h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

What's good about it? Well, I read somewhere that it used to be called God's Friday, and that's the origin of it.
So, we watched Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope, today. The Special Edition, with thin George Lucas, and tubby George Lucas. (See the 3rd Star Wars film thread for my opinion.)
It's starting to get cold here (understatement - there was on the Desert road on Wednesday. (That always puzzled me when I were a lass, snow on the desert road. )
Why do people say life is too short? I think it's very, very long. Way too much so, if you ask me. So, once again, what's good about it? (NB That doesn't mean I think death is good, by no means!)
Good Friday has always seemed to me the day to think about these things.

Not being religious as such, Good Friday doesn't really have much meaning for me in a godly have faith sorta sense.

I was more chuffed with the fact that in the UK it was a long weekend off from work, being a holiday on Friday and a bank holiday on Monday. I always like the idea of eating fish on a Friday, altho not for religious reason, more cos its good for you once a week!

I suppose now that I am a lil older and more time to think with a lil more ordered thoughts than I used to, what you said Della - I guess easter is a good time to look at renewal and how life continues on.

For me tho, my life isn't long enough...I wish I could stick around a bit longer than my allotted years in a 20-30 yr old body to see what happens in the future and be fit enough and sound enough in mind to go with the flow and enjoy it

It seems sometimes to me, that I got to be aged 33 in *snaps fingers* a horribly fast amount of time.

That were my

I totally agree about that life isn’t too short. I can’t see the point in getting “too” old, maybe suffering from a terrible disease for too many years. and I don’t think there’s anything “bad” about death. maybe about the way one’s got to die, but not about death itself.
actually it’s kind of pervert to call this day “Good” Friday – at least for someone who is into this religion, isn’t it? in German the day is called “Karfreitag”, and I have to admit that I don’t have the slightest idea what “kar” stands for. I suppose they told us in primary school, but that’s too long ago to remember.
now you made me contemplative, too.
you know what’s really weird? on Good Friday they pause Austrian TV at 3.00 p.m. to show some kind of religious abstract from the bible or something – in the middle of a movie, without any warning. don’t ask me about details what was to be read on the screen, it simply made me switch the channel. I’d be interested to know how many people felt offended by that “campaign”, switched the channel and didn’t return to watch the movie simply out of protest. the more I think about it the more ridiculous it gets: would a religious person be watching the telly on Good Friday at 3.00 p.m.? not really. and anybody else isn’t interested in the bible (or whatever it was) anyway. and what about people who share another religion? wouldn’t they feel discriminated against?
maybe next year they gonna stop the traffic for preying? or perhaps they close the supermarkets for a few minutes...

kat

Hi Della

Well I love Good Friday, it's the one day that I can answer that perennial question - what did the Romans ever do for us?

On a lighter note I nearly broke my own record today. I kept four Jehovah's Witnesses at my garden gate for 43 minutes, 3 more and I'd have set a new one. It always surprises them when they get to end of a row of council houses and find someone who actually wants to talk to them.

That is, of course, their fatal mistake. The leader was almost apopleptic by the time I had lectured him on the Pauline Heresy, the Essene manuscripts and the Council of Nicaea.

When I explained I was looking forwards to seeing Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" the poor old goat was visibly grateful, until I told him that my chapter of the Pagan Federation was going along to cheer on the Romans (which we wouldn't, but he didn'y know that ).

Am I evil? Possibly, but at least I don't go door-to-door shoving my beliefs down people's throats all dressed up in glossy paper and piety.

Sorry Della, but I couldn't resist sharing my good friday with you.

Blessings,
Matholwch /|\.

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How was making Jesus a martyr good from any but the Christian viewpoint? I admit I don't know nearly as much about the early history of Christianity as you do, but I was under the impression that Jesus origionally limited his teachings to the salvation of Jews and that Paul is the one who spread it to non-Jews throughout the empire. Perhaps Jesus wouldn't have let Paul get away with it had he been alive, and Christianity would have stayed a minor sect.

I assume there's a major flaw in my reasoning, but I don't know what it is.



Other than that, the Romans did create a common language that lasted a while, spun off the Byzantine Empire that managed to keep Europe from being invaded for a milenia or so.... I don't think they were entirely bad.





