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Dec 1, 2006, 13:14 GMT

International team uncover secret behind world's first computer


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Cauz'N'effektDec 4th, 2006 - 00:20:42

'Researchers said the Antikythera Mechanism was built in Greece around 150-100 BC...Ever since its discovery a century ago, the complex mechanism has puzzled scientists....In the report in Nature, the team says that the mechanism was 'technically more complex than any known device for at least a millennium afterwards.''

Hmmm. What possibly could have caused the rollback of technology and science around that time? 100BC. After it was created...then it disappeared. Enemy of knowledge and reason. What would do that? Hmmmmm.

Oh yeah: Christianity!

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hmmDec 4th, 2006 - 00:29:31

So you would rather appreciate a small box of insignificant (relatively) bronze gears over eternal salvation? At any rate, who knows why it disappeared...or cares... The doctrines behind Christianity did not suddenly appear when Christ was born either. They have been in place since the begining of time.

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Jason FortunyDec 4th, 2006 - 01:22:22

It's true. The most disasterous event of the last two thousand years is the introduction of Christianity. No other movement before or since has led to such a dramatic fall of civilization into a dark ages that would poison entire nations and lead to unparalleled bloodshed.

Ironically, it was the Muslim faith that was the keeper of the history of Western thought and discovery for nearly 1,500 years until the European Renaissance reintroduced the concept of reason to the masses. This, in turn, led the Christian church to it's greatest tragedy: the massacre or silencing of nearly every brilliant mind and leader of the next 100 years. No other organization ever has so brutally sought to silence its critics and control the masses.

If only that moron Jesus had not spread his poison over this great world. Who knows how advanced and civilized we would be today.

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chrisDec 4th, 2006 - 01:24:41

And they have been changed, hidden and miss interpreted for just as long.

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JohnDec 4th, 2006 - 02:04:44

Here is the thing. Christianity introduced all higher learning of any enduring significance. No ancient learning would even be recalled if it were not for the positive civilizing effects of Christianity. Here is some history: For tens of thousands (or more)years before Christ you will notice NO real scientific advacnement that was enduring advancment. This is due primarily to the extreme ignorance of civilized behavior necessary for a society to endure AND to advance. Those ancient societies that endured, failed in advancement. It was not until the time of Christ, and the consequent spread of Christianity, that any real advancment has occured. So, far from being a blight on mankind Christianity has and continues to exert positive influences on the world and civilization, and acts as a preserving effect despite the efforts of various influences to try to redefine up as down and down as up. If civilization fails, it will not be Christianity as the cause, it will be neo-pagan values and other toxic influences to society that kill off the necessary respect to people, posessions, and law and order and value for life and respect for God. Once the ignorant gain power, and insanity is made law, chaos follows. It is Christianity that keeps everything together, without it the world will be lost, not merely in a spiritual sense, chaos will ensue, and those remaining will live no better than the animals.

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gregDec 4th, 2006 - 02:07:24

I doubt Christianity has actually harmed science. Those who usurped a decent religion in the name of building a power base would have found any excuse needed to fight scientific progress.

I also doubt Christianity has actually added much to promoting a peaceful caring society. Those who have been attracted to the message of goodness would have been decent people anyway with or without any formal religion.

Probably history would not be all that different if some other religion had sprung up instead or if there were none at all. People do the things they do mostly because of their nature good or bad and not a concept they've been exposed to.

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JKoolDec 4th, 2006 - 02:07:48

I defend Jesus but not the crusades where many people were killed. If they were to follow the teachings then that would not have happened. This discovery is highly significant and i'd like to hear more about it if there is anything else

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godDec 4th, 2006 - 02:23:49

CHRISTENDOM AND TRUE CHRISTIANITY ARE TWO DIFFERENT SYSTEM OF BELIEFS...TO CONFUSE THE TWO SHOWS YOU HAVE LITTLE KNOWLEDGE OF EITHER.

