Questions tagged [religious-history]
Questions related to the history of world religions in general, extant or extinct, or related to the specific history of a given religion.
78
questions
1
vote
1
answer
163
views
What is the significance and customs of the "7 days" of mourning? (Genesis 50:10)
I asked this question on the Biblical Hermeneutics site and they recommended I ask it here:
The Bible says in Genesis 50:10-11
10 Then they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the
...
- 119
2
votes
1
answer
257
views
When did the Orthodox Church ban cousin marriage?
Or if they inherited it from earlier sources, such as byzantine law or the pre-schism church, when did that ban start?
I know that the Justinian code didn't ban cousin marriage, and that the later ...
1
vote
0
answers
268
views
Are there historical cults/sects who venerated Judas?
In the (HBO) Max series, 30 Coins (30 Monedas in Spanish), the antagonists are part of the Cult of Judas. This cult believed that because Jesus was sent to Earth to die for our sins, Judas's betrayal ...
- 11
0
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Did Newton comment on Islam?
On wikipedia's entry on Isaac Newton it says:
In Newton's eyes, worshipping Christ as God was idolatry, to him the fundamental sin.
which is very similar to the Islamic attitude towards Jesus, ...
- 125
-1
votes
1
answer
303
views
What is the dating of the earliest manuscript of the Book of Arda Wiraz?
The Arda Wiraz is a Zoroastrian text that tells the story of a spiritual journey undertook by Wiraz. Wiki summarises the story as this:
Wirāz is chosen for his piety to undertake a journey to the ...
- 125
0
votes
0
answers
57
views
Where can we read/find the "Naqsh e Rajab" inscription of the Magian Priest Kartir?
In the Encyclopaedia Iranica entry on the Arda Wiraz, it mentions:
...The narrative of Wīrāz is not unique. Parallels are found in more precisely dated sources—the legend of Zoroaster recorded in ...
- 125
5
votes
1
answer
203
views
When and how did the concept of posthumous reward and punishment enter ancient Judaism?
Throughout the Jewish Bible / Christian Old Testament, it's pretty consistently expressed that all people have the same fate after death - although the nature of that fate is sometimes seems to be ...
- 153
1
vote
0
answers
248
views
Do we know of pagan creation myths that had a creation week?
Is the creation week an introduction by Abrahamic religions, or are there other known religions that also have, as part of their creation myths, a creation week (not necessarily of 7 days)?
I've ...
- 155
-3
votes
1
answer
189
views
What is the oldest continuously circulating story that survived until 1890’s? [closed]
What is the oldest continuously circulating story (specifically prior 13th century BCE) that survived until 1890’s? (eg myths/histories etc)
I am specifically looking for a myth/story/history that ...
- 63
8
votes
1
answer
770
views
How could nonconformist Protestants be buried in graveyards controlled by the established Church before 1880?
Further to my question here, I am attempting to continue to research the wider family of the individual memorialised by a gravestone in St Bridget's Church, near Cockermouth. This church, and the ...
- 1,168
8
votes
2
answers
612
views
How were expelled ministers "witnessed" during the Great Ejection of 1662?
While investigating the local history of a meeting house in the town of Cockermouth, in Cumbria, England, I came across a reference to a "Brief Memoir of the Late Isaac Brown, Esq. of Cockermouth,...
- 1,168
0
votes
0
answers
140
views
Why is it necessary to list conflicting causes for the emergence Buddhism and Jainism?
The emergence of Buddhism and Jainism in 6th Century BC is seen as the result of the following causes (as given in R.S. Sharma's Ancient India):
Reaction by Kshatriyas
The development of new ...
12
votes
2
answers
7k
views
Was Yahweh one of the Moloch Gods?
In the Complete works of Swami Vivekananda, he says
In Babylonian or Greek mythologies we find one god struggling upwards,
and he assumes a position and remains there, while the other gods die
out. ...
user58967
4
votes
1
answer
1k
views
What religions were persecuted and disappeared (between 1000 BCE – 1 CE)? [closed]
R Gottlieb wrote in his book called "Reason to Believe" on page 66 that many cultures were persecuted between 1000 BCE – 1 CE, and none survived. As far as I'm aware, he does not provide any ...
- 63
22
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Are there historic references to sorcerers and their scrolls?
According to 'Acts 19:19' (of the Christian bible):
A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the ...
