Easter
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[flash=600,400:1ueyaqfe]http://www.youtube.com/v/FNhGQYo4yZs&feature=youtu.be[/flash:1ueyaqfe]
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Ah! Frazer's The Golden Bough. That takes me back. I've still got my copy...all 1000 pages of it. Hard to think it's now over 100 years old. Available now from Project Gutenberg.
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Although there are a bunch of errors, inaccuracies and misapprehensions in this particular video, the basic idea is indeed true and quite well-known (and taught even at Theological Faculties - here at least).
There seem to be a bit of deliberate misinterpretation here and there as well... But hey, what should we expect from a militant atheist propaganda film after all?
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@alan fraser said:
Ah! Frazer's The Golden Bough. That takes me back. I've still got my copy...all 1000 pages of it. Hard to think it's now over 100 years old. Available now from Project Gutenberg.
Can't count the times I have attempted to read it. Maybe 100 pages, but not in sequence.
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@gaieus said:
There seem to be a bit of deliberate misinterpretation here and there as well... But hey, what should we expect from a militant atheist propaganda film after all?
So you suggest holding atheists to a higher standard than that adopted by most religious writers? Fair enough; atheists aren't lying for god, after all.
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Tim, I did not say that. And I did not even argue for or against atheism or religion here either. What I said was that there was some deliberate misinterpretations here.
I am pretty informed in the topic as my first degree was in history (and archaeology) and I only have not finished my PhD thesis in ancient history yet because I am currently playing with SketchUp (it is partly on religious stuff by the way) but of course I do not want to hide behind papers and diplomas.They even missed some obvious examples like the Sun god Mithras (who was also born at the winter solstice for instance) or Bacchus - who (according to some myths of him - there are several variations here) also dies and resurrects every year (thus he is always depicted as a youth or even child) etc.
And certainly there is militant religious propaganda as well (after all, we can see a lot of examples of it kindly presented by Pete here or elsewhere)
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@unknownuser said:
And certainly there is militant religious propaganda as well (after all, we can see a lot of examples of it kindly presented by Pete here or elsewhere)
I'm not militant, I hardly mention my anti-theist opinions here, sure on other mediums I'm more vocal.
Being an Atheist in the USA is like being the only sober person in a car full of drunk folk and not being allowed to drive.
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Pete, please, oh PLEASE, readmy post. I wrote about militant religious propaganda and not you as militant!
And though I would give a shit on them (as well as any intolerant idiots) but if they annoy you, I can still understand.
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To bring it back to a reasoned debate/assassination...
And of course Easter has nothing to do with a 'compass direction'... but it is to do with the spring/fertility goddess - Ēostre - e.g. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%92ostre and http://www.goddessgift.com/Pandora%27s_Box/Easter-history.htm
Surely only the most blinkered Christians think that festivals like Easter and Christmas are 'Christian' in origin - these times of celebration were simply borrowed and adjusted to suit 'their new religion' from much older ones that had themselves borrowed over the ages...
So that's why we have eggs/flowers at/around Spring Equinox[fertility rituals] or lamb [Hebrew Passover] etc and at/around Winter Solstice evergreen/ivy/holly/trees and mistletoe [Northern Europeans' Yuletide] and excessive drinking/merriment [Romans' Saturnalia and Yule]...Early Christians [who were heavily influenced by centralizing to Rome early on] adjusted their 'there's only one God' teachings inherited from the religion's Jewish origins... They adopted the cult of the Saints - where each RC saint looks after an aspect of a believer's life/trade and they pray to the saint to 'intercede' on their behalf - which is an obvious reinterpretation of the pagan minor deities that the Romans had - there are no Jewish saints, and they'd certainly never pray to a prophet!... e.g. RC's have St. Fiacre and St. Adelard for gardeners, St. Francis of Paola and St. Elmo and St. Brendan for sailors, and St. Andrew or St. Peter for fishermen: whereas the ever economical Romans had 'Priapus' - who was the god of gardeners and sailors and fishermen. Having relegated 'other' deities to sainthood [or 'hell' like Lucifer-god-of-the-morning-star] it should have left the field clear for their 'there-is-only-one-true-god', but then after much wrangling they decided that 'God' was to be represented as 'the father', 'the son' and 'the holy-ghost' all at the same time [the 'mystery of the holy-trinity' and only adopted after about 400 years of debate]; it required much theological jumping through hoops to get a 'workable solution' to this obvious paradox [the Jews and Muslims of course both having either stuck-to or opted-for a simpler 'there is one god' and 'he has his prophets' solution to this
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[flash=800,600:2m8dpz7j]http://www.youtube.com/v/LHqOG8p0Lkc[/flash:2m8dpz7j]
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Hmmm.....I have an oblique view of "God". While I don't believe in a "God", I believe that "God" is real as long as the majority of people believe in one. It's no different then many of our laws that are based on evidence.
Almost all Americans believe in "Freedom" without knowing how much of that we give up to preserve our belief in it.
Even an Atheist can believe in the "Ten Commandments":
- No false Gods.
- Worship no illusions.
- Do not swear against good.
- Take the time to understand the high road.
- Respect your parents.
- Do not kill another.
- Respect marriage.
- Do not steal.
- Do not lie.
10.Do not hide.
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@gaieus said:
Tim, I did not say that. And I did not even argue for or against atheism or religion here either. What I said was that there was some deliberate misinterpretations here.
Fair enough, perhaps I anticipated the 'usual' kind of complaint I see far too often on other forums. Mea culpa.
But my underlying point stands on its own I think; atheists can usually be held to a higher standard with regards to facts since there is no agenda other than searching for facts and the theories that explain them. I am ignoring (as much as possible!) the strictly-speaking-atheists that are nonetheless woo-heads that differ from religionists only in their claim not to believe in gods but "I'm actually very spiritual" and so on.
As for red's 10 commandments - if that were the way they were stated you might get some agreement but we have to remember that the 'real' ones start off with 4/5 rules(depending on the sect) demanding that you believe what you are told to believe, that you never admit to any other gods, and in general hand over your life - or else. I always get a kick when some twit pleads that "surely we can all agree on the ten commandments". Sigh. The various Abrahamic sects can't even agree on what they are, let alone what they should mean.
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Militant atheist.
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well Pete, that is a very nice image of an atheist militant
comparing himself with the other two militants.
But how will you paint him if he was alone to express himself ?
._) could you do it ?
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@unknownuser said:
But how will you paint him if he was alone to express himself ?
He has nothing to express, you do understand the atheist concept right?
Here is another image that may explain better.
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But again Pete, he is comparing with others.
It seems he needs other´s beliefs to express his own by denying them.
And I think that an atheist is someone who takes himself at the top and as the TOP.
I have been doing that for ages now.
I believe and feel that I have been able to survive until now because I always thought that the only person who might have any influence on me would be Jesus Christ.
Now that vision is to put yourself at the top but hearing or watching closely how he saw life and how he expressed himself.
Under that point of view I see your atheist militant as this one
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@unknownuser said:
I believe and feel that I have been able to survive until now because I always thought that the only person who might have any influence on me would be Jesus Christ.
Great, if that's what you need to navigate life then so be it.
But please do not expect me to share your beliefs, otherwise I'll push back and you can label me militant when I do.
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well, you know I do not like militants
obviously
salud -
@unknownuser said:
But again Pete, he is comparing with others.
Juan, I don't think you get the point to the cartoon. The atheist has no agenda, hence him in pub enjoying a beer, it really is not that complicated.
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You are right Pete,
I did not got the meaning , did not understand the joke.
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