Similarity of Paganism and Papacy by John Norton Loughborough

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Apr 14, 1874

Similarity of Paganism and Papacy.

By John Norton Loughborough

I WILL say of the papal hierarchy, which has manifested so much of the bloodthirstiness of a Nero or Caligula, that their system of religion, to a great extent, is pagan rites and ceremonies with merely Christian names. They are thus, indeed, a great apostasy. Of this I will present proof.

Waddington, a Protestant author, says: “After the conversion of Constantine, in the fourth century, when under the protection of the State, this sinful conformity to the practices of paganism increased to such a degree that the beauty and simplicity of Christian worship were almost entirely obscured; and, by the time these were ripe for the establishment of the popedom, Christianity of the State, to judge from the institutions of its public worship, seemed but little else than a system of Christianized paganism. The copious transfusion of heathen ceremonies into Christian worship, which had taken place before the end of the fourth century, had to a certain extent paganized the outward form and aspect of religion.”

Dr. Middleton says: “As, therefore, my general studies had furnished me with a competent knowledge of Roman history, it so much helped my imagination to find myself wandering about in old heathen Rome as to observe and attend to their religious worship, all whose ceremonies appear plainly to have been copied from the rituals of primitive paganism, as handed down by an uninterrupted succession from the priests of old Rome.”

Dowling says: “The gods of the Pantheon were turned into popish saints. The noblest heathen temple now remaining in the world is the Pantheon or Rotunda, which, as the inscription over the portico informs us, having been impiously dedicated of old by Agrippa, to Jove and all the gods, was impiously re-consecrated by Pope Boniface IV. about A. D. 610 to the Blessed Virgin and all the saints.”

We will now quote three Catholic authorities on this subject. Ludovicus Vives, a learned papist says, “that no difference can be found between paganism and popish image-worship but this—that names and titles are changed.”

Says Bervaldus: “When I call to mind the institutions of the holy mysteries of the heathen, I am forced to believe that most things appertaining to the celebration of our solemnities and ceremonies are taken thence; as for example, from the Gentile religion are the shaven heads of priests, turning round of the altar, sacrificial pomps, and many such like ceremonies which our priests solemnly use in our mysteries. How many things (good God!) in our religion are like to the pagan religion? How many rites common!”

Baronius, called the great champion of popery, says: “In many things there is a conformity between popery and paganism. That many things have been laudably (!) translated from Gentile superstition into the Christian religion hath been demonstrated by many examples and the authority of fathers. And what wonder if the most holy bishops have granted that the ancient customs of Gentiles should be introduced into the worship of the true God, from which it seemed impossible to take off many, though converted to Christianity.”

We will now notice some particular points of similarity. “In the court of the pagan emperors, the first and greatest officers were called cardinals. Now, as the bishop of Rome assumed from the pagan emperors his favorite title of Pontifex Maximus, so from the same source he gave to his counselors and courtiers the name of cardinals.”*

Gavazzi says, “Seventy is the complete number of cardinals. . . . The dignity and title of cardinal are not ecclesiastical; they are a secular dignity and a secular title.

. . . Among the ecclesiastical titles are bishop, archbishop, metropolitan, and patriarch, but never cardinal.” He says a cardinal is sworn to be an emissary, a spy, and an inquisitor for the pope.

Still further, Gavazzi says: “Almost all the forms of paganism are found in the Romish church. The pagans had their Pontifex Maximus. Rome has her supreme pontiff. Paganism had its purgatory with material fire. Rome has the same. Paganism had expiations for the dead. So has Rome. Paganism had its vestal virgins. Rome has her nuns. Paganism had its processions and sacred images. Rome abounds in hers. Paganism had its penates. Rome has her peculiar saints. Paganism had its sanctuaries, holy water, pilgrimages, votive tablets, and Rome has all these too. Paganism had the perpetual fire of Vesta, and Rome has the perpetual sacrifice of the mass.”†

Pagan Rome had also their mother of the gods. Papal Rome has her mother of God—the Virgin Mary. According to St. Augustine, there were not less than twenty-two thousand pagan gods. In Rome, according to the martyrology, there are more than a hundred thousand saints, real substitutes for the pagan gods, having the same names and attributes. The ancients had gods who protected nations—Belus‡ of the Babylonians, Isis and Osiris of the Egyptians, Vulcan of Lemnos, &c. The Romanists have St. Louis, the patron saint of France, St. Stephen, of Hungary, St. Patrick, of Ireland. Every nation has its patron.

Again, the ancients had a temple in Rome dedicated to Romulus, claimed to be on the spot where he was suckled by a wolf. Nurses carried their babies there on his anniversary, put them over his altar, and prayed Romulus to be their patron during infancy. The same identical temple of Romulus, at Rome, is now dedicated to St. Theodorus who has become the patron saint of nurses and babies. On St. Theodorus’ day, long processions of nurses go to his temple, place their babies over the altar, and pray St. Theodorus to be favorable to them.¶

Again, Caligula was the first pagan emperor who offered his foot to be kissed. But Rome says, “All kings must kiss the feet of the pope.”

Livy says, “The idols of Juno sweat drops of blood, and Apollo’s statue wept large tears.” So papal Rome to match it, on the approach of the first French invasion, arranged for sixty images of the Virgin Mary to shed tears.

