Kev,
It may come as a surprise to you, but all the mainstream Christian religions are perfectly aware of the fact that the date Jesus's birth is celebrated was set (changed) to coincide with the Winter Solace, and they've always known that.
Lilith actually is mentioned in the bible in Isaiah 34, but whether or not she was ever human, much less the first wife of Adam, or anything more than a myth, is debatable. There are numerous stories about her, all of which conflict. Lilith appears throughout history, in everything from Dead Sea scrolls and ceramic bowls, to renaissance paintings. Even Michaelangelo painted Lilith. She's hardly a secret.
But no, it wasn't because Catholicism frowns on divorce, as the Old Testament in particular, is full of stories of divorcing or "setting aside" your spouse. King David had a man murdered, just so he could marry his widow. He had lots of wives, along with slaves, concubines. Loved his boyhood friend Jonathan too, and whether their love was strictly platonic, remains highly debatable. The Old Testament even includes a mandate, that if your brother dies, you should marry his widow--so she and the children would not die of starvation.
Ahh, details, details, the devil's in the details. Can't see the forest for all the trees (read: details).
To gain a proper perspective, you need to read the bible from cover to cover, and what you will see, is that it is actually a history book. The Old Testament is the early history of the Jewish people, while the New Testament provides the history, documenting the life and death of Jesus, followed by the history of the lives of the original disciples, and establishment of Christianity.
All those horrible evil actions in the bible? Yeah, actions have consequences and all those horror stories serve as documentation and commentary of the consequences that result from "sin" --defined as failure to follow the 2 primary directives.
Judging others? Yeah, that's also encompassed in the Golden rule, because judging others is not treating them as you yourself would wish to be treated. Same with the other commandments, every single one.
Duplications in other religions? Like God couldn't have designated prophets and inspired history books for other cultures? To teach and guide them as well? Who knows?
Please don't confuse the bible with some of the nonsensical interpretations made up by various organized religions. For example, there's nothing in the bible that prohibits umm, masturbation. That's just a BS interpretation based in a story about a guy who married his brother's widow, but refused to inpregnate her, because if he did, his brother's inheritance would have gone to that child. So he had sex with her, but pulled out and spilt his seed on the ground. His actual sin was selfishness. It had nothing to do with masturbation, but organized religions only use the part where he "spills his seed on the ground" as their basis for contending that masturbation is condemned in the bible.
Same applies to the passages various organized religions use to contend that the bible condemns being gay. If you read what comes before and after those passages, the message that is actually being conveyed is entirely different. The one used most often, Romans 1:27, Paul then goes on on Romans 2:1 to say, "Therefore you have no excuse to judge others, for in condemning others, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgement are doing the very same things." It was actually a lecture warning people not to attend pagen ceremonies where they did alcohol/drugs, because they might wake up and not like what they while did under the influence. It was never intended to be used as justification for condemning and judging people who are gay. In fact, it's the exact opposite.
This is what I mean in saying that many organized religions pull passages and use them out of context to supposedly "prove" biblical support for whatever agenda they happen to desire, and doing so, change the original intent.
Every passage in the bible that supposedly condemns gays is the same. It's a matter of interpretation, most of which is pretty thin and flimsy, at best.
To me, it is a far greater sin to disobey the directive against the Golden rule by judging others, and especially, in doing so, to drive them away from God. I somehow don't think God looks upon that very well.
