Religulous Trailer

[axlrosegnr]

Here is my problem with the ten commandments- why exactly are there 10?

You simply do not need ten. The list of ten commandments was artificially and deliberately inflated to get it up to ten. Here's what happened:

While I don't disagree at all with your conclusions about the commandments, I think you are mistaken here. Ten is arbitrarily important, and has only been universally so in more recent times than the Old Testament. We could have chosen any number to be the important 'base', and older civilizations did - for example the Mayans chose 20, the Romans arguably used 5, though the ancient Egyptians admittedly used 10. Ten is only written as 10 because at some point we (actually the Hindus) decided to do it that way - most likely because we have ten fingers but no one knows for sure.

If you read that/those parts of the bible, it's not even clear that there are ten commandments or which ones are the important ten. Different Christian denominations, and Judaism, divide them up differently. And there are actually 100s of commandments in all. In my opinion, what most likely happened is that later bible translators arbitrarily chose ten because by that time ten was an 'important' or 'official' sounding number.

But I think the meaning of how they can reduced is, they all kind of fall into the same category. Honesty.

Now to the movie and the original argument. I do happen to think all religion is a big ball of bullshit. Some people might call me agnostic, but even ANY label is bullshit. Now, don't get me wrong, if someone is religious, fine, cool, I'm not going to dislike or disrespect that person for their beleifs. Just lay of the BS when your around me. Chrisianity is the worst, especialy the Catholic version. I feel sorry for any child born into a Catholic family, hopefully when they get older they'll see the truth. All that religion does is teach you to be afraid. Don't do this, don't do that, don't listen to this, don't eat this food on this day and a million other things that are "sins"...........all pure fucking bullshit. Now I'm not talking about everyone who goes to church or anything like that. I'm talking about the brainwashed twats that actually, truly beleive the words in the bible.

Ok, lets say they're was a Jesus. His mom was Mary. She ain't no virgin, bitch got her cherry popped and had a kid out of wedlock, which, I remind you, is a sin of Catholics.

I could go on and on.

Look into your heart, find yourself, and you'll do just fine.

[TAP]

Here is my problem with the ten commandments- why exactly are there 10?

You simply do not need ten. The list of ten commandments was artificially and deliberately inflated to get it up to ten. Here's what happened:

While I don't disagree at all with your conclusions about the commandments, I think you are mistaken here. Ten is arbitrarily important, and has only been universally so in more recent times than the Old Testament. We could have chosen any number to be the important 'base', and older civilizations did - for example the Mayans chose 20, the Romans arguably used 5, though the ancient Egyptians admittedly used 10. Ten is only written as 10 because at some point we (actually the Hindus) decided to do it that way - most likely because we have ten fingers but no one knows for sure.

If you read that/those parts of the bible, it's not even clear that there are ten commandments or which ones are the important ten. Different Christian denominations, and Judaism, divide them up differently. And there are actually 100s of commandments in all. In my opinion, what most likely happened is that later bible translators arbitrarily chose ten because by that time ten was an 'important' or 'official' sounding number.

But I think the meaning of how they can reduced is, they all kind of fall into the same category. Honesty.

Now to the movie and the original argument. I do happen to think all religion is a big ball of bullshit. Some people might call me agnostic, but even ANY label is bullshit. Now, don't get me wrong, if someone is religious, fine, cool, I'm not going to dislike or disrespect that person for their beleifs. Just lay of the BS when your around me. Chrisianity is the worst, especialy the Catholic version. I feel sorry for any child born into a Catholic family, hopefully when they get older they'll see the truth. All that religion does is teach you to be afraid. Don't do this, don't do that, don't listen to this, don't eat this food on this day and a million other things that are "sins"...........all pure fucking bullshit. Now I'm not talking about everyone who goes to church or anything like that. I'm talking about the brainwashed twats that actually, truly beleive the words in the bible.

