Since nobody reads these...
I figured that I would post a rant and see if anyone responded....
The Pope is a cretin. An anachronism. And personally insulting to me. There. That should start things off. After decades of rapprochement, he feels the need to clear things up: there is only one true church and it is the Catholic Church. The rest of you heathen are going to hell (or, because it is a place name, Hell). And we -- the rest of us Christians are going to hell. What does he think of Jews and Muslims, then?
I mean, according to Rat-man, the rest of non-Catholic christendom are misguided as to the one true Church. But, outside of christendom "they" are not part of ANY "church" (small "C"). So are they totally f***ed? It would seem so.
It starts to explain Rat-man's bon-mots with regards to Muslims. But the Vatican-weenies backed off of calling Muslims nothing but a bunch of war-mongering hoods -- some kind of mistaken historical context, supposedly. But us Prods can go to Hell?
Supposedly, the Pope implied (actually, not directly from the Pope at all, but a Vatican paper with Papal authority -- and that means Ratzinger's personal fingerprints) that "our" problem, meaning Protestants, is that we do not recognize the "primacy" of the Pope. I.e., 'coz we don't hold you as closest to God and as the intermediary between God and ourselves, we are destined to Hell -- that is because we don't give you the "power" over our immortal souls -- we are on the downtown express. Mr. Ratzinger ... blow me. Now I am sure that Martin Luther (despite the fact he was a rat-bastard anti-semite) put that sentiment in more eloquent terms, with the requisite fanfare and preambles, etc., I just want to go on record as seconding Luther's sentiment. You ain't my Pope and you have never been and will never be. I have a different relationship to God and Jesus, thank you very much.
Virtually all the world's religions regard their brand as the one true brand leading to guaranteed salvation -- except maybe the Methodists who recognize that others may need to worship God in other ways (but our way IS best). That means that a whole bunch of us are in for a very miserable time in the afterlife, if one of the religions has it right. Either way, I cannot believe that an institution as corrupt, devious, power-hungry and untruthful as the Catholic Church has any corner on my spiritual life. I cannot believe that God would be so narrow as to support only this deeply flawed religion: which in the last 500 years has had "infallible" Popes (sometimes two at a time -- one in Avignon, one in Rome), mass murderers (anyone remember the Inquisition ... it still has an office in Rome), syphilis-ridden clergy, pederasts, child molesters, cult followings (Opus Dei for starters), smugglers, global political puppeteers (Jesuits), market manipulators, genocide specialists, Nazi collaborators and a host of other grievous offenses, all in His name. And a history of the papacy would would make Joseph Stalin look like a Boy Scout -- sordid reading indeed.
I mean, if we are to stare down the Taliban, radical Islam, Wahhabi conspiracies, terrorism by educated "sleepers" next door, Al Qaeda ... are we better off united as core of tolerant relgions, united against intolerance, medieval ignorance and insensate violence, or splintered for the sake of the personal glory of a German career theologian -- who aims to bring all Christians back to the "one true Church?"
He apparently thinks that if we all started going back to church, mumbling arcane rituals, throwing some incense around, giving his local hoods cash, banning abortions ... getting back to basics, then everything would be alright. Hmmm. I would think that any woman with pretensions of ANY kind of feminism would balk at the thought of return to Catholic basics. Barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen, anyone? Remember the "basic" beliefs of old? Women are "dirty"and the reason we got thrown out of Eden, etc.? The Bible is the literal truth? Does this start to sound like the Taliban? Heard of any woman Popes lately? OR for that matter, bishops, cardinals, curia ... priests...? Where do you women stand in this regard? I heard some women on the radio today who supported this move by the Vatican. And I also noted that in the Red Mosque in Pakistan 10 year old girls shouted that they preferred to die as martyrs than surrender, that they would lay down their lives for the Wahhabi fundamentalist teachings they have been brainwashed with.
I would have thought that in this day and age we could all band together to see that mutual cooperation is essential for the continued existence of the species, and yet this supposedly brilliant man is calling for a return to ... I am almost at a loss for words. Maybe he knows something I don't in terms of demographics and the need to rally around a flag -- any flag to combat the Islamic peril at our doorstep. And is trying to set himself up as the rallying point -- even selflessly. But I doubt it.
As a Prod, I respect someone else's right to believe what they want and do what they want -- just so long as it does not affect my right to do the same. And that is what Ratzinger is doing. And I object.
