Grateful Dead

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Whatever gets you through the night, it's alright. 2000 years after he walked this Earth, Jesus continues to give hope to the poor, the outcasts, and the broken-hearted. There was no T.V. or radio back in those days and I think if someone had come up to those historians you mentioned and said," hey theres a poor Jew and his followers wandering around and hanging out with sinners and it's claimed he does miracles and is the Messiah" they probably would have laughed and said "yeah, right, tell me another one". They also had plenty of chances to interview the apostles who were starting churches all over place and at least one even went before the King of the Romans but as far as I can tell they didn't. To them it was but foolishness. A few hundred years later the rich and powerful figured out this Jesus fellows teachings could be twisted to give them a reason to rape and pillage "in the name of God". That's been going on ever since. I happen to find the words attributed to Jesus to be the wisest and most comforting words ever written. Pretty good for a bunch of nobodies. Peace to you and Lord have mercy on a sinner like me.

but just wanted that to be said out loud, Badger. Where IS heathaafeathaa anyhow? She was fun to read! sugarcreek reads like she is from the Carribbean islands somehow.********************************** Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone, you will still exist, but you have ceased to live. Samuel Clemens

I actually enjoyed reading sugarcreek's post. She writes a little like the missed heathaafeathaa whose posts were such fun to read. If some gentle teasing is misinterpreted as mockery then of course I apologise!

Mocking sugarcreeks writing style!!!!! Hope she is not scared off now.********************************** Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone, you will still exist, but you have ceased to live. Samuel Clemens

"Matthew 2 describes Herod and all of Jerusalem as troubled by the worship of the infant Jesus. Herod then had all of the children of Bethlehem slain. If such extraordinary infanticides of this magnitude had occurred, why didn't anyone write about it? Jerusalem was the center of education and record keeping for the Jewish people. The Romans, of course, also kept many records. Moreover, the gospels mention scribes many times, not only as followers of Jesus but the scribes connected with the high priests. And as for historians, there lived plenty at the time who had the capacity and capability to record, not only insignificant gossip, but significant events, especially from a religious sect who drew so much popular attention through an allegedly famous and infamous Jesus. Take, for example, the works of Philo Judaeus who's birth occurred in 20 B.C.E. and died 50 C.E. He lived as the greatest Jewish-Hellenistic philosopher and historian of the time and lived in the area of Jerusalem during the alleged life of Jesus. He wrote detailed accounts of the Jewish events that occurred in the surrounding area. Yet not once, in all of his volumes of writings, do we read a single account of a Jesus "the Christ." Nor do we find any mention of Jesus in Seneca's (4? B.C.E. - 65 C.E.) writings, nor from the historian Pliny the Elder (23? - 79 C.E.). If, indeed, such a well known Jesus existed, as the gospels allege, does any reader here think it reasonable that, at the very least, the fame of Jesus would not have reached the ears of one of these men? Amazingly, we have not one Jewish, Greek, or Roman writer, even those who lived in the Middle East, much less anywhere else on the earth, who ever mention him during his supposed life time. This appears quite extraordinary, and you will find few Christian apologists who dare mention this embarrassing fact."

i com.pleetli a gree wiz yur elokwent kommend!:-)(-:

Read the following book: A short history of nearly everything by Bill Bryson. 570 pages (and another 100 pages of citations). This book will help one understand everything that happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization. After reading such books, then try to fit any of the organized religions into the equation. I was brought up a Catholic and after reading the Old Testament i realized that if there is such a God why is he then iso evil and why would i follow such nonsense. (the old testman is borrowed from Jewish texts and is full of Blood, Murder, Incest, etc) I can comment about the New Testament but i will conclude with saying that organized religion is our tradition and is an acceptable way to remember our cultures, but most of the time religious people tend to not realize this. I love Christmas and all the holidays and i even had my daughter baptized out of respect for my tradition. If we look at the facts and the evidence everyone would realize this and respect what is in front of our faces/our reality so to speak and not leave it all behind because after one dies he or she will hang in the clouds listening to an angle playing a harp. I’m in Sierra Leone and went to a place called Banana Island, long story short it is one of the largest ports used during the slave trade. If there was a god why would he allow a church (which is convently set with a perfect view of the loading docks)to bless the slave trade and oversee the slaves before they were shipped off like widgets to the Americas? If there was a god why would he allow "his chosen people" to almost be exterminated by the Nazis? I have at least 170+ questions like these. Why Why Why. The answer is that there is no fictitious being and we are responsible for our own actions here in this reality. If someone can prove me wrong please do. When i came to this realization i was scared and felt helpless, but came up with other more realistic ways to look at life and the ripple effect that i leave behind. The next time you look up at the Sun you should thank it as it is what truly gave us life and is the center of our existence. But the Christians that enslaved the Americas called the natives who worshiped the Sun Heathens, but the reality is that it is the other way around. Anyway I will shut up now and look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Oh give me a home where the buffalo roamWhere the deer and the antelope play Where seldom is heard, a discouraging word And the skies are not cloudy all day

i tink eye mite egree wiv u f i cd jes derstan sackly wut yu sez dere ;-)

Well said wolfsong, I too have been gratified to discover I am not the only Chrisitan Deadhead! My experience of the Grateful Dead helped solidify the idea that "its all church, man, if you take the time to see it, hear it, feel it". Thank you for your eloquence. Peace my brother.