Proof positive that ACTORS should ACT, not SPEAK PUBLICLY

[Calabrio]

The only thing that the book arguably implies is that Paganism, Goddess worship, and Christianity are much more closely related in time and history than most Christians and the church are willing to admit.

That statement is close enough to what I meant for me to call it agreement. With one condition, it's not just that the book implies that they are "related"- it also says that the Church has actively been attacking and killing people to surpress those forms of worship. Forms that, I would argue, Brown would consider superior to Christianity.

 

[fossten]

The only thing that the book arguably implies is that Paganism, Goddess worship, and Christianity are much more closely related in time and history than most Christians and the church are willing to admit.

To the extent that the book equates paganism with Catholicism, I tend to agree with it. However, one must realize that there is a closer relationship between those two belief sets than there is between Catholicism and fundamental Christianity.

Not only that, but there is some element of truth to the claims of the Catholic church attacking and killing to prevent the truth from coming out, but it is more accurately described as the Inquisition, where the truth that they squelched was the Protestant beliefs of the Bible which threatened to undermine the Catholic church.

 

[barry2952]

So is your comparison. You're equating the Word of God with a fictional book. Nice try, Ian McKellen.

You wouldn't know enough about the New Testament to cast proper stones at it, anyway. You know this because you've tried it, haven't you? And were put in your place...by me.

Everyone is still laughting about that one! You were the only one convinced by your rant.

 

[fossten]

Everyone is still laughting about that one! You were the only one convinced by your rant.

Yeah, they're laughing all right - at you, the only one on this site who didn't get the joke about the bears. :bowrofl:

 

[barry2952]

Let's ake a poll. Who still thinks that Fossten is an "Unconscious Christian"?

 

[raVeneyes]

That statement is close enough to what I meant for me to call it agreement. With one condition, it's not just that the book implies that they are "related"- it also says that the Church has actively been attacking and killing people to surpress those forms of worship. Forms that, I would argue, Brown would consider superior to Christianity.

Well, that's what I mean. It's a fine line, but your condition that the book implies that Dan Brown thinks Paganism and Goddess worship are "superior" is just plain wrong.

Brown through his main character attempts to make clear that he considers himself a Christian, but he doesn't agree with the church's very public and well known attempts to be the one true religion. If I were to make a supposition about Brown's beliefs from the book (having read it), I would say that he, like many Christians, believes in God and Jesus' divinity, but feels that other belief systems aren't "evil", just different.

The Christian church in all its forms, the most visible being the Catholic church, *has* in fact had an active campaign to quell other forms of worship in areas where Christianity is the majority/ruling religion. That, I hope, isn't in question because there are many clear examples of this throughout history.

 

[TheDude]

The only thing that the book arguably implies is that Paganism, Goddess worship, and Christianity are much more closely related in time and history than most Christians and the church are willing to admit.

That reminds me of a History Channel documentary that traces (in theory) the routes of Judaism, Christianity, Islam etc. back to Egyptian polytheism/monotheism. It was very well done and posed some very interesting questions and ideas. If you're interested, I'll try and find what the name of the episode is.

 

[Calabrio]

So, In your opinion it's OK for me to cast stones at the New Testament, even though I haven't read it?

Your excuse is lame.

I didn't give an excuse, I provided you with an answer to your question. You're response, however, is not only lame but thoughtless. I don't see how you can compare the DaVinci Code, a novel, to the New Testament, the old testament, or the Koran. Those are very different examples.

Besides, your statement can't be addressed until you say what you intend to cast stones about. I don't think you're excluded from any theological discussion simply because you haven't read a religious book cover to cover. However, it certainly does limit your ability to discuss it. Just as my disinterest in reading DaVinci limits what topics I can discuss as well.

 

[fossten]

Let's Fake a poll. Who still thinks that Fossten is an "Unconscious Christian"?

7 hours later...

Barry's inept name-calling falls to the ground as nobody responds, mainly b/c nobody understands what in the heck he's talking about. :bowrofl: