Why don't mythicists condemn Satanism?

[dbz]

Pop Quiz!

Given: Circa 1865 in literature on myth—the word "euhemerism" was coined as the "historical theory" of mythology.

Does euhemerism mean that the Satan figure in the very mysterious mind of "John T" was a historical personage on Earth?

[Leucius Charinus]

Acts of condemnation from the high moral ground are exclusively reserved for many (not all) historicists and the cohort of self-righteous bible bashers.

[schillingklaus]

The historicasl Satan is John T, as already seen in the Book of Zachariah.

[neilgodfrey]

Is the Christ Myth a Threat to the Christian Faith? (If not, what is?)

In the above link, neilgodfrey wrote:

Love thy neighbours

"I have Jehovah’s Witness neighbours. They are lovely people. I sometimes feel for them as I see the busy church-centred life-style (it’s part of the program that functions to stop people from thinking independently) they lead. They sometimes say a word to me that I recognize instantly as a subtle “witness for Christ” line. I ignore it. I would never try to undermine their faith. Why? Because I believe in the Golden Rule. Even infants know about that (see my recent post). That doesn’t stop me from posting on what I see as the problems and damage that comes with that faith — but I do that as a public education, in a sense, on this blog or such places so that only those interested in reading it will do so."

--------------

Wow. I didn't expect to read that!

That's like me, only I probably take it farther. JW neighbors knocked on my door once and I asked, "Do you think you could schedule some time to study the Bible together?" I was studying with them weekly for sometimes hours at a visit for more than a year, sometimes with four or five men my age. This was in Baltimore city, and in a mostly African American congregation. I liked the energy of it and they were serious students of the NT.

In fact, I had not thought of this before, but that encounter may have influenced my path in the direction of this forum.

Maybe you could PM a message to Stephan Huller/Secret Alias inviting him to read it. He seems to be obsessed with the idea that I am filled with "hate" for religion (even so much that I am an "ally of evil") and it seems to cloud his every response that he writes to anything of mine here.

[Leucius Charinus]

Been There Before ...
Banjo Paterson - Sydney or the Bush - late 1880's ...

There came a stranger to Walgett town,
To Walgett town when the sun was low,
And he carried a thirst that was worth a crown,
Yet how to quench it he did not know;
But he thought he might take those yokels down,
The guileless yokels of Walgett town.

They made him a bet in a private bar,
In a private bar when the talk was high,
And they bet him some pounds no matter how far
He could pelt a stone, yet he could not shy
A stone right over the river so brown,
The Darling river at Walgett town.

He knew that the river from bank to bank
Was fifty yards, and he smiled a smile
As he trundled down, but his hopes they sank
For there wasn't a stone within fifty mile;
For the saltbush plain and the open down
Produce no quarries in Walgett town.

The yokels laughed at his hopes o'erthrown,
And he stood awhile like a man in a dream;
Then out of his pocket he fetched a stone,
And pelted it over the silent stream --
He had been there before: he had wandered down
On a previous visit to Walgett town.

[Giuseppe]

Why don’t mythicists condemn Satanism?

A considerable amount of time is wasted on this forum by atheists and/or mythicists trying to disprove the historicity of Jesus. Seems to me they are going about it all wrong. Wouldn’t it be easier to discredit the tenants of Christianity by pointing out that Satan is a myth as well? Meaning, there is no such thing as evil, let alone a source of evil, i.e. Satan. Mythicists are quick to demonstrate their condemnation for Christianity but for Satanism, not so much.

What’s up with that?

I have known online a mythicist (Carrier's fan) interested in Satanic occultism. He pointed out a passage that in the Gospel of the Witches the earthly Jesus is rejected:

When the nobles and priests tell you,
You must believe in the Father, Son
And Mary, always answer them,
Your god, Jesus and Mary
Are three devils...

Obviously he interpreted the passage as an invitation to deny the historicity of Jesus.

I respect the point made by this mythicist, which is that the Gospel virus found probably an early resistance among the groups who were not infected by it.

[John T]

I have known online a mythicist (Carrier's fan) interested in Satanic occultism. He pointed out a passage that in the Gospel of the Witches the earthly Jesus is rejected:

When the nobles and priests tell you,
You must believe in the Father, Son
And Mary, always answer them,
Your god, Jesus and Mary
Are three devils...

Obviously he interpreted the passage as an invitation to deny the historicity of Jesus.

I respect the point made by this mythicist, which is that the Gospel virus found probably an early resistance among the groups who were not infected by it.

Thank you for your honesty.

So, perhaps the hidden goal of most of the atheists and/or mythicists is to get one to reject a set of values and replace it with their own?

Meaning, Ehrman was right, mythicism is not so much about history but rather tearing down one religion, i.e. Christianity in order to replace it with their own?

Why would anyone be convinced to join a cult that recruits through the tactics of lying and besmirching of others?

Inquiring minds would like to know.

[Giuseppe]

Have you read the Satanic verses of Salman Rushdie?
It starts with an enigmatic quote:

Satan, being thus confined to a vagabond, wandering, unsettled condition, is without any certain abode; for though he has, in consequence of his angelic nature, a kind of empire in the liquid waste or air, yet this is certainly part of his punishment, that he is … without any fixed place, or space, allowed him to rest the sole of his foot upon.

Daniel Defoe, The History of the Devil

(my bold)

This description of Satan resembles very much the image of Jesus in the Pauline epistles: an being 'in the liquid waste or air', 'without any fixed place or space'. Totally without a bit of biography.

So if you accuse mythicists of crypto-satanism, you are not different from Muslims who have accused Rushdie of satanism.

[StephenGoranson]

dbz wrote (above):
...Given: Circa 1865 in literature on myth—the word "euhemerism" was coined as the "historical theory" of mythology.....

Oxford English Dictionary includes:
... The method of mythological interpretation which regards myths as traditional accounts of real incidents in human history.
Euhemerus, a Sicilian (c316 b.c.) was the author of a book called Ἱερὰ Ἀναγραϕή, in which he maintained that the deities of Hellenic mythology were deified men and women, and pretended to cite authentic records of their lives.
1846 G. Grote Hist. Greece I. i. xvi. 596 In regard to the Thracian god Zalmosis, the Hellespontic Greeks interpreted his character and attributes according to the scheme of Euemerism.
1864 F. M. Müller Lect. Sci. Lang. (1868) 2nd Ser. ix. 397 Euhemerism has become the recognized title of that system of mythological interpretation which..reduces the gods of old to the level of men.

And a word search at hatitrust.org gives several earlier uses, back to 1788. (In English , that is; earlier in French....)

[John T]

Could it be the real reason why Neil and his acolytes will not directly answer the question of: Why don't mythicists condemn Satanism? Is explained by the maxim: The enemy of my enemy is my friend?

Certainty, (as repeatedly demonstrated) it has little to do with the respectable practices of Biblical Criticism and History.

I'm quite willing (as I already have on other posts) to discuss the origin/history of evil, i.e. Satan as found in the Genesis, New Testament, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

What are you afraid of Neil?

Never mind, we already know.