30.7.11

Jesus Police Website - Mission statement

The mission of this website is to correct all the mis-information concerning the Life and Times of Jesus. This website seeks to collect the most accurate information we can about important issues related to Jesus. This is not a faith based website and nothing on this website is intended to prove or disprove whether or not Jesus is God or the Son of God.

Needless to say, very little about the life of Jesus can be said with complete confidence. The common errors listed on this website are areas in which there is a very substantial amount of historical evidence to support the conclusions.

MOST COMMON ERRORS

His Name Was Jesus Christ

Born on December 25th

Born in Bethlehem

Lived in Nazareth

Joseph was a Carpenter

Jesus was a Carpenter

Mary Was a Virgin

Jesus Was An Only Child

Jesus' Ministry was Only 1 to 3 Years

Jesus Had a Small Following

Jesus' Family Was Not Supportive

Jesus' Family Was Poor

Jesus Had Long Hair and a Beard

Jesus Wasn't Married

Jesus Was Nailed to the Cross

Jesus Was Severely Beaten

Jesus Died in 30 A.D.

Jesus Was About 30 Years Old When He Died

The Gospels Were Written in the 1st Century

You Suggest a Topic

Mary of Magdala

The Empty Tomb

The Star of Bethlehem

The Magi Visit Jesus

Prince of Peace

Statement of beliefs of the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance (OCRT)

Extract:

The importance of faith/belief statements:

We feel that every denomination, para-church organization, religious group, and religious web site should consider creating a statement of belief or faith and displaying it prominently. This is particularly important among Christian groups who may use the term "Christian" to refer to only the Roman Catholic Church, or only to Evangelical Protestantism, or to the full range of Christian denominations and beliefs, or to some other subset of the religion. Quite often, when we visit a Christian web site for the first time, we have to search around among its articles to find out exactly what Christian belief system they follow and promote on their web site.

That said, the following is our attempt at a statement of belief. Please be sure to read the footnotes at the bottom of the essay because they include some important qualifications and exceptions.

OCRT Statement of Belief:

Church selection of December 25 for Christmas Day

The actual birthday of Jesus was forgotten by the early Christian movement. in those days, various groups celebrated his birth on JAN-6, APR-21 and MAY-1. By the 4th century, the church selected the approximate time of the winter solstice as the date to recognize Jesus' birth. They picked up this date from Pagan sources. As luck would have it, the autumn equinox might have been a more accurate choice.

The winter solstice occurs about DEC-21 each year. It is the day of the year when the night is longest and the daytime shortest. Using the crude instruments available, ancient astronomers were able to detect by DEC-25 of each year that the daytime had become noticeably longer. This date was chosen, and remains, the traditional date for followers of many different Pagan religions to celebrate the rebirth of the sun. Following the solstice, each succeeding day has slightly more sunlight than the previous day. It was seen as a promise that warmth would return once more to the earth.

Numerous pre-Christian Pagan religions honored their gods' birth or rebirth on or about that day. Their deities were typically called: Son of Man, Light of the World, Sun of Righteousness, Bridegroom, and Savior. Some examples are:

Life-death-rebirth deity
The Return of Persephone by Frederic Leighton (1891).
Description	A life-death-rebirth or dying-and-rising god is born, suffers a death-like experience, passes through the underworld, and is subsequently reborn.
Proponents	James Frazer, Jane Ellen Harrison, Carl Jung
Key texts	The Golden Bough
Subject	Mythology

A dying god,^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] also known as a dying-and-rising or resurrection deity, is a god who dies and is resurrected or reborn, in either a literal or symbolic sense. Male examples include the ancient Near Eastern and Greek deities Baal^[5] , Melqart^[6] , Adonis^[7] , Eshmun^[8], Tammuz, ^[9] Asclepius, Orpheus, as well as Krishna, Ra, Osiris^[10], Jesus, Zalmoxis, Dionysus,^[11] and Odin. Female examples are Inanna, also known as Ishtar, whose cult dates to 4000 BCE, and Persephone, the central figure of the Eleusinian Mysteries, whose cult may date to 1700 BCE as the unnamed goddess worshiped in Crete.^[12]

[edit] History of the concept

Mr. Deity and the Magic, Part Deux

Mr. Deity thinks he's finally proved the existence of other magical beings.

