Religious Question

[squealpiggy]

Add the Celtics to that list.

Even though they didn't call themselves Celtics.

Possibly the oldest civilization yet.

Celts. And civilisation predated them by some 6500 years.

So much nonsense, so little time...

The bottom line is religion or belief in God is a matter of faith. If you are ******, Christian or ***, there are strict beliefs you must adhere to. There is no middle ground and the words in the Bible, Torah and Quran are simple and plain to understand.

Actually it seems harsh to call this one nonsense, but it is a misunderstanding. The words of the Torah, Bible and Quran are open to interpretation, and some of the bloodiest conflicts in history have been exacerbated and prolonged by exactly such nuances. There is a huge academic industry built around attempting to decipher exactly what the bible et al means. This would be unnecessary if the words of holy texts were unambiguous as you seem to be suggesting.

Something tells me you just search wikipedia on things.

Perhaps it is the same little voice that tells you that biblical prophesy websites and homemade personal webpages are legitimate sources of information. I have read a biography about Newton. He was an exceptionally driven man who spent his middle years exploring various "Natural philosophy" concepts and conducting jealous campaigns of vitriol against his rivals. He wrote some biblical treatises and spent his later years consumed with his role in the Royal Mint where he employed the same zeal pursuing counterfeiters and "clippers" (who devalued coins by shaving the metal from them) as he earlier did chasing after answers to unfathomable questions. He curiously didn't go to Egypt and equally curiously didn't measure the pyramids.

In fact, the "christian" symbol of the cross is not christian at all. It is nothing more than a pagan symbol of the zodiac.

The cross has been a symbol of many cultures, in no small part because of how pleasing it is to the human eye. This doesn't mean that the Christian crucifix doesn't represent a crucified christ. Symbols are symbols. What they symbolise is largely down to the groups who use them.

I got a hypothetical fantasy type question. For the non believers lets just say for conversation, i dont know Jesus comes back to earth and is God is going to burn it as it says in the bible, and Jesus is there to take all his brothers and sisters to heaven, now liek i said for discussion are you all still going to be the hell with God and Religion or will you all wither and ask for forgiveness? End of the world type situation

That's a ****** question. In such a situation when it becomes obvious that worship of God is not a matter of faith and is instead a matter of survival or preservation then the only prudent thing to do is to get your worshipping boots on. But the question itself is invalid. Just hypothetically imagine that the polar ice caps melt, the ice giants are freed and Odin and Thor descend from Valhalla to fight them. What would you do? Nothing, because it is an absurd question. It requires a prior belief in the Norse pantheon to be able to countenance the question. To a nonbeliever it makes no sense.

You see that's something a lot of Christians don't seem to get about atheists. Atheists are just like Christians only there is one more God that they don't believe in.

From an academic and literary point of view, the Bible stands head and shoulders above any other book ever written, yet it is largely ignored in academia

It's the most written about, hotly debated and intensely studied and scrutinized book in the history of the written word. Largely ignored? Where do you get these funny ideas?

Jesus was Crucified and he resurrected during Easter, which is March/APRIL time. He was born on Christmas. So the sun God resurrecting on Christmas is completely different from Christ being born on Christmas

Jesus was crucified and resurrected around the passover and thus struck a chord with ***s familiar with the concept of a sacrificial lamb. Passover is a festival of renewal and hope linked to stories of the escape from slavery. The birth of Jesus was not dated in the bible, but it is celebrated on a date acceptable to the pagan calendar, the celebration of Festivus. In Europe festivals in the middle of winter predate the spread of Christianity. Putting the Jesus name on it is simple rebranding at the hands of the Emperor Constantine.

Catholicism was the 1st branch of Christianity. When Jesus was around and his disciples, what they were celebrating was Catholic teachings and rituals. Mixed with *******. So after Jesus everyone who was Christian was Catholic. But then you had some people who didnt want to live strict live, ex the King of England wanted to get Divorced from his wife due to the fact she would not bare a son, then he goes off and Creates the Anglican Church. All the other branches of Christianity were created by individual people who did not like the Catholic teachings.

Not exactly. Early christians were known as Nostri or Gnostics and were considered a cult and a nuisance. The Catholic church did not come into being until the Council of Nicaea in the 4th century when Christian doctrine was formalised and the Gospels were chosen.

King Henry the 8th didnt create his own church becuase he could not get an annulment? Why else did he do it? He even had St Thomas Moore killed because he would not bless him in his annulment

St Thomas a Beckett.

See, this is what I mean. No where in the Bible does it say not to question things and no preacher, priest, or any other leader of a church should or would persuade you to follow blindly without asking questions.

Actually it does say not to question things and to follow blindly the instructions of religious teachers without question. The entire Old Testament is based around people getting into trouble because they do not do so.

Faith should be a personal thing, not a stick to beat people with.

