Astrological Significance of the Solstice Refuted--NOPE!

Further Reading:

• ZEITGEIST Sourcebook: Part 1–The Greatest Story Ever Told
• Top 10 myths about the religion part of Zeitgeist
• Attis: Born of a Virgin on December 25th, Crucified and Resurrected after Three Days
• Dionysus: Born of a Virgin on December 25th, Killed and Resurrected after Three Days
• Was Horus Born on December 25th of a Virgin?
• ISIS IS A VIRGIN MOTHER!!!
• Virgin Mother Goddesses of Antiquity
• Mithra the Pagan Christ | Mithraism and Christianity | Mithras the Sun God
• Early Church Fathers on Mithraism | The Devil Did It
• Rebuttal to Dr. Chris Forbes concerning ‘Zeitgeist, Part 1′
• Zeitgeist Part 1 & the Supportive Evidence (forum thread)

Wonders of the Solar System- Winter Solstice

You think I am going to take the word of an anonymous dumbfuck on the internet about this topic when I have had what I posted has been confirmed by reputable astronomers?  Professor Karlis Kaufmanis being one of them. Here, Professor Brian Cox explains the winter solstice.  Another example of the importance of the Solstice is Stonehenge.



Ancient peoples were very attentive to seasons and the Sun's position in the sky, because their livelihood depended on planting and harvesting at the proper times. The winter solstice was seen as the rebirth of the sun in those days.  The astronomical phenomena were well known about the Solstice in ancient times: and they would have been far more in tune with the seasons and stars than some idiot who might fancy himself a "survivalist".

You can believe what you want--it's more than fine with me if you want to say black is white and get killed at a pedestrian crossing.

On the other hand, I only trust people whose reputation I can verify: not anonymous dumbfucks from the internet.

I'll toss in another point--you would need to have some sort of close date to be able to say that a star chart accurately reflected the sky at the time in question.  No one has a definite date for Jesus' birth (if he even actually existed), which means that is not really a valid refutation of something which is an annually occurring phenomenon.  Unless, you claim to have an exact date for Jesus' birth, which I seriously doubt you do since there is no actual agreement on when that could have happened even using the Bible as a reference.

Seriously, you've done something Biblical scholars have been trying to do for millennia if you really have this date. Take a bow and be proud of yourself.

But I seriously doubt you would be intelligent enough to do that since, as I said, far better minds than yours have been trying for millennia to come up with an exact date.

Additionally, the crucifixion and resurrection is a motif in other mystery religions, which hints that the astronomical symbolism explanation is more likely than an actual star.  This is especially true since there is that solstice connection even if all the elements of being a saviour are missing.  The Solstice was an important celebration of Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, which was something which has caused Christian scholars to dislike the link between the Solstice and the celebration of "Christ's birth" from the beginning.

Thank you. Now, don't bother me unless you can say something intelligent.

The REAL reason for the season

As we get close upon "Christmas", we will get people whining about the "reason for the season".

Got news for you--it ain't got nothing to do with the Bible or Christianity.


And the holiday doesn't make as much sense in the Southern Hemisphere as it does in the Northern.

Macho, Macho, Macho Man

I have been musing on the topic of what would American Males do if they didn't have their guns, but the Commongunsense post "I Almost Died Laughing" pointed out the insanity of US gun culture. Here we have deadly and dangerous weapons which people mistakenly believe is their "right" to own (Sorry, but the Second Amendment right is to belong to a Militia set up according to Article I, Section 8, Clause 16, but few people want THAT right).

A far more productive pastime comes to mind when I go to the DIY Centre. What is more masculine than building things? That is being constructive rather than destructive (although one can demo old buildings to build on them). The pride I feel when I know that I can handle power tools to build projects. Although, it was dangerous when shopping for tools when the sales person said "you could build a deck in an afternoon with that!"

Not within earshot of my wife, please!

Her abode is a Wendy House as is a large,expensive one, but a Wendy House nonetheless! It would be an even more intricate Wendy House with me spending my free time doing that (of course, that is much more productive than blogging).

But the feeling that you made something on your own is far more empowering than shooting a tin can that is unable to shoot back at you.

Trainspotters

Of course, there are my other passions, Archaeology and Astronomy. Even playing with a metal detector can be considered archaeology of sorts, although most archaeologists dislike metal detectorists who just dig things up without consideration for what they have found. Metal detectorists have, however, made some significant archaeological finds: I've mentioned the the Crosby Garrett Helmet and Terry Herbert’s Anglo-Saxon hoard before.  There needs to be archaeological sensitivity on the part of metal detectorists.

There's trainspotting as well.  That's much more productive.  I remember a rail journey where I saw both trainspotters and hunters.  The trainspotters were having much more fun with their flasks of tea and anoraks, whilst the hunters were stalking a dear that was several miles from where they were slogging (and would have been a dangerous shot to take).  What's the fun of spending hours in the cold trying to kill something that eludes you because it is much smarter than you are?

I can think of several commenters who would be much better trainspotters than they are gunslingers.

Or much else for that matter.

Perhaps, that answers my train of thought that these people are incapable of tasks which require complex skills.  Even trainspotting require than one is numerically literate to track which train one has seen (and where).  I can imagine that the gunsels are lost on dry land, let alone trying to look at the heavens to find messier objects.  These pastimes require thought, which is a characteristic sadly missing in the American mind.