Wookies and Jesus

"I have examined all the known superstitions of the world and I do not find
in our particular superstition of Christianity one redeeming feature. They
are all alike founded on fables and mythology..."

I'm sure, if you're American, you would think this is a quote from the Salem Witch Trials. Maybe from Nietzche? Osama Bin Laden possibly? This couldn't have been wrote by any esteemed, respected patriot could it?

"Christianity (has become) the most perverted system that ever shone on
man...Roguery, absurdities and untruths were perpetrated upon the
teachings of Jesus by a large band of dupes and imposters led by Paul, the
first great corrupter of the teachings of Jesus."
- Thomas Jefferson

... Sorry, America. Your founding fathers didn't rep the Bible. At all. Thomas Paine, John Adams, James Madison... None of them spoke on Christianity with conviction. This country was infiltrated originally by some staunch, die hard Christians, yes. They graced this land with brutal genocide and theft as well. But the country we live in, that we have rights and a constitution under, was not founded by fundamentalists. It was founded by skeptics and in the belief of free will and choice (check our amendments). Not God.

Capital Hill and CNN is full of morons. To project God and the fear of his 'wrath' into our policies is soooo George Bush II. And that's not a good thing. Its a scapegoat. A mere smoke screen. The percentage of reasons to invade or attack countries in the name of God is remarkably stupid. However, this isn't my point. This is just a premise.

Horus, the Egyptian God, was said to have had a virgin birth. Visited by three kings. Turned water into wine. Baptized in a river by a character Anup- who was later beheaded. He cured the blind. Raised El-Azar (translated down to 'Lazarus') from the dead. Walked on water. Horus's said 'parents' were the sibling Gods Osiris (who was killed by his brother, Seth- who was the archetype for the Christian Satan) and Isis. Making Horus... son of God.

Krishna, Hindu God of love, was a carpenter. Born of a virgin. Baptized in a river. 1000 years before Jesus.

Mithra, Persian God, 600 years before Jesus, born December 25th. Performed miracles. Resurrected on the third day. Known as the lamb, the way, the truth, the light...

Anakin Skywalker, modern day mythos, was also born to a virgin. Had a light saber. Enlightened with the force, a power only believers and practitioners could obtain. Fought off evil. Proclaimed sci-fy badass.

Now, if all you're familiar with out of these is Star Wars, so be it. That's all that matters. This is a massive piece of our cultural folklore. Created by Hollywood and nerds. Great series of movies, but just imagine for a second if a mass majority of people throughout the world believed... that Anakin was God. Does that seem silly to you? Because to me... it just sounds like every other system of belief. It would kind of be like believing Jesus is God. Or Horus. Or Krishna. Or whoever else. It would be taking stories created for entertainment/ learning LITERALLY instead of metaphorically. Just like a light saber and Jaba the Hut and Wookies and shit seem a little far fetched, well... so does a dude living a wale for 3 weeks. Or a woman being made from a mans ribs. Or a talking bush. Come on now people, why is it that religion excludes reason and reality?

In conclusion, until I see R2D2 or Lake Michigan split in half or a newspaper article about a local high school girl immaculately impregnated- I will continue to take all of these stories as just that.

Remember, religion and myths have been around forever. But the gap between science and myth is extremely wide and modern science has had an exponentially shorter existence. Take that for what it means.