Pagans on arbtalk

[skyhuck]

Superstitious mumbo-jumbo, before science answered so many mysteries people had to come up with answers to why things happened.

 

How could every thing die in winter and yet come back to life in spring??

 

Why does that child look so much like their long dead grandparent??

 

Why do some people get sick, but not others??

 

Where does the sun go at night??

 

What are stars??

 

Etc,etc.

 

Surely we now have the knowledge to understand these things and reason on facts??

[corylus]

Surely we now have the knowledge to understand these things and reason on facts??

 

Thats just what all previous generations thought!

[pgkevet]

Religeons, like politics, start with good intentions and then become a way of elevating thier leadership or priests above the common man - an alternative model that can pull power from hereditary land-owing/kingship and impose itself on society.

 

Any such 'organisation' depends on the suffering and down-tredding of it's followers to keep them in line, limit their ability to see the flaws inherent in the organisation and suppress those who speak against it.

 

Whether you achieve that by brute force or by psychological tactics - from the wrath of a superior being, horrors in the afterlife or other brain-washing techniques is immaterial. It's the same thing.

 

It happens to be cheaper to use natural occurences to support ones imposed viewpoint - thunderstorms, floods, freezes and other phenomena than depend purely on tales and miracles and create them and it's good practice to bond your subjugates together in a workign unity.

 

Now whether that working unity is the building of a huge monument or a war again is academic...it's just that it'd easier to keep a 100year project going that new battles and battlefield casualties.

 

look again and the simple acts of Thatcher and the Falklands opportunity and the fervour with which goverments rush to host the Olympics. the latter costs about the same, has less downside risk on casualties and is closer to home so folk can 'see the results'. The only real problems there are that both modern acts don't engage enough of the populace.

 

By all means celebrate the facts of nature and it's seasons and interactions and accept it's beauty where you see it but don't go making up fairy tales and then believing them.

 

i get the local zealots recruiting drive round regularly - a car-load of women whose spokeswoman always starts with the same lines "Isn't this valley beautiful? Doesn't it make you realise there had to be a divine hand behind the design?"

 

To which i reply "If there was then it's the same guy who flooded New Orleans, Whose Tornadoes rip the heart out of the midwest, who burns the south of France and shakes Christchurch apart and drowned Boscastle and regularly starves Africa."

[corylus]

Funny how many faiths have festivals which mirror 'Earth' festivals.

[born2trot]

One thing for sure they knew how to have a good knees up.

Like any tribal system its based round singing , dancing , colour , fire and some other stuff , lets have some light heartedness in this thread as well .

[pgkevet]

One thing for sure they knew how to have a good knees up.

Like any tribal system its based round singing , dancing , colour , fire and some other stuff , lets have some light heartedness in this thread as well .

 

 

..just like the cup final: which also ends up with the odd sacrifice:biggrin:

[born2trot]

..just like the cup final: which also ends up with the odd sacrifice:biggrin:

 

:lol: Suppose your right , but it was other non christian stuff i was thinking about !!

[Fungus]

seriously been doing a bit of research into Pagan/Druid beliefs ... the dryads always new the truth!

 

Tony,

All christians have pagan roots, see this post.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Tony,

All christians have pagan roots, see this post.

 

 

I know, hence the "root" of all religions being the tree of life and or of knowledge:thumbup1:

[pgkevet]

:lol: Suppose your right , but it was other non christian stuff i was thinking about !!

 

World cup then..wherethe Octopus God foretells...