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Pope Benedict: The First Year

By Matthias Beier, Tikkun. Posted September 21, 2006.


Although unity, peace, and love have been key words of Benedict's papacy, his actions or inactions are at odds with that rhetoric.

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In early March 2006, Pope Benedict XVI puzzled the world by quietly dropping one of his nine titles, "Patriarch of the West," held by popes since 642. Dropping the patriarch-title, traditionally reserved for Eastern Christian leaders, was meant to "be helpful for ecumenical dialogue," explained the Pope, whose "primary commitment" is unity with all Christian churches. But the gesture is more ambiguous than that. It also reasserts the Pope's claim to authority over the entire church, East and West. The true test for Benedict's openness to genuine ecumenical dialogue depends on whether he is willing to put the most valuable of his eight remaining titles on the table: Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church -- something he is least likely to do.

Benedict XVI's first year record is mixed. Although unity, peace, and love have been key words of his papacy, his actions or inactions are at times at odds with such rhetoric. While his fashionable wardrobe has received much attention -- flashy redshoes by Prada, hip sunglasses by Gucci, elaborately imperial gowns by Gamarelli, and, most recently, a stylish white 2GB iPod Nano -- the jury is still out on how open-minded the former top guardian of the Church's tradition really is. The central question for assessing Benedict's first year may well be whether his obvious changes in style from rigid moral watchdog to diplomatic, meeting-happy uberfather are more than merely a Pope's new clothes.

Has Benedict XVI truly had a change of heart? Or do these superficial changes in style conceal the same absolutistic claims to truth and power which guided him throughout his tenure as the Church's top watchdog? To explore that question, let us look at four areas that the Pope himself has highlighted: issues of peace and justice; inter-religious dialogue; moral values and the fight for Europe; and carrot-and-stick power struggles within the Church.

On peace and justice issues, Benedict XVI has, for the most part, continued his predecessor's stance. He frequently speaks out against violence, terrorism, poverty, consumerism, and economic injustice. Yet his lack of direct criticism of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq stands in stark contrast to John Paul II's unequivocal opposition to the war. As World War II taught us, a Pope's calls for peace and justice are of little or, worse, negative consequence, unless they call particular countries or leaders to responsible action.

In the area of inter-religious dialogue, Benedict XVI has focused particularly on relations with Jewish and Muslim leaders. Countering initial fears that a German Pope who once served in the Hitler Youth might harbor subtle anti-Semitic views, Benedict XVI recently paid a historical visit to Auschwitz. Visits to synagogues in Cologne and Rome and several meetings with Jewish leaders helped repair initial tensions with Israel after the Pope deliberately omitted from a July 2005 statement against terrorism any mention of a suicide attack inside Israel while, however, referring to attacks in Britain, Iraq, Egypt, and Turkey. A visit to Israel might come as early as 2007.

Benedict's attitude toward Islam has, regrettably, been more reserved. In meetings he has pressed Muslim leaders to fight against terrorism and to support 'reciprocity,' meaning that Muslim countries should grant the same religious freedom to Christians which traditionally Christian countries grant to Muslims. The Pope stunned those familiar with Catholic-Muslim relations when he removed the highly respected Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald from his post as president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue. Analysts suggest that the Pope saw Fitzgerald as 'too soft' on Islam, failing to press Muslim countries on respect for religious freedom.

Indicative of tensions between Benedict XVI and the Muslim world was the unusual delay by one year of a papal visit to Turkey. It had originally been planned for the fall of 2005 in response to an invitation by Patriarch Bartholomew I, head of the world's 200 million Orthodox Christians. The Turkish government refused to open its doors so soon to the new Pope, who, as Cardinal Ratzinger, had angered Turkey in 2004 by remarking in the French newspaper Le Figaro that the European Union should keep its doors closed to Turkey, since "Europe is a cultural continent, not a geographical one."

