Originally Posted by BOWSINGER

Religion is part of the human make-up. It's also part of our cultural and intellectual history. Religion was our first attempt at literature, the texts, our first attempt at cosmology, making sense of where we are in the universe, our first attempt at health care, believing in faith healing, our first attempt at philosophy.
- Christopher Hitchens.


For some time people were content with earthly
Elemental dieties , then they put them beyond
earth and embodied-personified them in the cosmos,
Then some decided that their diety was beyond the
3D universe... some believe if you worship any
or all of the above they can do you favors.

The archetypal Judeo Christian arbitrary justice
grey-bearded diety has much in common with
archetypal pagan dieties.

Judeo Christianity believes their diety punishes
mortals through the (4) natural elements... even using
primitive flame to burn wicked spiritual entities.
THE Talmud provides an actual numerical value temp.
for the flames.

The christian 'devil' borrows its horns from pagan
Dionysus, Pitchfork from Neptune, and goat body
from Pan. The O.T. Hebrews do not have such a character.

#####

Pharisees [who ran the Synagogues] believed in a Messiah,
the elite status Sadducees [who ran the Temples]
did not share such messianic views.

Sadducees did Not believe in an immortal soul or
resurrection/afterlife, or fiery hell, they were more of
the O.T. Job view of ones fate at death, of going
to a boring know nothingness state in ' Sheol'.

Sadducees were of such belief because the Torah
does not support the concept of a fiery place of
judgment/condemnation.
'Gehinnom' was not originally viewed as such.....rather
it was in the second temple period that such
prophetical appolcyptic writings developed [in post-
exile Jewish culture] and became popular among
early Christians.

Later century writers of the Talmud , like later century
Christians, embellished- spiced up the idea of demons,
and an inferno of punishment...




-Bulletproof and Waterproof don't mean Idiotproof.