How/Why Did The Christ-Figure Rise To Such Global Popularity?

 Following up on comments under this video clip:

@marcolorenti9637 

The supernatural spread of Santa Claus is also proof of Santa Claus.

107

@samiraabuser 

but santa wasn't a real person

@ApPersonaNonGrata

0 seconds ago

​ @samiraabuser  re: "but santa wasn't a real person" -- Santa is based on a real person; Nicholas of Bari. Compare that to: Jesus Christ. He was *just maybe* based on a real person. As it happens, I am a "historicist" about Muggle-Jesus. But at the same time, I must admit. We have better evidence that Nicholas existed than we do that Muggle-Jesus existed. I simply have what seems to me like 'sufficient reasons' to think the Christ-myth was based on a real person's life; in the same way that Santa Clause was. Both of those magic-men are mythical figures. In both cases, the legends spread PARTLY because peasants love magic. Why? Because believing in magic is a COPE. And their lives are so hard they need a way to cope. It's a form of mental anesthesia. As for that, don't get me wrong. I'm not dissing them for it. Life is hard. If immersion of magical narratives makes your life easier, or more beautiful, or more meaningful for you, ... then I'm genuinely glad for you. However, in the case of the Christ-myth, various forms of that legend were MOSTLY spread by various forms of violence; including physical and psychological violence. In fact, even today, that's still the case. Even their core doctrines are psychologically violent. In fact, it compels evangelizers to violate the ethic of CONSENT. Instead, they manufacture consent (which means it's not true consent); via mind-hacking manipulations. They seek, find, create, worsen, and exploit vulnerabilities of the human psyche. And yet, because that doesn't always work,... Their parent-organizations, politicians, and lobbyists also keep scanning for low-risk/high-gain opportunities to commit rationalized physical violence; directly and indirectly, against everyone they can. They refuses to equitably co-exist. They intend to keep waging cultural warfare. They refuse to lose. And they do not HAVE a conscience limiting what depths they'll sink to. Worse yet, ... because we DO have scruples which they don't have, they're often able to weaponize our own scruples against us.

THAT is what gives them such power. This is simply the fact of the matter. They use all of that to supplement waves of physically violent colonizing. For thousands of years, those White Knights of organized Narcissism have been attacking humanity every way they can, while posturing as our salvation.

Realize, also, that those atheists (such as "Forest") ... aren't calling into churches. They aren't calling Christians at their homes either. Nor are they standing outside of religious gatherings with picket signs and bullhorns. Christians bring the fight to skeptics, to offer up their religious fantasy as a premise for attacking secular views, values, and peoples. And that's happening mostly in the context of a misguided and highly dangerous culture-war that Christian Nationalists are waging against the entire world. Call-in shows like "The Line" merely agree to listen, consider, and respond to those attacks.
And yet, those same Christians act like they're being persecuted when ANYONE stands up to their aggression

Worse yet, in most cases, the Christian is only pretending to even BELIEVE they themselves are the victim when anyone pushes back against their colonizing, bullying and gaslighting.
Why would they pretend to think they are the victim in those situations? It's another level of gaslighting. And it has a very specific purpose:

For their intended victims, it's a lose/lose situation. If the TARGET reacts w/ civil and respectful engagement, then this will dignify the abuser's pretense that the abuser's abuses counts as civil and respectable engagement. That, in turn, robs the abused person of all premise upon which to call out the abuse as abuse. How? Because they just got done dignifying it as "respectful engagement" and "something worth considering". How? By treating it as such. Whereas, if the target reacts APPROPORIATELY by treating abuse AS abuse, ... by mocking the abuser's attempt to seize control over the target's mind,

or mocking the laughable premise of the abuser's self-righteous posturing, or mocking the utter bullshit of the entire false-fact-ing, fallacious, authoritarian grift, (in other words, laughing in the bully's face) ... then the abuser will claim "victory" and "confirmation" that the abuser's targets are guilty of wronging the abuser. They don't want anyone who might be LISTENING TO US ... to REALIZE that MOCKERY is ESSENTIAL to liberation from (and defense against) every form of tyranny.

It's also fully appropriate as a response to their directly and intentionally personal disrespect. They are putting it in our faces that (as they see it) we're worth LESS than the cost of our liberation. As such, we should simply capitulate to their demands. Our collective response to that insult, is this:

Now, imagine that same scene, where the little girl and her rescuer ... put their heads down in shame, apologize, and then calmly move into a long and civil "discussion" about the VALUE of that girl's life. They would be automatically dignifying that reporter's viewpoint about the rescue; even if they offered arguments against the reporter's viewpoint. They'd automatically be dignifying the reporter's objection as "something worth considering". Christian fundamentalists are challenging every person's right to life. They are challenging our right to liberty. They are taking and holding hostages, in the same way all cults do. They act offended when we liberate ourselves and others. They even have the unmitigated gall to blame US for the unavoidable costs of freeing hostages. They PRETEND as if they "just don't understand" why we won't negotiate with domestic terrorists.

We are, however, willing to hear their demands. We are also willing to hear their justifications. But once we KNOW what those are, because we've already taken the time to make those discoveries, ... We do not owe it to every-next-terrorist from every-next-cell (aka "church") to start all over again. Nor did we ever owe it to any of them to dignify it. In fact, as A.C. Grayling pointed out (in the meme I shared earlier), they complain if we argue AND they complain if we won't. We've tried it all. And nothing works, because nothing ever works with narcissists. They simply must behave according to their nature. They literally can't do otherwise.

In fact, I experienced that over the past few days, in the comments section under one of my own videos. I was accused of failing to make a space for civil and respectful conversations about any worldview which stands in conflict w/ my own. I was accused of that by a Christian-religious fundamentalist. They felt like (or, pretended to feel like) their constant attempts to gaslight, condescend, and conquer me ... counted as them offering "civil and respectful disagreement".

I explained how ALL of that are forms of attempted harm. They just doubled-down and gaslit me about that too. They pretend not to understand. But they do understand. [Link to a list of examples of violence they commit] When they bring all that bullshit to us, and then we respond by calling out for the bullshit that it is, they cry out! They go on rants about how we should be riddled with SHAME for such offense. It just goes on, and on, and on.