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7_Sorrows
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it has already been several years since dear Benedict 16 was Pope. maybe these tweeters were young and wouldn’t have listened to the Pope at that time.
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otjm
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If we are talking about Nice (or is it now Dallas) - but if Nice, then it appears reasonably clear that it was religiously motivated. Or perhaps it would be better to say, theocratically motivated, because it is a mistake (by many, and in particular, by liberals) to call Islam a religion; it is rather a theocracy, which is a different issue altogether.
The Bush administration did not seem to have this, along with several other issues, figured out, and the current administration seems even farther in the weeds. Those who fail to learn from history are bound to repeat it is a mantra that seems to have too little mileage any more.
Why the infants?
If one has become a through and through secularist, then God amounts to a crutch, not a reality, and the devil is simply a boogey man under the bed. France can’t seem to make heads nor tails of what is going on, because they have either lost touch with, or abandoned any real faith. And now they are being forced to look under the bed, and can’t wrap their minds around what they are seeing.
If you have lived most of your life denying the existence of the devil, and you are now to confront his acts, your mind is likely to shut down; the synapses won’t fire in sequence.
There is now a report circulating (and I cannot vouch for the truthfulness of the reports) that in the prior mass killing, in at least one location, information is starting to surface indicating that some of the dead had clearly been mutilated, and possibly tortured. The prosecutor is denying having any information, and has been accused of treating the French as children, not capable of dealing with the news. If there is truth in the reports, and they become more widely known, it will make for interesting observations of how the people in the streets handle it. It is one thing to shoot people; it is a different level of terror to mutilate them in the process.
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mjhudson
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Whats this incident you speak of? I’m very new to catholicism and rather ignorant of the popes. I’m curious what he had to say.
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fred_conty
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Like you said, that is pretty much the case. But the real story is that the Pope is getting the same stuff as we are getting. And I think it is because of the growing population of the godless and the attitude that all is fair in trying to win a point.
Let’s all of us say a prayer for them.
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otjm
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It was the Regensburg address.
As to Benedict: it is not my own opinion, but that or many who are for more educated in theology than I, that he is the most brilliant theologian alive. To that could be added, likely one of the greatest in the Church. He was a periti (adviser) to a German Cardinal during Vatican 2; went back to teaching and doing research in theology; was brought into the curia by John Paul 2 (who was also a periti to the Council).
John Paul 2 had two PhD’s, one in theology and one in philosophy, and perhaps philosophy was his stronger suit; it underpins his work of Theology of the Body.
I will leave you to review Regensburg.
About 9 months ago, National Catholic Register had an interview with Jesuit Father Samir Kahlil Samir, a scholar of Isalm who was born in Cairo.
Father Samir, in the interview said Islam in the 12th and 13th centuries was much more open minded than the Islam being followed today; they have effectively gone backwards 1,000 years.
He makes the statement: “The interpretation of the Quran and Islamic tradition in not based on reason, as it was in some schools in the Middle Ages. For many Muslim theologians, reason is seen as anti-revelation! By the way, this is precisely the criticism of Pope Benedict XVI in his famous lecture at Regensburg’s university on Sept. 12, 2006, which provoked such violent Muslim reaction.”
Asked how long the violence will continue: “It could take decades. The violence is such that if we don’t do anything, they will win. If we leave Syria to fight alone, they will do it in a military way and destroy the whole country to save their own people, on both sides. The terrorists are not aware of the disaster they are making.”
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thephilosopher6
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God gave those kinds of commandments to a specific set of people caught in a specific set of circumstances, namely, the Isrealites. Such things as stoning were actually much rarer than you might think, especially by the time of Jesus. Though, yes, they undoubtedly happened. Jews no longer practice capital punishment today because the temple no longer stands. Though it is admited that we cannot fully know God’s reasoning (Isaiah 55:8-9) we can know that God is God and that his ways are righteous, even when seeming paradoxical. I suppose we can even see that in the doctrine of the incarnation, God is paradoxical and so is the world he has created…
As for Jesus, in the context of that passage he is saying that when one becomes a follower of him, he will face hardships and persecution from others.
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“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven. Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.” - Matthew 10:32-36*
Jesus says, after Simon Peter cut off the servant of high priest ear “Put your sword back into its place. Those who live by the sword, die by the sword.” - Matthew 26:52
Jesus also says, “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them.” - Luke 6:29
Even Peter says in 1 Peter 3:9—*“Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” *
Indeed, a lot of Christians in the first few centurys were favourable towards pacifism. The Council of Nicaea even seems to forbid military service. When Christianity became the state religion of Rome, things had to change and so pacifism was mostly abandoned by the 5th century.
(BTW, sorry if there are a lot of typos, I wrote this from my phone)
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MacBP
Guest
I think this is basically non-news. There is always a sizeable number of jasty tweets directed towards the Pope at any time of year. It shouldn’t surprise people that they’re out in force these days, especially since a lot of New Atheist rheoteoric seems incapable of making distinctiona within the category of “religion”. Consequently the negative actions of Islam will be attributed to Christianity (and vice versa) since its all the same to them.
