| Your probably right about the cross not originating in the Holy Lands. They probably saw enough of their kinsmen hanging from crosses to sour their enthusiam for using one as a religious symbol. Bear in mind the apostles immediately started preaching all accross the Empire so when you say early "Christianity of the Holy Lands" your taking about anything less that 35-40 AD. After that there were converts all over the Eastern Med.
I was in a church in Assissi Italy. It was over 2000 years old and originally a temple to Mithra.
Much of the New Testament writtings reflect Greek philosophy that of other cults in the region at the time. If you expand your scope of Christian writtings of the times, you can find even more evidence of these influences since the books chosen for the Bible were done so because they were more conducive to supporting an organized religion and clergy. |