Ok, lets say they're was a Jesus. His mom was Mary. She ain't no virgin, bitch got her cherry popped and had a kid out of wedlock, which, I remind you, is a sin of Catholics.

I could go on and on.

Look into your heart, find yourself, and you'll do just fine.

I don't disagree with any of that, just think that the number 10 was being treated a little unfairly 

[Axl4Prez2004]

I'm not sure if this post belongs in this thread, so if it doesn't apply, I'm sorry. The following is a transcript of George Carlins thougths on the 10 comandments. While it's funny, it's also VERY true. Here goes:

Here is my problem with the ten commandments- why exactly are there 10?

You simply do not need ten. The list of ten commandments was artificially and deliberately inflated to get it up to ten. Here's what happened:

About 5,000 years ago a bunch of religious and political hustlers got together to try to figure out how to control people and keep them in line. They knew people were basically stupid and would believe anything they were told, so they announced that God had given them some commandments, up on a mountain, when no one was around.

Well let me ask you this- when they were making this shit up, why did they pick 10? Why not 9 or 11? I'll tell you why- because 10 sound official. Ten sounds important! Ten is the basis for the decimal system, it's a decade, it's a psychologically satisfying number (the top ten, the ten most wanted, the ten best dressed). So having ten commandments was really a marketing decision! It is clearly a bullshit list. It's a political document artificially inflated to sell better. I will now show you how you can reduce the number of commandments and come up with a list that's a little more workable and logical. I am going to use the Roman Catholic version because those were the ones I was taught as a little boy.

Let's start with the first three:

I AM THE LORD THY GOD THOU SHALT NOT HAVE STRANGE GODS BEFORE ME

THOU SHALT NOT TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD THY GOD IN VAIN

THOU SHALT KEEP HOLY THE SABBATH

Right off the bat the first three are pure bullshit. Sabbath day? Lord's name? strange gods? Spooky language! Designed to scare and control primitive people. In no way does superstitious nonsense like this apply to the lives of intelligent civilized humans in the 21st century. So now we're down to 7. Next:

HONOR THY FATHER AND MOTHER

Obedience, respect for authority. Just another name for controlling people. The truth is that obedience and respect shouldn't be automatic. They should be earned and based on the parent's performance. Some parents deserve respect, but most of them don't, period. You're down to six.

Now in the interest of logic, something religion is very uncomfortable with, we're going to jump around the list a little bit.

THOU SHALT NOT STEAL

THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS

Stealing and lying. Well actually, these two both prohibit the same kind of behavior- dishonesty. So you don't really need two you combine them and call the commandment "thou shalt not be dishonest". And suddenly you're down to 5.

And as long as we're combining I have two others that belong together:

THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTRY

THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOR'S WIFE

Once again, these two prohibit the same type of behavior. In this case it is marital infidelity. The difference is- coveting takes place in the mind. But I don't think you should outlaw fantasizing about someone else's wife because what is a guy gonna think about when he's waxing his carrot? But, marital infidelity is a good idea so we're gonna keep this one and call it "thou shalt not be unfaithful". And suddenly we're down to four.

But when you think about it, honesty and infidelity are really part of the same overall value so, in truth, you could combine the two honesty commandments with the two fidelity commandments and give them simpler language, positive language instead of negative language and call the whole thing "thou shalt always be honest and faithful" and we're down to 3.

THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOR"S GOODS

This one is just plain fuckin' stupid. Coveting your neighbor's goods is what keeps the economy going! Your neighbor gets a vibrator that plays "o come o ye faithful", and you want one too! Coveting creates jobs, so leave it alone. You throw out coveting and you're down to 2 now- the big honesty and fidelity commandment and the one we haven't talked about yet:

THOU SHALT NOT KILL

Murder. But when you think about it, religion has never really had a big problem with murder. More people have been killed in the name of god than for any other reason. All you have to do is look at Northern Ireland, Cashmire, the Inquisition, the Crusades, and the World Trade Center to see how seriously the religious folks take thou shalt not kill. The more devout they are, the more they see murder as being negotiable. It depends on who's doin the killin' and who's gettin' killed. So, with all of this in mind, I give you my revised list of the two commandments:

Thou shalt always be honest and faithful to the provider of thy nookie.

