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New Pope!


MattyT

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Don't mistake the works of men, with all their warts, with the Church. If some man said that the Catholic Church was the "direct representative of God", they were in error. Understand the fallibility of Man...CEO's of major corprations these days are filled with hubris and self-importance, these folks that we fawn over be they in entertainment or in sports often disappoint us.

 

The late Pope never claimed to be anything but a humble servant of our good Lord. Never.

 

Don't be prejudicial of this new Pope.

 

Wait and see.

 

I've typed in several statements in this thread. I am not a member of the Catholic Church. But I recognize that the good imparted around the globe far surpasses the bad.

 

Think for a moment if that Church and it's bretheren were no more...what a loss to humanity, let alone to faith.

 

Remember Pope John Paul II, and look for the good in the new Pope.

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Actually, the men said the Catholic Church ordained them as direct representatives of God, which is not entirely contradictory with the idea of being a "humble servant". And like I said...I could have been taught poorly, but what I was taught about being Catholic by members of the Catholic clergy gave me serious problems with the Church.

 

None of which has to do with the new Pope, as 1) he's not my religious leader, and 2) much as I view the federal government, my issues with the Catholic Church are more systemic than having to do with the leadership.

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So you are saying that 3 years of a guy's life in the german equivalent of the boy scouts trumps 50 years of service to God? Hell, I'm not a catholic, but calling this guy a Nazi is crazy.

 

How is it ignorant? 

 

His father was anti-nazi but he somehow became a youth nazi.  I fully understand that people were forced to do things or die.  If that is the case i feel sorry for him but he shouldn't be the Pope because of it. 

 

If your father beat your mother then you have a strong chance of becoming a wife beater yourself even tho as a kid you knew it wasn't right.

 

The same idea goes for the new Pope.  He was a Nazi Youth. He had a front row seat to their teachings.  He had Nazi Teachers.  He sat in a classroom.

 

The Pope has a very visable black spot on his record.  He shouldn't be the Pope because of it.

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The Catholic doctrine is that the act of sex is directly connected to procreation. Any attempt to undermine that duality is deviant to the will of God. Hence, abortion, contraception, gay and lesbian relationships, etc, all fall under the banner of deviant practice. Since God sanctifies sex/procreation only within the bond of marriage, adultery and bigamy are out too.

 

This has been a formula for most winning religions/cultures through the millenia, since this also corresponds strongly with the evolutionary purpose of our DNA. Taking it up the pooper doesn't produce the next generation of the species. Running from bed to bed does not provide a proper environment for offspring. The Church might say it's the Word Of God that tells us this, but there also is much common sense which ties these doctrines to speci-societal survival.

 

You'll notice that, besides traditional Catholics (I'm sure Pope Benny would consider the so called liberal Catholics who support abortion/contraception/free-love/deviant sex to be in apostasy), the culture which most promotes values which tend to increase the "size of the herd" if you will, is Islam. Is it any wonder they're the fastest growing religion? They're popping out the most little suicide bombers. Don't worry, we'll make more, they say... and they do.

 

In the numbers game, Europe and Russia just aren't procreating fast enough to avoid being overtaken sometime in this century, and when the numbers finally tip you'll see the green flag flying over Paris, and Berlin, and Stockholm and Oslo too. A pope upholding the traditional doctrines, and the traditional 'self-evident truths' about the nature of the relationship between man and God, should not really be such a surprise. Those taking the long view can conjecture that this is what Armageddon and the survival of the Church and Christianity as we know it is all about. As Europe secularizes and welfarizes, it diminishes it's own culture while at the same time introducing the strain that will ultimately replace it.

 

That is, if you believe the theories of one Charles Darwin to be correct.

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I don't know if I agree with the cause and effect.

 

While it's ndeniable that Western nations' birthrates lag the underdeveloped countries, I'm not sure that religious doctrine is the cause of the disparity.

