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Any atheists on here who love learning about religion?

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TallyMan
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05 Dec 2012, 3:39 pm

GGPViper wrote:
I wanted to read up on Hinduism as well, but AFAIK this religion does not have a central text, so I have a hard time deciding what to focus on.


Yes, Hinduism has many different aspects. In some ways you can think of it as a whole range of religions with a common theme. (Technically speaking I'm a Hindu myself). You might try reading the Bhagavad Gita. It is relatively easy going, not too long - I sometimes used to read it cover to cover in a few hours when I was a monk. It will give you a good insight into the Hindu mind and philosophy.


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05 Dec 2012, 7:17 pm

I'm not an athiest but I love learning how other religions operate and what they believe in. I like to see the mechanics of a religion, how each direct their followers. Last night I was reading about the battle of Badr and how Muhammed came about, who was he, and what was happening just before he found Islam....you put some of these religious figures into historical context and it's so fascinating....


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Krabo
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06 Dec 2012, 1:11 am

mv wrote:
Uh, no. Not for my first 45 years, at least, and it doesn't look like it's going to change any time soon, which I'm fine with.

Again, I find it interesting from a social perspective and for its influence on human nature, but I don't really want to be in that number. It's like wondering what it's like to have blue eyes (mine are brown).

I also think it's interesting to study genocide, but I don't expect to pick up a machete any time soon.


Oh, all right. After all, this thread was for atheists to reply but somehow I got the impression that you wouldn't be one. (Either you are or you aren't.) My own interest in religion (Biblical exegesis in particular) might even be similar to yours, perhaps from a more religious point of view. Of course I grant the enormous importance of this social perspective of religion, but I also want to believe that it is not all there is. There is something behind the sacred texts.



slave
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06 Dec 2012, 8:12 pm

I find people's imaginary friends make for interesting reading, like Thor, Zeus, Jesus, Siva, Kali, etc... :roll:
I am astonished that people don't realize that it is fiction.



AJ89
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06 Dec 2012, 8:17 pm

Jesus did exist. He is not imaginary but he was certainly not divine or the son of god.



ruveyn
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06 Dec 2012, 8:32 pm

AJ89 wrote:
Jesus did exist. He is not imaginary but he was certainly not divine or the son of god.


Which Jesus. Y'shuah is a very common Hebrew name.

ruveyn



AJ89
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06 Dec 2012, 8:37 pm

Jesus Christ of the Bible. I've read books arguing for and against his existence and know that he did exist as a historical person but was not divine. Besides, the books I've read that argued for his existence were not written by Christians.



thomas81
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06 Dec 2012, 8:45 pm

I have a GCSE in religious education.



NAKnight
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06 Dec 2012, 9:09 pm

AJ89 wrote:
Jesus Christ of the Bible. I've read books arguing for and against his existence and know that he did exist as a historical person but was not divine. Besides, the books I've read that argued for his existence were not written by Christians.


I think you are referring to Jesus of Nazareth.

I think the general view on Jesus of Nazareth is he was a good moral teacher like Muhammad, etc.. He was a good man like everyone else although people thought his morals were bad.

Best Regards,

Jake


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07 Dec 2012, 4:11 pm

[quote="AJ89"]Jesus did exist. He is not imaginary but he was certainly not divine or the son of god.[/qu

I challenge you to prove that he existed.



AJ89
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07 Dec 2012, 6:21 pm

Here is an article that lists the historical evidence for Jesus of Nazareth:

http://beginningandend.com/jesus-exist- ... us-christ/


Now, there is no way to prove he wasn't divine but there is no reason to believe he is divine because the Bible contains contradictions, despite being the perfect word of God, and archaeological evidence uncovered about the Israelites contradicts the accounts of what the Israelites supposedly did in the Bible. i.e. there was a mass exodus of Israelites from Egypt but archaeological evidence suggests that it was a tiny group of Canaanites that left Egypt.



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07 Dec 2012, 7:02 pm

thomas81 wrote:
I have a GCSE in religious education.


I have an A* in it, lol.

You learn more doing your own research.



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10 Dec 2012, 5:45 pm

AJ89 wrote:
Here is an article that lists the historical evidence for Jesus of Nazareth:

http://beginningandend.com/jesus-exist- ... us-christ/


Now, there is no way to prove he wasn't divine but there is no reason to believe he is divine because the Bible contains contradictions, despite being the perfect word of God, and archaeological evidence uncovered about the Israelites contradicts the accounts of what the Israelites supposedly did in the Bible. i.e. there was a mass exodus of Israelites from Egypt but archaeological evidence suggests that it was a tiny group of Canaanites that left Egypt.


http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-god-who-wasnt-there/
http://www.exminister.org/Barker-debunk ... Jesus.html



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10 Dec 2012, 6:07 pm

I'm Pagan-Atheist (negative atheism) and religion was a HUGE "special interest" of mine for about 10 years. I have an A2 level in both religious studies and philosophy, I was going to go to university to get a degree and then onto a doctrine...but my interest dropped and as with so many other past "special interests" I now can't remember anything that I learned. I still find religion fascinating.


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10 Dec 2012, 6:39 pm

I prefer the term Environmentalist rather than Pagan.



AJ89
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10 Dec 2012, 7:20 pm

"The God Who Wasn’t There"

Jesus Christ was not based off of earlier pagan savior figures. Many of them came after Jesus and for those that came before Jesus, not one of them was even remotely similar to Jesus. For example, Horus. Horus has little in common with Jesus. He was not crucified, he wasn't born of a virgin nor did he have 12 disciples.

http://pleaseconvinceme.com/2012/is-jes ... orus-myth/
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/rea ... -god-horus

"Debunking the Historical Jesus"

Christians would not have interpolated anything into Josephus's writings as he is was a Jew and the early Christians were not reported to have even use him as a source to prove the existence of Jesus. Paul would not have gone into detail about Jesus Christ in his letters because he assumed those reading his letters would already know about Jesus Christ and the Gospels.

http://bede.org.uk/jesusmyth.htm