Religion: Why do these Nuts always end up taking over?
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Several of our friends have been celebrating “Banish Theocracy Week” or something like that the past few days. I’m a practicing Roman Catholic but I share the views of my atheist friends on this. I love what my Church stands for. It’s the backward thinking fools who are in charge I hold in contempt.
The Pope and the Bishops will not think beyond what Pope John XXIII made them think at the Second Vatican Council. I truly believe if most of them had there way Nuns would still all be cloistered. Monks would be silent and Altar Boys would still be on the buffet. That these fools and their proteges are still on power is a cancer on The Church.
The church, not just Catholic, but all organized religions must grow more tolerant and open to ideas that will help them stay vital. This is important not only for their growth and relevance, but to protect them from the influence of zealots and extremists that use them not in my opinion to honor and serve God, but as a vehicle to repress and establish their own totalitarian views and gain power. Not unlike an economic system or political party being hijacked by nuts.
Catholics can look at the barbaric practices in Saudi Arabia and it’s brand of Islam. It keeps the population under control and I believe that is far more important to the Saudis than pleasing Allah. Any God that feels justice is served by cutting the hands off of petty shoplifters, or flogging rape victims because a faceless court decided she deserved it is no god of mine.
I don’t believe Jews, non-theists, atheists and anyone else is going to hell because they don’t go to my church either.
The Ten Commandments are easily boiled down to a truly wise piece of advice. Love God. Be a good son or daughter and don’t be a murdering, lying, thieving greedy unfaithful spouse. How could anyone argue with that?
The Catholic Church must evolve or in a few generations it will be all but extinct. Backward views will not attract reasonable people to the clergy. It will only attract backward thinking fools and those who want to use the authority of the priesthood to prey on their victims. The rational who only want to serve God and fellow man will be driven out by the zealots and abusers who will protect each other as we have seen for decades and probably since the Church was founded. But zealots have an advantage. They don’t care what others think because they believe they are right no matter what the facts say. And they are willing to show up. At any gathering look who has the most people there holding signs and shouting….Tea Baggers!
Many in the Church are slaves to tradition. It wasn’t that long ago the Catholic stance was anti-Jew and any other denomination. Masses had to be said in Latin. We’ve been offered Latin masses again
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“The Catholic Church must evolve or in a few generations it will be all but extinct.” That point is dead on right. The Church will have to reconcile itself with modernity or get left behind.
Gwen, you and I are totally in the same boat…that is my view exactly, I guess the patients (we) are now running the psyche ward.
Bee has such a way with words! I’m with her- if no one is pushing their whackadoodle bullshit on me or trying to establish religious rule over the land, I am cool with it. I become less and less cool as I see kids being indoctrinated into stupidity like creation science and such.
Having been to a couple of old school Catholic masses, I was really impressed with all the pomp and theater, the beauty of the cathedral, the incense- the Latin! Those trappings might have lured me in as a kid. If they took that away, how are they different from Presbyterians or Anglicans other than answering to the Pope and disallowing divorce? (honest query here)
I believe the devils we live with are our own making. People can behave in truly evil ways that I will never understand. Rather than endure the cognitive dissonance that results when this fact collides with the species’ basic optimism and hope, it is easier to externalize that conflict into a personification of evil that becomes Satan.
I would say without the trappings, other than maybe fine print there’s no difference.
If you enjoyed the ceremony of the Mass I’m sure you’d have liked the Mariachi Masses I used to go to in LA. Instead of the response of the attendees or the lector, the role is taken by mariachis.Some of the churches located near missions like in San Gabriel had them.
Oso, are those masses held with Mariachi bands? Wow, that would be cool!
They are Bee, and you can imagine the acoustics in a huge church are incredible. Lot of fun-and you can skip out right before the offering plate goes around!
MH, I know you just said that because you liked my new word “wackadoodly” 🙂 hehehehe
My religious fervor is overwhelmed by my fervor for allowing people to mind their own business.
Lay off my receding hairline and you can worship Lady Gaga for all I care.
Truth,
I am a Lady Gagatarian who hums “my pokerface” at mass.
‘You can’t read my, you can’t read my poker face …’
All together now!
And then we can all sing Bad Romance from this improvised Gaga hymn book: Gaga
Stimpson,
you know it’s funny every Lady Gaga song my daughters play I don’t like then it morphs into one of my favorites. Probably a few young brain cells still kick in now and then.
I just saw her in concert a little while ago. I could see myself belonging to GaGaism :).
Rah, rah, ah ah ah
Roma, Roma ma
Gaga ooh lala
=^..^=
GaGaism! It could catch on.
Truth, its a thoughtful, good post.
