I hope this doesn't offend anyone.

I think religion is less about truth than an inspirational metaphor, since there doesn't seem to be any obvious reason why we find ourselves in such a bizzare situation. The greek gods were inspirational, the ideal warriors, lovers, party animals, etc., and as such served their purpose. The temples and monuments were for the people, even if they seemed to be for the gods. I find no logical reason why Christians should believe in one God, but because they believe it, it is true for them. Greece is a relatively small place, and the mountains were well explored, so I tend to think only the least reflective people believe in the gods literally. But, when a warrior acted bravely, you could say he embodied the spirit of whoever, in the same way that a generous person in todays culture would be likened to Santa. Santa is a good analogy, you could reason that Santa is widely worshipped, even though few adults believe in him literally. They erect altars to him in malls, and images of him are common at certain times of the year. Huge amounts of money and effort are devoted to Santa, and perhaps he even originated as a pagan god.

I said they didn't take them seriously (and perhaps I'm mistaken), but that doesn't mean they were a joke. To Christians, seriousness=sacredness. I suggest that isn't true for all cultures.
 
Enigma'07 said:
Have you ever heard the stories of the greek gods?! No logical person would ever consider them to be true.
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Actually they seem more probable than that jewish god to me.
 
Zeus was the youngest son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. When he was born, his father Cronus intended to swallow him as he had all of Zeus's siblings: Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Demeter and Hera. But Rhea hid the newborn in a cave on Mount Dicte in Crete. (To this day, the guides at the "cave of Zeus" use their flashlights to cast shadow puppets in the cave, creating images of baby Zeus from the myth.)

When he had grown up, Zeus caused Cronus to vomit up his sisters and brothers, and these gods joined him in fighting to wrest control of the universe from the Titans and Cronus, their king. Having vanquished his father and the other Titans, Zeus imprisoned most of them in the underworld of Tartarus.

http://www.mythweb.com/gods/Zeus.html
 
I know, I have studied Greek mythology, like many others. What's your point?
 
Ah well.. this is religion forum and I know the kind of people who dwell here..,
anyways: When you read myths, to understand them, you need to read them like poems, not prose. Learn to distinguish metaphors from a police report.
Now I shall ascent from this lowly thread to a heaven above.
 
Enigma'07: But a supposed matter of eternal life or death, shouldn't that be taken seriously? Why would they spend years building temples and monuments to gods that were just a joke?
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M*W: In the Gnostic Gospels, Jesus never taught about 'everlasting life' as Paul describes in the NT. Jesus taught about spiritual enlightenment and becoming 'fully human' which is explained as becoming both male and female or 'androgynous.'

But to answer your question, "...a supposed matter of eternal life or death, shouldn't that be taken seriously?" Well, as I said above, that is NOT what Jesus taught. That is what Paul taught. So the religions who base their doctrine on what Paul taught are not christian in the truest sense of the word. In fact, what Jesus taught was not even christian ideals. I am more comfortable calling Jesus's gnostic teachings "Yeshuan" as opposed to "Christian." Christian doctrine is NOT what Jesus taught, and if it's NOT what Jesus taught, then Pauline christianity must be antichristian.

Those religions who built the temples and monuments to their gods did it for their own selfish delusions. They built them to propagate their false faiths and to destroy all the religions that came before them -- the matriarchial societies, the sun worshippers, the pagans, the Jews, the gentiles, and the beliefs in all the other known deities. The builders of the temples and monuments dedicated their buildings for the sole purpose of destroying Satan and his demons. But while their mission to destroy Satan's influence on the Earth has continued for over 6,000 years, the ranks and files of the temples and monuments unleashed the monster from within. Now we watch the Evil One as it devours the minds of the innocents who believed in it blindly.
 
then why would Jesus make the following quote: no one comes to the father except by me.
 
Enigma'07: then why would Jesus make the following quote: no one comes to the father except by me.
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M*W: Jesus didn't make that comment, Paul wrote that Jesus said it, but Paul never heard Jesus say anything!
 
Enigma'07 said:
then why would Jesus make the following quote: no one comes to the father except by me.
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Perhaps it means, everyone that wants the same realization as me must follow a similar path, as opposed to being like the scribes following the letter of the law, but missing the whole point. It would be silly to talk about "by me" as opposed to "through me", or "like me", since it was written in a different language, and who knows what permutations this statement went through over the years.
 
Medicine Woman said:
Enigma'07: then why would Jesus make the following quote: no one comes to the father except by me.
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M*W: Jesus didn't make that comment, Paul wrote that Jesus said it, but Paul never heard Jesus say anything!
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Actually - It is in the Gospels that Jesus said that. Not Paul's Letters.
 
Silvertusk: Actually - It is in the Gospels that Jesus said that. Not Paul's Letters.
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M*W: It makes no difference where it was written. Jesus didn't say it. Paul's Epistles influenced the gospel writers who were merely puppets of Paul's invented religion.
 
spidergoat said:
that way, you could chose a personal deity that would suit you, rather than adapting to the one standardized God.
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it seems like everyone attributes their own features(or the features they would like to have) to god,which is why george bush thinks god wants him to fight but other people think god is against all war.god largely is a veil people hide their opinions behind.i mean if i think of a god i think of one with a sense of humour who is rational.i think if you asked people (christians,muslims whatever) to describe god in detail you wouldnt get two ideas the same.
 
kornrulz said:
I was just wondering, geez *glares at MedicineWoman*
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LOL

She wishes to ask question to contradict other questions....

I shall glare as well.

My 2 cents....
 
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