As Pope, he has reiterated that Europe's unity is based on its "indispensable Christian roots." To skeptics, Pope Benedict's argument for cultural purity is dangerously reminiscent of the Nazi Christian argument that Jews had no place in a Christian country such as Germany. While Benedict's intentions for dialogue with non-Christian religions are no doubt sincere, his fight against the political influence of non-Christian cultures in Europe may inadvertently fan the flames of discrimination based on religious creed.

The intermezzo with Turkey expresses a key feature of Benedict XVI: his Eurocentrism. The Pope's focus on Europe does not imply that he ignores other parts of the world, as his plan for a special bishop's synod in Africa clearly indicates. Much of his fight against secularism in Europe applies similarly to America, although Benedict XVI has commented surprisingly little on the U.S. situation. He firmly believes that the moral values of Christian Europe are the safeguards of civilization around the globe. The Holy Father considers Europe his most troubled child and laments that it has fallen ill with secular values. His antidote: to re-evangelize Europe in the spirit of St. Benedict, the patron saint of Europe, with whom he explicitly identifies.


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Matthias Beier, MDiv, PhD, is the author of A Violent God-Image: An Introduction to the Work of Eugen Drewermann (Continuum, 2006). He teaches at Drew and Fordham universities, and practices psychoanalysis in New York City.

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dumbest
Posted by: rsaxto on Sep 21, 2006 1:22 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The dumbest thing the Cardinals have ever done is to choose the fool, Benedict XVI, to be Pope.

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» Talking about fools Posted by: swissliberal
» RE: Talking about fools Posted by: rsaxto
The Prince of Superstition
Posted by: Moonray on Sep 21, 2006 2:59 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
It's sad that much of the world is still locked in the grip of mindless superstition. Religion is a plague on humanity that has kept people in bondage for millennia.

To see religion in its pristine form, watch any TV show about primitive tribes. The tribesmen act out of fear of invisible jungle spirits. The primitives develop elaborate rituals to appease the spirits, and appeal to the invisible beings in many ways. In short, they practice religion, and their "religious instinct" obviously stems from the ongoing stress of dealing with a dangerous and terrifying world.

Modern religion is precisely the same phenomenon. Why do we allow priests, ayatollahs, shamans, witchdoctors and others to bamboozle people in this manner? Our doing so is -- if you will pardon the expression -- a sin.

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» RE: The Prince of Superstition Posted by: Keone777
laughable pope.
Posted by: ShoShenQ on Sep 21, 2006 3:42 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
religion is an atrocity and this nazi won't prove the opposite. I'm sure he wakes up in the night screaming Hail Sieg Hail !

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» RE: laughable pope. Posted by: swissliberal
» If he is indeed "intelligent", Posted by: WhuThe?!?
» What do you know Posted by: swissliberal
» For future ref Posted by: Ouelle
» RE: For future ref Posted by: JCR
» RE: For future ref Posted by: Ouelle
Feminists Respond to Pope's Faux Pas
Posted by: wawa on Sep 21, 2006 4:22 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Eco-Feminist Respond to Pope's Faux Pas
by eileen fleming
September 17, 2006 www.opednews.com

In 1965, the Second Vatican Council issued a declaration on the relationship of the church to non-Christian religions, condemning anti-Semitism, and recognizing the bond that spiritually ties the people of the New Covenant to Abraham's stock.

Jesus was never a Christian, but he was a social justice, radical revolutionary, Palestinian Jewish Road Warrior who broke many of the taboo's of his day, such as listening to women and even allowing his mind to be changed by a few. The first was Mary at the wedding in Cana, when she brought to his attention the wine was running out. His immediate response to her was, "What's that got to do with me?"
Mary didn't argue, she turned to the servants and instructed them to, "Do what he says" and then she walked away. Jesus responded by telling the servants to fill six stone water jars that were used by Jews for ceremonial purification baths with 20 to 30 gallons of water. The servants complied and what flowed out was the best wine served at that party. In Christian theology, the wine represents the Holy Spirit, AKA: God within. This act was not just Christ's first public miracle, what Jesus did, was keep the party going. [John 2: 1-11]


The early church fathers refused to accept women as fully equal and instead clung to their patriarchal mindset that women were nothing more than chattel, but reformists and revolutionary sister's have always challenged the status quo.



