At the request of a couple of listeners, this episode is a response to the documentary: Zeitgeist.
As I promised in the episode, here are a few links.
First, a link to some astronomical illustrations: http://www.tracer345.org/zeitgeist.html
And here are the links to my three part blog series on evidence for the historical Jesus outside the New Testament, as promised:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
You might also find it helpful to check out my previous blogs on copycat theories about the life of Jesus of Nazareth.
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Anon
Wow, what a crap movie. No wonder the new atheist generation are stupid.
Dan
I am dumber for having been exposed to Zeitgeist. It seems like a lame retread of the solar mythologies constructed for proto-Europeans by comparativists like Frazer and Max Muller in the late 19th century.
I’m also stunned by the attention to the date of Dec. 25. Although I have no direct familiarity with sheep herding practices of the ancient middle east, but I’ve read in multiple sources that the shepherds would not have been watching their flocks as described in December. Moreover, the exact day — Dec. 25 — was adopted in the 300s as the accepted date because it coopted the Dec. 25 festival of Sol Invictus, a sun cult introduced to the Roman empire by Elagabalus and popularized by Aurellian. Given that the exact day and even year of Christ’s birth is obscured, anything of astrological significance constructed on the basis of a purported date is absurd fantasy.
Jonathan
I thought it may be interesting (or a colossal waste of time), to provide a link to The Zeitgeist Movement’s (yes, it’s a ‘movement’ now) internet radio broadcast.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/peter-joseph
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Joseph
Reads and sounds alot like some sort of Scientism to me.
Ciaron
Can I take it the money segment contains the same measure of truth?
Happy New year!
Casey
Glenn, the following words reminded me of your podcast about Zeitgeist. They concern the recent shooting of a Congresswoman that occurred in Arizona in America. I’m happy to take with a grain of salt the claim that Zeitgeist influenced the shooter, but I thought it worth noting here.
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Media speculation swirled after Loughner allegedly opened fire at a Tucson rally last Saturday, critically wounding Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 13 others and killing six. Immediately, the Tucson sheriff and liberal pundits and lawmakers chimed in that the shooting somehow was politically motivated and a result of the extreme rhetoric being used by conservatives such as Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh.
But Osler [the shooter’s high school friend] said Loughner wasn’t shooting at people, “he was shooting at the world.”
Osler said he instead suspects that Loughner was motivated by a documentary called, “Zeitgeist: The Movie,” which slams currency-based economics.
“I really think that this ‘Zeitgeist’ documentary had a profound impact upon Jared Loughner’s mindset and how he viewed the world that he lives in,” he said.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/01/12/report-alleged-arizona-gunman-did-watch-news-television/#ixzz1Aqfl0f7S
Damian
There’s a good Reasonable Doubts podcast critique of the film from a non Christian point of view here (25mb, starts at about 7:30).
Joey
Hey Glenn! Thinking Christians totally gave you and this podcast episode a shout-out on their Facebook page. Of course, I’m sure you knew that already, but still, pretty cool, no?
Glenn
Yeah it is cool!
Phil Duncalfe
Hi Glenn, thanks so much for this post. I came by it via J.W Wartick and have linked to this post about Zeitgeist. It is a load of rubbish and am glad you actually took the time to point out the inconsistencies. Look forward to reading more of your posts!
Phil
Eric Sawyer
Why am I always so late to the tea party. Excellent work Glenn.
Peace,
Eric