Overall though, it does highlight a few things. The west really is fracturing whem the good of a significant portion of the population is mocked and derrided. I’m reminded of the post-Orlando exchange between Christians and the LGBTQ community where the attempts of Christians to reach out to the LGBTQ community were essentially thrown back in their face. It seems peace is a long way off. Secondly, it highlights the fact that religion really has become a dirty word in the west. When concepts like prayer and religious freedom are reflexively met with sneers and jeers, you we’re in trouble. We really do have a PR problem that is largely (but not solely) attributable to terrorism. Finally, we really have failed to convey what Christianity teaches. Perhaps if we discussed issues like theodicy and what prayer is and why it works this wouldn’t be see an issue. Even if one is an Atheist and believes prayer is a waste of time, they may at least understand the good will it represents.
Overall though, it does highlight a few things. The west really is fracturing whem the good of a significant portion of the population is mocked and derrided. I’m reminded of the post-Orlando exchange between Christians and the LGBTQ community where the attempts of Christians to reach out to the LGBTQ community were essentially thrown back in their face. It seems peace is a long way off. Secondly, it highlights the fact that religion really has become a dirty word in the west. When concepts like prayer and religious freedom are reflexively met with sneers and jeers, you we’re in trouble. We really do have a PR problem that is largely (but not solely) attributable to terrorism. Finally, we really have failed to convey what Christianity teaches. Perhaps if we discussed issues like theodicy and what prayer is and why it works this wouldn’t be see an issue. Even if one is an Atheist and believes prayer is a waste of time, they may at least understand the good will it represents.
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tseleehw
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Yes, this is nothing new for anyone who is familiar with how the Internet works. Go to any left-wing news site, blog, etc. and look at the comments on articles about the Pope or Catholic Church and you get the usual run of the mill comments:
- They’re just a bunch of old men molesting little boys
- Their prayers to some imaginary figure in the sky don’t help anyone
- Tax the church
- The sooner the country is eradicated of all religion, the better
- If they really want to help someone why don’t they sell off all of their art and buildings
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RPRPsych
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And as an eerie, diabolical parallel, you can see similar comments on “fringe Catholic blogs”:
- They’re all gay and Pope Francis is their “beard”
- Their Mass and Sacraments are invalid
- Stop giving them money or donating to their charities
- The sooner the “fake Vatican II” church is destroyed by a lightning bolt from heaven, the better
- If they really want to help, they should start doing as we say
It’s a sad day when so-called Catholics are competing with liberals to pull the Church down.)
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adamhovey1988
Guest
Far left and Far right oftentimes end up being pretty much the same thing in terms of politics. I feel the same about the extreme “liberals” and the “Vatican II taught heresy” crowds.And as an eerie, diabolical parallel, you can see similar comments on “fringe Catholic blogs”:
(Not providing links, but you get the picture…
- They’re all gay and Pope Francis is their “beard”
- Their Mass and Sacraments are invalid
- Stop giving them money or donating to their charities
- The sooner the “fake Vatican II” church is destroyed by a lightning bolt from heaven, the better
- If they really want to help, they should start doing as we say
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RPRPsych
Guest
Same here, my friend, same here. I just try to pray for them all.
And this effect actually has a name: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoe_theory
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adamhovey1988
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I did not know it had a name, thank you.Same here, my friend, same here. I just try to pray for them all.
And this effect actually has a name: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoe_theory
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RPRPsych
Guest
The things you learn browsing atheist sites, I tell you…
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exnihilo
Guest
Technology has its downside. Internet communication tends to be more depersonalized and ruder. I know I can be that way. The comments seemed to me to be unsophisticated critiques of religion. Such opinions abound outside of the internet as well.I don’t understand why people have to do these things.
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Maximilan_Kolbe
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Nonsense. People looking for sincere answers don’t tweet the Pope. That’s what cowards and hate-filled losers do. Sincere folks go seek out theologians or study the myriad of places you can seek answers.
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Sarah_B_Good
Guest
Disgraceful. Pope Francis is absolutely right, but no matter how you feel about his statement, he deserves far more respect than this.
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Trader
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For the second time today, I am glad I am not on Twitter. At one time I thought it might be useful for a pithy comment, but I think it has become mostly useless and mean.
One of the best I have heard was Charles Krauthammer’s comment on Donald Trump. The quote was something like, “Donald Trump has me at a disadvantage. He can say everything he knows about a subject in 140 characters, and I can’t.”
The same seems to apply to people who tweet about religion.
One of the best I have heard was Charles Krauthammer’s comment on Donald Trump. The quote was something like, “Donald Trump has me at a disadvantage. He can say everything he knows about a subject in 140 characters, and I can’t.”
The same seems to apply to people who tweet about religion.
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RPRPsych
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abucs
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abucs
Guest
I am sorry but this is not right. The idea that God would be incarnated into His own creation, be subject to all of the pain and suffering of brutal torture by His own creatures and to forgive those killers and teach His followers to do likewise absolutely destroys any idea of half sentences from Jesus that might, if you bend them certain ways, might be looked at as violent.
You really need to be wilfully ignorant of the Christian message to make such a comment.
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