Pontiff Admonishes Catholics Not to Lose Their Souls to Science

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"MUNICH, Germany — Under glorious skies in this Bavarian capital where he once lived, Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday warned Roman Catholics against letting modern concerns drown out God’s word, adding that technology alone could not solve the world’s problems.

An overreliance on science has made too many Catholics deaf to the teachings of the church, the pope said in a homily that scolded Western European societies for an increasingly secular focus. Faith is needed to combat diseases such as AIDS, he said."

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bones_IV said:
"MUNICH, Germany — Under glorious skies in this Bavarian capital where he once lived, Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday warned Roman Catholics against letting modern concerns drown out God’s word, adding that technology alone could not solve the world’s problems.

An overreliance on science has made too many Catholics deaf to the teachings of the church, the pope said in a homily that scolded Western European societies for an increasingly secular focus. Faith is needed to combat diseases such as AIDS, he said."

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How, exactly, has faith combatted AIDs? Where is the decrease? Where is the cure provided by faith? Can someone with AIDs never go to a doctor and still get well?

I accept that certain problems are handled better by faith, in many forms. AIDs and other diseases are not among them.
 
Liberalsaved said:
How, exactly, has faith combatted AIDs? Where is the decrease? Where is the cure provided by faith? Can someone with AIDs never go to a doctor and still get well?

I accept that certain problems are handled better by faith, in many forms. AIDs and other diseases are not among them.
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People experience miraculous healings all the time.
 
It is not an either only faith or only science. I think the Pope is saying that we need both, but we have come to rely so heavily on science that we exclude faith from the picture. When we do this though, we are doomed to failure.
 
Liberalsaved said:
How, exactly, has faith combatted AIDs? Where is the decrease? Where is the cure provided by faith? Can someone with AIDs never go to a doctor and still get well?

I accept that certain problems are handled better by faith, in many forms. AIDs and other diseases are not among them.
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I guess the way I’m taking it from what the Pope said is that if we are obedient to The Faith and live a chaste life, then AIDS and HIV wouldn’t be a problem.
 
masondoggy said:
I guess the way I’m taking it from what the Pope said is that if we are obedient to The Faith and live a chaste life, then AIDS and HIV wouldn’t be a problem.
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You’d still have needles. Blood exchange. Still major problems in poor places. And I don’t see why someone who falls once should be punished for life.

Just because someone takes an action that is immoral to you, does not mean they deserve to have their lives thereafter dictated by AIDs and HIV. It isn’t only a problem with people who do something immoral to Christians. That’s an easy answer.
 
Liberalsaved said:
How, exactly, has faith combatted AIDs? Where is the decrease? Where is the cure provided by faith? Can someone with AIDs never go to a doctor and still get well?
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I believe Pope Benedict is saying that faith and science are needed to combat these diseases. So many people in the world have tried to kick faith out of their lives. Seems to me that they’re not doing so well.
 
Liberalsaved said:
You’d still have needles. Blood exchange. Still major problems in poor places. And I don’t see why someone who falls once should be punished for life.

Just because someone takes an action that is immoral to you, does not mean they deserve to have their lives thereafter dictated by AIDs and HIV. It isn’t only a problem with people who do something immoral to Christians. That’s an easy answer.
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I am not sure you are Christian, so I will try and explain this in from a secular point of view.

As others have said an obedience to God includes living a moral life which would significantly reduce the chances of catching AIDS. Since this is a Christian forum we believe that morality exists and is there not only to be conformed to but to benefit us.

The fact that there is a percentage of people who get diseases from happenstance and not from immoral practices does not change the fact that living a moral life significantly reduces the amount of sexually transmitted diseases. Of course any Catholic Christian does not think that disease is a punishment but rather something that we suffer from, from which though undesirable can offer significant spiritual benefits.

Again since this is a Christian forum we look to the spiritual good and not the material good as the ultimate guideline. As a non-catholic this might be hard to understand and not compatible with your viewpoint, yet understood from a Christian point of view, we need to look at what is true and right.

Ultimately for Catholics it falls down to who gets to Heaven and maximizing the amount of people going to Heaven.

In Christ
Scylla
 
I believe faith has its place. It can give aid and succor to those navigating life’s currents; but it cannot (except in very rare circumstances) heal a disease, prevent disease, or significantly increase living standards. That is the realm of science and technology. Take the green revolution back in the 60’s & 70’s when the amount of food that can be produced increased by an astonishing percentage; or the invention of plumbing and refrigeration which probably raised life expectancy by 5 years just by themselves.

