Dogma biscuits

[serai]

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By way of dark_christian, here's an amusing way to spend your Saturday night:


Fundies Say The Damndest Things


Bizarre and outrageous quotes from the Jesus Whackateria.


*stares* The stupid...it's so sparkly. I can't look away!

Comments

[serai1.livejournal.com]

Well, Rome took place in the era just before Christianity, so it never touched on that subject at all. The Roman religion was very different from what we're used to, so the stuff in that series, while pretty accurate, doesn't discount the idea that they were religious. It's just that religion occupied a very different place for them. They didn't see religion as being a personal thing at all - it was a social contract between themselves as a people and their gods. That's why things like making the right sacrifices, dedicating actions and things to the gods, and such were considered civic duties, not personal obligations. Being a good Roman citizen automatically entailed honoring the gods. They had great respect for religion because they saw it as being the glue that held civilization together, and so they respected the religions of the peoples they ruled, so long as those religions did not interfere with the orderly running of the Empire.

Thus, the Hebrews who lived in the Empire were not impeded in any of their religious observances or beliefs. Their religion was an ancient one, and this was something the Romans understood and honored. So long as they paid their taxes and comported themselves in a seemly manner, they were free to follow their faith with no interference. It was the Jews in Palestine who were a problem, because some of them kicked hard against Roman rule. That's why the Romans began to crack down on them - not because of their faith, but because they defied the Empire.

The same went for the Christians when they eventually started spreading. The Romans were a very down-to-earth people. They expressed themselves in a very forthright, nuts-and-bolts kind of way. They weren't given to metaphor or high-flown mysticism, and preferred open, honest dealings. (I'm not talking about whackos like Caligula or Nero here, but the majority of Romans.) So when the Christians came along with their talk of abandoning family and country, of living "without male or female", of eating flesh and drinking blood, it completely upset and disgusted most upright Roman citizens. They were taken at their word, which is where the idea that Christians sacrificed babies and such came from. The Romans were simply believing what the Christians said about themselves!

But instead of realizing that they were being stubborn about using language that was getting them into trouble, they kept insisting on rebelling instead of getting along, and of course the Romans couldn't have that. But the myth of martyrdom has actually been WAY overblown over the centuries. The actual evidence shows that very few Christians were ever killed by the Romans, or even tortured in any way. Most of them gave in when asked to sacrifice to the gods, which only involved taking a pinch of incense and throwing it on the fire while saying a few words. That's really all the Romans wanted - a show of piety in order to honor their civic duty, to prove they had the interests of Rome at heart.

And yes, your friend's retort to that proselytizer was brilliant. I'll have to remember that one!

[samena.livejournal.com]

So the stories of the colisseum and the lions and everything are also a myth? I'm not being sarcastic here, just curious. You really know a lot about these things. And movies like Quo Vadis and Ben Hur are completely taking things out of proportion? Not to mention The Passion. How you must hate that movie. I think it's interesting, because, again, it's about Jesus, but the way those Romans are portrayed is VERY black & white. I've seen better depictions of the last days of Jesus' life.

Maybe it's because I've sort of had a Christian upbringing, with the schools I went to, but I'm interested in most of these stories about Biblical figures, like John the Baptist and King David, etc. But not from a religious viewpoint. Ancient history is interesting to me in any form.