&

Thou shalt try real hard not to kill anyone, unless of course they pray to a different invisible man than you.

Two is all you need; Moses could have carried them down the hill in his fuckin' pocket. I wouldn't mind those folks in Alabama posting them on the courthouse wall, as long as they provided one additional commandment:

Thou shalt keep thy religion to thyself.

R.I.P. George!  Thanks for posting that!  Absolutely hilarious...how true. 

[Howard2k]

He was quoting Carlin

[Mama Kin]

Here is my problem with the ten commandments- why exactly are there 10?

You simply do not need ten. The list of ten commandments was artificially and deliberately inflated to get it up to ten. Here's what happened:

While I don't disagree at all with your conclusions about the commandments, I think you are mistaken here. Ten is arbitrarily important, and has only been universally so in more recent times than the Old Testament. We could have chosen any number to be the important 'base', and older civilizations did - for example the Mayans chose 20, the Romans arguably used 5, though the ancient Egyptians admittedly used 10. Ten is only written as 10 because at some point we (actually the Hindus) decided to do it that way - most likely because we have ten fingers but no one knows for sure.

If you read that/those parts of the bible, it's not even clear that there are ten commandments or which ones are the important ten. Different Christian denominations, and Judaism, divide them up differently. And there are actually 100s of commandments in all. In my opinion, what most likely happened is that later bible translators arbitrarily chose ten because by that time ten was an 'important' or 'official' sounding number.

What you said, or rather your basic summation, was actually in Carlin's piece itself  "Well let me ask you this- when they were making this shit up, why did they pick 10? Why not 9 or 11? I'll tell you why- because 10 sound official. Ten sounds important! Ten is the basis for the decimal system, it's a decade, it's a psychologically satisfying number (the top ten, the ten most wanted, the ten best dressed). So having ten commandments was really a marketing decision!"

[TAP]

Here is my problem with the ten commandments- why exactly are there 10?

You simply do not need ten. The list of ten commandments was artificially and deliberately inflated to get it up to ten. Here's what happened:

While I don't disagree at all with your conclusions about the commandments, I think you are mistaken here. Ten is arbitrarily important, and has only been universally so in more recent times than the Old Testament. We could have chosen any number to be the important 'base', and older civilizations did - for example the Mayans chose 20, the Romans arguably used 5, though the ancient Egyptians admittedly used 10. Ten is only written as 10 because at some point we (actually the Hindus) decided to do it that way - most likely because we have ten fingers but no one knows for sure.

If you read that/those parts of the bible, it's not even clear that there are ten commandments or which ones are the important ten. Different Christian denominations, and Judaism, divide them up differently. And there are actually 100s of commandments in all. In my opinion, what most likely happened is that later bible translators arbitrarily chose ten because by that time ten was an 'important' or 'official' sounding number.

What you said, or rather your basic summation, was actually in Carlin's piece itself  "Well let me ask you this- when they were making this shit up, why did they pick 10? Why not 9 or 11? I'll tell you why- because 10 sound official. Ten sounds important! Ten is the basis for the decimal system, it's a decade, it's a psychologically satisfying number (the top ten, the ten most wanted, the ten best dressed). So having ten commandments was really a marketing decision!"

Yeah I read that. My point is the leaders of illiterate sheepherding tribes in the desert 5000 years ago didn't have ten in mind when they wrote this stuff down to keep social order. The marketing decision came much later when the compilers of the bible decided that those local in time and space rules should apply globally and forever.

[fuckin crazy]

For the same reasons of Greek Mythology. I have been drinking heavily, and I might not be able to explain myself well, but I think it is readily apparent, to anyone with an open mind, that religion is bullshit.

