I've seen Savell's pedigree. Savell's ancestors practiced what we now call Druidism and Norse Paganism. Likely everyone of us on this forum had ancestors that practiced those religions.

Savelll's namesake ancestors were of French and Viking stock that ended up in England during the Norman Conquest in 1066.

Keith

Imagine it would have been faith based

Celtic Gods and Goddesses, both the Irish and the French

Danny, right wrong or indifferent, there are other more modern accounts of people being swallowed and surviving in a whale. Not saying they are accurate, but they exist.

Im guessing if one started comparing evidence supporting each believe one might come out ahead.

If you haven't read it, read John chapter 3. Go to the source.
All our life emanates from God through Christ (mortal & immortal; temporal & eternal). If we seek it any other way, the results will be disappointing.
When people seek eternal life or peace through any other means than Jesus Christ it is for the same reason people have rejected him for thousands of years: because their deeds and motivations are evil and they don't want to give them up. It's as simple as that. People prefer darkness rather than light. When the light comes, the deeds & desires are exposed and that makes them uncomfortable. It is much easier to be pretty in the dark, whether that is the reality, a wish or just a story people tell themselves to appease their conscious.
Jesus was killed in part by people who preferred a life of registerable good deeds-"look what I have done" as well as those who sought to pacify God. What would a person pacify God with? A handout to someone in need? An offering of money or other valuables? A slaughtered calf?
Helping someone is needful, useful, and commanded but doesn't do anything about our sin problem.
Riches have so little value to God that He paved Heaven with gold.
The death of an innocent animal cannot atone for the misdeeds of a human, the ultimate earthly creation.
What God seeks is an eternal relationship with each, individual person. It existed in the beginning, but sin destroyed it (realize how few commandments existed when Adam & Eve chose a lie over life). This relationship can only be achieved through the death & resurrection of Jesus Christ. He is the ONLY door.
Not sure exactly what you're looking for in this life, but if you're looking for eternal life then Jesus is the only way.
Christians go to heaven.

I still wonder how did they come up with this stuff? Was it passed down to them by someone who saw it in a dream?

That's what happened with Islam. The Jews and the non-Jews got along just fine until Mohammad came along around 1,000AD. He claimed he was told in a dream by a jinn that the Jews account of the birthright of Abraham was a lie. That the birthright was given to the descendants of Ishmael, not Isaac. That was Abraham's intention. If that's so, why did Abraham send Ishmael and his mother Hagar away?

The city of Yathrib was populated primarily by Jews. Mohammad went in with his followers and killed everyone living there and the city was renamed and is to this day, Medina.

Islamic children are taught in many of their schools that Jews are murders, liars, and never to be trusted. They need to be wiped off the face or the earth. Even Hillary Clinton acknowledged this to be true. She said such hatred was appalling.

Me neither, I ripped out a few pages out of my bible and it's called the King Jake Version. I get religious holidays in winter to maintain my trap line.

Simple answer I would guess because of evidence and truth found in the Bible and in the world around us.

Some early Christians, particularly those emphasizing divine justice and the severity of sin, believed (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) was a place of everlasting conscious torment for the unrepentant. This view often drew parallels between the eternal reward of the saved and the eternal punishment of the (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman).
Annihilationism:
Other early Christians, including some prominent Church Fathers, believed that the wicked would ultimately cease to exist after a period of punishment, rather than suffering eternally. This view often highlighted God's mercy and the idea that eternal suffering would be a disadvantage.
Temporary Punishment:
Some early Christian thinkers, like Origen, believed that (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) was a temporary state of purification, even for the wicked, with the ultimate goal of reconciliation with God. This view emphasized God's love and restorative justice.

I don't know who is right, but all interpretations come from the Bible.

If you want a really, REALLY deep (like deeper than the bull in Savell's posts) dive into religion/mythology/spirituality before Christianity, this book is an excellent read.
Yes, its almost 700 pages of academia style writing. Exciting? Not terribly. Enlightening? Very.

Origins of the World's Mythologies

The communist states find atheism a more useful tool for controlling their populace. They prefer their subjects to be devoted to the State than to God.

THIS!!!

(last night, I started to type out my version of your answer to KeithC's assertion, but failed in being concise, so I gave up. You did it masterfully!)

I can't cite specific verses, but I believe there are some verses that reference the Judgement of Deniers as being an eternal Separation from God/Love; not necessarily being roasted forever.

Communist and socialist states don't really use Atheism to control the population.. Atheism doesn't unite people in a useful.manner. What they need is the absence of strong religious beliefs, so that hole can be filled by belief in the state. Extreme support of the state is very religion like.

The logic center of the brain goes dark in brain scans when people are in a religious fervor or a political one.

Keith

tomato, tomahto.

Isn't that atheism?

What you said previously was.



Atheism isn't a tool for the communists. They don't use Atheism as a religion replacement. A tool is something you use. Tools have a presence. They just need there to be an void of strong religious beliefs. There is a definite, obvious difference in something and nothing.

Keith

So they need atheism.