[1] The Two Babylons has made an impression on my life, but I do not consider it to be comparable to The Bible. One should always remember to use discernment. There is only one Bible; all other books are but books. The Two Babylons is no different though considered by many to be a/the classic in Christian Apologetics. It is still just a book. - Read More on this Subject:
"To all my brothers and sisters in Christ who feel that finding Babylonian origins for present-day customs or practices is of great importance, my advice is to move cautiously in this area, lest we major in minors. If there are things in our lives or churches that are indeed pagan or displeasing to the Lord, they should be dealt with, of course. But in attempting to defuse the confusion of Babylon, we must guard against creating a new "Babylon" of our own making."
(quoted from The Babylon Connection? - page 32.)
[2] I have received numerous e-mails addressing the issue of
Pagan symbolism in Christianity. Feeling it best for those "seekers" who have come across my site to "search God's face" and make their own decisions; I have not addressed these issues earlier. Considering some of the responses I have received, perhaps that was the wrong approach...
"Some may say that it is wrong to try to hide Christmas’ pagan roots
with Christian trappings. They insist that for a Christian to celebrate
Christmas in the traditional manner, they must forsake Christ for a
lie. I am not, however, convinced of this. For I believe that the pagans
once knew the true God and how to worship him. They, like Abraham, were
also descendants of the righteous man Noah and his godly family. They
all originally were of one religion, one race, and one language. That,
however, changed forever at the tower of Babel, when God confounded
the languages of men and made them incapable any longer of communicating
freely and easily together. This caused men to separate into distinct
linguistic groups, which ultimately led to the many languages, races
and religions we have on the earth today. Though many world religions
are drastically different than Judeo-Christianity today, some still
retain a few symbols and beliefs which are strikingly similar. It is
possible, therefore, that many of the symbols associated with pagan
religions had a Judeo-Christian meaning at the time of Noah, but these
meanings were subsequently lost or obscured." (quoted from Where
is Christ In Christmas? Rethinking a Pagan Holiday from a Judeo-Christian
Perspective by Helena McNeilly)
[3] While surfing the internet, I have came across sites that use Hislop's classic, The Two Babylons, as a foundation to support views advocating anti-Semitism, racism, debunking of the Biblical doctrine of the triune nature of God, etc. Such views are not supported by Hislop.
[4] It appears to me that many of Hislop's arguments seem strained. As if, in the writing and his passion for the subject/position he was advocating he tried too hard to be convincing. Even so, the book has impressed me not so much by Hislop's declamations against the Roman Catholic Church, though this was the purpose of his writing The Two Babylons. What impressed me so much is that here was one of the first books that I had come across examining how the ancients had KNOWN of God’s promise of “the seed of a woman.” They had known of the earliest sections of the Bible and the implications. They had known!
In July 1999, an email was sent to me which brought up some points, many of which I feel deserve to be heard. This does not mean that I personally agree with all that was stated in this message. The fact is I don't feel that I have the expertise to comment on some of the following issues either way. Note; permission has been granted for me, via e-mail, to quote the following:
Anonymous writer:
Hi.
I have just been to your page at:
http://geocities.datacellar.net/Athens/Aegean/6849/TwoBabylons.html
Hislop did publish a few other things, of an ecclesiastical nature. If you wish, I could get the titles for you.
As for TTB itself, I think Hislop uses some dangerous types of argument. The Jehovah's Witnesses are fond of it, apparently - and why not? His reasoning could be used to "show" that the doctrine of the Trinity is false. Even though that was not his intention.
As for his main contention - that Catholicism is really Babylonian religion "revamped" - I think it does not stand up. Apart from anything else, he focuses on the deified Nimrod and deified Semiramis - but says nothing about all the other Mesopotamian deities. Perhaps he lived just too early to be able to take account of them - he died in 1863;the "Babylonian Flood" narrative was discovered in 1872.
If Catholicism, thousands of miles and 2000 years distant from post-Flood Mesopotamia, is "Babylonian", because of all those similarities he finds, why not look at Israel, which was nearer by far,in both time and space, to Babylon? Israel and Babylon had covenants, flood-narratives, wisdom literature, and a whole environment in common, after all. And if you want an Egypt-Israel correlation, Psalm 104 has resemblances to the "hymn of Akhenaten". The list goes on. If Israel is not pagan - we're talking about the things that were not denounced by (say) the prophets - even with so many influences from her neighbours, why should Catholicism be judged pagan?
Another weakness, beyond Hislop's ability to correct, is his using too small a base of knowledge. He was in no position to make use of what is now known of (say) the Hittites, the Canaanites, and a number of other ancient civilisations. He does not, I think, make use of any of what was known of the various languages. Everything is "Chaldee".
My last complaint is that Nimrod is not known to any of the King-lists of the Mesopotamian Kingdoms. (I want to check up this "early Semiramis" idea of Hislop's).
And one could go on.
Perhaps I should apologise for being so destructive ?
Please do accept my good wishes. And please tell me - if you like - whether you would like some info. on Hislop's other publications.
The Two Babylons, was written by the late Reverend Alexander Hislop in pamphlet form in Edinburgh in 1853, greatly expanded 5 years later and has since appeared in many editions in both Great Britain and the United States. This book is considered by many Christians to be a/the classic in apologetics.
The
following information was provided by an online friend, who
gathered the info from an Opac Author Search for Hislop A [source
- University of Edinburgh Library] :
Main Author: Hislop, Alexander, 1807-1865.
Title:
Christ's crown and covenant or national covenanting
essentially connected with national revival / by the Rev.
Alexander Hislop, Author of "Two Babylons",
&c. Primary Material: Book Subject(s): Covenant theology. Publisher: Edinburgh : Andrew Elliot , 1860. Description: iv, 54, [2] p ; 16 cm. Call Number: E.a.24/1-3 Location: New College Library [Special
Collections]
Main Author: Hislop, Alexander, 1807-1865. Title: Infant baptism, according to the Word of
God and confession of faith : being a review, in five
letters, of the new theory of Professor Lumsden, as
advocated in his treatise entitled "Infant baptism:
its nature and objects" / by the Rev. Alex. Hislop. Primary Material: Book Subject(s): Lumsden, James, 1810-1875. Infant
baptism: its nature and objects. Infant baptism. Publisher: Edinburgh : William Whyte & Co
... [etc.], 1856. Description: Revised and enlarged. 36 p ; 20 cm. Call Number: A.a.6.134/13 Location: New College Library [Special
Collections]
Main Author: Hislop, Alexander, 1807-1865. Title: Truth and peace / by the Rev. A. Hislop;
in reply to a pamphlet, entitled "Charity and mutual
forbearance" by "Irenicus". Primary Material: Book Subject(s): Irenicus. Charity and mutual
forebearance. Publisher: Arbroath : Sold by all booksellers,
1858. Description: 34 p ; 16 cm. Call Number: E.a.24/2 Location: New College Library [Special
Collections]
>> He also wrote "The
Red Republic" , in 1846, I think <<
(Note: I would like to expand this section. If anyone knows
any further information, especially about the author, the late Reverend Alexander
Hislop & other works of his,
please contact me)
(Source of Notes: Hislop, Rev. Alexander.
The Two Babylons; or the Papal Worship: Proved to be the Worship of Nimrod
and His Wife. Loizeaux Brothers: Neptune, New Jersey. 1959.)
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