The Pope is a cretin. An anachronism. And personally insulting to me. There. That should start things off. After decades of rapprochement, he feels the need to clear things up: there is only one true church and it is the Catholic Church. The rest of you heathen are going to hell (or, because it is a place name, Hell). And we -- the rest of us Christians are going to hell. What does he think of Jews and Muslims, then?
I mean, according to Rat-man, the rest of non-Catholic christendom are misguided as to the one true Church. But, outside of christendom "they" are not part of ANY "church" (small "C"). So are they totally f***ed? It would seem so.
It starts to explain Rat-man's bon-mots with regards to Muslims. But the Vatican-weenies backed off of calling Muslims nothing but a bunch of war-mongering hoods -- some kind of mistaken historical context, supposedly. But us Prods can go to Hell?
Supposedly, the Pope implied (actually, not directly from the Pope at all, but a Vatican paper with Papal authority -- and that means Ratzinger's personal fingerprints) that "our" problem, meaning Protestants, is that we do not recognize the "primacy" of the Pope. I.e., 'coz we don't hold you as closest to God and as the intermediary between God and ourselves, we are destined to Hell -- that is because we don't give you the "power" over our immortal souls -- we are on the downtown express. Mr. Ratzinger ... blow me. Now I am sure that Martin Luther (despite the fact he was a rat-bastard anti-semite) put that sentiment in more eloquent terms, with the requisite fanfare and preambles, etc., I just want to go on record as seconding Luther's sentiment. You ain't my Pope and you have never been and will never be. I have a different relationship to God and Jesus, thank you very much.
Virtually all the world's religions regard their brand as the one true brand leading to guaranteed salvation -- except maybe the Methodists who recognize that others may need to worship God in other ways (but our way IS best). That means that a whole bunch of us are in for a very miserable time in the afterlife, if one of the religions has it right. Either way, I cannot believe that an institution as corrupt, devious, power-hungry and untruthful as the Catholic Church has any corner on my spiritual life. I cannot believe that God would be so narrow as to support only this deeply flawed religion: which in the last 500 years has had "infallible" Popes (sometimes two at a time -- one in Avignon, one in Rome), mass murderers (anyone remember the Inquisition ... it still has an office in Rome), syphilis-ridden clergy, pederasts, child molesters, cult followings (Opus Dei for starters), smugglers, global political puppeteers (Jesuits), market manipulators, genocide specialists, Nazi collaborators and a host of other grievous offenses, all in His name. And a history of the papacy would would make Joseph Stalin look like a Boy Scout -- sordid reading indeed.
I mean, if we are to stare down the Taliban, radical Islam, Wahhabi conspiracies, terrorism by educated "sleepers" next door, Al Qaeda ... are we better off united as core of tolerant relgions, united against intolerance, medieval ignorance and insensate violence, or splintered for the sake of the personal glory of a German career theologian -- who aims to bring all Christians back to the "one true Church?"
He apparently thinks that if we all started going back to church, mumbling arcane rituals, throwing some incense around, giving his local hoods cash, banning abortions ... getting back to basics, then everything would be alright. Hmmm. I would think that any woman with pretensions of ANY kind of feminism would balk at the thought of return to Catholic basics. Barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen, anyone? Remember the "basic" beliefs of old? Women are "dirty"and the reason we got thrown out of Eden, etc.? The Bible is the literal truth? Does this start to sound like the Taliban? Heard of any woman Popes lately? OR for that matter, bishops, cardinals, curia ... priests...? Where do you women stand in this regard? I heard some women on the radio today who supported this move by the Vatican. And I also noted that in the Red Mosque in Pakistan 10 year old girls shouted that they preferred to die as martyrs than surrender, that they would lay down their lives for the Wahhabi fundamentalist teachings they have been brainwashed with.
I would have thought that in this day and age we could all band together to see that mutual cooperation is essential for the continued existence of the species, and yet this supposedly brilliant man is calling for a return to ... I am almost at a loss for words. Maybe he knows something I don't in terms of demographics and the need to rally around a flag -- any flag to combat the Islamic peril at our doorstep. And is trying to set himself up as the rallying point -- even selflessly. But I doubt it.
As a Prod, I respect someone else's right to believe what they want and do what they want -- just so long as it does not affect my right to do the same. And that is what Ratzinger is doing. And I object.
posted by Zaphod at Thursday, July 12, 2007
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