Freethought & Rationalism Archive

spin · 01-30-2008, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roger Pearse

It's generally best to avoid polysyllables if you want to avoid blank looks.

spin

fanucon · 01-30-2008, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spin

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roger Pearse

It's generally best to avoid polysyllables if you want to avoid blank looks.

spin

He no the is m Does that make them equally confusing?
1 2 3 4 5
po ly the is m

WVIncagold · 01-30-2008, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lpetrich

And there are serious questions about whether there was a historical Abraham, whether he was as historical as the various other legendary ancestors that many people have believed in.

Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher in The Bible Unearthed have discussed the question of the possible historicity of the stories of the patriarchs and their matriarchs, discussing the results of techniques like Sitz im Leben ("Situation in Life"), dating some writing by checking on the presence or absence of what it describes.

Not only are some of the customs described in the patriarch stories rather common ones in the Middle East over the centuries, those stories have some anachronisms. Perhaps the most notable one is the presence of camels, which became a common beast of burden in the Middle East only in the 1st millennium BCE. However, from where they appear in the Bible, the patriarch stories would be in the early 2nd millennium BCE.

This is like how the Homeric epics contain some memories of Mycenaean Greece, like boar's-tusk helmets and bronze armor, and some confused half-memories, like riding chariots into battle and getting out of them to fight. Chariots were often used for the actual fighting; and some chariots were even equipped with scythes sticking out of the sides. So one concludes that chariot warfare went out of style in the Greek Dark Age, perhaps from leaders back then being too poor to afford chariot armies.

Interesting part about chariots also is that horses were being bred larger and larger. Chariots were first used because the horses of the times could not support a mans weight. Plus chariots were very expensive to build, maintain. so by the breeding of larger horses it was much cheaper to make bridle and tack than to make chariots. I did not know that about camels though very interesting do you have any information immediately available? It was not uncommon though to dismount and fight after the initial break in the phalanx. So it is true many charioteers did dismount fighting from a chariot is a real bitch when one thinks of the two wheel kind. Now the four wheel chariots were a much more stable platform but it was much heavier twice as expensive and slow compared to the two wheel type.This was also common for cavalry.

Loomis · 01-30-2008, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fanucon

At what point did the Monotheistic religion that Abraham proficed become the Henotheistic religion of today?

Monday, August 17, 1981.

Fortuna · 01-30-2008, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Well, I think many Jews would be quick to declare that Christianity is polytheistic even without counting the angels: because of God + Jesus (+ Holy Spook).

That's more or less what I was taught. Simply put it is not possible to apply that most important idea that "G-d is one" to Christianity. At least not to the trinitarian variety.

But even excluding the trinitarians, if it is claimed that Jesus is literally god's son, I do not see how that could be considered monotheism.

But at this point the Irish catholics use the shamrock analogy. <sarcasm>Yea, that's convincing.</sarcasm> Cue the riverdancers !

Edit - No offense intended to the Irish, my husband is an ex-Irish Catholic.(but I'm the one with green eyes and his are brown !) We used to tell many jokes that started with "A Priest and a Rabbi were ..."

youngalexander · 01-31-2008, 03:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fanucon

At what point did the Monotheistic religion that Abraham proficed become the Henotheistic religion of today?

I give up. Which is it, BS or the equivalent?

fanucon · 01-31-2008, 04:51 AM

There is a growing group of people who recognize Christianity as the Moral following of Jesus' teachings. Hence Atheist Christians, Agnostic Christians, Muslim Christians(who are Born Muslim but believe Jesus had better moral standings)

Take the common points of the listed religions, and you only have

Jesus' Morality Christianity

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

01-31-2008, 04:51 AM	#27
fanucon Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Midwest Minnesota Posts: 721	There is a growing group of people who recognize Christianity as the Moral following of Jesus' teachings. Hence Atheist Christians, Agnostic Christians, Muslim Christians(who are Born Muslim but believe Jesus had better moral standings) Take the common points of the listed religions, and you only have Jesus' Morality Christianity

Freethought & Rationalism Archive

The archives are read only.