Pope to Resign

I think that the vast majority of religions are in it for what they can get & not for what they can teach or offer.

samhill wrote:I think that the vast majority of religions are in it for what they can get & not for what they can teach or offer.

Love your abiding faith in the rottenness of man and the need for law directed by a supreme leader. Seems like just another religion to me.

False prophets are nothing new and by their acts you shall know them.

If there are false Prophets that suggests that there are real ones? I was born and raised a Catholic but lost my faith long ago.
I don't think this pedophile business is anything new spawned by any lack of moral compass. I think it's been going on since forever and it only now has come to the surface. It was tolerated and they were shielded and protected by their own and that's what the greater problem is now as that comes out. The whole celebacy thing with Catholics Priests is unnatural and goes against human nature too.
Catholisicm has become more of a popular religion of emerging nations and third worlds. They are the only ones they can control anymore.

I was raised Greek Catholic when they were still allowed to be married, the parish supported 19 children & I think their were 3 others that died young, they all became priests or nuns. Now you have to wonder with all these mega churches & non-denominational & any thing else they come up with flying in private jets & having body guards if these TV better than thou aren't just in it for profit & how many of them have been caught with their pants down? As I said they ain't just in it for anyone but themselves just like most politicians, just call it as I see it.

SteveZee wrote:If there are false Prophets that suggests that there are real ones?

Yes, there have been lots of them.Gandhi for one. In governance I think Jefferson was another as was Madison. Was Hemingway another with his uncanny ability to say without saying? How about Ayn Rand? Was her belief in the sanctity of the individual just a lot of nonsense?

That so many aspiring practitioners of a religion are failures does not discredit the many saintly people among all the major religions.

I have never met what I would consider a truly holy man or woman but have met some whose lives shine from simple faith. That simplicity was what Emerson and Thoreau preached (two more prophets) and which is so hard to accomplish given the distractions and false ideals common to all ages.

I went to 12 yrs of Catholic School and I was never abused by a priest, only sprinkled with holy water from time to time. Catholic school molded me into what I am today. I think I turned out ok.

ALL of our founding fathers were horrible men cause they were ok with slavery.... terry, see my point?

samhill wrote:I think that the vast majority of religions are in it for what they can get & not for what they can teach or offer.

Sounds like govt to me?

franco b wrote:Those evils of the Church that have been mentioned have been committed by those who are not of the Church, regardless of position. The Church is the body and teaching of Christ and not fallible human beings.

There have been saintly Popes as well as sinners. Pope John XX111 regarded his upbringing in poverty as a blessing. The enforced regalia and pomp of a Pope had no effect on him. Others lack or lacked that strength.

So how does one get to be God's #1 guy on earth with a questionable morality? Seems like a mighty big lapse in judgment for for an omnipotent being.

The Los Angeles diocese is set to release decades of pedophile priest records in a few days. I'm sure that's a headache and 85 year old man doesn't need.

And who knows, maybe there is ANOTHER Vatican money laundering scandal about to break. I had heard some whispers a few years back.

Cap wrote:I went to 12 yrs of Catholic School and I was never abused by a priest, only sprinkled with holy water from time to time. Catholic school molded me into what I am today. I think I turned out ok.

ALL of our founding fathers were horrible men cause they were ok with slavery.... terry, see my point?

Not ALL of the Founding Fathers were OK with slavery. Just as in your experience, not ALL priests are pedophiles.

jpete wrote:

Cap wrote:I went to 12 yrs of Catholic School and I was never abused by a priest, only sprinkled with holy water from time to time. Catholic school molded me into what I am today. I think I turned out ok.

ALL of our founding fathers were horrible men cause they were ok with slavery.... terry, see my point?

Not ALL of the Founding Fathers were OK with slavery. Just as in your experience, not ALL priests are pedophiles.

JPete, thanks for stating the obvious.

So, which of founding fathers were not ok with slavery? Do you know? Were you there? Or you just speaking off the cuff?

Cap wrote:

jpete wrote:

Cap wrote:I went to 12 yrs of Catholic School and I was never abused by a priest, only sprinkled with holy water from time to time. Catholic school molded me into what I am today. I think I turned out ok.

ALL of our founding fathers were horrible men cause they were ok with slavery.... terry, see my point?

Not ALL of the Founding Fathers were OK with slavery. Just as in your experience, not ALL priests are pedophiles.

JPete, thanks for stating the obvious.

So, which of founding fathers were not ok with slavery? Do you know? Were you there? Or you just speaking off the cuff?

http://academic.udayton.edu/race/02rights/slave05.htm

I rarely speak off the cuff. Particularly about the FF.

Interesting thread...

Enjoyable read.

Generally I would agree with Smitty, Franco B, and Cap

On many points... Again though interesting... good conversation.

jpete wrote:So how does one get to be God's #1 guy on earth with a questionable morality? Seems like a mighty big lapse in judgment for for an omnipotent being.

There are a lot of unwarranted assumptions there.

Owing to our own ignorance concerning our own species it seems arrogant to assign man like qualities or even gender to God. The nature of God is unknown though we are surrounded by the works of God. Definitions fail.

It is not that God should dwell in your heart, but rather that you should dwell in the heart of God. That search for the Holy Grail of personal redemption generally means rising beyond material or sensual gratification. To live a life of seeming utter simplicity but be attuned to the force of life itself.

We seem to get a sense of that when looking at a distant view from high on a mountain top or looking at the stars on a clear night. Imagine that feeling always no matter where you are or what you are doing. What more could you possibly need or want?

franco b wrote:

jpete wrote:So how does one get to be God's #1 guy on earth with a questionable morality? Seems like a mighty big lapse in judgment for for an omnipotent being.

There are a lot of unwarranted assumptions there.

Owing to our own ignorance concerning our own species it seems arrogant to assign man like qualities or even gender to God. The nature of God is unknown though we are surrounded by the works of God. Definitions fail.

It is not that God should dwell in your heart, but rather that you should dwell in the heart of God. That search for the Holy Grail of personal redemption generally means rising beyond material or sensual gratification. To live a life of seeming utter simplicity but be attuned to the force of life itself.

We seem to get a sense of that when looking at a distant view from high on a mountain top or looking at the stars on a clear night. Imagine that feeling always no matter where you are or what you are doing. What more could you possibly need or want?

Beautiful words, but that's not really the Pope's job description is it?

jpete wrote:Beautiful words, but that's not really the Pope's job description is it?

Yes it is the Pope's job description and some have followed it as best as an executive of a world wide organization can.