11.7.11

Disbelief in "all gods" - explained (video)

Uploaded by QualiaSoup on Oct 17, 2010

Explaining the concept, refuting common objections and giving a number of reasons that atheists are sometimes 'fervent'.

Video Library - Award-winning comedian, Pat Condell

Pat Condell

You Tube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/patcondell
Welcome to Pat Condell's Godless Comedy

An illiberal consensus

86,020 views
6 days ago

" ... we look at God from many different angles"

Watch the video

Executive Summary

How do we know, for sure, that God does not answer prayers? As described in section 1, we simply pray and watch what happens. What we find is that nothing happens. No matter how many people pray, no matter how often they pray, no matter how sincerely they pray, no matter how worthy the prayer, nothing ever happens. If we pray for anything that is impossible -- for example, regenerating an amputated limb or moving Mt. Everest to Newark, NJ -- it never happens. We all know that. If we pray for anything that is possible, the results of the prayer will unfold in exact accord with the normal laws of probability.

In every situation where we statistically analyze the effects of prayers, looking at both the success AND the failure of prayer, we find that prayer has zero effect.

Secular theology - Wikipedia

Secular theology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The field of secular theology, a subfield of liberal theology advocated by Anglican bishop John A. T. Robinson somewhat paradoxically combines secularism and theology. Recognized in the 1960s, it was influenced both by neo-orthodoxy, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Harvey Cox, and the existentialism of Søren Kierkegaard and Paul Tillich. Secular theology digested modern movements like the Death of God Theology propagated by Thomas J. J. Altizer or the philosophical existentialism of Paul Tillich and eased the introduction of such ideas into the theological mainstream and made constructive evaluations, as well as contributions, to them.^[1]

John Shelby Spong advocates a nuanced approach to scripture (as opposed to blunt Biblical literalism at the other end of the scale), informed by scholarship and compassion, which he argues can be consistent with both Christian tradition and a contemporary understanding of the universe. Secular theology holds that theism has lost credibility as a valid conception of God's nature.^[2] It rejects the concept of a personal God and embraces the status of Jesus Christ, Christology and Christian eschatology as Christian mythology without basis in historical events.^[3]^[4]

Leading non-theists - You Tube Library

Leading non-theists - You Tube Library

Christopher Hitchens
http://www.youtube.com/view...

Sam Harris
http://www.youtube.com/view...

Richard Dawkins
http://www.youtube.com/view...

Daniel Dennett
http://www.youtube.com/view...

Neil Tyson
http://www.youtube.com/view...

James Randi
http://www.youtube.com/view...

Michael Shermer
http://www.youtube.com/view...

Ayaan Hersi Ali
http://www.youtube.com/view...

Wafa Sultan
http://www.youtube.com/view...

John Robinson (Bishop of Woolwich) - Wikipedia

This article is about the Anglican bishop. For other people named John Robinson who have also served as bishops, see Bishop John Robinson

John Arthur Thomas Robinson (1919 in Canterbury, England – December 5, 1983 at Cambridge) was a New Testament scholar, author and a former Anglican Bishop of Woolwich,^[1] England. He was a lecturer at Trinity College, Cambridge, and later Dean of Trinity College^[2] until his death in 1983 from cancer.^[3]

Robinson was considered a major force in shaping liberal Christian theology. Along with Harvard theologian Harvey Cox, he spearheaded the field of secular theology and, like William Barclay, he was a believer in universal salvation.^[4]

