"What you've (Paul) said is now outdated thinking". I did read extensively on the subject of Christianity as a young bloke. mhaze if you can provide new compelling evidence that what I say is somehow now totally debunked, then feel free to present that evidence. Nothing I have put forward diminishes the value or importance of Christianity so to say its comparable to Stalin murdering millions is contestable. I said "most likely" I nave presented anything as hard fact, maybe your overwhelming contempery evidence is hard fact, so cough it up boy. Jesus never set out to create a new religion, he was an orthodox Jew who accepted the scriptures as they were. However he preached reform of the religion, as he felt it had been corrupted and many truths which he was now preaching were being neglected or ignored. At no time did Jesus abandon the Temple or the general practices and customs of his Jewish religion.

As for your distortion of the use of the word "bribe", I said "offered James money" I never said it was personally for James, but actually it was to help sustain the "church" in Jerusalem.

Christianity has been rather inventive over the years. In the third century AD Tertullian invented the Holy Trinity. Tertullian was able to elevate Jesus to the status of a God without creating a new God. The mystery of the Holy Trinity, something that is accepted as gospel by most Christians today, but was controveral when first put forward, as Jesus never claimed to be a god. if Jesus had made the bold claim he was God, the Jews would have stoned him to death.

I remember when for our family
Easter used to begin with Lent.
I remember Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday,
\not eating meat on Good Friday.
Doing the Stations of the Cross -
And Mass on Easter Sunday. Going to confession and communion
was an important part of the rituals associated with Easter,
back then.

And as has been pointed out although Easter is of a high religious
significance in the Christian faith - many traditions associated
with Easter do date back to pre-Christian pagan times. Colouring eggs, Rabbits, and so on.

It may be interesting to note that the Last Supper was
essentially a Passover feast.
But it was given special significance by Jesus
when he referred to matzah (bread) as his "body" and
to the wine as his "blood."

Today - folks have different reasons for why they celebrate
Easter. and how they do it. Not everyone is as religious
today - and many of the old traditions have
gone for many people. Which may or may not be
a shame Depending
on your viewpoint.

Hi Foxy,

I once received a special Holy Medallion, blessed and presented by the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal Gilroy at St Mary's Cathedral for attending Mass 40 days straight during Lent, did it make me abetter person, I don't think so. I think the Catholics had high hopes at one stage that I might become a priest. During the Vietnam War days a Marist Brother once said to me in relation to my anti-war sentiments; "You can't be both a Christian and a Communist." I replied something like; "I think Jesus was, and he got away with it." By the look of anger on his face, he didn't take too kindly at me saying that. Did my anti war sentiments make me a better person, I think it did.

Honestly, I'm not anti Christian, no one can point to one anti Christian word I've ever posted on this Forum. Yes, I've posted many an anti Catholic words here, but they are not the same thing. Christians should question both their religious teaching, and their church. These days I read a lot on Buddhism, very comforting, very thought provoking. As a young bloke I was told I question too much, I'm to radical, blind faith to anything is a dangerous thing, be it a political movement or a religion. It's good to think right/god is on your side, but to believe it totally it becomes a very dangerous thing.

Hi Paul,

Thank You for sharing your background.

My dad was raised by Jesuits so I grew up
with a strong religious background.

I too started to question things once I
began to travel and saw the world in a
different way. I remember once being in
Mass and the lecture being preached from
the pulpit by a priest was so full of
bile that I ended up walking.

Yet at the same time I have known some
wonderful, dedicated priests who were
great.

I think it's all a question of balance isn't it?
We forget that we're all human with human
foibles. I remember travelling around Mexico when
the Pope visited and thinking to myself if he'd
only give up one of his gold rings - it could
irrigate a village. And also I wondered where
the villages got the money to build some of the
ornate churches that we saw. Perhaps it was a
matter of pride and self respect for them - who knows?
Religion is everything to some - especially when
you don't have much.

Paul1405 & Foxy,

Growing up in pre-Multicultural (aka pre-Asianiztion) Australia I was taught to believe that Easter was a solemn occasion holier than Xmas.

Nowadays, when shopping I am always greeted with a big 'Happy Easter!" from shop assistants who are 99% from other cultures.

So now I've come to realise that Easter is a happy occasion and I would like to wish both of you a great big multicultural

HAPPY CRUCIFIXION DAY

Christ might have died to secure our salvation but it now seems just as likely he also died to make Australia a happy place for multiculturals.

Had I been a Christian, I would probably feel insulted when others used this important religious date to celebrate other, unrelated, social/cultural matters. Can't they find other dates?

For Christians, Easter is about victory over death.
The question whether or not the historical man, Jesus, was dead then came back to life, is superficial: what really matters is his teachings, through which one can overcome death - not by keeping one's mortal body indefinitely physically alive (which is impossible), but by the realisation that one is different from one's body, that while the body must one day fall apart, the indweller within that body is immortal and need not fear death.

Regarding some points mentioned in this thread:

The Romans had no interest in seeing Jesus killed. Rather, they needed to please the Jewish establishment, but also looked for innovative ways to undermine it. I think that they found a great such opportunity in Jesus: while they pronounced him dead after only a few hours on the cross (where he either fainted or entered samadhi¹), they took him down to the tomb where their doctors waited to revive and heal him. Having him walking again and meeting his disciples helped them to split the Jewish community.

Jesus did mention that he was God: "I and my father are one" [John 10:30].

It was not that he was special in that - each and every one is God: the difference is just that Jesus knew it while his disciples did not, so they had to hear it from him. Christians can get so much more by deeply reflecting on Jesus' teachings rather than on the bodily history of Jesus' the man.

---
¹ Yogic state of superconscious concentration where bodily functions such as breathing and heart-beat nearly cease