is inside
everything, but everything is not God... there is only one God, Creator.

Of course, for Animists or Hindus, the aim of this life is to stop the relentless and
frightful reincarnation, and become nothingness, not-a-person, but the drop of water in
the ocean of the Absolute... for a Christian, an eternal life of joy is waiting, and not like a
drop of water, but as a person, recognizable by God and by every neighbor... a person!, an
individual!, eternally!, as God is an eternal Person!... eternally in Hell or in Heaven!...
 Would you risk eternal Heaven or Hell for something you are not sure off?... are you
sure eternal Hell does not exist?... for 2 billion people now on earth it is a fact, like Paris
or Moscow... believe it or not... like it or not. Heaven-Hell

http://www.religion-cults.com/Ancient/Animism/Animism.htm

We will analyze:

In Africa: Santeria, Voodoo, Egyptians...

In Europe: Witchcraft, Greeks, Romans, Norse...

In America:
- North-American Indians.
- South America: Mayas, Incas, Aztecs... cannibalism, skull-hunters...

In Asia: China Ancestors, Hindus, Babylon...

In Oceania: Totemism, Maori, Ancestor-Spirits...

Quotations from the KJV and NIV in The Bible Gateway

http://www.religion-cults.com/Ancient/Europe/europe.htm

Europe Primitive Religions

Witchcraft, Norse, Greeks, Romans

the whole Bible, Bible Gateway

Jesus on the Cross
1,093 prophecies and types of the Old Testament fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah and
His Church

Witchcraft:
In Europe Witchcraft has always been very active... today, there are an estimated 60,000
witches in France, with earnings of $200 per year and 8,000 in England...

In Ireland there are no witches, because something special happened with St. Patrick: He
has resurrected 39, and the witches wanted to make a mockery of him. So, one of them
would pretend to be death, and the others would call St. Patrick to resurrect him... St,
 Patrick came, and said, "he is death", and walk away...and he was
death!... two days later they call St. Patrick again, and resurrected
the really death witch... and no more witches in Ireland... Magic,
Witchcraft

Greeks:
Greek Gods
Roman
The ancient Greeks were polytheists, as all the animists... but the
Greek god-devils never existed, only in the imagination of the
novelists, as in the case of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey... the
heroes of his novels were deified as Zeus, Apollo, Aphrodite...and
afterwards, the Romans copied them changing their names to
Jupiter, Apollo, Venus...

These god-devils had marital and extramarital sex relations, and

many feuds and intrigues... they were no God, but "devils",
"idols" (psalm 96:5)... they committed all the possible sins...

The central god figure was a female,, "Mother Earth", known as Demeter, or Aphrodite in
Corinth, Artemis in Ephesus, and Hera, the sister and wife of Zeus.

In addition of Mother Earth, other natural forces were deified: The sun, sky, moon, other
planets, the storms, fertility, death... and Zeus became the king of gods, after many
intrigues and fights...

The "priests" interpreted the wills of the gods, communicated with them, and appease the
gods with prayers, rituals and magic acts... but the "family altar" was the usual place of
worship for both the Greek and Roman families.

The Greeks did believe in a life after death: For the heroes, a special place of happiness,
the Elysian Fields, was reserved; the souls condemned for being evil were sent to eternal
punishment, in Hades; the soul judged to be good, was sent to the realm of the Blessed.

"Mystery Cults" in Greece:

They were popular at the times of Jesus... Christianity took nothing from the gods-devils,
but it was influenced by these Mystery Cults and by the Greek philosophy.

A Mystery Cult claimed to introduce men to a closer, more intimate relationship with the
gods, by means of secret rituals and prayers... they were "secret", and each one had a
preparation and an initial rite, with dramatic performances that insured the initiate would
never forget the experience...2 were most popular:
The "Orphic Mystery": With severe ascetic life, wearing white robes, abstaining from
meats, and living a celibate life, to secure a place in Heaven.

The "Dionysian Mystery": Was most sensual, with nightly orgies to the god of wine,
Dionysius, intoxication by wine, convulsive dancing, hallucinations, sexual pleasures... a
divine madness!.

Hellenism:

After Greece was conquered by Rome, the Greek philosophers conquered the world:
Socrates, Plato, Aristotle... they introduced several ideas, that are still a force in the world
today:

They claimed that man was master of his own fate... he was a god unto himself... but they
were not sure of man's ability to safe himself. To them man was not the measure of all
things. God still ruled the universe, and the destiny of mankind...