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KuyaDec 4th, 2006 - 05:10:10

In 100 BC, neither Jesus nor his parents had been born yet. The historical marker for Jesus' birth is the census carried out by the minor Hebrew king Herod on behalf of the Roman Empire that ruled Palestine in that day. This is thought to have occurred in either 6 BC or 4 BC, more than 90 years later than the estimated construction of the ancient 'computer'. Certainly politicized religion can be blamed for many ills, but a knee-jerk blaming of all modern problems upon Christianity (as though it was a monolithic force with only one single effect over two millennia of time) is simplistic at best, historical nonsense at worst.

I'd be more likely to blame self-satisfied ignorance, bandwagon-style ideological fads, and the addiction to power, rather than just bagging on 'the church you love to hate'. They're more central to the point.

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issuesDec 4th, 2006 - 06:52:52

It sounds like you have some issues with Christianity.

The truth is what put the world into the dark ages was the Collapse of Rome and the Roman system of government which gave way to devision in Europe and the Vandals and Goths and other groups who were barbarians and less advanced than rome.

Christianity isn't really the problem here. One of the greatest cultural calamities occured when the Library of Alexandria was destroyed and the Christians had nothing to do with this it was the Romans who were partly responsibly.

Blaming one religion for the dark ages is to deny the very cause of it. Whenever a system of government authority dies the society reverts to anarchy. You can see this in the Mayans. Europe had to gradually reinvent itself after the destruction of Rome and deal with the loss of Roman engineering and structure and also deal with the Plague and the dissintegration of unified law and language. Before there was Una Lingles or Latin and from latin there is a host of other languages that have devided Europe.

Some of the top scientists such as Newton were Christians. Also, you have to separate Christianity from the Catholic Church and government in science.

Today, Islamic countries are no longer leading the scientific world in innovation or technology.

Get a grip. Christianity isn't the cause of the dark ages or scientific collapse.

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Garth NumanDec 4th, 2006 - 07:54:04

Without a doubt, Christianity is the darkest stain on the cloth of human history.

The civilizing effects of Christianity? Please. This article clearly shows the advanced technology of the Greeks. Let's not forget the database abilities of the Mayans, the logistic wizardry of the Egyptians, the literature and libraries of Africa, the bio-chemistry of Ireland, and all the other technologically advanced civilizations that Christian nations single-handedly decimated.

Does the Christian body of work include ANY scientific treatises? No. None. It's all gospel. Are the any Christian papers talking about the nature of the heavens, or the shape of the Earth, or our place in it? Oh, yes, you'll find lots of pieces about that -- all espoucing the wrong doctrine calling the Earth flat, placing it at the center of the universe, and ordering the execution of anyone who disagreed. So much for the 'civilizing effects' of Christianity.

Face it, Christianity, like any religion, is a blight on civilized man. One cannot believe in fairy tales and imaginary friends who save them and claim to have any rational thoughts, which is the very basis of a civilized society.

Religion = Self Destruction

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Paul Muller FRASDec 4th, 2006 - 08:01:15

As amazing as this device is (and I would love to have a restored copy), it was not the first astronomical computer. That distinction belongs to the Eighth Wonder of the ancient World, Stonehenge, circa 1500BC. Gerald S Hawkins, in his book 'Stonehenge Decoded', in my view makes a strong case that the monument could be (and was) used to predict lunar eclipses without errors and accurately for a period of 400 years. The 'computer' could then be reset by one unit, and it would do so again for the another 400 years. Among other things this suggests that at least 400 years of fairly precise observations went into the basic plan of the monument. Measurement of the solar and lunar positions at sunrise and sunset (as was traditional at that time) can be reliably made to the precision of human vision, or about 4 arcminutes. The data was probably 'preserved' by setting up markers on the periphery of a large area with an unobstructed view to the east and west. It would then be straightforward to replace the layout discovered by direct observation with more permanent markers.

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lesser than GodDec 4th, 2006 - 13:39:12

The false teachings of cristendom...immortal soul,hell fire etc..conquering by force, have nothing to do with the Bible or true christianity, The religions of man cause suffering the true religion that Chrisr taught is no part of political military, or commercial forces of the world , all the worldly religions, including chritendom deny the teachings of Jesus Christ.and his God...John 20:17.this is what brings a blight on the world

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