Leaderboard

Robert, this needs some clarification. I realize that you see this interpretation as simply, "Christianity," but that's somewhat misleading at face value. You are talking more specifically about ancient "Gnostic Christianity," something entirely different than what is known as, "Christianity," here and now. Ancient "Gnostic Christianity" was astrotheological, Platonic, and possibly influenced by Vedic astrotheological concepts. That's where precession and astronomical sophistication enters the picture of possibility. It's not Christianity that "may provide the intellectual resources to enable humanity to cross the Fermi threshold," it's specifically an interpretation based on what is considered pure heresy by orthodox Christian thinking today. And that needs to be stressed here for clarification. I can imagine people reading along thinking, WTF??? Christianity bringing sustained global civiliation??? This sounds a lot like Laird Scranton's original book, "Hidden Meanings: a study on the founding symbols of civilization" https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Meanings-Laird-Scranton/dp/1401088767 I have his first two books in my personal library. Very interesting concepts, if true. Teachers coming down from the stars and setting up civilization in the oldest cases. The symbols of the most primitive mythologies having multiple meanings. The myths passing down to newer developing cultures and then branching off and hybridizing over time. Leading from Sumer and Egypt, down line into Judaism and eventually Christianity - as the crow flies. But my perspective of this transmission of mythic symbolism is quite different than your take. By the time these symbols and myths made their way down stream to Christianity, or more importantly, Gnostic Christianity, prior to the orthodox take over - they would have been fragmented and little more than a primitive rendition of whatever they started out as in ancient Sumer, Egypt, and elsewhere. The journey between mysterious origins to Judaism and finally Christianity looks like a digressing, as opposed to progressing transmission through time. Nevertheless, I find all of this content interesting to discuss and consider. What you are talking about doesn't seem at all relevant to what we know as, "Christianity," today. So something would have to give. "Gnostic Christianity" would have to rise up again, or something. Otherwise, how in the world is something that is considered by most orthodox christians to be heretical supposed to represent Christianity here and now? That's a big hurtle to climb, isn't it?

Someday through viable DNA extraction methods maybe one or more of these extinct species might be brought back to existence by such great preservation like this ice-age bear, Jurassic park revisited.

The irony is that religion has also been the cause of oppressions in the first place.

I went to a "Holy Roller" church (we used to call them) once with a girl friend and they had a mass "indwelling" of the holy ghost. Several people talking in tongues, waving their hands in the air, moaning, etc. One guy was laying on the floor twitching. He was later diagnoised with epilepsy, but to them at that time he was experiencing the holy spirit.

Good explanation Fuego. And in my observations through the years most of the people who have these "crazy" episodes have suffered some kind of severe abuse, or trauma, often in early life, which has been repressed. And in my opinion, in a lot of cases, it is a lot easier to blame Satan or some spirit, and have an exorcism, than to admit, or recognize the abuse. There are some really horrific things that go on in families that never come to light. And if it is brought to light, it is almost always flat denied.