Archaeologists in Jordan have discovered what could be the oldest Christian church in the world: an underground cave that may have been used by the first disciples of Jesus Christ.
Archaeologist Abdel-Qader Hussein, head of the Rihab Center for Archaeological Studies, Abdul Qader al-Husan told The Jordan Times:'We have uncovered what we believe to be the first church in the world, dating from 33 AD to 70 AD.
'We have evidence to believe this church sheltered the early Christians - the 70 disciples of Jesus Christ.'
Mr Hussein said there was evidence that the underground cave was used in the first century after Christ's death, which would make it the oldest Christian site of worship in the world.
The cave was unearthed in the northern Jordanian city of Rihab after three months of excavation and shows evidence of early Christian rituals.
Let's face it: the word "church" does mean both the building and the congregation.
And the article does say "the oldest site of Christian worship".
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/science/features/article_1410384.php/In_photos_Jordan_Archeology_-_oldest_Christian_church_in_the_world?page=9
Worshippers of Dionysus, Mithra, and Osiris all believed that their god lived as an earthly human, was born of a virgin, turned water into wine at a wedding, was violently martyred in order to redeem humanity, rose from the dead after three days, etc. etc. There are even iconic depictions of Dionysus showing him nailed to a cross in exactly the same posture commonly used for Jesus, with the knees together and the legs turned to one side.
A reputable, unbiased, decently-educated archeologist would probably be aware of all this and be able to tell the difference... but I can see how some fundie dickhead who thinks evolution is a sham and who is working from an agenda to spread his delusions to the rest of us might well ignore or even be ignorant of the possibility of this being a temple of Dionysus. Or Mithra. Or Osiris.
Meh, religion. If there was a button that could be pushed to make all true believers of every religion on the planet disintegrate into their component atoms, you'd have to kill me to stop me from pushing it at my very earliest opportunity.
This is very intresting, but I did not read the entire thing. I try to tell the truth and I am having trouble just trying. I am doubting so many things around me.
Thank You,
Gateway Royal Prince Computer given to my sister and I using it.