I like the way my AP world history teacher put it, 2S.. the Bible is one of the best books ever written on the nature of man... there is solid scholarly value in studying religions I think

I used to get a slap round the lug for taking the lords name in vain if i said jesus christ....got a lot worse for saying ****ing hell though.

For a very long time people have been believing in something spiritual,
Yes people want to make sense of the world . I don't know why there's always this GOD vs Science thing though why can't both exist .

Yeah funerals are a good way to say goodbye to the person you've lost ,and prayers and religious services can help people cope and give them some comfort & support.

Actually alot of women were called Mary in those times , it was a popular name.

The ones people tend to remember are Mother / virgin Mary & Mary Magdalene but there were other Mary's .

what on God's earth gave you the idea it should not be routinely mocked?

I think if those who proffer to be Christians actually acted like Christians...the world would be a more heavenly place.

I actually think he did exist... I hold on the the thought there is a force for good in the universe, even if sometimes doesn't feel like it.

Religion has also caused more war and death than just about anything else. So I see little to praise it for personally. People often get very tribal about religion and want theirs to be the only one with any real say.

And without religion man would find other means and reason of bringing about death and destruction.

That's mankind, not necessarily religious only.

Emphasis on the word "routine".

Yes, given all of the available evidence it's become increasingly likely that Jesus, the individual, did exist. And that he did good, and through his life gained devoted followers (as many mere mortals do). What's less clear is the account of his abilities... Which were most likely exaggerated again and again through "Chinese whispers" and folklore... E.g. Perhaps him and his followers charitably brought bread and fish to a starving village - and over time this became a story of him "magically" feeding thousands with a small amount of food. Perhaps he brought medicines / medical knowledge from his travels and healed people that others had assumed to be dying, and that story was passed on as "magic".

Its even unclear as to whether he himself ever declared himself the son of / an avatar of God... Or if this was something that came from his followers, possibly even as "rewritten history" after he was executed and became a martyr.

Theology is fascinating in itself and as has been said, its intricately interwoven into human history. But again, the same can be said of ancient Egyptian, Roman, Greek and Norse religions which are now only history - and yet no less valuable or fascinating from a sociological / anthropological viewpoint.

I personally believe that all religions are destined to go the same way over time. Although inevitably, others will spring up in their place from time to time.

That's right. Fascism and communism were not religious ideologies and caused record numbers of deaths last century.

Nice thoughts kizzy..heres hoping.

Who mentioned religion?.. I didn't.

And perhaps his mum was just the local bike.:hehe:

You did. You mentioned Christians.

Christianity is a religion. :/

Yes I did didn't I? and I'm sorry I did, it was just to highlight the hypocrisy of some who call themselves Christians but don't abide by anything that he specifically suggested was tantamount to his teachings.

That said there's the theory that Christianity was invented to assert patriarchy an circumvent female/moon/earth worship.... So who knows?

Who knows indeed. :shrug:

irrelevant

all it illustrates in the ignorance and cruelty of man

just wishful thinking nonsense without sounding rude

It was relevant in response to Brillo.

You don't need supernatural for people to cause death and destruction

At the end of the day free will is here , so yeah regardless murders and wars will always happen that's the ugly side of the world it will never be perfect unfortunately.

And they'll always be killers , psycho's and mentally disturbed people wanting to harm others .

You do sound a bit rude but ok.

Oh it helps. Religion has left a trail of D&D behind it for centuries and it is still going on. I would say more people have died in the name of religion than any other reason. To deny it is fruitless. People have used it to control for centuries.

Just to redress a few misconceptions:

'Christianity' was NOT 'invented'. Christianity is a Religion which evolved from followers of the teachings of the historical Jesus.

Religion is NOT the cause of most Wars or bloodshed on this planet - Atheism and Secularity are:

1) Over the past 5,000 years and a total of 1,763 wars fought —only 123 (or about 7%) were religious in nature.

2) When the 66 wars which were waged in the name of Islam are removed, that number is cut down to a little more than 3%.

3) Atheism is responsible for a far greater degree of bloodshed than Christianity and all other religions combined with a body count of more than 100 million in the 20th century alone thanks to atheist regimes like Mao Zedong, Joseph Stalin, Adolph Hitler, Vladimir Lenin, and others.

Sources: ‘The Encyclopedia of War’ by Philip and Axelrod (Three Volumes), ‘Lethal Politics*and*Death by Government’ by R.J. Rummel, and the 2014 report from The Institute for Economics and Peace.

^ don't you forget Hirohito to that list of names, or what was Japan's religion during that regime, i thought he also was part of the Axis regime along with Germany and Italy at world war II, so my point is, isn't he also part of that atheist regime you mentioned Kirk