Ddgs

Ancient Dionysian religion and modern Christianity share another similarity when it comes to the subject of wine. I could not help but notice that both religions mention that wine can have negative effects. Though Dionysian’s believed that wine had the ability to “comfort, and to bring bliss” they also believed it could lead to “deeds of violence” and “the madness of horror (150).” With Dionysus being the “god of wine,” the idea of opposite effects that wine caused showed the “duality” of the god. Also, the Bible condemns drunkenness throughout many passages and lists the drunkard along with fornicators, idolaters, and extortionists in 1 Corinthians 5:11 of the King James Version. Much of what is mentioned in Otto’s book is about the “duality” of Dionysus. He is “the god of two forms (110).” Dionysus is life and death, joy and sorrow; he is both the ass and the lion, according to ancient belief. Everything about Dionysus is dual, as with the wine mentioned earlier. With much searching, I found that Christ could even be termed as being “dual.” Though Jesus granted many people “peace be unto you,” he also made statements like that of Matthew 10:34 of the Bible where he said “I came not to send peace, but a sword (KJV).” The term sword meant destruction and division. Jesus came to set man against one another and even man against his own family and blood. The destruction and division that Jesus “sent” is still prevalent in modern Christianity. We find that both gods are dual bringing both life and destruction. Dionysus may be a more creative and artistic god, whereas Jesus had qualities that were more earthly like that of the natural man. However, Dionysian beliefs and Christianity share many similarities. I would go as far to say that the two are probably more alike than many people imagine. We have found that even Jesus had destructive qualities and a sense of “duality.” We also discovered that stories of sex, drunkenness, life and death are not completely unfamiliar to the Bible. All these things are attributes to “Dionysian madness.” This does not necessarily mean that the two are related, but it could show that some ideas of Christianity were derived from ancient myths.