They had a haunting desire to find a better world beyond this one on earth, an eternal
peace in heaven; some kind of escape from earthly miseries caused by Roman rule.

Others said: Why wait for death to enjoy the beauty and peace in heaven? Why not have
heaven on earth?... and there arose the vision of a Messiah... some divine agent coming
from heaven who would rid the world of sin and war, and free them from the burdens
placed upon them by the Roman Empire.

This Hellenistic period furnished a fertile environment for the birth of a new world
religion: Christianity.

Romans
(See picture of gods before, on "Greeks")

The Romans took the Greek gods, changing their names: Zeus became Jupiter, the
greatest. His wife Juno, was the Greek Hera. Apollo the god of healing. Aphrodite
became Venus, the god of love.

Dionysius became Bacchus, the god of orgies. - Julius Caesar converted the aristocratic
Roman Republic into a military dictatorship. And his successor, Octavian Augustus,
changed the dictatorship into a divine emperorship... the Emperor was god!... the surname
Augustus was taken as suggesting "an alliance with the gods"... the Romans saw in
religion a vital, effective form of social control.

The center of worship was an altar in the home, and before any altar in a public place...

The "priests" employed magic tricks, astrology, amulets, charms... there were 2 kinds:
"pontifices" for rituals, and the "augurs" to consult the gods.
Norse, Scandinavians:
Asatru or Ásatrú is an Icelandic word, a translation of the Danish word Asetro. It was
intended to mean belief in the Asir, the Gods. In Scandinavia the religion is called Forn
Siðr (which means the Ancient way), Forn sed (the Old custom), Nordisk sed (Nordic
custom), or Hedensk sed (Pagan custom).

The Norse or Viking people from Scandinavia, had many god-demons... the Bible says
that the gods that are no God, are devils (Psalm 96:5)... they represent the cosmic forces
of nature.

Some Gods: See Pictures

Thor is the Thunderer, who wields Mjolnir, the divine Hammer. His chariot racing
across the sky generates thunder. Thursday (Thor's Day) was named after him.
Odin is the one-eyed God; he gave up one of his eyes in order to drink from the Fount
of Wisdom. He is a magician and wise one. He learned the secrets of the runes (Northern
European alphabet) by hanging himself on the tree Yggdrasil for nine nights.
Frey is the God of Yule (born on the Winter Soldtice, December 21). He is a God of
peace and plenty who brings fertility and prosperity. His father was Njord.
Freya (aka Freyja) is the Goddess of love, beauty and sexuality, and perhaps a dozen
other attributes. She leads the Valkyries who take the souls of slain soldiers to Valhalla
(Odin's great hall).
Frigg is Odin's wife. She is the patroness of the household and of married women.
Skadi is the Goddess of independence, death, hunting and skiing. Scandinavia was
named after her.

The souls of the hero warriors, killed in battle, were carried to Woden in the Valhalla
(heaven), by the female Valkyries. Those who have lived very evil and treacherous lives
go to Hifhel, a place of torment.

They had few temples; Nordic worship occurred in open fields or forests.

Priests would offer animal or human sacrifices. - The bodies were buried with the
owner's tools, dogs, horses, and food for use in Valhalla.

http://www.religion-cults.com/Ancient/America/america.htm

America Primitive Religions

1- North American Indians
2- Hispanic-American Indians
Indians, Mayas, Incas, Aztecs... Cannibalism, Skull-Hunters...
the whole Bible, Bible Gateway
Jesus on the Cross
 1,093 prophecies and types of the Old Testament fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah and
His Church

North American Indians

The Sioux are carving out the figure of Crazy Horse from a rocky mountain in South
Dakota. It is beautiful, and so huge that in the arm of the Indian can be placed the
figures of the 4 Presidents of Mount Rushmore. It will be a cultural center, with the
University and Medical Training Center, and the Indian Museum.

There are today at least 79 tribes of Indians, with 2 million members, speaking 50
different languages, all over the States:

In Oklahoma: 252,000 (Cherokee, Creeb...)