His book Honest to God caused controversy, as it called on Christians to view of God as the "Ground of Being" rather than as a supernatural being "out there". In his later books, he championed early dates and apostolic authorship for the gospels, largely without success.^[5]

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Paul Tillich

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Paul Tillich

Region	Western philosophy
Born	August 20, 1886 Starzeddel, Germany
Died	October 22, 1965 (aged 79) New Harmony, Indiana
Occupation	Theologian
Language	English, German
Period	20th-century philosophy
Tradition or movement	Christian existentialism
Main interests	Ontology, Ground of Being
Notable ideas	God above God, New Being
Notable works	The Courage to Be (1952), Systematic Theology, 1951–63
Influences	Origen, René Descartes, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Friedrich Schleiermacher, Søren Kierkegaard, Martin Heidegger
Influenced	Rollo May, Thomas J. J. Altizer, Martin Luther King, Robert Cummings Neville, Ernest Becker, John Shelby Spong

Paul Johannes Tillich (August 20, 1886 – October 22, 1965) was a German-American theologian and Christian existentialist philosopher. Tillich was one of the most influential Protestant theologians of the 20th century.^[1] Among the general populace, he is best known for his works The Courage to Be (1952) and Dynamics of Faith (1957), which introduced issues of theology and modern culture to a general readership. Theologically, he is best known for his major three-volume work Systematic Theology (1951–63), in which he developed his "method of correlation": an approach of exploring the symbols of Christian revelation as answers to the problems of human existence raised by contemporary existential philosophical analysis.^[2]^[3]

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John Shelby Spong

John Shelby Spong (born June 16, 1931) is a retired American bishop of the Episcopal Church. He was formerly the Bishop of Newark (based in Newark, New Jersey). He is a liberal Christian theologian, religion commentator and author. He calls for a fundamental rethinking of Christian belief, away from theism and from traditional doctrines.^[1]


Spong 2006


Bonhoeffer in Germany, circa 1930s
Born	February 4, 1906 Breslau, Germany
Died	April 9, 1945 (age 39) Flossenbürg concentration camp
Education	Doctorate in theology

Church	Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union Confessing Church
Writings	Author of several books and articles (see below)
Congregations served	Zion's Church congregation, Berlin German-speaking congregations of St. Paul's and Sydenham, London
Offices held	Associate lecturer at Frederick William University of Berlin (1931–36) Student pastor at Technical College, Berlin (1931–33) Lecturer of Confessing Church candidates of pastorate in Finkenwalde (1935–37)
Title	Ordained Pastor

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (German pronunciation: [ˈdiːtʁɪç ˈboːnhœfɐ]; February 4, 1906 – April 9, 1945) was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and martyr. He was also a participant in the German resistance movement against Nazism and a founding member of the Confessing Church. His involvement in plans by members of the Abwehr (the German Military Intelligence Office) to assassinate Adolf Hitler resulted in his arrest in April 1943 and his subsequent execution by hanging in April 1945, 23 days before the Nazis' surrender. His view of Christianity's role in the secular world has become very influential.^[1]

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Various free-thought You Tube Channels