 

I view the modernization of Western cultures to be a dominant reason for the drop-off in birth rates. The advances in medicine, science and living standards don't necessitate a woman giving birth to 10 children to ensure that enough healthy ones survive to promote the generations. That is closer to Darwinist dogma than the religious explanation.

 

As to the fear that Muslims are set to overrun Europe, bad Bush is taking care of that by trying to force modernity upon the Middle East.

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JOSEPH RATZINGER (GERMAN), BORN APRIL 16, 1927

 

Cardinal Francis Arinze was for nearly 20 years the Vatican's point man for relations with Islam, a key element cardinals choosing the next pope may take into consideration.

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Hm. Wishful thinking?

 

I was kinda rooting for Arinze too. I had a whole set of new material ready to go.

 

Hint: The first punchline was gonna be "they can't fire him because he's Pope" :rolleyes:

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"He had Nazi teachers, therefore he's a Nazi."

 

Well, golly...I had a teacher who was a card-carrying Communist in high school.  I also had one that was gay and one that was institutionalized with mental illness. 

 

I guess that makes me a gay communist schizophrenic. 

 

:rolleyes:

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We knew that though. Cappuccino? B-)

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How is it ignorant? 

 

His father was anti-nazi but he somehow became a youth nazi.  I fully understand that people were forced to do things or die.  If that is the case i feel sorry for him but he shouldn't be the Pope because of it. 

 

If your father beat your mother then you have a strong chance of becoming a wife beater yourself even tho as a kid you knew it wasn't right.

 

The same idea goes for the new Pope.  He was a Nazi Youth. He had a front row seat to their teachings.  He had Nazi Teachers.  He sat in a classroom.

 

The Pope has a very visable black spot on his record.  He shouldn't be the Pope because of it.

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So, you know better than the Holy Ghost what the conclave's decision-making process should be.

 

See you on the other side, dude. We'll see who's craning their neck.

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Should the church accept and welcome them as well, as is, and just say that is how they are wired?

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Pretty ironic that the Church won't accept pedophiles as part of the flock, but protects them when frocked as a priest.

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So you are saying that 3 years of a guy's life in the german equivalent of the boy scouts trumps 50 years of service to God? Hell, I'm not a catholic, but calling this guy a Nazi is crazy.

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That has been one of the constant thoughts that go through my head that I don't share with other people; if I lived during (insert era here), what side would I have been on? What side would my parents have been on and would I have been in a position to make my own choices, or even have the awareness to make the right choice? I look at Ratzinger and see someone who was able to triumph over the bonds of his time. Not alot of people throughout history have been able to claim that.

 

I find his election rather ballsy, a polarizing figure in a polarizing time. I respect the church for taking a stand like this, although I do not agree with the stand.

 

I'm getting your point - you have to take the doctrine for what it says, as the church appears to be, you need to be either in or out, no gray areas.

 

Personally, I'm at a crisis of faith at the moment. The Evangelicals, the fundamentalists, the Catholics, the Muslims, all appear to be hardening their line, but it doesn't make things easier for me, from my selfish standpoint, I guess have a problem, I can't agree with 'the lines' that the religions are taking.

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Personally, I'm at a crisis of faith at the moment.  The Evangelicals, the fundamentalists, the Catholics, the Muslims, all appear to be hardening their line, but it doesn't make things easier for me, from my selfish standpoint, I guess have a problem, I can't agree with 'the lines' that the religions are taking.

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You could try Orthodox Judaism or Christianity. They don't have to harden their lines, those lines have been hard for a long long time. Either one makes Rome's "hard line" look like the Unitarians.

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You could try Orthodox Judaism or Christianity. They don't have to harden their lines, those lines have been hard for a long long time. Either one makes Rome's "hard line" look like the Unitarians.

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Unitarians.. :devil: I have no idea what that even is, it sounds like math rock. My main problem is that I don't want to be wishy-washy about religion, customizing a belief, if you will. That comes across to me as cheating - a cop out. But at the same time, I have some strong, unflappable views on bigotry and simple human decency that I believe go against the doctrines of the major religions today.