Dr. Rosemary Radford Ruether, a Professor at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois has been a pioneer Christian feminist theologian for over three decades and is among the most widely read theologians in the world.

Her book, Sexism and God-Talk, a classic in the field of theology, still remains the only systematic feminist treatment of the Christian symbols to date. Dr. Ruether has written and edited over thirty books and hundreds of articles and reviews and has written extensively on liberation theology, anti-semitism, the Israeli-Palestianian conflict, the situation of the Catholic church, and various other topics of contemporary theological and ethical significance.

Within theological feminism, a distinction is made between revolutionary and reformist feminists. Revolutionary feminists find the Christian tradition irredeemably patriarchal and oppressive and looks to other traditions or to new theologies.

Reformists recognize the liabilities and the potentialities of the Christian tradition, and seek to reformulate faith and practice and Dr. Reuther falls into the reformist camp.

Ruether uses the term "God/ess" to designate the Divine. Her understanding of God/ess as Ultimate Reality means that all religions are potential resources for understanding the Divine, and that there is the potential for reformulating traditions in a way that bridges differences and finds what is good and useful.

In response to the Pope, Dr. Rosemary Radford Ruether wrote:

"On September 12 Pope Benedict XVI aroused the fury of the Islamic world with a speech given at the University of Regensburg in which he assailed the Muslim concept of holy war as a violation of God's will and nature. The Pope quoted a 14th century Byzantine emperor, Manuel II Paleologus, who derided Islam and its founder Muhammad for introducing 'things only inhuman and evil,' such as spreading the faith by the sword. The Pope held up (Catholic) Christianity, by contrast, as a model religion that promoted a 'profound encounter of faith and reason.'

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Ratzinger and Hitler
Posted by: swissliberal on Sep 21, 2006 4:26 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
in this article there are some accurate points. But to discuss one of the others:
Ratzinger was born and grown up in one of few very christian and antfaschistic families. He joined Hitler Jugend when it was mandatory. As well as the army, where he seems not to have fight because of illness.
To expect more courage than doing nothing more than being forced to from a 14 year old in a totalitarian regime during a war is a bit much. Most people are not capable to resist the power of Zeitgeist. That he as an adolescent was able to stand as a christian is not little.

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Thank god I'm an atheist!
Posted by: Pat Kittle on Sep 21, 2006 4:34 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
:-)

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Disturbed
Posted by: JSquercia on Sep 21, 2006 5:33 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I am somewhat confused and disturbed by the articles comments regarding the Pope and Islam . It seemed to imply that asking Muslims to treat non Muslim relegions
in the same manner the West treats Islam is a BAD thing . I have to STRONGLY disagree .

This was of course prior the popes unfortunate remark about Islam . It should be stated that this was a small portion of a speech devoted to the role of Reason . In regards to the idea of spreading the faith by the sword , it would have been helpful if the Pope acknowledged the Catholic Church's use of Violence in the past . That being the Inquisition and the Crusades as well as attacks on the Hugonots and other
non Catholics . Fortunately these things are in the past .

I will have to learn more of the writtings of the New Luther as I feel I find myself more in his camp on things such as Birth Control and a Priesthood that consists only of unmarried men . I was disappointed that the Pontif and his predecessor did not sharply condemn the scandal of abuse by priests and the more grevious crime of the coverup by Bishops and Cardinals .

