That was one of the points I was tryin' ta make. No one group of people can lay a claim to the Absolute Truth. It is the one thing that NONE of us will know until we are dead.
Over eons, all types of information about earlier times has been lost. Who can say for certain that all of the info we have on Christianity is 100% accurate? How many times has the Bible been re-writen, sometimes by those with questionable motives? What about the Gospel of St. Thomas found near the Dead Sea that the Vatican rejects as heresy? What other bits did they leave out?
As for the Celts and the Norse, just because I only listed a couple of really quick sources, do not think that this is all there is. That'd be like saying that the only thing we know about Christ came from the Council of Nicea. Oral traditions gave way to more permanent methods of recording. Leaf Books, ogham script, and pictitorial enscriptions all have played a part in preserving quite a bit of the beliefs of those cultures. Not to mention the writings of middle eastern visitors and teh Romans.
As for what my personal faith should mean to others, nothing. I live my life as I see fit. I don't have the moral authority to tell others how to live. If my "leadership by example" makes others curious about my beliefs, I'd be happy to share my viewpoints. Forcing someone, through government interdiction or otherwise, undermines any moral stance I could have claimed.
Forcing someone to believe something I want them to negates any responsibility they may have had in making that decision. The ultimate, "The Devil made me do it" type of dodge.
That's not the point I was trying to make. There is such a thing as truth, and we can know it. Not claim it as if it were a possession, because it's external to us, just know what it is. You obviously think the things you believe are true, otherwise you wouldn't believe them. I was asking why you think they're true, or at least more likely to be true.
Over eons, all types of information about earlier times has been lost. Who can say for certain that all of the info we have on Christianity is 100% accurate? How many times has the Bible been re-writen, sometimes by those with questionable motives?
Many times. Fortunately, the vast majority of texts agree with each other, even when there's been no interaction with the holders of other texts of the same type. For some of the books, there are fragments as early as the first century.
What about the Gospel of St. Thomas found near the Dead Sea that the Vatican rejects as heresy? What other bits did they leave out?
You're implying that the book of Thomas was part of the Bible to begin with, and was taken out. It wasn't.
Forcing someone, through government interdiction or otherwise, undermines any moral stance I could have claimed.
Why would you think I have any interest in doing that?