Tag Archive: Jesus Christ


THERE IS NO GOD – ONLY FAITH

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April 13, 2013

THE GOD WHO WASN’T THERE directed by Brian Flemming (USA, 2005)

There is no solid evidence that God exists. Christian belief is based solely on faith and hope.

If you disagree with either these statements and say ‘What about the Bible’? then maybe you should watch this documentary.

Brian Flemming is a one time religious fundamentalist whose special relationship with Jesus came to an end when he began to see that so many of the ‘facts’ he was taught  came to seem more and more implausible.

Why should we place so much faith in the Gospels when these accounts were written 40 years after Christ’s death? Why do none of the wrtings shed any light of Jesus’ missing tears between 18 and 30?

We hear a lot about JC’s miraculous birth and how he was regarded as a child prodigy but from late adolescence and early adulthood we know next to nothing. Continue reading →

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ORDET: THE WORD OF A PROPHET OR LUNATIC?

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November 16, 2012

ORDET directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer (Denmark, 1955)

It gets harder and harder to keep an open mind about arts and culture but I can honestly say that I approached this movie with no preconceptions.(If you plan to see it in the same state of blissful ignorance, look away now as this post contains spoilers!)

The only thing I knew about it was that it had been placed 24th  in the BFI/Sight & Sound list of greatest films ever made. Regular readers of this blog (if such beings exist!) will know by now that I have set myself a goal of seeing all of the top 50 films on this list (I still have 14 to go!)

While I marvelled at  Dreyer’s Jeanne D’Arcy, I can’t say I was as thrilled by the Dane’s Ordet, a title which translates as ‘The Word’ as in ‘the word of God’. Continue reading →

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JESUS CHRIST – MAN OR MESSIAH?

Filed under: Atheism, Books, Fiction — 2 Comments
August 24, 2011

The Good Man Jesus And The Scoundrel Christ by Philip Pullman

Philip Pullman hopes that his brief retelling of the life of Jesus Christ will encourage people to read, or re-read, the bible. It is not that he is interested in persuading sceptics to believe; more that he wants people to recognise the story’s power while also noting the inconsistencies and implausibility of many of the events documented.

How, for example could the scribes have known what happened in the wilderness. since the supposed son of God was alone at the time and as Pullman observes in the afterword: “Jesus does not tell stories about himself”.

In this short book, part of the Canongate ‘Myths’ series, Pullman imagines Jesus and Christ as two separate beings – “the man Jesus whom the Gospels talked about , and ……Christ, the Messiah, who featured more prominently in the Epistles”.

His point here is not to satirize or attack the biblical story but to speculate on how the original story came to be recorded. He shows how the ‘miracles’ were more likely to be the result of creative embellishment on the part of the writers  than accurate accounts of the actual events.

Continue reading →
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THE GREATEST BULLSHIT STORY EVER TOLD

Filed under: Atheism, Fiction, Politics — 3 Comments
January 1, 2010

In the name of reason and justice, Atheist Ireland’s  campaign against a proposed new law to make a new crime of blasphemy deserves all the support it can muster. To challenge the proposed legislation they have published a list of 25 quotations on their website any one of which could make them liable  to a fine of up to 25,000 euros (£22,000; $35,000) if this ridiculous law is passed.

This is my personal favourite by comedian George Carlin :

“Religion easily has the greatest bullshit story ever told. Think about it. Religion has actually convinced people that there’s an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever ’til the end of time! But He loves you. He loves you, and He needs money! He always needs money! He’s all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow just can’t handle money! Religion takes in billions of dollars, they pay no taxes, and they always need a little more. Now, talk about a good bullshit story. Holy Shit!”

 

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