Was on yesterday on c4

Link below if you want to watch it
http://www.channel4.com/video/brandl...nity-a-history

I thought it was a really intresting program and im really looking foward to the next 6 programs.

If i have to "lable" my self im an Atheist, but i find theology fasinating. I find it really intresting that religion is so important to so many but im not sure all of them even know why.

This 1st program, shows how jesus was a jew, an ordinary man who preached the reafirmation on jewsih faith and how 70 years after he died, his new follower (deciple number 13, who never met him) Paul, basically formed a jewish based cult, which we all know now as Christianity.

 

Just me then

 

Me aswell mate I am not religous in the slightest but the programme was a good watch so certainly gonna watch the rest of the series

 

I too am very interested in the origins of religion. Thanx for the link.

 

This series is not about the origins of religion but the origns and history of christianity.

A lot of people forget christianity is relativly new, its only about 1950 years old give or take a bit.

You should really watch the program, very intresting. It even touches on the nazi holocaust, and you can see its like to the birth of the christian religion!


As for religion on the whole, as I understand it.

It started probably as soon as we evolved into humans/cave men. The human mind always questions things, and we began to worship the land, the sky and the sun and spirits/death, as it was the only way to explain it all.

At some point this translated in to worshiping a deaiety, so focus moved from the nature side towards to superior being- a god.

Dont forget buddism,islam, jewdeism etc all in theory worship the same god, its just that they are each have a differend interpretation and teaching

It made sence the god created the world, it wasnt that long ago we still thought the world was flat!! Religion was the only answer to the "unexplained"

With modern thinking and science its clear (well to me anyway) that we are here buy pure chance (Catastrophies- the programme a few weeks back on C4 buy tony robinson covered all this)

So what intrestes me is its almost certain we are here buy fluke and we have evolved from single cell organisms to what we are today

So why do so many millions of people (of all faith) still believe, devote their life to worship and fear god.

Do they honestly believe, or is it now a way of life. They (with out sounding patronising) are brainwashed in to religion as a life style?

For example a muslim child is a muslim because he has been brought up as one.

To me this is no different to a child who supports man U because his father bangs on about them on a daily basis and wears a manu top.

To me religion is a purley human invention, and what intrests me is why so many people live their life buy this what i would call "old science".

Its all very intresting stuff!

 

Im an athesiest obviously, but I do find other people's mass delusions surrounding the concept of a god very interesting.

IMHO its the largest mental illness that our particuar species has ever experienced, and its weird that it doesnt seem to effect other animals, mainly due to their lack of a detailed language with which to arctiulate the intricate details of this delusion onto others I guess.

 

exactly how i feel!

 

Religion is just about controlling others, simple as that, and it relies on the subject of that control being largely ignorant and hence unable to see that its of course a nonsense.
Do what I say, or an imaginary being will make you rot in hell forever etc, only works on people who dont question things.

Religion's answer to anyone who questions anything is "faith", which is the uttterly ridiculous concept, that although every ounce of inteligence in your body is informing you that all the things you are hearing are blatantly utter bollocks, you must just blindly believe it anyway, and this "faith" is then presented surrounded by positive language that makes it seem like a good thing to have, rather than a sign of ignorance and stupidity.

 

I personally don't believe in any God's/Jesus (i believe in Jews though....).

Seriously though....how people can believe in someone who was alive as recently as 2009 years ago..yet there is no hard proof or evidence to back it up!? We have so much hard evidence of events and people that pre date Christ...so why on earth wouldn't there be any of Jesus??

Anyway, that said...i still find it interesting!! Passion of the Christ is an awesome film too!!

 

They believe cause they have Faith*/Delusions*/stupidity*


* delete as appropriate

 

There's a few schools of thought that say Jesus never existed? There is little historical record of him outside Christianity.

Proof of his existence please.

 

I dont know what sort of proof would convince you though TBH.

you've seen newsreel footage from multiple angles of 2 planes knocking down 2 buildings, and you still believe that princess diana and elvis did it with hidden explosives because they were on the CIA payroll or whatever your latest delusion is, so you're no better than the other delusional idiots who believe in god

 

Truth is, you actually haven't got the foggiest what I think about either subject. Ignorant chump.

What you described is what Mondeo Man thinks happened.

And it was 2 planes, 3 buildings. I'd have thought you'd have known at least some of the basic facts.

 

Sorry but that made me laugh!!!

 

Chip as always you have a black and white answer.

And i have to agree with your point. although i wound't probably have put it as blunt as your description.

I agree it is a delusion, but why so many people, surley 70-80% or what ever percent there is in the world who are religious, they cant all be stupid and blind can they?

What is it that drives people to believe and have faith when as we know there is so much logical reasoning and science to prove otherwise.

when i did my philosophy a levels we spent a whole year on theology and the argument for/against the existance of god. And not supprisingly the answer is yes to both.

I just wonder in such a modern age, will religion die out.

I understand in underdeveloped countries say some where bang in the middle of africa, religion is important and serves a purpose.
~But then you look at america, why do they still have such strong faith when they have so much science. (well ok americans are stupid i guess)

Chip your right its a disease, its as much as a disease as any other mental health condition!

Mate watch the program, Jesus almost certainly had to exist for christianity to have been born. The issue lies with wether like me and the program you believe he was just a keen preacher and his mates (the deciples) wrote a book about him, cliaming he was the messia.

Basically the program tells how jesus was a keen jew, and he wanted people to become better jews buy being more holy. Its only when he died, Paul the 13th deciple (who never actually met jesus) decided that jesus was the messia and basically wrote history. christianity is basically a secular cult formed from jewish roots.

Remember christianity is not even 2000 years old, buddists, muslims, jews etc all pre date this buy thousands of years.

jews believed the messia would come to save them from the romans. Paul and a small minority believed jesus was the one. but the jews still are waiting to this day, the believe jesus was not the messia.

just watch the program!

 

Must resist getting on soapbox... must resist... must resist...

 

Almost certain?

So he wasn't told, he decided?

And is a lot of Christianity based on Paganism, a far older religion? What about the religion of the Aboriginies, which I beleive is one, if not the, oldest on Earth. Mayans etc?

Too many different "stories" around to base your whole life on just one. And thats what most texts are. Stories. Wether fiction or factual is up to you.

 

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb3IMTJjzfo

 

Not sure what your point is mate?

 

i'll take a look at this later. i always find the stuff kinda interesing. have you seen the documentry 'who was moses'. it sets about proving what happend in the first testiment of the bible did actually happen but not acts of god, just natural disasters & coincidence