The Pope gone crazy?

What is up with the new pope? I don't really have any eggs in this basket, but it seems really out of character for a Catholic to say what he is saying. How long till he is found dead of "natural causes?"

More: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/20/world/europe/pope-bluntly-faults-churchs-focus-on-gays-and-abortion.html

 

I hope he's lost the plot, im liking this pope lol.

 

The Catholic Church has been slowly dying. The clergy knows this. The new Pope is gonna attempt to bring the Church into the 21's century. It's sort of akin to the Feds knowing that marijuana legalization is coming and they must find a way to adapt in order to stay relevant and maintain control. The Church sees how the world is changing and they don't wanna lose control and money. If they don't adapt to the new world around them they will become stagnant and die off. There's no money and power if there's no Church.

 

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I'm not Catholic, so I'm not taking sides, but maybe Pope Francis is just keeping it real and speaking as a 21st century realist. If you read the Bible and take it as fiction or non-fiction, the story is the same. Jesus walked with and preached to the lower classes as much, if not more than he did the upper class (defined by the book, not me). The new testament isn't the gay bashing fire and brimstone that the old is. Being the first Jesuit priest to become Pope he's projecting things in a different light. I swore I wouldn't get into a religious discussion again. Gonna keep my head screwed on tight and not take anything personal .

 

Jesus was a Jew with reform. He preached a new testament because he said the old ways were wrong. I guess its how or what you believe (or don't). Bono for Pope. That's the ticket.

 

Not taking the bait... you guys play nice with your discussion. I have decided to stay clear of any topics on race, religion and most politics.


:redbong:

 

Smart man bongrippa. I'm out of this too now. This is what lead to me getting pissed and leaving before. Believe what you want. Lets all get high and enjoy ourselves.

 

There is no bait. I wasn't trying to start a discussion on whether or not god is real or what not. I mainly think it is interesting that the pope is taking these stance at this point and time, after an unprecedented retirement by another pope. You don't have to believe in god to discuss the political and institutional merits of what is happening with the Catholic church.


I wonder if he is just doing it to fix the image of an aging money maker? In my heart I would like to see someone claiming to be a holy man do the right thing, but I HIGHLY doubt that is the case.


Jesus said the OT didn't count anymore, so Christians who use it as a basis other than historical context are just picking and choosing what they believe.


Asking the almighty being to show himself as proof that he exist is kinda self centered as a human. IF there was an all powerful being, why would he care if we believe in him or not? Why would our simple non belief move him to become anthropomorphic for his own ego?


Again, I was just trying to talk about the church as a political and social institution, not bait any body. Take shots at Buddhism if you want to and I will be happy to respond.

 

I will say this much, I was born into a Catholic family attended a Catholic school and went to church. I respect the church the Pope and all those who follow him.


I no longer attend church or study the bible or anything like that and I disagree with a lot of what the church preaches. I believe in God and Jesus and I believe man wrote the scriptures the way he wanted them told. God didnt make man perfect so there is no perfect religion.


That being said I will be paying attention to the new Pope and see how he leads his people. Will I go back to church? I dont know but I'm liking the fact that the Pope is taking a step back from the hard ball approach on abortion and other topics that I felt the church had no business interfering with.


Damn... I broke my promise to myself...LOL:bong-2:

 

Nippie, I haven't come forward because I'm weeding out the non believers, slowly. When your "rash" shows up, you'll know who to blame. The church is finally coming to terms of what the masses actually do outside of the church. If all the people that believed and acted according to the church's old thinking, there would be empty "houses of God" all over the place and Catholic schools would be history.

 

Here's my thoughts on the subject. Whether or not you believe, are religious, go to church, pray, don't pray, preach atheism or anything else it's your actions that shape whether or not you're a good person. We are all born with a moral compass. It's however not absolute. It's partly controlled by our human emotions, wants and needs. I think that organized religion is in some ways necessary in order to keep the weaker individuals from allowing their moral compasses to become skewed too far away from what is right for the group as apposed to what is right for the individual.


Like it or not religion is here to stay. I doubt that it will ever go away. Just change with the time. The scriptures may be reinterpreted as time goes on in order to stay current with an ever changing world. Perhaps new religions will spring up in the millennia to come. One thing for sure is that people will always look for a higher meaning to their existence. People will always question whether or not there is a higher power out there. People will continue to fight amongst each other and say it's in the name of God or religion.


I don't belong to a church myself and I don't adhere to any one particular faction of Christianity either. I have read the entire bible and I feel as though I have a basic grasp on the teachings within the scriptures. I live my life according to what my moral compass tells me to do and that is based upon MY beliefs and interpretations of the scriptures not someone else's.


Jesus was trying to teach his people that the organized Jewish Church as it was at the time was corrupt. The fundamental teachings were good but man's corruption had distorted it to something for their financial gain rather than to guide and help the people. Jesus taught that God is within us all and that we must have a personal relationship with him rather than a mediated relationship through a church and priests which charged money in order to commune with God. The new testament came about because his teachings resonated with many people. The New testament does not exclude the old rather it builds on it and offers a more personal relationship with God.


The book was written in a long dead language. It has been translated and transcribed and interpreted thousands of times over. If you are a believer I urge you to read it again and instead of trying to interpret it from a particular denomination's standpoint just read it and find the messages within as they speak to you. You will find that the bible is just a guide book. God's laws as interpreted by man. Therefore it is the word of man, not God that is contained within the book. Take the teachings that correspond to your life and apply them and you will see that God does truly exist.


Anyway. You all know that I am in the minority around here and that I have a particular lifestyle and set of religious beliefs that are different than most. I don't think I'm any more of a righteous individual than anyone else because of my beliefs. It's my actions that speak for the kind of person I am. I love all peoples of all religions and races so long as they respect my life and choices as well.


One Love! Rastafari! :thumbsup: asssit:

 

Little off topic but not really, I watched Red State on Netflix the other night and it was friggin awesome. Its about a militant religious faction with wacked out beliefs like the Westboro Baptists but they are way more violent. Anyways they lure three high school students thru the internet with the promise of sex with a MILF and what unfolds left me hanging on the edge of my seat.


Smoke a fatty and watch this movie!!asssit:

 

Jesus said to follow the spirit, not the words of the law. He said to follow the ten commandments. He also said he fulfilled the prophesies. There is a passage where he talks about the OT being a historical document rather than the rules, I just can't fucking remember where it is at.


And yeah, the Christian god is pretty damn bi-polar. Create people, kill them. Give them free will and then tell them what to do. He is his own son and the spirit or word. Half of the dogma isn't even in the bible to be honest.


But again, not trying to debate the all so many hypocrisies of Christianity, just found it funny the pope is going all Liberal on the crazy opinions of an institution that doesn't follow its own founding document.

 

I saw that movie too. Crazy stuff. Good movie though. Makes you think a little bit.