Customer Reviews

The Two Babylons - Alexander Hislop

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This text is unparalled in terms of its scholarship and exhaustive nature of research. Hislop references ancient manuscripts, artifacts, archeological findings, and the Bible itself to support his grand thesis, which is simply this: the Roman Catholic Church's teachings are a hybrid of Christian and pagan beliefs. And these pagan beliefs find their origin in ancient Babylon--hence the title of the book.

This is a shocking thesis, but Hislop backs up his claims with impressive scholarship, referencing literally hundreds of different sources to substantiate what most people would consider outrageous. Anyone with a strong background in ancient civilizations knows that the office of priests, worship/adoration of the woman with child, use of the 'confessional', and prayers for and to the deceased have their origins in ancient Babylon. Hislop maintains that the early 'founders' of Catholicism were very shrewd politicians, and in order to gain the favor of the pagan masses they conquered, they blended Christian beliefs with pagan rites. Semiramis became 'Mary', Tammuz became the 'baby Jesus', worship of the Sun god became the "Eucharist", etc.... Over time, these traditions became official teachings, and then solid dogma within the Roman Catholic church. This, Hislop explains, is why the eucharist is in the shape of a circle (the Sun); why a pagan obelisk is in the center of Vatican; why priests are supposedly celibate, etc.

Having said all this, the text itself is not a 'light read'. On the contrary, Hislop's exhaustive research and referencing often times slows down the reading of the text considerably. However, given the explosive nature of the topic, having more scholarship to substantiate your claims is far better than less, and however unpopular these claims of Hislop's may be, such scholarship has kept this book in the public forum for over 150 years.

A current trend among Christians is to start questioning the origins of "Christmas" and "Easter" and the baptism of infants and the deification of Mary and numerous other "sacraments", beliefs and traditions. And that is good. In a way, Hislop started all of this with this book, more than 100 years ago.
At the time it seemed to have been very well researched, but cracks in the woodwork has appeared since. This doesn't mean that everything he writes is wrong, but simply that what is written cannot be accepted as the undisputed truth.

Hislop does, however come very close to the truth for the most part. It is, luckily, also quite easy to discern where he bases arguments on facts, and where he makes deductions. In is in the deductions where the fault lies, because he is a little too liberal in his deductions, and these should be taken with a pinch of salt, or simply disregarded. As I said, the factual parts are however, highly informative and often very shocking.

Another problem is that the book is written in a highly academic way and is by no means an easy read. Add to this the subject matter, and it rapidly becomes a "study" rather than a "read". But a fascinating study, nonetheless.

So the bad news is that the book isn't entirely accurate, and plain difficult. That said however, it almost qualifies as "essential reading" for the Christian who is in any way concerned with the pagan origins of current Christian practices or the history of the Catholic Church. As I said, controversial.

Many people simply reject the evidence that Mr Hislop presents because of its controversial nature. And that is the easy way out. It is not easy to critisize one's own church, especially if one is a devout and committed Christian. But, in spite of all its shortcomings, this book does present one with evidence that demands further contemplation.

This book however, goes further than that, in the sense that Hislop shows the reader how all the religions fit together, from Jesus Christ to Buddha to the temple prostitutes of Diana and Adonis. Fascinating stuff, but presented in the most boring way imaginable.

So, this is a tedious book, for serious scholars. But it does deliver. And it is controversial and it is relevant, 150 years after it was written. It is certainly not everyone's cup of tea, but it is by far the best publication to date on the ancient origins of religion, mythology and doctrine. It is the kind of book I would seriously study from cover to cover, but not expect anyone else to read.

This is the 2nd Book EVERY true Christian should read! After your Holy Bible, dear believers, this is the book you need to read, study and share! You are warned--the world will be a different place. My eyes are opened! We are no longer tainted with pagan-soaked false 'christianity'--Thank You God! I am so thankful God put this in my hands! You can print this book free from a certain website--easy enough to find on your own--but, after all the highlighting, underlining and side notes through my study, I wanted a bounded "keeper" copy. Hand it to your pastor!