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Unitarians.. :lol:  I have no idea what that even is, it sounds like math rock.  My main problem is that I don't want to be wishy-washy about religion, customizing a belief, if you will.  That comes across to me as cheating - a cop out.  But at the same time, I have some strong, unflappable views on bigotry and simple human decency that I believe go against the doctrines of the major religions today.

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:D

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But at the same time, I have some strong, unflappable views on bigotry and simple human decency that I believe go against the doctrines of the major religions today.

 

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You're saying that either (a) you are a bigot, or (b) major religions are bigoted. Either way, that's cause for his emoticon.

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Since the church resists change/cannot change,I do have a few questions for the new Pope:

1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

 

2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

 

3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual 'uncleanness' - Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

 

4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is, my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

 

5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2. clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?

 

6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination - Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there 'degrees' of abomination?

 

7. Lev.21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?

 

8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?

 

9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

 

10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

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Okay,

 

I just spent the last 40 minutes reading all of these posts........ and this one is the best. The rest were amusing, but this one wins it.

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You're saying that either (a) you are a bigot, or (b) major religions are bigoted. Either way, that's cause for his emoticon.

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Thanks, but I'm quite sure he (and you) know what I meant. Please, spare me the one-upmanship internet games. If you, (or him) have something to say, just say it. Even if it's just an attempt to riducule me, I will respect that more.

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Okay,

 

I just spent the last 40 minutes reading all of these posts........ and this one is the best.  The rest were amusing, but this one wins it.

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If only BUFFALOBART had actually come up with that himself and not copied it word for word.

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Thanks, but I'm quite sure he (and you) know what I meant.  Please, spare me the one-upmanship internet games. If you, (or him) have something to say, just say it.  Even if it's just an attempt to riducule me,  I will respect that more.

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No, I really didn't understand that. When I ridicule I usually have a knack for really ticking people off, so it would have been obvious. I just didn't get what you meant there, about the bigotry and major religions thing. Maybe you were looking for another word?

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Thanks, but I'm quite sure he (and you) know what I meant.  Please, spare me the one-upmanship internet games. If you, (or him) have something to say, just say it.  Even if it's just an attempt to riducule me,  I will respect that more.

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Bobble. I take some joy in internet flame wars, but was not trying to start one. Your statement, "But at the same time, I have some strong, unflappable views on bigotry and simple human decency that I believe go against the doctrines of the major religions today," is either an indictment of major religions as bigoted or an admission that you are bigoted. I assume you meant the former, but I'm not sure.

 

If you're saying that major religions are bigoted and against simple human decency, that's a helluva claim.

 

If there's a third way to interpret your statement, I'm all ears.

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No, I really didn't understand that. When I ridicule I usually have a knack for really ticking people off, so it would have been obvious.

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Well, I don't know you, so I'll just have to take your word on that. You obviously want me to just come out and say that the treatment of women and homosexuals as second-class citizens or even worse is bigoted in spirit. I can respect you for wanting me to explain, I just wish you had said that straight up, sorry.

 

 

Sorry everyone, but that's the way I see it. People will want to try to educate me on the word of God and Bible passages and the history of the world's religions, but I see it as a straight-up, black or white issue, you are either a bigot or you are not, and anything that allows for bigoted principles in their laws just that. If someone has a problem with me saying that, well so be it.

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Hmm.. maybe I should post the Bill of Rights on here and get credit for such a great list of human rights.

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Maybe you should......

People cut and paste crap here all of the time.I don't see a problem with it,unless you have some sort of axe to grind.

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Maybe you should......

People cut and paste crap here all of the time.I don't see a problem with it,unless you have some sort of axe to grind.

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Cutting and pasting is fine. The point is that you give credit to the source. Sorry to seem like I'm hating; it's meant to be a fairly minor complaint.

