Early Christianity (Classic Reprint)

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Excerpt from Early ChristianityScholars have understood the relation of the Greek of the New Testament to other forms of the Greek language. Two sources of new light may be mentioned here. One is the study of Comparative Religion, practices which by them selves are obscure, frequently become clear when compared with corresponding practices elsewhere. A simple example is the modern custom of wear ing black, when a friend has been lost by death. When we compare the customs of other times and other nations under similar circumstances, we find that some people wear white clothes or smear themselves with yellow ochre, in some tribes the men disguise themselves as women, or again, after a funeral they enter the house by the back door, or take refuge in a subterraneous cave. The meaning is now apparent. All these steps are taken in order that the ghost of the dead man may be baffled. Thus light is thrown upon primitive ideas about the dead. We see (1) that the activity of each individual is supposed to continue even after death, (2) that this activity is likely to be of a malevolent character, and (3) that the ghost can easily be cheated by the most transparent devices. Incidentally we also see the reason for other practices, such as the bolting and barring of windows and doors after a death has v111.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.