In California: 242,000 (Hoopa, Palute...).
In Arizona: 203,000 (Navajo, Apache, Hopi...).
In New Mexico: 134,000 (Apache, Navajo...).
In Washington: 81,000 (Yakama, Jummi...).
In New York: 62,000 (Seneca, Mohawk...).
In South Dakota: 50,000 (Sioux).
In Florida: 36,000 (Seminole, Miccosukee..).

... They are in this Country for over 5,000 years.

The most numerous tribes are, the Navajo, or Diné ("the people") with 175,000 (in
Arizona, New Mexico); the Sioux, with 50,000 (in South Dakota); the Apaches (in New
Mexico, Arizona, Oklahoma)...

In all the Indian languages there is not the word "religion"... they speak about "tradition".

Each one has their own special tradition... but, in general, they do not speak about "gods",
but about "spirits", with the "Great Spirit", "the Wise One Above"... but the Spirit comes
through the air, and he is in everybody and everywhere... many animals have sacred
powers, and must be protected as divine: Deer, buffalo, eagle, serpents, fox, bear,
beaver... a favorite symbol of evil is the coyote... the sun, moon, sky, Mother Earth, and
all therein and thereon are spirits to be worshiped...

So, it is an animistic tradition or religion, where everything is spirit, or god... love for the
birds, plants, animals, mountains... because all creatures are our brothers and sisters... like
St. Francis!.
There are "priests" and "medical men": The "priest" obtained his knowledge from other
practitioner; the "medical man", or "shaman", obtained it with direct contact with the
supernatural, and some of them would walk on fire as a proof of their powers...

The "shaman" has supernatural power to heal diseases, locating enemies, finding lost
objects...

The "priest" true magic-religious function is maintaining the welfare of the tribe and the
individual, through intercession with the good spirits... and this is important: First is the
tribe!... the values and welfare of the group!... where the majority of Americans
accentuate the value of personal freedom and individual achievement... the natural
heritage is sacred fir the Indians; land is not to be sold...

This is done at the altar... and with the dances, to the sun, the ghost dance... to give
thanks, to do petitions... some dances last 4 full days...

They attach much importance to "visions", "direct experience with the spirit": A young
man is taught from childhood that he must obtain a "vision". All his success in life would
depend upon having one. He must go on by himself and fast and thirst for 4 days. He
must ask the gods for their help. Young men of the Crow were known to cut off finger
joints to get the pity of the gods and obtain a vision... if the suppliant is successful, the
spirit would appear to him or be audible to him, and would give him detailed instructions
of what to do in life, or how to win a battle, or ability to cure illness, or any other kind of
power... the spirit may assume the form of an animal or a bird... and the Indians keep
doing it all their life...

North American Indian myths form one of the most artistic and fanciful bodies of
folktales the world has known.

http://www.travelsd.com/parks/crazyhorse/

http://www.religion-cults.com/Ancient/Africa/Africa1.htm

Santeria-Macumba
Abacua-Candomble
Palo Mayombe-Umbanda
Voodoo-Hoodoo
Condemnation by the Bible

Egyptian Religion

Art Gallery of Santeria-Macumba-Egypt

 Art Gallery of the Occult
Glossary of the Occult
Religions Art Gallery

Africa is a big place, with 51 independent countries today, and hundreds of

independent tribes before... and each one has its own way to practice religion!.. Inhabited
by two major groups: The "Caucasoid", in North Africa, Egypt and Sudan, with brown
eyes, light olive kin, and high- bridged narrow noses. And the "Black", in the rest of
Africa. Some, notably the Tutsy are very tall in east central Africa. The Pygmies are one
of the shortest people in the world, in tropical central Africa.

In tropical Africa alone some 1,000 different languages are spoken... and in each
language there are many tribes and religious systems. Arabic is predominant in northern
Africa. Berber is also spoken in in northern Africa. Bantu languages are spoken
throughout central and eastern Africa. Zulu is a Bantu language spoken in South Africa.
Sudanic is spoken in the large grassland region south of the Sahara. Hausa spoken in
western Africa... and on top of it, many countries, after their independence, kept as
official also a European language: French, English, Portuguese, Spanish, German,
Dutch... In South Africa, the Afrikaan is a German language derived from 17th century
Dutch

Their "primitive religions" are based on nature worship, and may have in common
the 3 kind of occultism: Divination, witchcraft (magic) and spiritism, with the "sacrifice"
of animals, and sometimes of humans, to calm the gods-demons; and reverence for the
"ancestors"... often, the head of the tribe, or the Pharos, is "the god", though in each
tribe there may be many "gods-demons"... See Animism.