As to Della's question about "Good Friday", isn't it supposed to be good because it saved some people from hellfire, or something? So its good for all the people who were saved. Isn't that the idea?

Math...hehehee! *delighted chuckles*

You are naughty....

It's my understanding that the Roman emperor, Constantine, took Christianity under his wing and made it the state religion. He endorsed a particular sect, which believed that Jesus was divine. That particular sect of Christianity was thrilled - it gave their belief a lot of power - but many dissenting Christians who didn't believe in the divinity of Christ had a problem with it. They, of course, were soon fed to the lions... Actually, I don't know whether they were fed to the lions or not. Maybe the lions were getting too fat by this time.

Maybe that's what Math meant. I think that Jesus would have objected to being made a deity, but he's not around to tell us any different.

Karfreitag means 'Care Friday' or Mourning Friday. Which is appropriate, as it's the day we remember the crucifixion of Christ.

There's the thing, Vixen... life is long, but youth is short. I would not mind being 33 again, though it would mean Jim would be a baby again - I was 33 when he was born. Holidays are good too, even for the un(der)employed. Jim is so busy at school, it's good to have the pressure off for a while, and my older son in Rotorua (400 km away approx) is having people over, which is always good...

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He didn't make it the state religion; he just added it to the list of tolerated "cults"--which meant he had to try to define orthodoxy so it would be clear exactly what was tolerated. Someone later on, I think Theodosis, made it the official religion. From what I've read, Constantine didn't think that becoming a Christian excluded him from being part of the "pagan" cults he'd already joined. Rather, it was just natural that the emperor be inducted into all of them in the name of national unity. He just thought it politically useful to add Christianity to the list.


Actually, while I am not a Christian, I think Bishup Arius's ideas made more sence than the orthodox interpretation--if Jesus and Jehovah are the same person, it seems to me that that person must have something aproaching multiple personality syndrome to explain its behavior.

I wouldn't mind closing the supermarkets... I feel sorry for people who work in retail and who have to work, instead of seeing their families on public holidays. In NZ, supermarkets are closed three and one half days a year, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Christmas Day and a half day on ANZAC Day. I feel sorry for retail workers on the other 361 and a half days! (Hospital workers are another story - that's necessary and they get shifts and days in lieu, or they should.)

Fairy nuff, Matholwch!
Garth and my father both used to invite JWs in and debate with them - they never came back, funny that...
Most of our family in the UK are JWs and because of their cutting themselves off from the rest of us, and the hurt they have caused the others,especially my dear old cousin Hal, I am *not* wrapt in them at all!

Lemon, I have discussed the question of tension between Jesus and Paul with Math, and we disagree strongly on that...
No, Jesus didn't limit his teachings to the Jews at all, not unless you choose to pick out the bits of the Bible you like, and ignore the rest. I don't believe that Jesus would be (was) at all at odds with, or annoyed with Paul, because I believe (a) Paul was correct and (b) there is no tension between the two.
Happy Resurrection (sp?) Day to you!

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I'm at a disadvantage here because I haven't read the Bible (except for the beginning of Genesis and part of Job)--most of my knowledge of it comes from Christians and non-Christians discussing it both in real life and on h2g2.


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I'd wish you the same, but its still Holy Saturday here in the US.

Oh. There's that time zone thingy again. Sorry.

Not your fault; we're on opposite sides of the International Date Line. It'll be Easter soon here.

It's easy with the UK except when our Daylight Savings confuses things, it's a straight 12 hours behind us. So it's 15.43 here, and 3.43 there, and all the UK reserachers who aren't insomniac, are (or should be)tucked up in their beds. What time is it where you are? What Time Zone are you in?

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Eastern. So its 23:45, except that most Americans would call it 11:45PM.

Personally, I favor decimalized time, but I don't know if I could get used to it. Still, I think it would be a good idea.

Sorry--US eastern is GMT -5. I don't know if Eastern is the official name, or if its something else.

But we're on Daylight savings, now, so its really GMT -4.

All of NZ is in the same time zone, so it must be weird to have 3 across the USA. When you want to phone a friend in a different time zone, and have to worry that you may be getting her out of a deep sleep, it must be a nuisance...