I will close with a remark from Ghandi that sums up much of my feelings towrads modern day Christians . He said he liked this JESUS it was the Christians he had problems with . So many Christians so little Compassion

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» RE: Disturbed Posted by: LizzieB
» RE: Disturbed Posted by: symcokid
» Both of you -- please... Posted by: Jesse
» RE: Disturbed Posted by: YogiBear
Maybe
Posted by: Ouelle on Sep 21, 2006 8:02 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
the Pope should give thought to Gitmo, Abu Garhib and extraordinary rendition before he runs his mouth about the violence of Muslims or anyone else. And yes those things are the violence of Christians against others. If everything any one who calls themselves a Muslim does is a reflection on Islam than the same can be said for Christians. People act as if they have to reach back multiple centuries to find examples of Christian savagery which given the current state of things is a real joke oh mighty Christians. Muslim violence pales in the shadows of Christian savages.

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» Speaking of Christian Savages... Posted by: MatthewSavage
The Pope is Irrelevant
Posted by: NoPCZone on Sep 21, 2006 8:57 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
In his own back yard church attendance falls every year. In most of the developed world, the local Catholics disagree with the 'official' positions from Rome. In the third world, a significant percentage of followers mix & match Catholic dogma with their own traditional faiths and folkways.

The Catholic Church as a worldwide organization is in great disarray and seems unable to shoot straight.

As a non-Catholic I have a question. If the Pope is supposed to be infallible in matters of faith, how did he manage to step in such a huge cow-pie as this on a matter of faith?

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» RE: The Pope is Irrelevant Posted by: pcm130
I call a jihad on stupidy
Posted by: longlivecheney on Sep 21, 2006 10:11 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Just one point, then I'm done.

The Pope calls for dialogue between Muslims, Christians and Jews. He implies that there can be no dialogue if they keep blowing everybody up. Why does that ruffle so many feathers?

By the way, I know you guys realize that some Muslims are proving his point right now. A nun was killed in apparent retaliation. You guys are smart - you know that.

Pope: We need more talk. No more violence.
Muslim extremists: Death to the Pope!! How dare he insult our religion!!
Pope: Guys, I was quoting someone. Come on, get a grip.
Muslim extremists: We don't care!! Death to Christians!! Death to the pope!!
Alternet.org: See? Now look what you did, pope. Its all your fault.

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» RE: I call a jihad on stupidy Posted by: timeflux
» RE: I call a jihad on stupidy Posted by: longlivecheney
» RE: I call a jihad on stupidy Posted by: bullwhip7
I wonder
Posted by: TooDamnCool on Sep 21, 2006 10:27 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I wonder if all these lefty douchbags would be so quick to trash talk Christians if we were chopping heads off with electric carving knives?

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» RE: I wonder Posted by: longlivecheney
» That's Douche Bag Posted by: Ouelle
» Report this Comment Posted by: Ouelle
» RE: eport this Comment Posted by: longlivecheney
» RE: don't worry about it . . Posted by: longlivecheney
» RE: eport this Comment Posted by: JCR
» JCR Posted by: Ouelle
What one need to know about the Roman Catholic Church
Posted by: jreinhart1 on Sep 21, 2006 10:32 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The pope has forced the Roman Catholic church into a major role of providing a Catholic justification for the US-led Evangelist WWIII on Islam. The followers of the Roman Catholic Church believe that the Pope is infallible and is literally THE representative of Jesus Christ on earth. Communion is taken literally as the flesh and blood or Christ. It was the Roman Catholic Church that demanded the crusades to take Jerusalem.

Regarding the crusades, all Christian Kingdoms had to serve the Vatican. There were no protestants which are nothing but knockoff groups anyway. Chaldean (Assyrian, Armenian), Aryan, Phoenician (Lebanon), Coptic (Egyptian) Christian churches are the only ones older than Roman Catholicism which switched out Mithrasism and plugged in Christianity as the official empire's religion.

The book, Misquoting Jesus is a must read for laymen like me that want to learn real theology of Christianity which requires the knowledge of Ancient Greek to understand it's earliest known texts (300+ AD except Paul's letters).

I grew up in a strong Catholic family with strong beliefs in it until I was reborn into the End of Times cult at the age of 17 (early 70s). It is all an ugly form of brainwashing and control for money and power. Twenty two years after quitting that cult, I am still trying to dislodge the lies that were burned into my mind.