I am a rationalist and yes, a materialist too (I believe big problems can be broken down into smaller problems). We cannot just leave our human problems such as HIV or cholera or malaria or inadequate drinking water to God as He will likely say, well I gave you brains to figure it out.
 
scylla said:
I am not sure you are Christian, so I will try and explain this in from a secular point of view.

As others have said an obedience to God includes living a moral life which would significantly reduce the chances of catching AIDS. Since this is a Christian forum we believe that morality exists and is there not only to be conformed to but to benefit us.

The fact that there is a percentage of people who get diseases from happenstance and not from immoral practices does not change the fact that living a moral life significantly reduces the amount of sexually transmitted diseases. Of course any Catholic Christian does not think that disease is a punishment but rather something that we suffer from, from which though undesirable can offer significant spiritual benefits.

Again since this is a Christian forum we look to the spiritual good and not the material good as the ultimate guideline. As a non-catholic this might be hard to understand and not compatible with your viewpoint, yet understood from a Christian point of view, we need to look at what is true and right.

Ultimately for Catholics it falls down to who gets to Heaven and maximizing the amount of people going to Heaven.

In Christ
Scylla
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It’s not a matter of not understanding. It’s a matter of making people better. When I was catholic, I still would have done whatever I had to do, supported what needed to be supported, to keep people from living in illness. Whether a person has sinned or done something immoral and that is why they are sick should not figure into whether they are allowed to enjoy the life others live, or whether they deserve to be cured. It seems to me many people think a cure is not necessary if only you follow certain guidelines.
I, personally, do not choose to risk myself when it comes to disease. But I don’t think those that do are less than human, which is essentially what is being said when someone advocates that science is not a cure.
 
a_cermak said:
I am a rationalist and yes, a materialist too (I believe big problems can be broken down into smaller problems). We cannot just leave our human problems such as HIV or cholera or malaria or inadequate drinking water to God as He will likely say, well I gave you brains to figure it out.
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I was wondering when someone would note this. No matter what form the divine has been worshipped in, it has ALWAYS been left to humans to solve their own problems. If that were not the case, we would not have the mental facilities to do so. AIDs is an earthly problem, and no matter what way you look at it, we are expecting to beat the problem ourselves.
 
Liberalsaved said:
How, exactly, has faith combatted AIDs? Where is the decrease? Where is the cure provided by faith? Can someone with AIDs never go to a doctor and still get well?

I accept that certain problems are handled better by faith, in many forms. AIDs and other diseases are not among them.
Click to expand...
Have faith. Follow the teachings of the church. In turn, don’t sleep around or use drugs. Barring accidental contact with bodily fluids at work, I’d say you pretty much reduced your chances of getting AIDS.
 
If we all followed our Lord, AIDS would be a very little problem. 🙂
 
a_cermak said:
I am a rationalist and yes, a materialist too (I believe big problems can be broken down into smaller problems). We cannot just leave our human problems such as HIV or cholera or malaria or inadequate drinking water to God as He will likely say, well I gave you brains to figure it out.
Click to expand...
I was a material atheist in college and probably have a good feel for where you are coming from…how do you deal with the futility and apparent meaninglessness of life?
 
Liberalsaved said:
It’s not a matter of not understanding. It’s a matter of making people better. When I was catholic, I still would have done whatever I had to do, supported what needed to be supported, to keep people from living in illness. Whether a person has sinned or done something immoral and that is why they are sick should not figure into whether they are allowed to enjoy the life others live, or whether they deserve to be cured. It seems to me many people think a cure is not necessary if only you follow certain guidelines.
I, personally, do not choose to risk myself when it comes to disease. But I don’t think those that do are less than human, which is essentially what is being said when someone advocates that science is not a cure.
Click to expand...
God did not leave us on our own. He does not expect us to solve problems on our own. he keeps the promise he made in 1Peter5:7

What you see as man solving problems is in reality God solving problems through man.
 
Saint_Sinner said:
I was a material atheist in college and probably have a good feel for where you are coming from…how do you deal with the futility and apparent meaninglessness of life?
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I’m not an atheist. I’m just a materialist and rationalist who also believes in all contained in the Nicean creed. So I don’t see a meaninglessness or futility in life. But just because I believe in an afterlife does not mean that I was not put here on Earth to do my part to make it a better place in whatever way I can.
 
a_cermak said:
I’m not an atheist. I’m just a materialist and rationalist who also believes in all contained in the Nicean creed. So I don’t see a meaninglessness or futility in life. But just because I believe in an afterlife does not mean that I was not put here on Earth to do my part to make it a better place in whatever way I can.
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Remember what our Lord says about materialism. 7:13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” Materialism can give us a false sense of security. Put your emphasis on heavenly things.
 
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