I am thoroughly enjoying the inherent contradiction in that sentence.  It's a beaut!

There is no contradiction in my reply. If anyone can show me even slightest evidence of a God, I will "beleive". If someone came up to you on the street and told you about a magic sky fairy that grants wishes, you would probably think that person was deluded ... I know I would.

There are an estimated 30000000000000000 stars in the universe.

Actually, it is closer to 40 nonillion(4.0x10^40);That is a 4 with 40 zeros. There are more stars in the Universe than all the grains of sand on every beach, in every ocean, and in every desert on this planet ... which makes your point even more poignant.

[freedom78]

For the same reasons of Greek Mythology. I have been drinking heavily, and I might not be able to explain myself well, but I think it is readily apparent, to anyone with an open mind, that religion is bullshit.

I am thoroughly enjoying the inherent contradiction in that sentence.  It's a beaut!

There is no contradiction in my reply. If anyone can show me even slightest evidence of a God, I will "beleive". If someone came up to you on the street and told you about a magic sky fairy that grants wishes, you would probably think that person was deluded ... I know I would.

I just liked the presence of "open mind" and "religion is bullshit" in the same sentence. 

[TAP]

There are an estimated 30000000000000000 stars in the universe.

Actually, it is closer to 40 nonillion(4.0x10^40);That is a 4 with 40 zeros. There are more stars in the Universe than all the grains of sand on every beach, in every ocean, and in every desert on this planet ... which makes your point even more poignant.

So....I missed a few

[norway]

I don't think anyone would argue that many people perform good deeds because they are religious, or that some religions incorporate worthy philosophy. But neither of those things have anything to do with what makes something a religion in the first place.

No, this is a major part of all religions. The spiritual/supernatural parts is just a small novelty.
The thing is, people are selective and like to focus on those parts of religious practise when they make fun of them.

I know there is people that believes blindly in it, it's funny

The myths usually have the purpose of telling about values, morals and points.
Humans also have a BIG admiration of the mystical and scary and the myths delivers just that.

When you think about it, human behaviour are still based around the main charracteristics of ancient religious practise.

It's like telling children about Santa Claus or telling stories about kind children getting presents from Santa.
It has a clever message

Beside the entertaintment people get stuck up in, -
- all religions has a obvious message about ideology and philosophy. Just like stories. Nothing special

Today we have substitutes to religion like political groups, theathers, art etc, which is just as good I guess

[fuckin crazy]

I don't think anyone would argue that many people perform good deeds because they are religious, or that some religions incorporate worthy philosophy. But neither of those things have anything to do with what makes something a religion in the first place.

No, this is a major part of all religions.

It is a major part of human nature; it has nothing to do with religion.

[TAP]

I don't think anyone would argue that many people perform good deeds because they are religious, or that some religions incorporate worthy philosophy. But neither of those things have anything to do with what makes something a religion in the first place.

No, this is a major part of all religions.

It is a major part of human nature; it has nothing to do with religion.

Exactly. You can falsely attribute just about anything to religion, since religion has dominated history.

[Axl4Prez2004]

Dammit TAP, don't you understand?  We are all sinners by nature.  All that is good comes only through our Lord Jesus Christ and God above.  Repent now!!!   

[TAP]

Dammit TAP, don't you understand?  We are all sinners by nature.  All that is good comes only through our Lord Jesus Christ and God above.  Repent now!!!   

Sinning is awesome. I try to hit double figures every day, more at the weekend.

[TAP]

Is this legislating from the bench?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25423465/

FORT WORTH, Texas - The Texas Supreme Court on Friday threw out a jury award over injuries a 17-year-old girl suffered in an exorcism conducted by members of her old church, ruling that the case unconstitutionally entangled the court in religious matters.

In a 6-3 decision, the justices found that a lower court erred when it said the Pleasant Glade Assembly of God's First Amendment rights regarding freedom of religion did not prevent the church from being held liable for mental distress triggered by a "hyper-spiritualistic environment."