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» One major error with your comment Posted by: moderate in chicago
How about dissing all the other phony religious out there!
Posted by: hot_rad_man on Sep 21, 2006 11:20 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
You havent the balls to diss the Muslims, the Protestants or Islamics and they cause far more damage to the world than the Catholics. In so leveling your guns at the Pope and his following you just show your bias for Catholics and I discredit all you say! You are just a phony two bit news rag anyway!

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» Also, don't forget Posted by: WhuThe?!?
Prema
Posted by: Premalata H de Matesanz on Sep 21, 2006 11:41 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The greman shepherd is a neocon, faschist, and a fanatic. He is good at hating and bad at compasion and understanding. Tigers do no change their stripes and this tiger has always been more interestered in controling the sex life of the faithfull then in coming to terms with the spiritual vacuity in so much of what the conservitive wing of the church does. The one thing that is great about these fanatics is that the faithfull can not follow them. Soon they will be a small powerless group of locos howling where no one listens.

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pope with not much hope
Posted by: hangman on Sep 21, 2006 12:19 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
As a homosexual who was baptized catholic, and for the most part went to church until I was old enough to decide for myself what I prefered. probably aged 13.

I found the Catholic church itself to be hypocritical.
I have no problem with having faith in something and power of pray.
But the current Pope doesn't have much of a hope on the current direction he is taking things.

His outdated and unedcauted views are going to be the end of the Catholic church. which may not be a bad thing afterall.

We evolve and need to come out as human being with respect for each other as human beings, (sexuality included)
sexuality is part of our spiritual developement .
Thats seems to be one thing that the Pope finds threatening . the church could do well to keep its nose out of peoples personal lives and relationships. or embrace same-sex marraige as part of what they would call Gods will.
Marriage is a union of hearts and souls that want to spend their time caring for each other. Not owning each other.
Same-sex marriage is a part of our make up as human beings. The church has had a long run at trying to deny us our instinct to care about each other regardless of sexual orientation.

as far as I am concerned , abortion is part of a womans right as a human being and it is Not for the church to dictate to or to control.

I don't think there is much hope for this Pope.
For the rest of us that could mean our freedom from the controls of religion over our lives.
besides the Bible has only been around a couple thousand years, while we as human beings have been around alot longer.

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» RE: pope with not much hope Posted by: pcm130
2004 Election and the Catholic Church
Posted by: WhuThe?!? on Sep 21, 2006 12:56 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I read an article that shortly before the 2004 election, pope benedict, who then worked under john paul, sent out a letter to diocese in the US telling the bishops to encourage their flocks to vote for bush. Obviously it is much more important to control peoples' sex lives and force them to have unwanted children (the repugnican agenda) than it is to say no to war and take care of the less fortunate in society (good things george bush stands against). He can talk about love all he wants, but his actions of oppression and intolerance speak louder than his words.

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Not Gravely Deficient
Posted by: glorybe on Sep 21, 2006 1:19 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The Pope was simply being polite in the use of the words gravely deficient in reference to non Christian faiths. The doctrine that only a baptized and repentant Christian has any hope of salvation is central to all of Christianity. To imply that any other faith has any legitimacy at all is blasphemous. We are plainly told that only Christ's followers will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. WE are also told that in heaven there are possibilities that do not exist in this world but to us in this world it is either Christian or nothing at all. Said bluntly all other beliefs are Satanic deceptions designed to put people into eternal hell.

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» the future of your faith... Posted by: Wesley69
I USED TO REALLY LIKE ALTERNET
Posted by: Scientz on Sep 21, 2006 5:54 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Then the forum started to depress me.

Now I just think you're idiots.

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The Pope doesn't understand God
Posted by: geli on Sep 22, 2006 1:17 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
so I think.

