How comes that most religions before Christianity and Islam had a view on the afterlife where generally the brave...

How comes that most religions before Christianity and Islam had a view on the afterlife where generally the brave, kind or generous were rewarded no matter what their faith was while those two had a view that says that you don't really have to be good to be rewarded, but have to believe in a certain deity to not be punished?
How could the two later world views out-rival the earlier ones so relatively quickly?

Monotheism is a good model if you want to have political control. You have one God and one priesthood that controls the church. So the only access to divine is through the church door and the priesthood are the key masters.

It gives an immense amount of control to the priests. The same thing happened with the Zoastrians and the Jewish Monotheists.

In other cases methods of control other than religion were used. Because of this a more free-form type of religion would not disrupt power because religion is more about culture than political control.

It's a variation on Pascal's wager. If the Greeks say that most people end up in Hades and Elysium is only for heroes while the Christians say that you can go to heaven by just believing in Jesus following his teachings and if you don't then you'll go to a place worse than hades, this gives Christianity an edge.

The Greeks actually had mystery cults that claimed you could go to Elysium if you were inducted into their secret society, but these societies were exclusive while Christianity would include slaves, women, etc. So you can see why Christianity won out.

>Worse than Hades
Was Hades really a bad place to be at though?

In the Odyssey the ghosts in Hades seem to be afflicted with what us modern folks would call depression. I don't think a single shade in Greek Myth could be described as 'happy' or 'at peace.'

No religious arguements between Pagans and Christians ever invoked something along the line of Pascal's wager. Arguements for it generally revolved around trying to disprove the other's religion based on what cultures thought a God should be like (ie Greek Pagans thought the Christian God being vengeful and angry was unGodlike, Augustine said earthquakes were caused by worshiping the wrong God). Logic like Pascal's was only needed when there were no good proofs for God.

No.

Christianity won out through state oppression of rival religions and murder of said rival religion's adherents.

How do you think Christianity got to the point where it was influential enough to become a state religion? Constantine died about 300 years after Jesus' death (which is a long time).

Luke 16
And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24 “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’

It's not the Lake of Fire, but it's not good. And if you find yourself here, your next stop is the Lake of Fire. And that's not good either.

Also, remember that Constantine wasn't the one to turn Christianity into a state religion, that came later.

But, I were talking about Hades in the sense of Greek Mythology, not Jewish beliefs.

They're virtually the same but for the non-existent river, ferry boat, and Charon.

>The Jewish Hades where only nonbelievers go are the same one as the Greek one where everyone but the heroes go.
Really? There are some differences that involve the whole structure and reason of the place.

>How do you think Christianity got to the point where it was influential enough to become a state religion?

It appealed to the poor and women. Poor people made up the majority of the workforce. The ideas spread into the nobility and upper classes via women who liked the faith who in turn influenced their husbands who in turn made state decisions.

Paradise/Elysian Fields for the "good people", Hades/Sheol for the "bad people", Torment/Gehenna for the "really bad people".

But the verses you are using are from Christian authors, who think all non Christian goes to Hades.
For the Greeks it was about deeds while it was about Faith for them.

Here's my story.

>See evidence that there's a God.
>start searching religions and shit
>first go eastern religions
>it goes horrible, I am declared insane even
>Go bible way
>Still horrible, shit gets really fucked up
>Decide that since according to the bible the law has been modified, the names of both the Christ and God have been replaced and so their commandments
>Decide that since I do not know the law I am free of sin according to the bible itself.
>Decide that it is better to ask God for some of His elect to come and preach and prove their words to me
>wait 'n pray
>suddenly the people who hated me and declared me insane are "threatening" me with declaring me sane so I no longer get some shitty 300 monthly euro neetbux.

Loving every laugh.

That declaration of sanity surely will fuck me up.

Yup. They had no idea what the sorting mechanism was. They were relying on the gospel of the devil: use the knowledge of good and evil to do good, avoid evil, and thus be like God.

>>it goes horrible, I am declared insane even
How'd this happen?

>since according to the bible the law has been modified,

This is not true.

>That declaration of sanity surely will fuck me up.

This board suddenly makes more sense.

You got it the wrong way.
The Greeks, getting the truth from their Gods (Originally called Odin, whose name changed as people spread over the world) that bravery and kindness is good and will be rewarded by the gods.
Then the Christians came around, and as they were neither kind or brave they crafted a belief that lets them to heaven and all those people they were jealous of goes to hell.
Why else do you think it's claimed that a brave man who sacrifices himself in an act of bravery and kindness to save hundreds of people will go to hell while a murdered and coward may go to heaven just by accepting Jesus the last few seconds of his life?

The Greeks did not predate the proto-evangelion found in Genesis.

God's plan for humanity did not start in 32 AD.

