Santa vs Jesus, made by London company Komo Games, is played by two teams – one for each of the festive figures – who battle through challenges in an attempt to win the most “believers”.
It was funded via crowd-sourcing site Kickstarter which said it was the “most complained about game in history”.
But fans have called it “good fun”.
Danny Webster, spokesperson for the Evangelical Alliance, says he believes a board game helping people learn about Jesus at Christmas would be “a great innovation” but he has a problem with the Santa vs Jesus game because “it trivialises Christian belief and equates them both as fictional characters.
“With over 4 out of 10 people in the UK mistakenly thinking that Jesus was not a real historical person, this game won’t help correct that.
No, no, that’s not mistaken thinking. That’s actual thinking! There isn’t much evidence for the historicity of Jesus, and pretty much none for all those bloodsoaked fables in the bible.
“At its heart Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Jesus and the gift of life he brings.
No, no it isn’t. The church manufactured that nonsense about Jesus being born on 12/25, in order to destroy numerous winter solstice festivals, rituals, and the worship of other gods. When you’re relatively up on your mythology, you come across a considerable expanse of gods who all pre-dated the xtian mythos by hundreds to thousands of years, and it’s easy enough to see just how much the writers of various bits of the bible cribbed from earlier religions, because man, those stories were good! Khrisna of India. Thammuz of Syria. Esus of the Celtic Druids. Mithra of Persia. Quexalcoati of Mexico. All were crucified gods, and all met their fates hundreds of years before Jesus appeared on the scene. We’ll just have a look at Horus:
Born of a virgin, Isis. Only begotten son of the God Osiris. Birth heralded by the star Sirius, the morning star. Ancient Egyptians paraded a manger and child representing Horus through the streets at the time of the winter solstice (about DEC-21). In reality, he had no birth date; he was not a human. Death threat during infancy: Herut tried to have Horus murdered. Handling the threat: The God That tells Horus’ mother “Come, thou goddess Isis, hide thyself with thy child.” An angel tells Jesus’ father to: “Arise and take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt.” Break in life history: No data between ages of 12 & 30. Age at baptism: 30. Subsequent fate of the baptiser: Beheaded. Walked on water, cast out demons, healed the sick, restored sight to the blind. Was crucifed, descended into Hell; resurrected after three days.
So stuff the outrage and nonsense, Mr. Webster. Oh, don’t be celebrating that crass, paganistic xmas, either. No tree, gifts, or Santa for you. No.
Via BBC.
When did Sirius become “the morning star”?
Venus would’ve shooed that dog back to the periZodiac if it strayed onto her lawn!
Yep, whenever people ask me why I, as an atheist, celebrate christmas (and I actually LOVE christmas), I tell them that christians stole it anyway, they can’t keep it.
What is the origins of Mr Claus?
I would not be too surprised if there is some xian mythievery in his background, somewhere; as a possible starting point, isn’t there claimed to be some connection to some
child rapistsaint?Blf, a bishop and a saint, I think. The wiki on Santa Claus is pretty extensive.
Ok, so in one corner we have an agreed fantasy figure whose origins are very possibly based on one or more xian holy men (who almost certainly existed). In the other corner, the invented birthday of an individual who quite possibly didn’t exist, certainly could not have done some of things alleged, and who is used as a justification for many behaviours, such as misogyny, slavery, and war. Tell me again who the quoted nutter thinks isn’t xian, or who is more desirable…?
Yep, Saint Nick is an actual historical figure. He gained popularity in Germany in the early middle ages and is known as the Patron Saint of children. There are actually some pretty cool things associated with his worship, like the boys in the monasteries choosing a bishop for themselves. Of course, a lot of the traditions have been taken over from pagan times, like the Krampus (I wished Americans would leave him alone) or Knecht Ruprecht.
Get’s me to a meme I recently read: These days, Germans celebrate:
-an Italian soldier (Saint Martin, 11.11)
-a Turkish bishop ( St. Nick, DEcember 5/6)
-an Arameic preacher (Jesus)
-Palestinian farmers (the shepherds)
-African scholars (the three wise men)
Now imagine those people wanted to visit the Dresden Christmas market together…
The Bible itself is pretty clear that Jesus’ birthday was nowhere near the winter solstice. Remember those passages about shepherds out in the fields with their flocks? That only happens in the spring, after the early rains when everything is lush. Winter in the Galilee highlands is too cold and dry to be out and about, and there would be absolutely nothing for the sheep to eat.
And then you get into the problem of Quirinius being governor of Syria after Herod died, and that there is no record of Augustus ever conducting a census in either Judea or Galilee (which were separate countries), and that a Roman census was based on where a family currently lived, not their ancestral home. But those are complaints for a different day.