I've been reading the German newspapers about his quote on Islam's institutional violence. (aus dem Jahre 1391: "der Islam sei eine »Schwertreligion« und habe der Welt nur »Schlechtes und Inhumanes« gebracht" - from the year 1391: "Islam is a religion of the sword and brought only bad and inhuman elements into the world"). There is not only outrage but also many voices are calling for a serious debate on the problem that Islam seems to propose violent actions. On the other hand many authors criticise that the pope didn't balance his statements in the same way as he himself had spoken years ago when he was still Cardinal Ratzinger: »Menschen der Kirche haben im Namen des Glaubens und der Moral auf Methoden zurückgegriffen, die dem Evangelium nicht entsprechen.« - "In the name of faith and morality the people of the Church have employed methods that are inconsistent with the Gospel."

The unasked question seems to be whether or not God is violent. God says in the Old testament: "Vengeance in Mine" and SHe often talks about "smiting" people. Moses had revealed not only a loving and caring but also an angry God, who reminded the people that their transgressions mattered, that they were recorded, not forgotten and would lead to future retribution. Is this violence? Does this constitute a terrorist threat? - Well, the priests certainly saw their chance and wielded power over their flock. Understandably they were very upset with Jesus and His revelation that emphasised the forgiving aspect of God. But, lo and behold, God wasn't safe from human perversion even with the gentle message of forgiveness: The priests smelled a good business, first creating the demand by vividly describing the tortures of hell, then monopolising Jesus' message and lastly selling it for money. You've got to hand it to them. It was an ingenious plan. I mean who would have had that range of imagination, God's forgiveness on sale? - Special offer, buy bulk. - Little wonder that Mohammed wasn't welcome. After all He said that you can't just forgive so willy nilly. You've got to take responsibility and make sure those naughty kids get the message. You've got to drive it home to them. It's your duty. If you love someone you must stop them from offending God, and if nothing else helps, after exhausting all possible avenues you must even fight for this, must even give your life for this. Well, wasn't that an improvement! - How God's heart must have bled when SHe - surely - saw how the eternal priesthood would corrupt this one. - The next of God's Messengers, Baha'u'llah, - (co-incidentally from Iran) - was even less welcome than Mohammed. Thousands of His followers have been killed and are prosecuted to this very day. He said, well, what did He say, He said that all the prophets of God were one, and that the poison would be transmuted into healing medicine, that it was not permissible to fight and kill not even in defense of one's own life;- except if a whole country were attacked by another country then it would be justified to raise an army and fight. - He also said that all the peace loving countries of the world should get together and overwhelm the nation that takes up arms against another. And He said that He wasn't the only one nor the last one of God's messengers: there will alsways be a next one, as humanity will continue to evolve. -

So. Is God violent? - Of course in this form the question cannot be answered. I am certain, however, that God is no doormat, no slave, no papertiger and no dimwit.

xxxxxxxxInge B.

P.S. Where did he get those nice clothes from?

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Pope on a rope
Posted by: rwmk12 on Sep 22, 2006 8:03 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
One year later I can't say I'm even remotely surprised or disappointed. When JP2 died I expected a conservative pope to be elected, and lone and behold a former Nazi youth member is appointed. Is that not inherently twisted? Yes and no. You know that only a conservative/facist-like person will ever climb to power in politics or religion in the West. Religion is not inherently evil. There are many secular evils that have become the opium of the people of today without Billy Graham, the Pope, or Jerry Falwell corrupting and lulling them to sleep. What was on TV last night? God bless America! And did you hear what Jessica Simpson wore to the Grocery store yesterday?
As some have said here on the page Jesus "was" a social liberator. Thus, the church of the roman empire, and I stress empire, has never espoused the same values as those embedded within its teachings, and neither do other protestant groups. What kills me as a scholar of religion is that here we have this jesus character, and i stress character, who is about denouncing hypocrisy and false worship amongst the "pharisees and sadducees", but then "his" movement gets taken over by the Roman Empire as a socially conservative force, and ultimately becomes exactly what it was created to combat. Everything else since has been hypocritical rhetoric... Pope Benedict is just the lastest manifestation of enforcing socially conservative "redherrings" that keep social opinion from moving down the "slippery slope" towards general equality and true democracy. Keeping homosexuals from getting married? Who really cares... its merely rhetoric to keep the debate within the confines of its socially set parameters... be weary of wolves in sheep's clothing.

