Article on Origins of Xristianity I Wrote REALLY UPSET Local Christians

by Seeker4 42 Replies latest jw friends

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  Seeker4

  I had an assignment to write a bunch of holiday articles that would be shared by all the various papers owned by the guy who owns the paper I'm the editor of. After I'd had enough with the usual holiday stuff, I decided to get a little adventerous and expanded one in the series to include, not just the origins of Christmas foods, but also some ideas I've been reading and watching about the origins of the Chrisitain religion itself.

  This is a link to the article, which ran a few weeks ago:

  http://www.messagefortheweek.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=20&ArticleID=849

  WELL... two of the papers at least have gotten angry and even semi-threatening letters about it (I'll run a link to one of the letters below), and today a local minister called my paper on some business he had, then asked to speak to me. He just went apeshit on me on how offended he was that anyone would suggest a pagan influence on Christianity. I tried to remain really calm, and I simply asked him to check out the references I used for my article. I told him I listed the references in my response to a letter that ran in today's issue of my paper, and he was welcome to go their

  He would have none of it. Just kept calling me, the writers I referenced, and the ideas I'd brought up "stupid" and several similar disparaging names. Eventually, after I'd had all the insults I felt I could handle for the day, I told him I'd heard enough insults and I hung up. He then proceeded to call the paper's manager, who, I'm happy to say, defended my freedom to write what I wanted. This minister then got the publisher's phone number and proceeded to call him.

  I've seen how emotional this issue is in discussions on this board, but I have to say that the level of anger it creates when someone questions fundamentalist beliefs is more than a little scary. I can understand why people like Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins keep their locations under wraps!

  S4
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  Bodhisattva1320

  So considering that there may be nothing but pagan origins to religion in general, back to the foods of Christmas!

  i L O V E your article!! Well done!

  It's the information age- they cant hide it much longer!!!!!!! man it is sure going to piss some good ole folks off isn't it. Well i say GOOD, they should be pissed off- they have been manipulated for generations. Now if only they could focus the anger towards finding their own truths....
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  Wild_Thing

  I have seen that documentary you mentioned, The God Who Wasn't There. It's very good! A little boring in parts, but still very interesting!
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  johnny cip

  No question you could get a writing job at the wts. if you sent that to bklyn they may print it next Xmas. sounds like something the wt would peddle this time of year to piss ppl off. john
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  BabaYaga

  Methinks he doth protest too much... is he fighting you because he is afraid to believe it? Seems to me a man truly following in the ways of Christ would just let it all come out in the wash... and keep his aggression to himself.
  
  Cool article, Seek!
  
  Baba.
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  Satanus

  That's prescious. Early church writings have stories about christians being in total command of demonised people. They could tell them to hop, lie down, roll over, or whatever, and they would do it, all in the name of jesus, of course. Their power seems to have dwindled since then.

  S
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  Seeker4

  Below is a letter I got about the article. It originally came to us as an e-mail in ALL caps! The guy re-did it so we could run it in today's paper, along with my response with the sources for my article research:

  Editor, The Message,
  I have never written to any newspaper in the letter section.
  I often love to read letters sent in by my neighbors near and far.
  Some letters are thank you letters. Some are political.
  Some make announcements. Some offer criticism of local leaders, of government and schools.
  However, this letter is not about anything so easy as advice or criticism.
  Today I am writing to let you know just how offended I am about the references as to the origins of Christianity as being in the same kind of writing as in a Greek myth (“Origins of Christianity & Christmas Foods” Dec. 13-19 Message).
  Jesus was born, lived, and died on a cross. This is not a myth, but is an historical fact.
  As you well know, believers will tell you Jesus died for the sins of man. To reconcile man to our God. Complete forgiveness. Total. Forever. No take backs on the promise. A once and for all done deal.
  I dare you! No, double dare you to write such a piece about Islam in the Middle East or Europe. Call the origins of Mohammad a Greek myth and tomorrow some fanatic will be more than happy to kill you and your family. Also all your known relatives.
  Do you think that Christians are such easy prey. Because we won't kill you for your blasphemy, you have license to write such blatant lies about our faith? Or our faiths origins.
  I think not.
  Your paper owes me and every other Christian reader a front page apology for your arrogant disregard for our faith in God’s son Jesus. Especially at the time we celebrate his birth.
  As to the rest of your article on Santa,the tree or any other part of commercial Christmas I do not take issue.
  However, since I am pretty sure you will not apologize, I need to tell you one more thing.
  Us ignorant, gentle, nonmurdering pagan Greek mythology Christians will, because of Jesus, forgive you anyway.
  
  BMS,
  Springfield
  Editor’s Note:
  I at one time shared Mr. S’s beliefs about the origins of Christianity. In fact, it is one of the main points of the documentary film, The God Who Wasn’t There, which I referenced in the article he is concerned with, that most contemporary Christians have almost no knowledge of what scholars have discovered about the historical origins of the religion. That was my own situation until I researched that field.
  My article was simply intended to present some of the leading, and admittedly controversial, findings of historians and scholars regarding the origin of Christmas customs, foods and Christianity itself.
  For anyone interested in the research I did for the article, I’d recommend the above-mentioned film; Elaine Pagels’ The Gnostic Gospels, a study by a leading scholar of 52 early Christian writings known as the Nag Hammadi Library; Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong’s Liberating the Gospels; Earl Doherty’s The Jesus Question; Kenneth C. Davis’ recent bestseller Don't Know Much About the Bible: Everything You Need to Know About the Good Book but Never Learned, a discussion of the lastest Biblical research written for the general public; and, to show that this scholarship has been around for some time, I’d recommend the third volume of Will Durant’s highly regarded, The Story of Civilization, published in 1944.
  
  Seeker4, Editor
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  lonelysheep

  Us ignorant, gentle, nonmurdering pagan Greek mythology Christians will, because of Jesus, forgive you anyway.

  As if you needed or wanted forgiveness from him! Lol! Pompous ass.

  Great article and reply to his letter.
  
  
  

  This is not a myth, but is an historical fact.

  No proof to back up the 'fact', because it is a belief. I have respect for people who hold beliefs rather than state that their beliefs ARE facts. With the Muslim reference he wrote, it seems as if he's "more than happy to kill you and your family", too! Real nice
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  Mulan

  Good job, Seeker.

  I have that documentary DVD sitting in my living room right now. My brother loaned it to me on Christmas day. He has been on a campaign to make me an athiest for years. He just may be succeeding too. I certainly am questioning it for sure.

  As for Jesus............maybe he existed, maybe he didn't. So what? If he did exist, he was just a really good philosopher, and some men decided to make his teachings a religion, sort of like L. Ron Hubbard's people did with his thoughts.

  I enjoyed your article. The minister is an ass.
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  Green Chille

  Isn't Dawkins the one that is angry and the reason behind his book "The God Delusion" Hasn't Dawkins hunted down the priest and pastors of christdom and even Rabis because he's angry with what they preach? So why are you surprised that a pastor would be angry with what you wrote?