Religion
Related: About this forumOk, I'll ask: Christians, regarding easter, what do you specifically believe happend?
geckosfeet
(9,644 posts)I am inclined to accept the movie characters view of what transpired.
Ooo. Sorry - I was raised xtian but alas, am now agnostic.
hlthe2b
(102,292 posts)I never even heard of this movie...
geckosfeet
(9,644 posts)A very "old man".
Rather than cut and paste and copy, here is a link to a review that discusses the plot and story.
review-of-the-man-from-earth-treatment-of-christians-considered
The most troubling point of the story is where our hero admits hes Jesus Christ. His story is that he, centuries before, had met the Buddha. John admits that the Buddha is the most amazing man he had ever met. (Secular Liberals like Buddha it would appear.) John learned directly from Buddha. Centuries later, John decided to help out the poor misguided Jews by trying to teach them the teachings of Buddha. He taught them that there was one greater than he was (Buddha) but they mixed up the message and thought he was claiming to be the Son of God instead. Then Johns teachings riled people up so much that they crucified him. Using his knowledge of meditation from Buddha, he slowed his body down until it seemed dead. They then buried him in the tomb and he healed and came back out. (Swoon theory!) He tried to leave town but some of his followers saw him and it started a massive rumor about him having been resurrected. He tried to correct them, but having been impacted by this miracle of the return from the dead, they wouldnt listen to him. Christianity then emerged as a twisted view of the original (and correct) teachings of Buddha based on this unfortunate incident.
I have no doubt whatsoever that we are getting to the heart of Jerome Bixbys own feelings about Christianity in this part of the story. And that is why this part scares me so much.
on edit - added a bit of an excerpt - watch the movie - it is fascinating
rrneck
(17,671 posts)It is a testament to the value of good content. The ideas haunt you for days in spite of the "teevee" production values.
Walk away
(9,494 posts)As an Xcatholic I am convinced Monty Python come closest to portraying the christian epoch.
Gore1FL
(21,132 posts)What I believe happened is that the Romans made Christianity the official state religion and piggybacked an event in the bible on the same day as the celebration for the Goddess of Fertility (without changing the name).
Warren Stupidity
(48,181 posts)We even have historical records from multiple sources all consistently describing the events that established christianity as the official religion of the roman empire.
baldguy
(36,649 posts)He showed the class Easter celebrations around the world, including the Passion Plays from the Philippines. There, young men allow themselves to be crucified - including using actual nails actually pounded through their actual flesh & actually hanging from an actual wooden cross. This made quite an impression on my 10-yr old mind.
The problem I had with this: these young men survive. They volunteer for these rites year after year. Christ was up on the cross for - What? Four hours? Five hours? Not very long anyway, before He died. When I asked my Jesuit teacher about this, he dismissed it. "Christ had other things to do that day," was his answer.
The thing is: one of the reasons the Romans used crucifixion (and it was the Romans, no matter what the anti-Semites believe) as a punishment was because it was such lengthy and drawn-out form of execution. Victims could conceivably last for days before they died - and often did. And, as with the Philippine Passion Plays, there are many recorded instances of people surviving crucifixion.
So: What actually happened? Assuming the events surrounding the Passion in the Bible correct & accurate (BIG assumption), the either A) Jesus died for real, or B) Jesus survived. The theological implications of either scenario would indicate that the Resurrection is a myth.
SamG
(535 posts)final strangulation, as the human body and neck cannot hold open the air channel to the lungs, so the victim dies, after hours of writhing and outright agony of pain in the hands, arms, shoulders, back. Nailing the feet to the cross prevents certain natural human gyrations which might free the victim from the cross (without the hands as they could become detached with the gyrations). Thus nailing both hands and feet to the cross ensures against possible escape by the victim.
Pretty damn ugly thinking, right?
How do I know this?
My Sunday School teacher taught us this in Junior High.
Warren Stupidity
(48,181 posts)Rather than days of agony, a relatively quick death.
SamG
(535 posts)the guillotine, very fast, over in a few seconds or a couple minutes.
Try hanging on a cross for an hour or more as your body tries to muster enough energy to keep your head and neck from falling down toward your chest, cutting off all ability to breathe.
Here's something you can but should NOT try at home, (seriously, read ALL the way through)... try having two people one each hold one of your arms up and behind your back and shoulders pulling them up more and more and away from each other. If you can take it for ten seconds, you might avoid shoulder dislocation, (very painful), and of course, you can tell your friends you've had enough.
The cross suspending your body from the arms is sort of like that but you have nails in your hands, and will feel pain for minutes and minutes, perhaps an hour or more before your body physically cannot fight off the need for the head and neck to fall forward, choking off all air supply. The body will reflexively writhe for a few more moments of furtive attempts to grab another breath, but only to re-ignite the pain in every inch of the body by now, until it is over and the brain dies from lack of oxygen, and the other organs soon follow suit.
Warren Stupidity
(48,181 posts)Traditionally a roman soldier stabs Jesus in the chest, and that mortal wound is probably what did him in, given that otherwise crucifixion, as you say, takes a long time to kill. My point was that the soldier doing that would have done so out of mercy.
SamG
(535 posts)read that gory story that I had forgotten that detail.
Maybe when Rome became a nation converted to Christianity that part about the Roman soldier was stuck in there, just to give the Romans some dignity, I don't know, none of us ever will know how much of this story is anything but fiction, as inspiring as a modern novel or movie, intended just to reach a target readership/audience for the purpose of conversion and allegiance.
johnnypneumatic
(599 posts)because this was happening during passover, there was a necessity to get it all over with before the sabbath, so as not to be disrespectful of, or interfere with. the Jewish ritual holiday.
so instead of leaving them there for days, they were quickly killed with the spear so they could be taken down before the sabbath which begins friday night at sunset
rug
(82,333 posts)"He is risen!"
PassingFair
(22,434 posts)Happy Easter!
rug
(82,333 posts)saras
(6,670 posts)onager
(9,356 posts)For cheering up my Easter.
And for Rug...this guy is still dead:
Thats my opinion
(2,001 posts)Warren Stupidity
(48,181 posts)People of faith seem remakrably reluctant to state what it is precisely that they believe.
laconicsax
(14,860 posts)IIRC, some believers worry that by sharing their beliefs, those who don't share them may question them.
saras
(6,670 posts)Warren Stupidity
(48,181 posts)I didn't want to provide a list of events, but the gospels provide accounts of what happened, and presumably believers believe these accounts. Or do they? It didn't seem to me to be a complicated question.
Thats my opinion
(2,001 posts)skepticscott
(13,029 posts)as a Very Complicated Question, to which any Answer you could give in less than 2000 words would probably be wrong.