Various free-thought You Tube Channels

	CEMB Forum FTW Videos and information by and about people who have left Islam....	Videos: 33 Channel Views: 28,573 Subscribers: 2,601
	Martin Willett: Not Suffering Fools Gladly Mass debater, militant atheist and secularist.	Videos: 170 Channel Views: 119,445 Subscribers: 3,796
	You Tube: Brett Keane Videos THE GOD KILLER	Videos: 62 Channel Views: 40,586 Subscribers: 1,411
	The Official Richard Dawkins YouTube Channel This is the official youtube channel for videos from http://RichardDawkins.net . Be su...	Videos: 132 Channel Views: 1,918,793 Subscribers: 91,576
	Curiosity is a GOOD thing.	Videos: 166 Channel Views: 912,138 Subscribers: 38,392
	Daniel Hannan's Channel	Videos: 215 Channel Views: 217,833 Subscribers: 8,496
	ukipwebmaster A selection of video clips from a UKIP perspective. There's more to see at www.ukip.tv	Videos: 544 Channel Views: 111,004 Subscribers: 4,678
	What's next?!!! Bob Screams, So You Don't Have To......	Videos: 770 Channel Views: 1,952,072 Subscribers: 41,366
	DavidRandallCurtis	Videos: 139 Channel Views: 109,841 Subscribers: 4,663
	Comedy & Music Prayers said for Edward Current: 165,998	Videos: 85 Channel Views: 1,686,642 Subscribers: 83,546
	Science & Reason Science and reason - for a better, more rational tomorrow....	Videos: 625 Channel Views: 1,293,695 Subscribers: 80,892
	MEMRI	Videos: 445 Channel Views: 179,403 Subscribers: 7,769
	PJTV	Videos: 454 Channel Views: 493,545 Subscribers: 20,019
	The Amazing Atheist Hello Reddit.	Videos: 331 Channel Views: 15,139,226 Subscribers: 212,822
	Science and Education for the win! The true beauty of a self-inquiring sentient universe is lost on those who elect to wal...	Videos: 264 Channel Views: 8,513,758 Subscribers: 139,253
	www.apostateofislam.com +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/..

The arrogance of clergy - Pat Condell

by Pat Condell

You Tube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/patcondell
Welcome to Pat Condell's Godless Comedy

Top Comments (see all)

@vachief I like Jesus and tooth fairy, but I don't like ANY religion.
mrDonVito19 1 month ago 21

Society of Open-Minded Atheists and Agnostics

Freethought Organizations

Why I am no longer a Christian - 18 video series

Why I am no longer a Christian
Uploaded by Evid3nc3 on May 3, 2009

I explain my life as a born-again Christian, my deconversion, and my life as an atheist. In the deconversion section, I show how evidence, reason, and experiences related to prayer, morality, deconverted Christians, the Bible, and my relationship with God Himself all lead to my eventual inability to believe anymore.

Videos - series of 18

A short but comprehensive look into my life as a Christian (which spanned 15 years) to prove to Christians that I was a genuine born-again, Holy Spirit baptised, and deeply committed Christian who had a strong relationship with Jesus Christ.

Assemblies of God website:
http://ag.org/top/

Primitive atheist tribe - deconverts missionary

Pirahã Tribe de-conversion

Uploaded by annonnimus1 on Dec 11, 2010

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Everett
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/10/daniel-everett-amazon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNajfMZGnuo
http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/everett07/everett07_index.html

Radio interview: http://youtu.be/pXegoZrxcVk

Trying To Convert The Pirahã Tribe - Dan Everett

Dan Everett spent many years in the Amazon jungle trying to convert the remote tribe of the Pirahã to Christianity, and to learn their language in order to translate the Bible for their use. He did learn their language, but his conversion efforts had an unexpected result... He shared this with the audience at the Freedom From Religion's Convention in Seattle.

My Deconversion - in 5 Parts

My Deconversion Part 1: Everybody is born an atheist

Mr. Deity - and the Magic Santa, Part Deux

Mr. Deity thinks he's finally proved the existence of other magical beings.

Mr. Deity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mr. Deity

Mr. Deity is a series of satirical short films that parody aspects of religion, created by Brian Keith Dalton and distributed by Lazy Eye Pictures. It stars Brian Keith Dalton, Jimbo Marshall, Sean Douglas, and Amy Rohren.^[1] It premiered on December 27, 2006.

(Left to Right) Jesus, Lucy, the Deity, and Larry

30.7.11

The importance of faith/belief statements:

OCRT Statement of Belief:

[edit] History of the concept

17.7.11

11.7.11

Pat Condell

Contents

Paul Tillich

Contents

John Shelby Spong

Contents

by Pat Condell

Top Comments (see all)

Freethought Organizations

10.7.11

Pirahã Tribe de-conversion

Mr. Deity

Links: