reply to post by ofhumandescent
If each of us sweeps in front of our own steps, the whole world will be clean - Goethe
2 “P’s.” Pithy! If not poignant! I tried once to read the best plays of Goethe but as in my effort with all German writers, I could not sustain
my interest. Including Kant, Marx, Freud and worst of all, Hitler! But I do like this quote.
"The evil one". This term sounds primitive and medieval. Man is "evil" when he is hateful towards another. This is what I detest about
"religious" people, they are constantly telling everyone how they should act, think, feel and behave.
Exactly. I am not anti-Catholic per se. I concede it is the longest lived institution in the West other than prostitution. But it is more particularly
absurd than its off-shoot, Protestantism. Although denied, it is polytheistic on its face and ridiculous to the extreme.
Consider the RCC’s claims surrounding the central feature of its method of worship, the Eucharist. Blithely asserting the crackers and wine is are
transformed - their word is transubstantiation - into the literal body and blood of Jesus. The consumption of which is surely cannibalism.
Protestantism proves this patently false claim is unnecessary to the survival of the Faith, them saying the Last Supper is only
“representational.”
I cannot help but to make 2 more observations about Roman Catholicism.
Mother Teresa was on her way to canonization into the Army of Saints
the Catholics so much enjoy. But as they read her private writings they discovered she was an atheist! Being Catholic - Jesuitical - the Church
Fathers said that PROVED she was a saint! Most people will agree she acted in a “saintly” way towards her fellow humans. Whether or not she is
about to sit beside Jesus is a claim an old Egyptian would better understand than a modern educated human being.
Observation Number 2.
John Paul 2. The late Pope. The man who Catholics want to claim subdued the Soviet Union and liberated Eastern Europe.
Just him and GOD. Mostly HIM.
See Note 1. Over here we have an equally misguided cadre of followers who make the same unfounded claim for the
late Ronald Reagan. Two notable men, same overly ambitious claim by their over-eager adherents.
The Cold War is usually dated from March 5, 1946 when Winston Churchill delivered his “Iron Curtain” speech at Fulton, Missouri. President Truman
broke the Berlin Blockade. President Eisenhower fomented the Hungarian Revolt. President Kennedy successfully maneuvered us through the Cuban Missile
Crisis. President Johnson mistakenly thought he was fighting international communism in Vietnam. President Nixon reopened relations with China as a
counter-weight to the USSR. President Ford handled well the Mayagüez incident in 1975. President Carter managed the return of the Panama Canal to
Panamanian control and he arranged the peace between Israel and Egypt. Both steps gave us a leg up on the Soviets in the propaganda war waged around
the world.
This is not to deny that both JP2 and RR made significant and on-going contributions to the final demise of the USSR. Their's were just two more in a
long series of unrelenting Western efforts to overcome their nemesis, communism and its promise of sharing the wealth with the poor. A no-no in
Western capitalism.
We should not overlook the internal limits inherent to the Soviet system. Nor should we discount the efforts of NATO and the EEU - predecessor to the
EU. The resurgence of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan spoke sharply against the USSR's goal of world domination. To claim a shipyard worker in a
backwater country like Poland and a priest made pope brought on the downfall of the worlds #2 superpower is to re-write history and amounts to the
denial of reality.
We humans are wont to give too much credit to one man when thinking about colossal events. I think the Nobel Committee awarded the 1990 Peace Prize to
Mikhail Gorbachev on very good grounds.
See Note 2.
If two consenting adults fall in love what in the sam hill business of yours is it! One's sexual preference should be a private matter. If two
consenting adults fall in love and commit to a relationship YES they should be allowed the tax benefits, marriage contracts and everything else a
heterosexual couple get.
Your’s is a voice of reason and tolerance, two traits the religious are notoriously in short supply of. Perhaps a new day is dawning in this
presidential election. We have the OLD way urged on us by John McCain, and we have the NEW way of life offered to us by of all people, Barack Obama.
This is the first time in my life the public can make a SEA CHANGE on election day! I sincerely hope we make the CORRECT choice. The Dems brought the
country through the Great Depression in 1932 with the most unlikely candidate, a crippled man bound to a wheelchair. The Dems can do it again with
another most unlikely candidate. Able to bring us out of this Reagan Revolution meltdown re-run in 2008! For your peace of mind and to get it done,
vote the straight Democratic ticket!
I'm so tired of pompous religious fundamentalists trying to dictate how they think everyone should live the very personal parts of their lives out.
People being so darn judgmental and hateful are the very aspects of what is wrong with humanity and have caused all the hell and heartbreak on this
planet. LIVE AND LET LIVE
Well said! If we mind our own business, we will not have time to mind other people’s business! United we stand, Divided we fall!
Note 1. John Paul II was no doubt an outstanding pope. If Catholics think he ought to be canonized, that is their choice to make. I understand
Pope Benedict XVI has put JP2 on the “fast track” to sainthood. They have hit a snag. Catholic Church rules - not GOD’s rules - require TWO
miracles! A miracle being defined as a contradiction of the law of nature attributable to the intervention of the person to be canonized. In the old
days when we did not know even where the wind came from, that was always easy to find.
Look at the Fatima Miracle for example. 1917. There in a poor remote Portuguese village 3 very young girls claimed a visitation by the Virgin Mary. I
mean every good Catholic child wanted to see the Virgin! As proof of this visitation, a crowd was assembled and the Sun not only stood still but
actually “danced” in the sky. Those uneducated people knew nothing of the Laws of Physics. That it was the Earth that revolved about the Sun and
not the other way around. Mass hypnosis. That’s all. No miracle.
en.wikipedia.org...
In 2008, the Church has a real problem finding 2 miracles the world will not scoff. And thereby to denigrate the genuine contributions of JP2.
Intelligent people no longer believe in miracles. Now is the time for the RCC to DROP that old medieval mishmash and just say: “He was an
exceptional man and in our faith, we want him venerated.” We hereby declare him henceforth and forever more to be a SAINT! Why not tell the truth
for a change? What a way to start a new millennium!
Note 2. The National Constitution Center announced Former Soviet leader and Nobel Prize winner Mikhail Gorbachev will be awarded the 2008 Liberty
Medal. Center officials said Friday that Gorbachev earned the medal for his role in helping to end the Cold War and giving hope to millions living
behind the Iron Curtain.
President George H.W. Bush, Chairman of the National Constitution Center, will present Gorbachev with the award during a ceremony on Thursday,
September 18. "It is a true honor for me to participate in this year's Liberty Medal ceremony to celebrate the achievements of someone whom I
consider a great world leader and a dear friend," Bush said in a statement released by the National Constitution Center.
The National Constitution Center gives the annual award to individuals or organizations whose actions represent the founding principles of the United
States. [I admit to surprise that Bush Sr did not push for some off-setting and simultaneous recognition of Reagan but then again, who knew Ronnie
better than George? Added on edit]
cbs3.com...
[edit on 8/2/2008 by donwhite]