In general, they have two kinds of diviners: The isangoma of the Zulu, is a medium who
can make contact with the ancestral spirits and prescribe medicines according to their
dictates. And the isanus, also in the Zulu, is a diviner capable of "smelling out" sorceress
and other evil-doers. The herbalists, inyanga yokewlapha in the Zulu, have the tasks, still
today, to administer medicines made from plants and animals.

The Muslims in the North, and the Christians in the South of the Sahara Desert, have
changed most of African religion... but it is estimated that more than 40% of Africans still
practice "animism", often in syncretism with their new Christian or Muslim religions.
I just came from South Africa and I was impressed with their National Anthem which
starts with the words Lord have mercy on Africa... it is like a Psalm!... and I had the
opportunity to experience the simple and glorious natural life of some of the cultures of
the Zulu, Shosa, Ndebele, Venda, Tsonga, Basotho, Tswana, Pedi, Ntwana, San... and
though they are vanishing cultures, there is much to learn from them: Their respect to
their chiefs, parents and ancestors, their simple industrious life, their joy in celebrating
anything with beautiful songs and dances lived in a fraternal
community...

1- "Santeria" and "Macumba" (from

Nigeria):

See Art Gallery-Santeria

In Nigeria, the Ju-Ju tribe of the Yoruba culture has a religion

with 600 gods who are demons, because the "false gods" are
"demons" (Psa.96:5).

They came to Cuba and Brazil with the slaves.

From Cuba, with the name "Santeria", they came to Miami, New York... only in
Miami there are 20,000 Santero-priests (babalaos).

In Brazil its name is "Macumba" (sanctuary), and only in Rio de Janeiro there are
65,000 temples, with 40 million Brazilians combining Christian beliefs with Spirit
worship.
Both in Cuba and Brazil 25 gods-demons were given the names of "Catholic Saints",
therefore, the new name "Santeria" in Spanish, or "Macumba" (sanctuary), in Portuguese.

The supreme deity, and the father of all the gods, is "Olurun", represented by Jesus Christ
on the cross. But the 3 most popular are "Obatalá" (O.L. of Mercy"); "Changó" (St.
Barbara); and "Ochún" (Virgin of Charity)... but these gods are no God, they practice
adultery, homosexuality, incest, they hate and fight each other... for example, "Yemayá"
(Virgin of Regla), had 14 children in incest-impossible relations with her son "Orungán"
(Baby Jesus)... there are "gods-demons"!... demons!... (Psalm 96:5)

To become a "santero" it may cost $10,000, with the right to use the "snail shells" for
divination or magic, charging about $500 for each work of magic; those who do not have
the $10,000, can became "smaller Santeros", but they only can use "coconuts" for their
divination or magic.

To become a "santero-priest", a "babalao", is more expensive, but he has the right to offer
"sacrifices of animals" for magic.

2- "Abacua" and "Candomble" (from Nigeria):

Also from Nigeria came the "Abacua" to Cuba, and the "Candomble" to Brazil, mainly to
the Bahia area. They are worse than the Santeria, using mainly "black magic", to take
vengeance, to injury or even to kill an enemy. They may offer to the gods "humans",
instead of animal sacrifices.

3- "Palo Mayombe", "Umbanda" (from Congo):

Both came from the bantues tribes of Congo; "Palo Mayombe" to Cuba, and "Umbanda"
to Brazil... They are the worse!... they use black magic to destroy or kill an enemy...
instead of the snail shells used by the santeros, the "paleros" use the "kettle", the
"nganga", a boiler, where they put rests of a human cadaver recently death, plus the
cadaver of a black dog, and scorpions, worms, plants... and they introduce in it 28 "palos"
(sticks), the basis of their black magic.

See Art Gallery (Santeria)

4- "Voodoo" and "Hoodoo" (from Begin):

From the kingdom of Dahomy, in the present country of Begin, the "Voodoo" or
"Vadium" came to Haiti, and from Haiti to New Orleans and Mississippi, with the name
of "Hoodoo".

It is the religion of the "serpent", the supreme god-devil, "Dambalah"... and the "Great
Zombi".
The priest, Queen or King, Mama or Papa, is mostly a woman, the "mambo"... and their
feasts end up in a naked orgy, adoring the serpent, with the use of stimulant and
aphrodisiac incenses, plus the drinking of drugs, mainly "tafia"...

