He kinda walked right into that one

August 27, 2008 at 10:46 am (belief)
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I’m having a small discussion at a Christian blog regarding the origins of the universe.  One of the participants wrote,

I worship the Transcendent Uncaused Immaterial First cause of the Material Universe.

We’re celebrate His birthday on Dec. 25th.

He could use a little knowledge of ancient religions.  My response:

Sorry, can’t resist. December 25th is “His” birthday, eh? In that case, “He” could be:

Horus, Osiris, Attis of Phrygia, Krishna, Zoroaster/Zarathustra, Mithra, Buddha, Heracles, Dionysus, Tammuz, Adonis, Hermes, Bacchus, Prometheus, or Jesus.

So, which one is it? “Born of a virgin” doesn’t help narrow the list down. All of these qualify too.

Obviously, he was referring to Jesus, but had no idea how many other deities prior to Jesus tradition holds were born on December 25th.  And why this day in particular?  It’s actually a fascinating story, superbly related in Zeitgeist – The Movie (after about 13 minutes in).

As I eluded, the parallels between Jesus and many other deities now widely regarded as myths go beyond simply birth on December 25th.  For obvious reasons, the Christian church ignores them, but they were patently manifest to pagan critics far back in early Christian history, who chastised the new religion for plagiarism.  Their apologists’ response? Guilty as charged! Justin Martyr (100 – 165 CE):

And when we say also that the Word, who is the first-birth of God, was produced without sexual union, and that He, Jesus Christ, our Teacher, was crucified and died, and rose again, and ascended into heaven, we propound nothing different from what you believe regarding those whom you esteem sons of Jupiter.

Of course, to admit their god was just another in a long line of mythic deities would not do.  There had to be a reason, and who or what was involved?   Who could it be, I just don’t know. Could it be…Satan!!
 Martyr continues:

For having heard it proclaimed through the prophets that the Christ was to come, and that the ungodly among men were to be punished by fire, [wicked demons] put forward many to be called sons of Jupiter, under the impression that they would be able to produce in men the idea that the things which were said with regard to Christ were mere marvelous tales, like the things which were said by the poets.

The devils… said that Bacchus was the son of Jupiter, and gave out that he was the discoverer of the vine, and they number wine among his mysteries; and they taught that, having been torn in pieces, he ascended into heaven.

It is facts like the above–and this only scratches the surface–which make it impossible to accept the Christian claim that there existed a Jesus as described in the New Testament gospels.

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Oh noes! My religion has been mocked!

August 25, 2008 at 1:10 pm (belief)
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When it comes to religion, one treads from the calm pools of reason to the dangerous currents of high emotion.  It seems that some religious beliefs are so fiercely held, that to challenge them invites an almost primal response.  We’re all very familiar with the massive and violent demonstrations in the Muslim world at any real or perceived slight of the Qu’ran or Muhammad.  Many in the west are appalled such displays, but, apparently, only because it’s not their religion that’s being disparaged.  When a college student absconded with a  Eucharist wafer, for example, it earned him instant Catholic vilification and calls to kick him out of school.

I was reminded recently of this tendency toward emotional overreaction, abeit on a milder scale, when chancing upon a recent blog entry from a Christian remarking on an atheist “de-baptism”.  It seems some atheists are marking their deconversion from Christianity by having themselves blowdried, a mocking counterpoint to baptism’s immersion in water to signify the washing away of “sins”.  This Christian found the event “sad,” “sarcastic,” “insipid,” and “uninspiring” because “baptism is a statement and commitment to humility, growth and change. The de-baptism…is simply about declaring ‘unfaith'”.

This is the religious myopic mind at work, which categorizes all its sacred practices and beliefs as “good,” and, therefore, every other practice or belief as automatically “bad.”  The real point of the event was ignored on this Christian, which was to bring atheists out of the closet and demonstrate to politicians that we are voters too.

You see, the religious mind allows no possibility that its cherished beliefs may be false.  The entertaining of such a notion is even held to be evidence of the devil’s influence and a sinful demonstration of one’s lack of faith.  This is why even the most innocuous expressions of mockery toward religion are met with disproportionate outrage and disdain.  All religious followers may not be so dogmatic, but the teachings of the major religions logically lead to absolutist, albeit incompatible, paradigms.  This fact explains religion’s tendency to fracture, even within sects, and the concordant violence which periodically erupts among them (Catholic vs. Protestant, Sunni vs. Shia, etc.).  If you believe you hold The Divine Truth, it follows anyone who disagrees is “evil”.

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