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Rantings of a Sandmonkey

Be forewarned: The writer of this blog is an extremely cynical, snarky, pro-US, secular, libertarian, disgruntled sandmonkey. If this is your cup of tea, please enjoy your stay here. If not, please sod off

Thursday, January 05, 2006

Jesus on trial in Italy!

This is kind of funny: An Italian court is tackling Jesus — and whether the Roman Catholic Church may be breaking the law by teaching that he existed 2,000 years ago. The case pits against each other two men in their 70s, who are from the same central Italian town and even went to the same seminary school in their teenage years. The defendant, Enrico Righi, went on to become a priest writing for the parish newspaper. The plaintiff, Luigi Cascioli, became a vocal atheist who, after years of legal wrangling, is set to get his day in court later this month. "I started this lawsuit because I wanted to deal the final blow against the Church, the bearer of obscurantism and regression," Cascioli told Reuters. Cascioli says Righi, and by extension the whole Church, broke two Italian laws. The first is "Abuso di Credulita Popolare" (Abuse of Popular Belief) meant to protect people against being swindled or conned. The second crime, he says, is "Sostituzione di Persona," or impersonation. "The Church constructed Christ upon the personality of John of Gamala," Cascioli claimed, referring to the 1st century Jew who fought against the Roman army. A court in Viterbo will hear from Righi, who has yet to be indicted, at a January 27 preliminary hearing meant to determine whether the case has enough merit to go forward. "In my book, The Fable of Christ, I present proof Jesus did not exist as a historic figure. He must now refute this by showing proof of Christ's existence," Cascioli said. Intersting. Now, if he wins this lawsuit, will he tackle YAHWEH and Allah next, or is he just picking on Jesus? Stay tuned..I guess!

6 Comments:

At 1/05/2006 05:49:00 PM, Blogger Twosret said...

What a Moron with capital M ;)

 
At 1/06/2006 02:54:00 PM, Blogger Kat said...

Well, he won't go for Yahweh or Allah, but I would stand ready to defend Mohammed and Isaiah to name two.

 
At 1/06/2006 02:56:00 PM, Blogger Kat said...

But I agree, this guy is a moron.

 
At 1/06/2006 08:14:00 PM, Blogger Twosret said...

Kat did we just agree on one thing ;) hope you are having a happy New Year.

 
At 1/07/2006 03:40:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think the atheist is on a loser here. The life of Jesus is very poorly documented but he does seem to have really existed. Mohammed is well documented and certainly existed. Isaiah is dubious. Did he really exist or is he a fictitious character? How about King Arthur, King Wenceslas, Robin Hood, St George the dragon killer, Santa Claus ... there are all kinds of semi or completely mythical characters wandering around. Not to mention the mythical Sand Monkey, who might grant you three wishes if you ask nicely.

 
At 4/25/2006 10:50:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

the references from Josephus are forgeries. there are plenty of churches that existed with savior figures that weren't flesh and blood individuals--so Jesus Churches existing early on isn't itself proof of anything. most people think Jesus existed, but it certainly is up for debate. Anyone who tells you Jesus's existence is as likely as Julius Caesar's is a liar. If it were a murder trial and the evidence for Jesus existing was the evidence the guy did it, you'd have to let him go. whatever the outcome, this trial is history in the making. it is a major step in the right direction. it is kind of funny none of you appreciate the scope of what is happening.

 

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