In New Orleans is very private, with many government regulations... but in Haiti they
have a "tour" to bring you to a real Woodoo session... and you are going to get it, the
"power", the "gris-gris", with the odor and smoke of the incense, even if you don't drink
any tafia... you may "become like a zombi" for 3 weeks, with a terrible headache for over
a year, as one of my patients...

Condemned by the Bible, with very strong words "abominations to God",

"stone them to death" (Deut.18, Lev.20)... for 3 reasons:

1- Because it is a "polytheistic religion". There is only one God, and any other god is a
demon (Psalm 96:5).

2- For the practice of "occultism". They actually use the three kinds of Occultism!.

3- For the "sacrilege" of using Christian Saints to mask their god-demons, creating
confusion among many ignorant believers.

Condemnation in the Bible

The Church also condemns them very strongly: You can't go to the santero and then
to communion; you can not receive communion with the medal of St. Barbara or a
Santeria collar... they are "very grave sins", "prostitution against God".

Please, take off the medal of St. Barbara, it is not the Catholic Saint, but the devil
Changó; do not use the "Santeria collars", because you are inviting devils into your life;
St. Lazarus, is not the Catholic Saint, but the demon Babalu-Aye...

Egyptian Religion:
See Art Gallery (Egyptian Gods)

Is the religion of an afterlife, with the pyramids of the gods-pharaohs, and the tombs of
the mummified bulls... besides the bull, the Egyptians worshiped the falcons, cats,
jackals, crocodiles...

Their gods are based on the forces of nature, and they have over 50 gods-devils, who are
no God... they fight each other, are jealous, and the most loved, Osiris and Isis, were
brothers and husband and wife. The chief god was "Ra", the sun god, to whom all
obelisks are dedicated; the pharaohs were reincarnation of Horus, the son of Osiris and
Isis, the forerunner of Venus in Rome.
The "Book of the Dead" and the "Wisdom Literature" are good codices of moral ethics...
the one who does good, goes to eternal happiness; the bad ones are destroyed by Seth, the
evil one.

http://www.religion-cults.com/Ancient/Asia/asia.htm

Asia Primitive Religions

Ancestors, Hindus, Babylon
the whole Bible, Bible Gateway
Jesus on the Cross
1,093 prophecies and types of the Old Testament fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah and
His Church
China Ancestors:

The way of life in China for thousand of years was around the "family":
Disobedience of the ruling patriarch meant banishment from the family home; it
was a crime almost greater than murder to dishonor the family name in any
manner.

The worship of the "ancestors" at home, was the main practice of religion: They
pray and honor them, because the death can help them in this life; and also they
pray for the death, because their prayers in this life can help the death in the
other life (something like the catholic Purgatory)... all the great "feasts" have the
ancestors as the basic and most important fact of the feast.

These ideas will be the basis for Confucius ethical religious way of life: To live
with honor, dignity, understanding, patience, love...

The concept of "balanced cosmos", means that opposing forces of creation an

destruction, positive and negative, always finally strike a state of balanced
harmony in the world... These ideas were taking by Tao, to promote the concept
of "balanced society", with the Yin and Yang: "Yin" is the weaker force,, the
negative, the hearth, the female; "Yang" represents the power,, a positive force,
heaven, the male element... the humans have to obtain the balance of both
forces to live in harmonic happiness...

As all the animistic religions, the Chinese had many gods, mythical gods,
specially the ancestors of royalty... and for the practical purpose of life, every
Emperor was a god... they will present gifts to the shines of the many deities,
with ritualistic prayers, the seeking of good fortune in magical charms and rites,
and observing the proper times as dictated by the stars for planting crops,
arranged marriages, building homes... "astrology" was very important in the
Chinese way of life.

The eldest son inherited the father's position and wealth upon his death... and
every "funeral" was an impressive event... death was a time of joy and
celebration, for now the soul of the diseased was free to enter heaven, with the
other ancestors; and after death, for 60 days all family members would wear
white clothes and shoes (in contrast with the black clothes used in the west!).

Today, the main religions in China are Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, Islam,
Christianity, and, of course, Communism... but almost every Chinese practice
them in conjunction with the old way of the ancestors life... and even the
Communists can do nothing about it.

