The Jesus Myth

Something for all you Atheists out there this Easter...

Did you know that some historians believe our Easter Traditions predate the Christian worship of Jesus and instead reflect the pagan story of Attis? And in fact, even these pagan stories of a man born of virgin birth could have simply been a way to explain how Nature first grew plants from seeds on our newly evolving planet.

Check out this from www.religioustolerance.org

“Many, perhaps most, Pagan religions in the Mediterranean area had a major seasonal day of religious celebration at or following the Spring Equinox. Cybele, the Phrygian fertility goddess, had a fictional consort who was believed to have been born via a virgin birth. He was Attis, who was believed to have died and been resurrected each year during the period MAR-22 to MAR-25. "About 200 B.C. mystery cults began to appear in Rome just as they had earlier in Greece. Most notable was the Cybele cult centered on Vatican hill ...Associated with the Cybele cult was that of her lover, Attis (the older Tammuz, Osiris, Dionysus, or Orpheus under a new name). He was a god of ever-reviving vegetation. Born of a virgin, he died and was reborn annually. The festival began as a day of blood on Black Friday and culminated after three days in a day of rejoicing over the resurrection."

Wherever Christian worship of Jesus and Pagan worship of Attis were active in the same geographical area in ancient times, Christians "used to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus on the same date; and pagans and Christians used to quarrel bitterly about which of their gods was the true prototype and which the imitation."
Many religious historians believe that the death and resurrection legends were first associated with Attis, many centuries before the birth of Jesus. They were simply grafted onto stories of Jesus' life in order to make Christian theology more acceptable to Pagans. Others suggest that many of the events in Jesus' life that were recorded in the gospels were lifted from the life of Krishna, the second person of the Hindu Trinity.

Ancient Christians had an alternative explanation; they claimed that Satan had created counterfeit deities in advance of the coming of Christ in order to confuse humanity. 4 Modern-day Christians generally regard the Attis legend as being a Pagan myth of little value. They regard Jesus' death and resurrection account as being true, and unrelated to the earlier tradition.

Wiccans and other modern-day Neopagans continue to celebrate the Spring Equinox as one of their 8 yearly Sabbats (holy days of celebration). Near the Mediterranean, this is a time of sprouting of the summer's crop; farther north, it is the time for seeding. Their rituals at the Spring Equinox are related primarily to the fertility of the crops and to the balance of the day and night times. Where Wiccans can safely celebrate the Sabbat out of doors without threat of religious persecution, they often incorporate a bonfire into their rituals, jumping over the dying embers is believed to assure fertility of people and crops.”

So I can celebrate Easter and stuff myself with chocolate eggs, surrounded by fluffy chicks and bunnies, and if anyone asks I'll say its thanks to dear ole Attis, and I'm just helping Spring on its way.

Costa Collapse?

Small businesses are disappearing at a rate of knots across the Costa Blanca. The vast majority are foreign owned and run, although many Spanish businesses are also being affected. But traditionally business here has been handed down through family members along with premises or land, so a support network exists for Spaniards during times of recession. The Spanish character is also used to times of boom and bust, economies are made, some layoffs are seen as inevitable, the financial storm is simply to be weathered.

Foreign businesses on the Costas generally pay higher rents (often subletting premises) and have substantially higher start up costs, especially businesses that import stock from their country of origin. Their client network grows more slowly as they build brand new supplier and customer relationships. If an average business takes two years to turn a profit, foreign business can take twice as long, and have attendant capital loans/charges which may eat into potential profit if the original business plan was over optimistic.
The banking system in Spain is no friend to small business either, although the inflexible nature of Spanish banks has protected them from some of the excessive debts of the current financial downturn. Zapatero could reinvigorate the economy by encouraging banks to offer small business loans at lower interest rates, with longer loan periods in booming sectors of the economy such as computing and internet business, or green energy technologies.

With no social security safety net, many self-employed immigrants to Spain will be returning to their country of origin. The loss of this mini-invasion of entrepreneurs will be to Spain’s detriment, along with the dropping tourist figures, but it will see the Costas returning to a more Spanish flavour of business.