H
HagiaSophia
Guest
From Zenit:
Last Sunday, while Roman Catholics lit the pink candle representing joy and hope in the midst of the Advent season, elsewhere in the city torches were brandished, reminiscent of the barbarian sacks and sieges of old. Romans bustling about making their Christmas preparations were astounded to encounter marchers attending the World Atheism Convention, held here Dec. 11-13.
Some 500 demonstrators, hailing from England, Italy, Germany and France, paraded through the city, waving signs and banners proclaiming “God does not exist” and “Monotheism is the root of all evil.”
The atheists adopted Giordano Bruno as the patron for their convention. Giordano Bruno, born in 1548, had been a Dominican monk until 1576 when he renounced his order and his vows. He then fled to Switzerland, England and Germany, first joining, then getting excommunicated from, both the Calvinists and the Lutherans.
Refusing to renounce his teachings and writings that maintained positions such as the non-divinity of Christ, Bruno was condemned by the Roman Inquisition and consigned to the secular authorities. On Feb. 17, 1600, state authorities had Bruno burned at the stake in Campo de’ Fiori, one of the pilgrimage destinations for this unusual crowd.
Ironically, Bruno’s ideas make him a pantheist, who believes everything is divine, whereas the atheists believe nothing is divine.
The atheism convention drew members from sundry organizations bearing names such as “There Is No God,” “Apostasy” and “Raelian Revolution.” A few Satanists tagged along for good measure.
While most of these titles are self-explanatory, Rael was a new name in this city. It turns out that Rael was a French journalist who claimed to have been contacted by a 4-foot-tall, long-haired alien on Dec. 13, 1973, who explained that humans had mistaken these same aliens for gods and that indeed they were the founders of all the major religions.
Just as “children need to understand that there is no Santa, people need to realize there is no God,” explained the alien. These aliens are hoping to set up an embassy to Earth, although they will not be presenting their credentials to the Holy See.
The marchers’ route took them from the Colosseum, an appropriate enough beginning, to Piazza Venezia where Mussolini used to harangue his troops. Here they formed a logjam, blocking traffic as they attempted to continue their march to its intended destination – St. Peter’s Square. The Romans, having seen many an invading barbarian horde over the centuries, merely shrugged and took another path to continue their activities.
zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=63675
Code: ZE04121624
Date: 2004-12-16
Rome Gets Rael; Blessing of the Bambinelli
An Unlikely Convention Gathers
Last Sunday, while Roman Catholics lit the pink candle representing joy and hope in the midst of the Advent season, elsewhere in the city torches were brandished, reminiscent of the barbarian sacks and sieges of old. Romans bustling about making their Christmas preparations were astounded to encounter marchers attending the World Atheism Convention, held here Dec. 11-13.
Some 500 demonstrators, hailing from England, Italy, Germany and France, paraded through the city, waving signs and banners proclaiming “God does not exist” and “Monotheism is the root of all evil.”
The atheists adopted Giordano Bruno as the patron for their convention. Giordano Bruno, born in 1548, had been a Dominican monk until 1576 when he renounced his order and his vows. He then fled to Switzerland, England and Germany, first joining, then getting excommunicated from, both the Calvinists and the Lutherans.
Refusing to renounce his teachings and writings that maintained positions such as the non-divinity of Christ, Bruno was condemned by the Roman Inquisition and consigned to the secular authorities. On Feb. 17, 1600, state authorities had Bruno burned at the stake in Campo de’ Fiori, one of the pilgrimage destinations for this unusual crowd.
Ironically, Bruno’s ideas make him a pantheist, who believes everything is divine, whereas the atheists believe nothing is divine.
The atheism convention drew members from sundry organizations bearing names such as “There Is No God,” “Apostasy” and “Raelian Revolution.” A few Satanists tagged along for good measure.
While most of these titles are self-explanatory, Rael was a new name in this city. It turns out that Rael was a French journalist who claimed to have been contacted by a 4-foot-tall, long-haired alien on Dec. 13, 1973, who explained that humans had mistaken these same aliens for gods and that indeed they were the founders of all the major religions.
Just as “children need to understand that there is no Santa, people need to realize there is no God,” explained the alien. These aliens are hoping to set up an embassy to Earth, although they will not be presenting their credentials to the Holy See.
The marchers’ route took them from the Colosseum, an appropriate enough beginning, to Piazza Venezia where Mussolini used to harangue his troops. Here they formed a logjam, blocking traffic as they attempted to continue their march to its intended destination – St. Peter’s Square. The Romans, having seen many an invading barbarian horde over the centuries, merely shrugged and took another path to continue their activities.
zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=63675
Code: ZE04121624
Date: 2004-12-16
Rome Gets Rael; Blessing of the Bambinelli
An Unlikely Convention Gathers
God Bless
You have to love the Italians. Seriousl, my family in Rome just hates the way the city gets overrun by all these protests & parades. The whole place just about shuts down every Sunday because it seems to be the designated day for all this stuff, and the government closes off whole areas of the city & blocks off roads so it’s impossible to get around.