Hinduism in India:
Prehistoric Hinduism dates from 3000 BC and it was an animistic religion with honor to
the ancestors, with magic rituals, spells, demons, divination, astral sciences... Hinduism
came to India when the Aryans invaded India, in 1500 BC.

- The word "Hindus" is the way the Persians called the people living around the Hindus
river.

- They have over one million gods!... and beautiful shrines... but they are not places for
congregational worship; they are there to remind that the gods do live and are to be
honored and served... the Hindu worship is primarily at home!.

- There are today 781 million Hindus, and we will comment Hinduism later.

Babylon in Persia:

In Babylon, the sun god, Marduk, was the major focus of worship... the heritage includes
the use of "priests" to offer prayers and sacrifices of animals... the code of King
Hammurabi, which used revenge as its basic principle of justice, "an eye for an eye, a
tooth for a tooth", had influence in the Mosaic code, and in Islam.

- Otherwise a host of superstitious beliefs in magical powers, astrology, numerology,

divination from animal parts, ghosts, vampires and exorcism, has come down to us from
Babylonian religions.

- As all animistic religions they were polytheists, with over 1,000 gods... the forces of
nature became represented in human forms as superhuman beings... besides Marduk, the
sun god, "Ishtar" was the most loved one, and became the forerunner of the Syrian
Astarte, the Egyptian Isis, the Greek Aphrodite, and the Roman Venus.

- The "Epic of Gilgamesh" has the story of the Flood, and the human race saved in an
Ark, as in the time of Noah... Eventually, Gilgamesh is given a "magic herb of
immortality", but he leaves it on a shore while he bathes, and a serpent swallows it!... so,
man is doomed to die!... the serpent!

http://www.religion-cults.com/Ancient/Oceania/oceania.htm
 Oceania Primitive Religions
Totemism, Maori, Ancestors
the whole Bible, Bible Gateway
Jesus on the Cross
1,093 prophecies and types of the Old Testament fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah and
His Church

Totemism:
In Australia, there were 270 languages when the europeans arrived; their religion is said
to be totemic. "Totemism" involves a relationship between a person or group and a
natural object specially united with the gods. For example, a "mountain" is where the
gods dwell, and that "mountain" is the totem of a group; a "monkey" is united with a god,
and a person or group honors that monkey to honor an influence that god.

Some their totemic groups are kangaroo, honey- ant, sun. rain...

In South Australia, talk about a "male" Supreme Being, who now lives in the sky, but
once walked upon the Earth. In the North, instead of this All- Father, we find Earth as
Mother of all

The Rainbow Snake is widely represented in the mythology, sometimes as male,

sometimes as female... it is their totem.

The sacred rites are practiced by the older men and medicine men... they established the
"circumcision" for boys and girls, also practiced in Africa, and among the Jews.

In their rituals, with many dances, a potent ingredient is human blood obtained from the
veins of a man, or its substitute, red ochre.

For the natives, the permanent reality is the "spirit"... the person's spirit exists before birth
and survives after death, but there is no heaven or hell. Typical ritual objects are: secret
and sacred carved boards; symbolic designs drawn on the ground or painted in walls;
thread crosses...

Dreams and Visions, give the Age of Dream... they look back with them, they do not look
to the after-death.

Missionaries forbade cannibalism and skull hunters.

Maori:

In New Zealand, a current revival of Maoritanga

(Maori culture) includes an emphasis of Maori
Christian leaders on retaining traditional ways and
concepts within Christian faith and practice.

"Maori" is the vital force present in each one, and also

in talismans to protect vitality, fertility, the forests and
mountains. This spiritual power comes from a god,
and it is also related to the rank and authority... all men
at death return to the Mother Earth (Papatuanuku).

"Tapu", is a system of prohibitions to protect the individuals and the groups from the
spiritual forces. If Tapu is violated, the great danger only can be removed by purification
rite... "Noa", is the freedom that Tapu gives.

http://www.maori.org.nz/search.asp http://www.maaori.com/

Ancestor-Spirits:

In New Guinea, and Melanesia, between Asia and Australia, the Ancestor-Spirits give
them access to supernatural powers to get good or ill. Gods, demons, land-spirits also
intervene in human affairs... they practice sorcery, divination, healing, with the spirits
making their presence known through sacred masks, dances, dreams, prophecies.