Happy Sunday!

As ever, click on picture for easier reading.

Have a great day, y'all.

In case you want one:

FUNNY ATHEIST LOGIC ANTI-RELIGIOUS SHIRTS AND GIFTS

Quote of the Day -- Sunday Edition

“Say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith, I consider a capacity for it terrifying and absolutely vile.”

―Kurt Vonnegut, “Mother Night”

Quote of the Day -- Sunday Edition

That Bible We Base So Much On?

We ought to know the source(s).

Enjoy your Sunday, y'all.

On That King James Version of the Bible

Food for thought on a Sunday morning.

Enjoy your Sunday, y'all.

Jesus Was Neither Alone Nor Was He the First

Just so you know some human history, Jesus wasn't the only--or even the first--god said to have risen from the dead. Actually, far from it.

Jesus: Just One More Dying 

and Rising Savior

History records many dying-and-rising saviors. Examples from the Ancient Near East that preceded the Jesus story include Tammuz, Osiris, Dionysus, Adonis, Attis, and Baal.

Dying-and-rising god

A dying-and-rising, death-rebirth, or resurrection deity is a religious motif in which a god dies and is resurrected. "Death or departure of the gods" is motif A192 in Stith Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature, while "resurrection of gods" is motif A193.

Examples of gods who die and later return to life are most often cited from the religions of the Ancient Near East, and traditions influenced by them including Biblical and Greco-Roman mythology and by extension Christianity. The concept of a dying-and-rising god was first proposed in comparative mythology by James Frazer's seminal The Golden Bough. Frazer associated the motif with fertility rites surrounding the yearly cycle of vegetation. Frazer cited the examples of Osiris, Tammuz, Adonis and Attis, Dionysus and Jesus Christ.

Frazer's interpretation of the category has been critically discussed in 20th-century scholarship, to the conclusion that many examples from the world's mythologies included under "dying and rising" should only be considered "dying" but not "rising", and that the genuine dying-and-rising god is a characteristic feature of Ancient Near Eastern mythologies and the derived mystery cults of Late Antiquity.

And what is religion, anyway, if not a huge denial of death? An attempt to explain "what comes after." It only stands to reason that we want our god or God or gods dying and coming back, just to prove what we want and that it can be done, that this life isn't all there is. There's no better example or reason for this than that we want to deny death and dying.
Just saying.

That said, if you're into it, if you celebrate Easter, have at it. Enjoy.

Happy Easter.

Whatever gets you through.

Links:

The pagan roots of Easter

The Ancient Pagan Origins of Easter

Goddess Easter: Celebration of the Spring Equinox

Ēostre 

Easter 

Quote of the Day -- Sunday Edition

Quote of the Day -- Sunday Edition

“Unfortunately a religious group defines itself foremost by its creation story, the supernatural narrative that explains how humans came into existence. And this story is also the heart of tribalism. No matter how gentle and high-minded, or subtly explained, the core belief assures its members that God favors them above all others. 

It teaches that members of other religions worship the wrong gods, use wrong rituals, follow false prophets, and believe fantastic creation stories. There is no way around the soul-satisfying but cruel discrimination that organized religions by definition must practice among themselves. I doubt there ever has been an imam who suggested that his followers try Roman Catholicism or a priest who urged the reverse.”

―Edward O. Wilson, The Meaning of Human Existence

Quote of the Day -- Sunday Edition

“Religions are different roads converging to the same point. What does it matter that we take different road, so long as we reach the same goal. Wherein is the cause for quarreling?”

―Mahatma Gandhi

Link:  List of religions and spiritual traditions

On Jesu Cristo

Quote from FB friend Diana Pleasant-Hughes' page:

“Let’s remember, Jesus was a Jewish man of color, born homeless to an unwed teenager, who spent his formative years as an illegal immigrant before returning to his home country to hang out with twelve men, prostitutes, and socially untouchable tax collectors while he taught a radical social doctrine of equality, love, and forgiveness that included paying taxes, free healthcare, and the sharing of resources within a community.”

Link:  The Real Face Of Jesus - What Did Jesus Look Like?

Dear Believer

An open letter to all believers across the planet. So simple, so clear, so intelligent.

So true.



So true.

Enjoy your day, y'all.

America's Right Wing Religious Caliphate

Mrs. Betty Bowers does it again, calling them out for what and who they are.

Thought for the Day -- Sunday Edition

Ow.

Quote of the Day -- Sunday Edition

"We humans are entering an era of enormous danger. Chaos and injustice will inevitably accompany the changing global climate, and right now we humans don't have much to unify us in facing that. Our species needs every advantage we can possibly muster, and peace between science and God, peace between reason and spirit, would certainly be advantageous. For millions of thoughtful rational people to have no way to draw on their spiritual power is a tragedy."

From the brief NPR article:

A New Way To Think About 'God'

More links, more thoughts:

'A God That Could Be Real' In The Scientific Universe

Part 2 here:

A New Way To Think About 'God'

On religion

So I'm a day late. (click on picture for easier reading)

Quote of the day -- Sunday Edition

Like

Quote of the day -- Sunday edition

Quote of the day -- for a Sunday

“This life is for loving, sharing, learning, smiling, caring, forgiving, laughing, hugging, helping, dancing, wondering, healing, and even more loving. I choose to live life this way. I want to live my life in such a way that when I get out of bed in the morning, the devil says, 'aw shit, he's up!” 

― Steve Maraboli, Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience

Enjoy your Sunday, y'all.

Quote of the day--all that matters

Great quote for a Sunday:



"Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones." 

—Marcus Aurelius

Your Sunday humor

Enjoy your Sunday, y'all.