Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Clivedurdle · 12-18-2009, 04:32 AM

Quote:

There are twelve Titans

Quote:

Rhea gave birth to a new generation of gods fathered by Cronus, but, in fear that they too would eventually overthrow him in turn, he swallowed them whole one by one; Hades he flung into Tartarus, Poseidon into the sea.[3]

Only Zeus was saved: Rhea gave Cronus a stone in swaddling clothes in his place, and placed the infant Zeus in Crete[4] to be guarded by the Kouretes. Hyginus' version of the myth of Zeus raised by the nymph Amalthea, has her hiding the infant Zeus by dangling him by a rope from a tree so that he was suspended, neither on the earth, in the sea, or in the sky,[5] all of which were ruled by his father, Cronus. Still other versions of the tale say that Zeus was raised by his grandmother, Gaia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titan_(mythology)

Someone must have done a comparison of Greek, Jewish and Christian mythology!

Oh sorry, there is no such thing as xian mythology, must wash my mouth out!

Strange that there is norse, celtic and every other culture on the planet's mythology, but xianity is the exception?

Quote:

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.

Oh of course you must believe this mythology or you are a heretic! The invention of enforced mythology!

bacht · 12-18-2009, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clivedurdle

Strange that there is norse, celtic and every other culture on the planet's mythology, but xianity is the exception?

Of course. Exceptionalism is the name of the game isn't it? "Our God is better than your god", "Only we have the Truth" etc

Clivedurdle · 12-18-2009, 01:43 PM

You know, persecution is a completely rational response to myth enforcers, but is a trap - it makes the true myth believer think they are right.

But everyone else with their centuries old stories of the gods are all going to hell.

It is a form of cultural and psychological destruction, equivalent to the Chinese cultural revolution, to destroy the true gods. I wonder how many people were sent mad by the loss of the gods with the coming of Christianity?

Similar stories were told by the Chinese when they lost and their ancetral shrines were destroyed.

bacht · 12-18-2009, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clivedurdle

You know, persecution is a completely rational response to myth enforcers, but is a trap - it makes the true myth believer think they are right.

But everyone else with their centuries old stories of the gods are all going to hell.

It is a form of cultural and psychological destruction, equivalent to the Chinese cultural revolution, to destroy the true gods. I wonder how many people were sent mad by the loss of the gods with the coming of Christianity?

As I understand it, in the old days (pre-Deuteronomic) a given god or goddess was associated with a specific city or nation; thus military defeat was seen as a reflection of the foreign god defeating the local deity.

Christianity isn't rooted in a specific region (okay maybe Rome), so incoming Christian armies or missionaries might've presented their deity in different terms. This Jesus was supposedly a universal god, transcending nationality or ethnicity, maybe some kind of "overlord".

In practice I think the exportation of Christianity was tied to Latin culture, and eventually was considered "European" in the eyes of those we encountered on other continents.

I don't know if losing your god would've been as devastating as losing your resources, your kinsmen, your language etc.

Clivedurdle · 12-18-2009, 03:20 PM

By the late 300's when Victory was pulled down, we are talking about at least one thousand years of Greek and Roman culture of which the true gods were part and parcel.

I referenced a programme here about the silk road - that is where I got the example of losing your ancestors - the hordes would drink out of the skull of a venerated ancestor.

So on a scale, rape, pillage, war, losing your gods maybe psychological warfare is worst - losing your position in the world.

The problem is we are looking at this from a position where we are not really aware of what has been lost.

This is a major complaint about the west - anomie, alienation.

But our religious traditions are false as a comparison!

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12-18-2009, 01:43 PM	#23
Clivedurdle Contributor Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: London UK Posts: 16,024	You know, persecution is a completely rational response to myth enforcers, but is a trap - it makes the true myth believer think they are right. But everyone else with their centuries old stories of the gods are all going to hell. It is a form of cultural and psychological destruction, equivalent to the Chinese cultural revolution, to destroy the true gods. I wonder how many people were sent mad by the loss of the gods with the coming of Christianity? Similar stories were told by the Chinese when they lost and their ancetral shrines were destroyed.

12-18-2009, 03:20 PM	#25
Clivedurdle Contributor Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: London UK Posts: 16,024	By the late 300's when Victory was pulled down, we are talking about at least one thousand years of Greek and Roman culture of which the true gods were part and parcel. I referenced a programme here about the silk road - that is where I got the example of losing your ancestors - the hordes would drink out of the skull of a venerated ancestor. So on a scale, rape, pillage, war, losing your gods maybe psychological warfare is worst - losing your position in the world. The problem is we are looking at this from a position where we are not really aware of what has been lost. This is a major complaint about the west - anomie, alienation. But our religious traditions are false as a comparison!

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