The Religion Thread

[Bungalow Bill]

I'm sure everybody has had that thought of going back to their younger
years and wishing they knew then what they know now. But that can't
happen of course. And it would be pretty boring if people never made
mistakes or acted silly in their youth. Most people manage to do okay
when they get older, despite the stupid things they did when they were
young.

[bannination]

The archbishop of Atlanta is being forced to sell a $2.2 million mansion he bought using church funds. The bishop said he wanted the extra space because he was tired of only moving diagonally.

[Bungalow Bill]

I suppose it's a very individualized thing. I just think being totally
aware of everything at the age of twenty would be rather boring.

[bannination]

(UNC) Bible expert and author explains "How Jesus Became God"

Opps.

Bart isn't a "true Christian" so it's clearly nonsense. Pastors don't want to tell that to their followers the truth? Gee wonder why... couldn't have anything to do with their job and money......


Side note: His books are really good, even if he is Christian.... nobodies perfect.

[rstrong]

Well, that didn't last long. The Catholic Church's 2010 ending of the code of silence - the Vatican now instructs bishops to report child abuse to police - but only where required by law - is slowly being reversed.

Italy's bishops have adopted a policy, with backing from the Vatican, that states they are not obliged to inform police officers.

So congratulations to the faithful! There will be less opportunity for the heathen to criticize the Church for raping little boys and then having them castrated - the rapes being entirely their fault - when it gets reported.

[bannination]

Well, that didn't last long. The Catholic Church's 2010 ending of the code of silence - the Vatican now instructs bishops to report child abuse to police - but only where required by law - is slowly being reversed.

Italy's bishops have adopted a policy, with backing from the Vatican, that states they are not obliged to inform police officers.

So congratulations to the faithful! There will be less opportunity for the heathen to criticize the Church for raping little boys and then having them castrated - the rapes being entirely their fault - when it gets reported.

W.....T.....F.....

How in the hell is that not institutionalized pedophilia.

Alright, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit.... but damn....

[bannination]

Wiki says he's agnostic now.

Bart D. Ehrman

Ehrman became an Evangelical Christian as a teenager. In his books, he recounts his youthful enthusiasm as a born-again, fundamentalist Christian, certain that God had inspired the wording of the Bible and protected its texts from all error. His desire to understand the original words of the Bible led him to the study of ancient languages and to textual criticism. During his graduate studies, however, he became convinced that there are contradictions and discrepancies in the biblical manuscripts that could not be harmonized or reconciled. He remained a liberal Christian for fifteen years but later became an agnostic after struggling with the philosophical problems of evil and suffering.

Ehrman has taught at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill since 1988, after four years of teaching at Rutgers University. At UNC he has served as both the Director of Graduate Studies and the Chair of the Department of Religious Studies. He was the recipient of the 2009 J. W. Pope "Spirit of Inquiry" Teaching Award, the 1993 UNC Undergraduate Student Teaching Award, the 1994 Phillip and Ruth Hettleman Prize for Artistic and Scholarly Achievement, and the Bowman and Gordon Gray Award for excellence in teaching...

Well then..... That's what happens when you study a fairy tale to hard I guess. :-/

[rstrong]

So congratulations to the faithful! There will be less opportunity for the heathen to criticize the Church for raping little boys and then having them castrated - the rapes being entirely their fault - when it gets reported.

W.....T.....F.....

How in the hell is that not institutionalized pedophilia.

Perhaps because it's for ART? This church practice puts another old church tradition - castrati in church choirs - into perspective. They needed a steady supply, and here's a church policy that would do it.

It would also explain the church policy of shuffling priests to other parishes where they would rape again, rather than being stopped. The magic words being "What? And leave show business?"

[Bungalow Bill]

What difference will it make? None at all. Supernaturalists believe
by faith, not by facts or logic.

[bannination]

What difference will it make? None at all. Supernaturalists believe
by faith, not by facts or logic.

Faith = believing something you know ain't true.

[Bungalow Bill]

I don't know if it's quite that clear cut. I think people of faith actually
believe it is true. It may be a strange thought process, but there it
it

ABC News had a brief story about the document that states Jesus
was married has at least been dated to around that time. Don't
know if he was supposed to have married a woman or a man.

[neoplacebo]

What difference will it make? None at all. Supernaturalists believe
by faith, not by facts or logic.

Faith = believing something you know ain't true.

Well, if you really believe it, it's "true" in your own mind. So I suppose that's some comfort. Back in the day, religion was a pretty significant aspect of just about everyone's life. These days it's being examined and discounted at an increasing rate. I believe this. Not sure if it's true.

[Mr.B]

Ho-Hum.....

[rstrong]

Are we supposed to be jealous that Christian kids have a priest to do that for them?

[Mr.B]

"Are we supposed to be jealous that Christian kids have a priest to do that for them?"

Are you too lazy to do it yourself?......we don't have priests in our church, so I couldn't tell you.
I did hear that butt-scratching priests is a Canadian tradition...how old were you when you got yours scratched?

[rstrong]

...ABC News had a brief story about the document that states Jesus was married has at least been dated to around that time...

'Gospel of Jesus's Wife' likely isn't a modern forgery, scientists claim

Analysis suggests that the controversial fragment is indeed ancient, but not everyone is convinced

Actually it's been dated to around eight centuries after Jesus's time.

Even if it were dated to only a century or two after, it wouldn't mean much. In it's first century Christianity evolved from a Jewish doomsday cult ("I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.') - but definitely still Jewish - into a distinct religion. Within three centuries there were a much larger number of Christian gospels and epistles floating around, many of them contradictory. Different views on who/what Christ was. Different views on Mary Magdalene's role. Different views on secret teachings.

The Church finally picked one view on the nature of Christ, declared some of the Gospels and epistles canonical, and those became the New Testament. The other views - and those who supported them - were suppressed.

Any new document like this one - even fully validated - would simply join the Gospel of Mary, Gospel of Philip, Gospel of Thomas etc. and be ignored as non-canon. And those are from the 1st to 3rd centuries, not the 8th century.

[homerfobe]

Hard to tell about those Russians. That might be a guy in drag. Go defend the Ukraine Vrede.

[rstrong]

That might be a guy in drag.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. Homerfobe's gaydar meets this standard.

[rstrong]

Most Commandments Violated:
James Chatten, 46, pleaded guilty in January to several Commandment violations stemming from a July incident at the Christian Horizons church in Peterborough, Ontario. Chatten brought a prostitute inside the church, for sex, after hours, and stole money to pay her from a church drawer, then lied to police about being forced to raid the drawer.
- Toronto Sun, 1-24-2014, via this week's News of the Weird

[rstrong]

Well, that didn't last long. The Catholic Church's 2010 ending of the code of silence - the Vatican now instructs bishops to report child abuse to police - but only where required by law - is slowly being reversed.

Italy's bishops have adopted a policy, with backing from the Vatican, that states they are not obliged to inform police officers.

So congratulations to the faithful! There will be less opportunity for the heathen to criticize the Church for raping little boys and then having them castrated - the rapes being entirely their fault - when it gets reported.

W.....T.....F.....

How in the hell is that not institutionalized pedophilia.

Alright, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit.... but damn....

Did you hear about the new Exorcist Movie? They get the Devil to come in to take the Priest out of the child.