Ancient Middle-Eastern Religious Beliefs

I have been reading around Christian angles on the way that earlier Middle-Eastern religions influenced Christian theology.

Some of the academic and reputable Christian scholars explain how parts of their theology expressed in the Bible are comparible to the myths of earlier religions. This, they say, is not because the earlier relgion could have equal chance of being right; neither is it indicative of a continuous process of evolution of religious thought of which Christianity is merely one stage. They consider that although man is used by God to express his Word, man is "flawed" and will interpret and present the Word of God under the influence of the existing mythological systems, structuralist grammars and rhetorical styles of the age he is immersed in.

This is a balanced and intellectually wholesome view, even if you do not agree with it. At least it is not the limited, ignorant and purely subjective view of some of the Christian, or even Muslim and Jewish, fundamentalists who would deny any pagan or ancient mythological influences on Christianity. Indeed, Father Etienne Charpentier, the notable Catholic scholar, celebrates the stages of pre-Christian religious belief as a natural process on the way to an enlightnment. He even uses examples of ancient prayers to Sun-Gods and compares them to the styles of psalms. This kind of attitude allows a connection between keeping a strong religious faith and ensuring intellectual debate and difference, with the latter not compromising the former.