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man this is so long i'll try to reply quickly

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

true true..

but you must admit there must be some cultural potency to the imagery and symbolism of Christianity and Judaism for their shit to dominate the world and survive when others, equally carried around the world through conquest, cooled and declined. All the great religions were carried around the world by the edge of the sword, and yet Christianity, Judaism and their sister in symbolism and origin Islam have stuck around long after all the colonial slave masters left.

football has greater cultural potency than any of those relijuns. the beatles were bigger than jesus. paganism wins.

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

Regardless of the truth of the stories and songs, so many different peoples of the world have adapted them as their own. How else could the stories, legends and hymns (as Joseph Campbell describes them) an obscure, demonic cult of Arabia come to be so well loved and personalized the world over across thousands of years? How else could a secret religion of the poor who sang and prayed in tombs and catechums become worldwide?

it appealed to the slaves, who were the majority. it's marketing genius consisted in that it celebrated the meek, the oppressed, the poor-- in other words, most of the population during the barbaric stages of history (which more or less continue until today)

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

As ART, these religions are truly remarkable. Folks across time and place have embraced the symbolism, the philosophies, the mannerisms, the morals, the laws, the imagery, the song/music/hymn/liturgy, the architecture etc etc of Christianity and Judaism (and Islam) and made it their own.

i prefer the greeks, but to each their own

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

I like to discuss this particularly with folks who do not believe, because we can critique the religion as ART rather than religion.

i grew up surrounded by baroque churches, and i always found christian imagery repellent, even when i believed-- naked crucifixions, statues with stupid faces, etc. sure, there was a profusion of religious art during the renaissance mostly because the megachurch footed the bill, but the good art came from the rediscovery of greece and rome.

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

You all must admit, whether the stories themselves are true or not, the writers were powerfully creative and deeply intuitive to the human experience, and their creations have been of the most powerful literature, story and song the world has ever seen, and the world has seen the rise and fall of many many beautiful artists..

i can't make logical sense of this. the "must" part always irks me though, i'm terrible at taking orders.

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

I mean, whether or not Tupac was actually a hardcore gangster and thug was irrelevent to the way his music was so well embraced across every corner of the world. Whether or not Bob Marley was a good or righteous man or believed what he sang, his songs have been embraced world wide. Whether or not Michael Jackson was a cool RB singer or a deranged child molester, his music still was the most popular ever.

ok you left me behind here-- i can't catch up with your thinking. are we talking about historical truths or about how good or bad myths are regardless of their popularity? because i haven't agreed with you that popularity automatically translates into quality. it's like saying macdonalds must be awesome food because there's one everywhere.

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

See, the Bible and Tradition and Songs like the Virgin Mary are powerful cultural and artistic symbols which the world embraces and makes their own for a million and one reasons all deeply and intimately personal and individualized.

like pokemon, or dungeons & dragons, or (better yet) greek mythology.

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

I am always awestruck simply at that fact alone, that the imagery and art of the Bible and Traditions are so widespread, and not because people are forced into it, that is a rather naive and even demeaning explanation..

bullshit, christianity was spread by military and economic power-- ask any indian of the americas.

here a little entertainment

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encomienda

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

That's like saying you like the Beatles because the record companies bombarded you with their music and the media and the pop culture vibe coerced you.. nonsense and we all know it

the media did bombard me with shitty pop and i liked it until i was 12. my mom liked the beatles and i liked them ok for a while.