Laura Schubert testified in 2002 that she was cut and bruised and later experienced hallucinations after the church members' actions in 1996, when she was 17. Schubert said she was pinned to the floor for hours and received carpet burns during the exorcism, the Austin American-Statesman reported. She also said the incident led her to mutilate herself and attempt suicide. She eventually sought psychiatric help.

But the church's attorneys had told jurors that her psychological problems were caused by traumatic events she witnessed with her missionary parents in Africa. The church contended she "freaked out" about following her father's life as a missionary and was acting out to gain attention.

Abuse and false imprisonment?
The 2002 trial of the case never touched on the religious aspects, and a Tarrant County jury found the Colleyville church and its members liable for abusing and falsely imprisoning the girl. The jury awarded her $300,000, though the 2nd Court of Appeals in Fort Worth later reduced the verdict to $188,000.

Justice David Medina wrote that finding the church liable "would have an unconstitutional 'chilling effect' by compelling the church to abandon core principles of its religious beliefs."

But Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson, in a dissenting opinion, stated that the "sweeping immunity" is inconsistent with U.S. Supreme Court precedent and extends far beyond the Constitution's protections for religious conduct.

'Intentional abuse'

"The First Amendment guards religious liberty; it does not sanction intentional abuse in religion's name," Jefferson wrote.

After the 2002 verdict, Pleasant Glade merged with another congregation in Colleyville, a Fort Worth suburb.

A message left for the church's attorney Friday evening was not immediately returned, and calls to two numbers listed in Schubert's name went unanswered.

[fuckin crazy]

Pleasant Glade Assembly of God

In Appalachia, that is synonymous with snake handlers and strychnine drinkers

[norway]

I don't think anyone would argue that many people perform good deeds because they are religious, or that some religions incorporate worthy philosophy. But neither of those things have anything to do with what makes something a religion in the first place.

No, this is a major part of all religions.

It is a major part of human nature.

Well duh, but undoubtly human nature and nature is a part of many religions. Or should I say, the essence

It's quite intresting to read about

[The Dog]

Early Christians were plagiarists?   

Tablet Ignites Debate on Messiah and Resurrection
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/world/middleeast/06stone.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

By ETHAN BRONNER
Published: July 6, 2008

JERUSALEM ? A three-foot-tall tablet with 87 lines of Hebrew that scholars believe dates from the decades just before the birth of Jesus is causing a quiet stir in biblical and archaeological circles, especially because it may speak of a messiah who will rise from the dead after three days.

When David Jeselsohn bought an ancient tablet, above, he was unaware of its significance.

If such a messianic description really is there, it will contribute to a developing re-evaluation of both popular and scholarly views of Jesus, since it suggests that the story of his death and resurrection was not unique but part of a recognized Jewish tradition at the time.

The tablet, probably found near the Dead Sea in Jordan according to some scholars who have studied it, is a rare example of a stone with ink writings from that era ? in essence, a Dead Sea Scroll on stone.

It is written, not engraved, across two neat columns, similar to columns in a Torah. But the stone is broken, and some of the text is faded, meaning that much of what it says is open to debate.

Still, its authenticity has so far faced no challenge, so its role in helping to understand the roots of Christianity in the devastating political crisis faced by the Jews of the time seems likely to increase.

Daniel Boyarin, a professor of Talmudic culture at the University of California at Berkeley, said that the stone was part of a growing body of evidence suggesting that Jesus could be best understood through a close reading of the Jewish history of his day.

?Some Christians will find it shocking ? a challenge to the uniqueness of their theology ? while others will be comforted by the idea of it being a traditional part of Judaism,? Mr. Boyarin said.

[SLCPUNK]

Joseph Smith certainly was...among other things.

[norway]

Early Christians were plagiarists?   

I'm pretty sure, I even think the Bible were tailor-written to become popular in Europa.