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The straw that breaks the camel's back always follows the results of earlier deeds
Posted by: SevenStarHand on Sep 22, 2006 2:03 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The Pope's recent choice of words was brain dead, in my humble opinion, if he was seeking to spread peace. He could have appealed for cooler heads and humility from all sides using any other words, but instead he chose to quote Crusade era hypocrisy that was clearly designed to inflame Muslims. Now we see the backtracking and spinning that always follows the gaffes of those afraid of simply telling the truth.

More proof that religion is the opposite of truth, wisdom, and justice

The "infallible" Grand Inquisitor (the pot) sought to lecture Islam (the kettle) about spreading religion through dark deeds by quoting a Dark Ages text while the USA and Europe are in the midst of the Neo-Crusades. The irony and absurdity in this situation is amazing, to say the least. It evidences both the fallacy and fallibility of those who vainly and arrogantly pretend to serve the Creator.

Dear Pope, ever heard of Karma or the golden rule? Ever stop to remember how the Vatican and western nations became so rich and powerful over the centuries? Ever consider giving up your blood drenched wealth and earthly power to end the blatant hypocrisy of your vain, materialistic, and duplicitous empire? Ever think of forgoing your peacock's robes to walk the walk instead of simply talking the talk? Remember the "eye of the needle" and "log and mote in the eye" parables? Is this a demonstration of your infallibility, wisdom, or utter blindness? As another wise one once said; What goes around comes around!

The West has killed far more Muslims (and other dark skins) than they have killed westerners, yet our leaders and many in the press can only see Muslim and "third world" desperation in the face of western military and economic dominance and oppression, (in the name of God and country, by the way), as sources of evil in this world. Never forget that there would not be a war in Iraq nor the Bush administration's many blatant evils without the unwavering support of such a large percentage of Judeo-Christians.

Guess what guys and girls, war, violence, and injustice are evil, no matter what the excuse or cause or who is doing it to whom. Anyone who thinks the Creator would judge religion, war, or any other profiteering at the expense of others as wise or acceptable activities has a very big surprise in store.

Here is Wisdom!!
...and here too...

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Alternet is Increasingly less Relevant
Posted by: bullwhip7 on Sep 22, 2006 2:36 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Judge a magazine not by its cover, but by its content, and Alternet is increasingly less relevant. Here we have an article about the new pope, yet their isn't a mention of one of the worst mistakes a pope has ever made.

The Muslim world is up in arms, their outrage (plain, unadulterated rage) is not only NOT subsiding, it is spreading. Meanwhile, the pope continues to make ambiguous statements that sound like apologies, but really are not, nor are they retractions.

OK, understood. What does Alternet publish? A point by point analysis? No, a watered down report on the pope's performance (we give him a six, no a five), without even mentioning how he's managed to alienate a sizable chunk of the world's population.

Alternet, you get a 2 out of 10 for this one. One point for proper grammar, and one point for getting the format correct.
Your material is out of touch, and basically off hte wall.

Yeah.

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Article was written before Pope's provocative comments
Posted by: psa4ny on Sep 23, 2006 9:41 PM   
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The article appeared first in Tikkun Magazine in July. Looks like Alternet posted it after the Pope's provocative comments because it gives some context for the Pope's overall attitude toward Islam. I find it very helpful.

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AlterNet could do better as far as an appraisal of B16's first year.
Posted by: blostopher on Sep 24, 2006 11:09 AM   
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Matthias Bier's grade-school tantrum against Pope Benedict reveals more about his feelings toward the Pope than anything about his first year in office. Even Hans Kung, Benedict's former academic colleague and theological jousting partner, has a better grasp on Benedict's theology and the motivations behind his actions, and that's not saying much. For a more comprehensive take on the Holy Father, click here.

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