I looked at that site... and it made me sick to the gut. Religious fascism like that should be outlawed.
I've also yet to see a person with a strong religious conviction who has actually done his/her homework on the origins of Christianity. As You said, Kausion, it's based on a character that has been portrayed almost identically in the folklore of several different peoples throughout early history. The character that Jesus was portrayed to be isn't uniquely Christian by any means.
I see Christianity and other religions as a comfortable safety net (heaven DOES sound like a good deal, even to me) into which you are initiated through generations of similarily misguided people before you who have passed the burden down to you because that is what they were told to believe in, and see as the right thing to do. The heaven vs hell scenario also serves as a powerful deterrent to keep people in the ranks... god forbid your soul should rot in hell if you don't adhere to a strict code of worship and obediance of some vague, omnipotent entity, no matter how morally righteous you are otherwise. What also never ceases to surprise me is that a lot of "Christians" think they will get a free pass to heaven as soon as they die. That is another misconception that should be corrected. The whole rite of burial is based on the hope of your body being reincarnated once this very shady Jesus character makes his second coming to earth, and only IF you've been a good boy and kissed his 2000 year old ass for your entire life without ever stopping to think about why you're doing it. Once you're dead, YOU REALLY ARE DEAD until Jesus comes and brings you back to life. That's how the original version was, until man twisted it around to suit his agenda, and make the whole religion seem much more tempting and rewarding.
What the Early Church Taught
But astounding as it may seem, neither Jesus nor His apostles taught that the righteous go to heaven! Notice the admission of a secular encyclopedia:
"The dominant view in the early church seems to have been that until the return of the Lord upon the clouds of heaven to raise the dead, those who had died were asleep, and that they would be suddenly awakened to be given their new bodies, after which they would reign with Him on earth for a thousand years..." (The New International Encyclopedia, art. "Heaven," vol. 9, pp. 700-701).
The early Church clearly did not teach the concept of "going to heaven." Such teachings did not become popular until long after the death of the apostles!
Notice, however, what gradually happened:
"But, largely under the influence of Greek thought, other conceptions [gradually] prevailed. The fate of the patriarchs, prophets, and pious men of the old dispensation naturally occupied much attention and led to the idea that they [their "immortal souls"] were detained in a preparatory abode which the fathers called limbus patrum, awaiting the advent of the Redeemer. The general belief of Christians has been that since the resurrection of Christ the just who are free from sin are admitted immediately after death into heaven, where their chief joy consists in the unclouded vision of God" (ibid.).
