wak84's Comments (169)

“He's not a religious scholar. Just another nut calling himself an authority to sell hysteria and superstition. The world's seen plenty of them. Geez.”

“According to Augustine of Hippo, sex just confers original sin!”

“There are many various references to a savior, messiah, etc in the Hebrew scriptures. Those words in that time do not carry the same meaning they do for Christians. Those writings must be read and understood within the time & culture they were written. Some Jews were really looking for another King David to bring back the golden days of Isreal and end Rome's occupation. But not all. The priestly class was quite comfortable with Rome.

There are many preachers that believe they are biblical scholars because they can cite scripture but have no understanding of modern literary criticism techniques. The ones that really disgust me take apart the Passover feast, line by line, and "prove" how this important Jewish ritual was really forshadowing Jesus. It's intellectually dishonest and degrading of Jewish culture.

I don't think it's necessarily unfortunate that pagan rituals recognizing nature's cycles were incorporated into a state religion. I doubt that it was a conscious decison early on. Indigenous people continue with the rituals that are inherent in their culture. Smart conquerors understand that and adjust. The sad part was the demonization of the conquered culture and its purposeful destruction of its relics.”

“Putting the cart before the horse there....the writers of Matthew and Luke put Jesus' birth in Bethlehem to prove their case. Just because the Hebrew Scriptures cite Bethlehem does not mean they were referring to Jesus of Nazareth. That is a leap of faith made by the gospel writers.

You are right about three of the gospels being synoptic. John is the one that is not. Most scholars agree that Mark was written first, then Matthew and Luke pulled from Mark and an unidentified source called Q.

You are also correct about early Christians not celebrating Christmas...mainly because they didn't know the date of Jesus' birth, or really care. What was important to them was the Easter event. The date for Christmas was appropriated from pagan religions. It's called syncretism--the mixing of religious beliefs. The church was a master at doing it.”

“Me too!!! Do you have the poster of the meditating Santa that says "Rise Above It? Buy Nothing Xmas" ??”

“I just returned from my two children's holiday band concert. It was a lovely mix of Christmas songs, some Hannukah music, and 18th century band music. Acknowledging the school's diversity by playing various types of ethnic or cultural music during the holiday season was perfect, in my opinion. There is more going on this time of year than just Christmas. I, for one, will be preparing my yule log for the winter solstice.”

“Scripture is not a reliable historical record. ddd1947 has his facts correct, serious religious scholars, not apologists, will agree with him. The Gospel of Mark did originally end without any resurrection.

Also, both Matthew and Luke added the nativity narrative for specific reasons. Their messiah HAD to come from Bethlehem and the idea that Jesus was from Galilee was repugnant to them--voila, the census, travel to Bethlehem, etc. Both writers were writing their story for specific audiences: Matthew for the Jews, Luke for the Gentiles. The focus of each reflects these intended audiences.

Just because a book written by a group of people with an agenda says something is true, doesn't mean it is.”

“If all the pro-choice Catholics would send a message with their wallets to the boys in dresses...well things would change. Stop giving the church money if you want them to pay attention to you.”

“The article you referenced (thanks by the way it was interesting) shows the danger of giving civil rights to zygotes, embryos, or fetuses. I don't remember the exact statistics, but early miscarriages are extremely common. I had one myself, at 7 weeks, between my first and second child. I agonized over it for a long time until I educated myself regarding early miscarriage. Most are blighted ovums, which means that an embryo never developed, although your body responded with pregnancy because all the hormones were there, for a while. I finally realized I was mourning not a person, but the loss of the potential for a person.

If civil rights are ever given to zygotes, embryos or fetuses, calling the police and/or coroner will become standard because a human has died. The funeral business must be salivating at the potential increased business. The 14th Amendment (I think that's the correct one) bestows citizenship to a person "born" in the United States--born being the key word here. I do realize that with technological advances come increased understanding of fetal development, etc. I imagine the issue of full civil rights for fetuses will eventually have its day in court.

I have so many crazy stories of the excess attention given to miscarriage remains in the Catholic Church that its surreal. Some people's fascination with the products of conception is mentally unhealthy.”

