Thomas Inman’s Ancient Pagan and Modern Christian Symbolism argues that many symbols central to Christian worship — the cross, the fish, the dove — have direct antecedents in the pagan religions of the ancient Near East and Mediterranean, including Baal worship and Assyrian sacred imagery. The book was controversial on publication and reflects the freethinking comparative religion scholarship of the Victorian era.
This free EPUB edition is cleanly formatted for e-readers. While scholarly opinion has moved on in many areas, the book remains an interesting document in the history of comparative religion and the Victorian debate over Christianity’s relationship to pagan antiquity.