My truth is that we are poised at the edge of an evolutionary point not just species wise but planetary wise. Our evolution is as simple as and as full as changing our minds… a leap into new consciousness… one that accepts and understands that we are fully responsible for ourselves on all levels of awareness…not this one god thing places responsibility outside of ourselves. Monotheism (and many ‘other’ placed deity followings) allows dubious religico’s to use society and mold it through fear and condemnation, the most ancient sorcery. When we take complete responsibility for ourselves, understand we are the masters of our own destiny… we evolve.
Then again, you know me… one of them new age nutters. LOL
Oso: There’s nothing at all wrong with having a belief system or a faith system of any kind. As Bee says, you’re not throwing it any one’s face and claiming that yours is the only one anointed by God.
It is a crime that the Pope and the rest of his boys have continued to let this go on. The lid was bound to blow off one of these days – to say nothing of being morally wrong.
Raised an Episcopalian and having attended a RC camp for years, I’ve flirted with the big switch but could never cross the line. There’s just too much in the RC doctrine this woman can’t accept. But the Episcopalians dropped the old prayer book (based on the St. James version of the Bible) and adopted a very pedestrian one. I hate it and I too miss the pomp and circumstance. If you want to get your exercise in church just attend one of these – kneel, stand, sit, stand, genuflect, etc.
Haven’t become a devil worshiper – yet – but neither do I go to church. I will even confess that I miss it but between my tea bagger relativies and the priests who forever screw up a little boy’s life because they can’t keep their hands inside their robes I’ve just simply lost interest. Haven’t been struck by lightning yet.
Leslie,
I’m kind of in the same boat as you.Mass is good exercise with all standing and kneeling but I’m pretty much a Midnight Mass kinda guy, once a year with my family is all I can stand. I got so sick of hearing the Lector pray for the troops but not the Iraqis. I would like to think the Church will change, my fear is it won’t. They’ll hunker down and do some cosmetic stuff, appoint a committee and the faithful will let it slide. How awful for the victims.
Yeah got to draw the line at devil worship too.
The nuts that take over manage to do it in most organizations. All religions, cults and sects, seem to have a nut running the show, leaving the genuinely faithful feeling a little shit on. In politics our congressional representatives are living proof of how not to be good politicians.
What’s to be tolerant of? When I think “be tolerant” I think “put up with their bullshit”. Oso, Truth101, you other religious guys, y’all aren’t full of bullshit, you don’t spout bullshit, your religious views are your own and you don’t try to convert the heathens, so I don’t think I’m being tolerant, because there’s no wackadoodly bullshit to put up with 🙂
Teabagger co-workers in my last job (that’s still wierd – have a new one starting Monday), well, them I put up with. Them I tolerated – them, I put up with. You guys, i hang with by choice.
Fuck tolerance! So Bee if I believe in the devil but not gawd what does that make me? A devilist? 🙂 🙂
Mike, you satan worshipping baby-eating commie pinko librul you.
LOL. You know how you can tell I believe in Satan? I say fuck!
Thanks Bee! I’m actually not too nutty religion-wise. Truth on the other hand actually wears robes and a pope hat on the weekends.
Like Truth’s recent post on financial reform:
“Verily I say unto thee, pass not derivatives into the land of man, for thou shalt find them to be tools of Satan, and bring the wrath of Jehovah upon thine house”.
He carries it a little too far.
Oso, LOL! I missed you 🙂
Well, as long as Truth doesn’t try to make me wear a nun’s habit, it’s all good…
No nuns habits Bee. We are going all in on burquas and hijabs these days don’t you know? I am going to get one, in case I have to go outside without a male relative so that the menz can’t see my ankles or some such nonsense.
Ditto what Bee said from me.
Truth,
As a fellow practicing Roman Catholic I absolutely agree and applaud your post.I also side with our atheist friends here, I seem to have more in common with them than the religious whackos.
I actually want to thank the atheists here too for being tolerant of us-if I wasn’t Christian I’d think much of it (the Ark/Jonah and the whale)was crazy.And the fact when confronted I have to admit I believe in most of that stuff and believe Satan exists so who’s the crazy ones? Me and Truth I guess.
Here is my story: I was raised Roman Catholic. I was an altar boy, hell at one point I was the Chief AB. I loved the ritual of the church. I was never molested. Then they dumped the Latin, most of the pomp and circumstance, in favor of something more user friendly. I didn’t like that. Then I became educated and the whole belief system went in the shitter. The conundrum? I believe in the devil. So if the devil represents evil then there has to be an entity that represents good doesn’t there? I’m not being a wise ass here. I’m “just askin'” as Vigil is fond of saying…
I liked Rude Pundit’s observation a few days ago that Obama caught hell for going to a church with a pastor who sometimes voiced controversial viewpoints, but countless U.S. pols go to Mass weekly at a church headed by a guy who (apparently) covered up grave sex crimes, and those pols get no flak for that. Doesn’t seem fair.
Great point here Stimpson.
You got a good point there, Stimpson.