Jeremiah 8:8 says the law was modified.

The contradictions of the bible shriek that the bible was modified.

Any other doubt will either out you as not very bright or an ally of satan, pick your poison.

Trust me, any excuse is good to lock you up when you go the wrong way of religions, since God will be against you and demons fucking hate your guts.

I literally did nothing that wasn't usual of where I live.

>Jeremiah 8:8 says the law was modified.

No, it does not. It says that lying scribes writing things like the Talmud were writing false declarations contrary to the Law of Moses.

Scribes are lawyers, not transcriptionists.

There are no contradictions in the bible.

Does a God who thinks a Flood will change human nature have the ability to come up with such a good plan?

>I literally did nothing that wasn't usual of where I live.

Which is why we will not accept sharia law in our country.

The flood killed all of the nephilim quite nicely, yes.

You mean like they killed of Goliath hundreds of years before David slayed him?

IF YOU INSIST: Since you claim to know the true christ and the true God, do show us that you are true by performing miracles, since that is actually the power given to those that are chosen by God and not some liars on some internet forum.

Go ahead, miracles left and right.

It's likely Namaah, Ham's wife from the line of Cain, had some hybrid blood in her. It's also likely that the angels after the flood did the same thing the angels did before the flood, which is to procreate with human women.

Note David, a man after God's own heart, hunted down and killed all of the giants. Not just Goliath.

And Goliath's head, which David cut off and buried at Golgotha, was crushed by the cross of Christ Jesus, whose heel was bruised in the process.

I have prayed for and received miracles from the hand of God, yes. They are pearls to me, and I will not throw them before you swine.

>It nicely killed off the nephilim
>But it really didn't
>That happened some hundred years after the flood
That's what you are saying right now

You're that insane Spaniard who demands signs and wonders from Christians. Now I remember you.

The pagan gods will favor even the Christians if they are just and fair, just like they favors me in my fights.

Yes, devil trips, while the flood did nicely kill off millions of the devil's hybrids, there remained a few to clean up later. And the method of making said hybrids did not change due to the flood.

The devil gave up that attack, and moved on to others.

No you don't.

>you're insane

I would be insane if I trusted some retard who claims to do miracles but doesn't seem to be able to prove it.

So as you see, I am very sane.

I seek no such favors. I have already been blessed beyond measure.

Btw, the world is filled with people, but you are completely sure of who would I be, as if this were the first person ever to ask christians for miracles.

Totally not demonic ability.

Do you notice many people running around asserting that they are sane?

If you want to see a miracle, confess out loud that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart God has raised Him from the dead.

Do it looking in a mirror, and you will see a dead man come to life.

Are you serious about this or are you just battling the fundies?
I would like to read something anyone of the same thought have written if the former, it seems strangely comfy.

No, I just read, and remember. I sought no spiritual guidance that you were a Spaniard.

No, I do not make a habit of accepting false gods or christs whose followers cannot prove that they aren't lying.

Miracles are exactly a tool that those who have the truth and aren't afraid of it can use.

I am serious

This?

Is a legit experience.

So you remember that in a world filled with millions of inhabitants, the one that currently is telling you to prove your words is from spain and is according to you insane and has this or that characteristics.

You don't say.

Incase you have not noticed, Veeky Forums is actually a pretty populated place with a constantly growing userbase.

No, I would like to read some blog or something proposing your religious views.
I am not trying to ridicule you or arguing against you in any way, just curious about it all.

My religious views are simple.

I claim not to know the true law of God, since if according to the bible, the bible is modified, and according to he bible, the world is filled with demons... you cannot trust such a book nor people who come to you with claims that cannot prove.

If according to the bible, the people of Christ would be able to do any miracle, and these people are not doing them... they lie.

And it is reasonable too, to think they belong to the antichrist because what they preach isn't good for humans.

Loving your enemies for instance seems antinatural as fuck, your heart doesn't feel it.

Chastity, giving your money away to everyone that's poor (whic will most probably end in the hands of many demons) doesn't seem to be necessarily commandments of God, since you would be giving money and love to demons.

Their scripture betrays itself a lot, it says the devil hates mankind and then the bible tells you to let (demons) slap you in the face and just give them the other cheek. And to try dying a virgin. And that this or that sexual venue is "evil".

Doesn't seem particularly loving to me. And the lack of miracles is a dead giveaway. Not to mention the many excuses they put not to be doing what allegedly the christ commanded them, notice how none of them sold their computers to give to the poor?

>I seek no favors
So even if you befall ill or enemies threaten you and your kin you won't seek any of them?

You'll get your signs and wonders.

2 Thessalonians 2
For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.

The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

Yes, I remembered you.

Not from demons, no.

>You will get signs and wonders
You have been saying that for two thousand years now.

Not me personally, no.

People with similar beliefs have.