“The "Church" is more than the hierarchy. There is a theological concept among learned Catholics that says if a teaching is not accepted by the faithful, it is not true teaching. That said, the hierarchy does have the right to deny communion to those it chooses. It's just the way it is, but there are other options for those willing to look for substantive community and communion. The boys in dresses like to show their declining power just to feel relevant. Most of us know how irrelevant they've become.”

“The whole "left behind" theology was pulled, bits and pieces, from Revelation and some of Daniel. Even though the church teaches that Revelation is not about future prediction, but Rome's persecution of the early church, I am amazed at the number of Catholics who buy into it....”

“I'm with you! And I'm someone with a graduate degree in religion from a Jesuit university. The leaders in the church are desperately trying to roll back the reforms of Vatican II and have a decidedly anti-intellectual outlook.”

“Because the church has a lot of foot soldiers in developing countries where poverty is overwhelming and the church's charitable actions can help make their life better. Most of the growth in the RC church has been in those countries.”

“Duncan 77--you are right--it's the same bible. Rich parishioners typically assuage their guilt over poverty, etc, by charitable giving, which they do very well. And don't get me wrong, charity is important to take care of immediate needs. But the Church teaches that social justice has two feet--charity and activism for change--both are needed to steadily build the kingdom of god, so often preached about. The often-ignored foot is the one working to change the cultural and social conditions that cause poverty. Most rich people I know (I live among them, am one of them, and probably considered a traitor to my class) do not want institutional change because they think it will threaten their way of life.”

“One can make a lot of money preying on the ignorant. There is a business, staffed by atheists, that will take care of your pets after the "rapture" (which Catholics don't "officially" believe in). No kidding. People are actually sending their money for this piece of mind, because, of course, no animals get raptured so your beloved pets must be left behind to face the mess. Wow, what a loving god to believe in!!!!!”

“Ah, the Orthodox Church claims the same thing. Listen to their priests and they believe that the Catholic church broke away from them, not the other way around. It all depends on your point of view.

On the other hand, I would argue that the authentic church ceased to exist after Constantine et al.”

“I agree!!! There are so many small towns that begin city council meeting with prayer that I would love to be the one to volunteer to lead a prayer--and have it be to the goddess Freyja or a pantheist prayer to the earth. Priceless!!!”

“In my long experience being an employee for the Church, the reason the social justice gospel is not actively preached is because of money (it's always about the dollars). In rich, suburban churches only the conservative social issues are preached, otherwise the money flow would stop. Its theologically dishonest and priests/bishops are not being good shepherds by not challenging the culture of their rich parishioners.”

“The Jesuits are loved by the Church as long as they tow the line. Intellectually question some official teaching and one will receive the Thomas Reese treatment.

The Jesuits contributed much to Western civilization at a time when public education was nonexistent. However, the problem with that type of education is that it starts from a false premise--an assumption of the existence of god, which cannot be proven nor disproven.

And fyi--my graduate education in religion came from a fine Jesuit university.”

“Don't forget the Church's persecution of the pagans in Europe, akin to the Taliban blowing up ancient statues of Buddha in Feb. 2001.”

“Most of the founding fathers were Deists, which is a far, far cry from what passes for religion today. Jefferson was even "accused" of being an atheist by his political rivals. Some things never change.”

“I left too--right after I received a master's degree in religious studies. Nothing like a little bit of education to enlighten oneself to the fact that humans made up god because they just need to!”

“After working for the Catholic church for many years I finally had to tear myself away from the ludicrious activity being encouraged within it and just leave for good. For example, I have actually known of and seen your above mentioned "funeral" for miscarriage remains by a priest in good standing.

Although the church "officially" does not have a set funeral plan for embryos and fetuses, plenty of priests are having these funerals on their own (mostly the young retrograde ones) and in certain pro-life circles, it's expected. I know specifically of one case where the woman saved the "remains" from her very, very early miscarriage and put it in the center of a large flower for the service. CREEPY. The pro-life culture within the Catholic church is not mentally healthy and it keeps getting worse. Whether the few remaining intellectuals within the church will steer it toward health again is open for serious question--the new, young priests (and bishops) are intellectually inferior to their counterparts from Vatican II and also emotionally unhealthy as a whole. Just my opinion from an insider.”

“Rachel is the best”

“Oooooh, catfight.”