Gavazzi says, “We are told that, at Rimini in Italy, the picture of the Virgin Mary opened and shut its eyes. . . . From Bologna, there was sent a deputation by Cardinal Opizzoni, composed of three men, one of whom was Monsignor Battistini, a rather liberal priest, to witness the opening of the eyes; and, after many days, they came saying, ‘We have seen nothing.’ But the people, looking at the picture from the front, said, ‘Really, she is opening her eyes.’ But if anybody were allowed to look at the picture from behind, then he would know who opened the eyes. In the time of Sextus V., a crucifix wept blood. The pope took a large hammer, and saying, ‘As Christ I worship thee, but as a piece of wood I break thee,’ gave a great blow, and broke the crucifix in pieces, whereupon was found inside a mechanism of wires by means of which blood, imbibed by a sponge, and placed in the cavity, was forced out in the manner of tears of blood. It was an imposture; and so was the picture at Rimini.’”§

Pagans burned wax tapers during service. So do papists. Lactantius, reproaching the ancient heathens, said, “They light up candles to God, as if he lived in the dark; but do they not deserve to rank as madmen who offer lamps to the Author and Giver of light.”

In the use of gaudy costumes, for the sake of influence on the vulgar mind, papal equals pagan Rome. Change of color, as well as richness, is made auxiliary to the popish ritual. Five varieties are used, white, red, violet, green, and black. Gavazzi says, “At Rome, in the college called ‘the Jesus,’ and in the chapel of St. Ignatius Loyola, the Jesuits have priestly dresses so studded with corals that they stand upright of themselves.”

The pagans had holy fountains, holy wells, holy father Neptune, holy father Tiber, holy Ocean, and holy Naiades. “The papists have in Rome two sacred fountains of St. Peter, and three holy wells of St. Paul. They claim that when his head was cut off, it leaped so as to strike the earth in three different places, and that from each of these gushed a fine spring of water, to which the faithful resort in multitudes to drink and dance at the same time.”¶

Kirwan, in his letters to Bishop Hughes, says, “On my first remembered journey to Dublin, we passed by a place called, unless I mistake, St. John’s well. It is, as you know, one of the ‘holy wells’ of Ireland. There was a vast crowd of poor-looking and diseased people around it. Some were praying, some shouting; many were up in the trees which surrounded it. All these trees were laden in all their branches with shreds of cloth of every possible variety and color. I inquired what all this meant. I was told, ‘This is St. John’s well, and these people come here to get cured.’ But what do these rags mean hanging on the trees? I was told, that the people who were not immediately cured tied a piece of their garments on some limb of the trees, to keep the good saint of the well in mind of their application. And, judging from the number of pieces on the trees, I inferred that the number that went away cured were very few.”*

At the entrance to the pagan temple was placed the aquiminarium, or vessel, to contain holy water. As the worshipers approached, they sprinkled themselves with the water in this vessel, to purify themselves from all sin. What first attracts notice as one enters a papal mass house? The very same custom. Among the pagans the holy water was composed of salt mixed with fresh water. That of the papists is made in the same way, and is precisely the same article. Among the pagans, the holy water was employed to sprinkle sepulchers and dead bodies, in exorcisms against malignant spirits. The papists use it for the same purposes; and, in exorcising the devil, the Roman Catholic priest wants his best weapon if he has not a bucket of holy water beside him. Gavazzi says of holy water, “Rome extends its application; indeed, she makes it a specific against all human ills, and a propitiator of fortunes in every undertaking. Are you sick or threatened with dangers? Lay in a good supply of holy water; it is your best antidote and munition. Baptize your new coach with it if you value your neck. Are you about to launch a steamer? Give her a good baptism of the blessed fluid, and she will be a favorite child of the ocean while two sticks of her hold together.”

“Rome pushes the use of this great patent medicine still further and lower, for she holds it potent against the ravages of streams, to prevent the potato disease, to anathematize and destroy all kinds of pernicious insects. There is an especial festival of St. Anthony, the Abbot (patron saint against fire), in which the holy water flows profusely.”†

Of this conformity of papacy to paganism, Gavazzi still further says, “When Christianity was imposed by Constantine on his pagan subjects, paganism introduced itself into the church of Christ. Before, the choice of religion was free; but, after he had made some laws, especially one denying service in his army, save to Christians, the profession of Christianity became almost an obligation. Commands, magistracies, were obtainable only through the portals of this new faith; it was embraced by multitudes, but with what fervor or what motive? A mercenary motive and a worse than languid fervor. . . . A pagan flood flowing into the church carried with it its customs, practices, and idols. . . . The greater part of Constantine’s pagan subjects, while in appearance Christians, remained in substance pagans; especially worshiping in secret their idols. But the church did not prevent the sin. . . . The church was then too weak to resist the abuses brought in by the inundation of paganism; further, it was no longer the upright and severe church of Christ; becoming vain of having many millions of adherents, it did not closely examine their faith.”‡

In illustrating how the things of paganism have been transferred to the Catholic church, Gavazzi says, “In the church of St. Peters at Rome, before you arrive at the great cupola, you see at the right hand a brass statue of St. Peter blessing the people. This statue is much worshiped by all Romans, especially by the clergy; the pope himself worships it publicly twice a year, on St. Peter’s day, and on the day of the chair of St. Peter. All the worshipers kiss the toe of this statue, and invoke the blessing of the foot of this statue, in order to obtain eternal salvation. Now, this St. Peter was, in the good old times of Rome, a statue of the heathen god Jupiter. The name only is changed. The pagan idolater Romans worshiped Jupiter Tonans, the papal idolater Romans worship Jupiter Peter.”§

These few facts, which might be greatly extended, show clearly the conformity of papacy with paganism.

J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.