[K-Nan]

WTF, Squealy. What exactly do you do, man? You're like the walking book off offhand knowledge.

[Texanballer]

Before his sentencing, Thomas More spoke freely of his belief that "no temporal man may be the head of the spirituality". He was sentenced to be hanged, drawn, and quartered (the usual punishment for traitors) but the king commuted this to execution by beheading. The execution took place on 6 July.

[tyson]

Perhaps it is the same little voice that tells you that biblical prophesy websites and homemade personal webpages are legitimate sources of information. I have read a biography about Newton. He was an exceptionally driven man who spent his middle years exploring various "Natural philosophy" concepts and conducting jealous campaigns of vitriol against his rivals. He wrote some biblical treatises and spent his later years consumed with his role in the Royal Mint where he employed the same zeal pursuing counterfeiters and "clippers" (who devalued coins by shaving the metal from them) as he earlier did chasing after answers to unfathomable questions. He curiously didn't go to Egypt and equally curiously didn't measure the pyramids.

Could be that same voice, assuming I take those sources as legitimate.
Did you write that straight off wikipedia? Looks like it.

In fact, the "christian" symbol of the cross is not christian at all. It is nothing more than a pagan symbol of the zodiac.

The cross has been a symbol of many cultures, in no small part because of how pleasing it is to the human eye. This doesn't mean that the Christian crucifix doesn't represent a crucified christ. Symbols are symbols. What they symbolise is largely down to the groups who use them.

You are right. But if you go further, you might realize that the symbols might mean something. Maybe they mean what they are supposed to mean.
Like that Jesus is nothing more than a Sun-god, like Amen-Ra of Egypt, symbolized by the symbol of the Zodiac.
That would make plenty of sense.

From an academic and literary point of view, the Bible stands head and shoulders above any other book ever written, yet it is largely ignored in academia

It's the most written about, hotly debated and intensely studied and scrutinized book in the history of the written word. Largely ignored? Where do you get these funny ideas?

I wondered why no one caught on to this. I pasted it directly out of an introduction to a book who's author clearly tries to immidiately reach a vast group (christians) to promote his book.
It was also a direct contradiction to my previous posts about the Bible.

But the Koran has got to be up there when it comes to intense studies.

[squealpiggy]

Before his sentencing, Thomas More spoke freely of his belief that "no temporal man may be the head of the spirituality". He was sentenced to be hanged, drawn, and quartered (the usual punishment for traitors) but the king commuted this to execution by beheading. The execution took place on 6 July.

I guess Henry VIII had a thing about meddlesome priests called Thomas. And you're right, Thomas More had more (hehe) to do with the issue of Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon (Aragorn? No, that was a character in Lord of the Rings haha)than Beckett did, but both guys pissed off Henry.

WTF, Squealy. What exactly do you do, man? You're like the walking book off offhand knowledge.

I know a lot of stuff. I'm a ****ing killer at Trivial Pursuits. If only I could tap this wealth of BS knowledge I have and make a career out of it! I may have to give Alex Trebek a call.

[tyson]

I guess Henry VIII had a thing about meddlesome priests called Thomas. And you're right, Thomas More had more (hehe) to do with the issue of Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon (Aragorn? No, that was a character in Lord of the Rings haha)than Beckett did, but both guys pissed off Henry.



I know a lot of stuff. I'm a ****ing killer at Trivial Pursuits. If only I could tap this wealth of BS knowledge I have and make a career out of it! I may have to give Alex Trebek a call.

Who is Alex Trebek?

You should be in who wants to be a millionaire.

(I self-pwned myself if Alex Trebek is the dude from that show)

[K-Nan]

I guess Henry VIII had a thing about meddlesome priests called Thomas. And you're right, Thomas More had more (hehe) to do with the issue of Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon (Aragorn? No, that was a character in Lord of the Rings haha)than Beckett did, but both guys pissed off Henry.



I know a lot of stuff. I'm a ****ing killer at Trivial Pursuits. If only I could tap this wealth of BS knowledge I have and make a career out of it! I may have to give Alex Trebek a call.

Do you read frequently?

[squealpiggy]

Alex Trebek is the presenter of a TV show called Jeopardy. I quite liked Millionaire but the trivia-questions-to-****ing-about ratio is far too low. "Is that your final answer? Is it? Are ye sure? Are ye sure now? Are you sure sure sure sure? You could lose a lot o money so make sure that yer sure now? Are yer **** OFF I'M SURE TELL ME THE ****ING ANSWER!

[tyson]

Do you read frequently?

I don't. Never read a word before boxingscene entered my life.

Nearly flunked english in school too.

[K-Nan]

I don't. Never read a word before boxingscene entered my life.

Nearly flunked english in school too.

I got a 36 outta 36 on the reading portion of the ACT. 30 on the English. It's my strong point.

Not as impressive when you consider my 21 in Math, though.