Quote:
Originally Posted by Toe Jam and Earl
Prayer to the Saints isn't polytheistic at all.
Yes, I know there are theological claims to that effect, but I'm looking at the church as an historical object, not as doctrinal faith. Like all world religions, Christianity is syncretic. It grew in part by mixing with localized beliefs. So when missionaries first arrived inf Central America they thought they were converting the Maya at an incredible rate because the Indians were displaying the saints in their homes and praying to them. Then it emerged that the Maya had slapped the names of saints onto their traditional gods and were praying to something quite different than the missionaries thought. The Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico was sighted on a hill sacred to the local religion and the shrine to her stands were pagan structures had been. The Catholic church appropriated a site that was already sacred, that's how it got over. But echoes of polytheism remain.
So to non-Catholics, the trinity and the saints all appear rather dodgy, although I understand that's not what it means to you. I find the pagan strains in Abrahamic faiths fascinating. The reason the Qur'an pounds and pounds away at the "only one God but Allah" theme is because Muhammad's task was to convert Arab polytheists. Christians were a little less successful at extirpating every trace of paganism, so you've got the Trinity and all the saints.