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Let's hope this pope gets with the 21st century and 1: Allows priests to marry, 2: Allows women priests, 3: Denounces papal infallability, 4: Allows the divorced and openly gay people to fully be members of the church in every way.

 

If that doesn't happen, I ain't coming back.

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See you. The Church isn't about acceptance. Jesus didn't say go ahead and just follow the rules that you want to.

 

The only way to heaven is through Jesus. Jesus in the Bible said that the Church will be built on Peter. Meaning Peter and his reps set the rules.

Again, noone said it would be easy.

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Okay,

 

I just spent the last 40 minutes reading all of these posts........ and this one is the best.  The rest were amusing, but this one wins it.

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Of course if you read later in the Bible, especially in Acts, you would see a lot of those rules were changed or misrepresented and where better defined or changed by Jesus later. But of course facts suck.

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From what I recall of Catholicism...yes and no.  While "God hears all prayers", the unwashed masses may NOT speak directly to him, but must go through an official and ordained representative, i.e. a Catholic priest. 

 

One of the reasons I left the church...it just struck me as funny that a bunch of old men were telling me that God's will was that I not talk to him except through them, and I was just supposed to take them at their word because God told them to tell me I should.  Awful lot of circular logic there...

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Wrong but try again. You may pray directly to God, in Catholcism however you may prayer for other to intercede on your behalf as well.

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See you.  The Church isn't about acceptance.  Jesus didn't say go ahead and just follow the rules that you want to. 

 

The only way to heaven is through Jesus.  Jesus in the Bible said that the Church will be built on Peter.  Meaning Peter and his reps set the rules. 

Again, noone said it would be easy.

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There are plenty of routes through Jesus that espouse the principles he lists.

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There are plenty of routes through Jesus that espouse the principles he lists.

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And the point that I am making is, I don't agree, but neither am I the one to judge. We will see when we die. I do not believe for a moment that those who know and are given a choice will be deemed ready to enter heaven. But that is my belief. That doesn't make me like you as an individual any more or any less.

 

I have my beliefs, that I know to be true. I accept them and constantly learn as I progress. Do I know the whole Catholic doctrine? Not a chance, but i learn, I listen and I try to understand. I know I don't always do the right thing, but I go to confession (reconcoiliation) and admit I did wrong and deal with the consequences.

 

Again, that is my belief.

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And the point that I am making is, I don't agree, but neither am I the one to judge.

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That's the tricky part, no? There are so many contradictions in the Bible that all we can do is the best we can do, and let God sort the rest out.

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That's the tricky part, no?  There are so many contradictions in the Bible that all we can do is the best we can do, and let God sort the rest out.

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That sir is exactly my point. I don't judge, I believe what I believe and others can believe what they believe. We will only know for sure when it is too late, won't we. :D

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Well, I don't know you, so I'll just have to take your word on that.  You obviously want me to just come out and say that the treatment of women and homosexuals as second-class citizens or even worse is bigoted in spirit.  I can respect you for wanting me to explain, I just wish you had said that straight up, sorry.

Sorry everyone, but that's the way I see it.  People will want to try to educate me on the word of God and Bible passages and the history of the world's religions, but I see it as a straight-up, black or white issue, you are either a bigot or you are not, and anything that allows for bigoted principles in their laws just that.  If someone has a problem with me saying that, well so be it.

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Well, uh, at least I understand what you meant now. I'm not familiar with that particular use of the term bigot. And if I preach to anyone about religion, I'm pretty sure there would be a bolt of lightning heading my way in short order.

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Personally, I'm at a crisis of faith at the moment.  The Evangelicals, the fundamentalists, the Catholics, the Muslims, all appear to be hardening their line, but it doesn't make things easier for me, from my selfish standpoint, I guess have a problem, I can't agree with 'the lines' that the religions are taking.

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Neo Pagan works for me. :rolleyes:

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