Is it true that Pope Gregory removed Hinduism from Christianity in the second century?
Question:
I want to know why this scholar Sandra, said this in this site:
http:/indiagestão.blogspot.com/2009/09/hinduismo-e-cristianismo.html
partir do século II, os lideres cristãos resolveram enterrar a influencia hindu e São Gregorio destruiu publicamente deuses hindus, que passaram a ser considerados então, deuses pagãos. Lembrando sempre que o Hinduismo possui 7 mil anos e o cristianismo possui somente 2009 anos.
http:/indiagestão.blogspot.com/2009/09/hinduismo-e-cristianismo.html
partir do século II, os lideres cristãos resolveram enterrar a influencia hindu e São Gregorio destruiu publicamente deuses hindus, que passaram a ser considerados então, deuses pagãos. Lembrando sempre que o Hinduismo possui 7 mil anos e o cristianismo possui somente 2009 anos.
She is scholar who lives in India, and said many more things in this blogspot, Thank you very much
Editor’s note:
The quote is in Portugese and here is a translation from the Portugese:
From the second century, Christian leaders decided to bury the influence Hindu and San Gregorio publicly destroyed Hindu gods, which became considered then, the pagan gods. Remembering always that Hinduism has 7,000 years and Christianity has only 2009 years.
Answer:
I believe I have already given you a general response to this kind of question, but let me briefly respond to what you have heard from this person Sandra. I do not know her or even who she is, but just because someone says something does not mean it is true!!! This person is obviously extremely confused, because the Gregory she is referring to is almost certainly "Pope" Gregory, who served as pope in Rome from 590-604. Any writer who says Gregory, who ruled at the end of the sixth century, destroyed idols in the second century should be taken with a very big grain of salt. Besides, Christianity has been around for 1980 not for 2009 years… This is not scholarly stuff you are reading! Whoever Sandra is she certainly is not a scholar.
Like I already said, there is literally (and I am not exaggerating) zero evidence that Hinduism ever influenced Christianity. As far as we know from history, it had no measurable impact on Roman religion or culture in the first and second century. This is simply very poor scholarship and a theory without evidence. Hinduism (the religion observed in India today) did not exist 7000 years ago. This woman is not even making sense. The earliest evidence of something we can call Hinduism comes from the Vedas, which were an oral tradition from 1500-1000 BC. This is very early, but it is not 5000 BC. Perhaps Sandra is referring to the fact that there is evidence of an advanced culture in the Indian subcontinent from 7000 years ago. This is not the same as saying that Hinduism is that old. The history of Hinduism is a bit complex. It really is a group of religions, not a monolithic religion. It evolved over an approximately 3000 year period as an admixture of the local animistic/polytheistic native religions of the indigenous Indian peoples, combined with the religion of the invading Aryan peoples. The fact is that there has been continuous "civilized" occupation of the Middle East from at least 9600 BC (see the most recent National Geographic). The relative age of a culture has nothing to do with whether or not Christians borrowed from Hinduism. Here is the simple answer. This theory is nonsense.
John Oakes
