Religulous ~

grimsim1Why are there so many pagan symbols in Christian imagery and symbols?

Because christianity inherted much of its practices from paganism. Christ was born in March, not December. Why then, is christmas in December? Simply because most people at the time were pagan, and they celebrated Yule in December, it was easier for chrisitanity to piggy back off that so people wouldn't have to learn a new religious holiday. Altars were in use by pagans long before christianity, as were candles and incense (the latter is not as widely used in christianity now as it was in years past) Pagans do a lot of singing (it is a good way of focusing on what you are doing, can help you channel, and its just good for you) as well as chanting (again not so widely used in christianity as it used to be) Halloween is coming soon, children of all religions and cultures celebrate that; it is actually the pagan festival of the dead, where we honour those who came before us and are no longer walking the earth. We call it Samhain.

q_u_3_3_nmany symbols throughout history have been taken from the church and given a new meaning in another religion or cult. God "kills so many people" becasue he has a reason to. We are just humans, we dont know His reasons, but trust me, there are! if i was suffering from illness, i'd rather have God get rid of me, then live my whole life going through pain! but thats just what I believe.
As for Christians looking down on you beacuse of your clothes and interests etc, then these specific people are idiots and are not worthy of the name Christian. Christianity is not about thinking you are superior to others, but about humbling (is that a word?) yourself, not being too up yourself in other words and recognising that we are all human, we all have our faults and NO ONE is better than any one else. There are just a lot of idiots around these days who think they know it all. right now, i probably also sound like an idiot who thinks she knows it all so there's your proof! ;)

I agree with you about what Christianity should be about and I respect your view :) Its a nice change. But I was referring to those idiots and am glad you agree with me on that point. As for the symbols, they are well hidden but if you look closely at some of these you will see the obvious upside down crucifixes and such. But again I stress I respect other religions and get along great with people from other religions. It's just that select people that think they have it all figured out that bug me. :)

Let me guess, those persistent Christians trying their best to convert people from Africa away from their inherent religions are Christian missionaries? Some of those are from The 700 Club. Go watch South Park "Starvin' Marvin:" & "Starvin' Marvin in Space" ;D

Replying to #83

I have seen that episode :) but no, unfortunately they are everyday people like you and me that base their lives on God and Jesus and talk about nothing else and try to lead a "perfect" life even though they themselves are so fucked up.

grimsim1 · #82I agree with you about what Christianity should be about and I respect your view :) Its a nice change. But I was referring to those idiots and am glad you agree with me on that point. As for the symbols, they are well hidden but if you look closely at some of these you will see the obvious upside down crucifixes and such. But again I stress I respect other religions and get along great with people from other religions. It's just that select people that think they have it all figured out that bug me. :)

Perhaps pagan was a wrong choice of words. I see some pretty satanic symbols in those and have watched many documentaries on this, some really interesting stuff. You should look into it if you haven't done so yet. One of my better friends is a pagan. She celebrates all these things. Forgive my ignorance but is Pagan the same as Wicca?

Wicca is a branch of paganism. just like cathlicism and orthordox are branches of christianity. Paganism has far more branches than any other religion though.

Cahos Rahne Veloza · #83Let me guess, those persistent Christians trying their best to convert people from Africa away from their inherent religions are Christian missionaries? Some of those are from The 700 Club. Go watch South Park "Starvin' Marvin:" & "Starvin' Marvin in Space" ;D

By the way Cahos I am not African. I am actually European living in Africa. I am originally Orthodox Christian but not anymore.

I was born into a Christian family, my mother was Protestant and my father was Catholic. I believed in God for about as long as I believed in Santa. The reason was I read the Bible when I was seven, cover to cover. And when I asked the representitives of the churches in my area, they could not explain the inconsistencies to me in a satisfactory manner. If the bible is truly the center of Christianity, then christanity is a poor religion as it is built on very shaky foundations. Judaeism (I hope that's spelt right), by contrast has merit, I don't believe they are entirely correct in their belief that their God is best, but that's obviously going to be their view. At least they're honest about the way God works.It seems to me that since any modern religion ( from Christianity on ), causes and encourages more problems than it solves. Therefore I'd have to agree with loonylion, religion has no place in modern society.Also, metioned earlier in the debate, respect for religion. I cannnot summon up respect for any religion which tries to force its teachings on others, or which teaches that followers of said religion have a higher importance in this life. Whatever about those followers having more importance in the next life, that's fine, but noone should be treated differently because of their beliefs. And noone should have the arrogance to declare their religion as the only correct one, or the best one especially any of the branches of Christianity. Isn't it written in the bible that you should strive to be humble, to worship in silence is better than worshipping where all can see you?

Replying to #87

And espescially Muslims, they shout F*ing loud, they are in everybody's face and force their teachings on others.No Religion is Best, Religious people annoy me to such an extent that I punched one before for being a stubborn git.
I really wish Religious people would shut the hell up and be quiet about it...

wooooooooooooo
cmon atheist yeaaaaah!!!
Religion is stupid.
The bible and other religious documents are just guidlines in the sense that
it can help you do something a different way.
but seriously its justa way to control you.
The muslims are bad for the honour kill.
The christians are closeminded, and ignorant to our scientific theories.
God didnt create the world.

I'm not an atheist, I'm an agnostic. Religions may not deserve respect, but they don't necessarily deserve scorn either.

yeah bill maher is agnostic, and this movie was not to criticize religion but to question it and the faith of its followers which is why i dont think its propaganda. even religious people found humor in it and thought it didn't attack religion which is very easy to do but to make a humorous movie that really questions or puts out to other people to question the status quo on religion is much harder to do and i really respect bill maher for doing that instead of an out right attack on religion which he could have done but chose not to.i'm also after much debate decided to settle on being agnostic, i think to feel without a doubt that their is or is not a god is way too presumptuous on our parts. its a mystery and we should admit that we dont always know everything. i'll admit though the bible and all that religious text that people seem to follow without thought or reason is a little naive if not stupid. but the idea of god that is something i feel no one can know for sure until their time comes and they find out and well we will never get an account of that cause that person wont be able to come back and testify to us so agnostic it is, wheee :)

My slant after watching the documentary again is that its in no way talking about religion. It seems to be more a political than religious debate. In the sense that why can't people just be people and religious fundamentalism is just ridiculous. Anyways, why don't we all just agree to mock those scientologists? Their cult is the funniest thing I've ever heard.

I've heard of even weirder cults.

It's not a religious thing but when i die i want a funeral zoroastrean style.

Loonylion · #93I've heard of even weirder cults.

Like Christianity.

christianity doesnt really fit the definition of a cult. I was thinking more of the church of maradona.

The football player? haha.

Replying to #97

yes the football player.

Just wikied it thought you were kidding, WTF! D10S WTF!(BTW i thought this was a refernce to a 10 sided die haha!).
Anyways kaballah theres another funny cult.

Loonylion · #96christianity doesnt really fit the definition of a cult. I was thinking more of the church of maradona.

When a cult gains a large following we call it a religion.