(December 28, 2014 at 4:19 pm)abaris Wrote: Compare it to the bauty Greek and Roman authors created at the same time to appreciate the primitivity that is the bible. It's like Aronra said in one of his presentations: Created by savages to justify their vile acts.
Bingo. And speaking of the Greeks and Romans, a comparison of what they understood by "virtue" as something denoting aspiration and excellence with the debased and morally bankrupt Christian idea of grace and vicarious atonement is all one really needs to know about how low the ancient world sank once these spiritual dwarfs gained power. I don't subscribe to all of Nietzsche's thesis regarding the noble vs. the slave mentality at the heart of ancient religions, but it's a useful lens through which to view these different movements. The rabble became ascendant, and we are still dealing with the fallout from that development.
To drive my point home, just imagine a conversation between Socrates and Paul or Aristotle and the Jesus from the Gospels and the chasm between these worlds should become clear.
