Part II: On the Man Called Christ, Chapter V: The Escape from Paganism Summary and Analysis

Though there is a great variety to be found among the various Pagan religions of the past and the present, there is a kind of general pattern in them which both separates them from Christianity and unifies them under the heading of "heathenism." The difference, chiefly, is the separation between mythology and philosophy, a theme touched upon in some detail in previous chapters. Basically, the Pagan priests and the Pagan philosophers really never met to work out their differences and they never really saw it necessary to meet; they were quite content operating in totally different spheres. The problem is that such a separation is bound to lead to social decay. A mythology without an ethics will...