The Pope Hath Spoken
I just heard a news report about the pope’s speech in Australia and looked it up. Here is a direct quote out of The Sydney Morning Herald:
“We need to rediscover our earth in the face of our God and creator and to re-find our responsibilities in front of our maker and the creatures of the earth he has placed in our hands in trust,” he said.
“We need to reawaken our conscience … I want to give impulse to rediscovering our responsibilities and to finding an ethical way to change our way of life and ways to respond to these great challenges.”
Believers in the “God” the pope speaks of, should pay heed. I imagine they also believe in hell and do not want to spend eternity there for ignoring the problems caused by excessive development and consumption.
We need to “change our way of life….”, he says.
Well, this is not news to us. There are numerous reasons we left the “American lifestyle” of develop and consume with no regard to the finite and beautiful planet we all inhabit. We want something better for all, and St. Croix can be a shining example of conservation and environmentally responsible development and tourism.
Too many people here are trying to follow the examples of too many others who have made grave mistakes in the stewardship of our environment. Why can’t we be world leaders in forward thinking rather than blind followers of outdated methods?
Go Pontiff!!!
July 17th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
well i could care less about that,but you can bet if we started flying all of our illegals over to the vatican that pompous prick would come out in favor of birth control and abortion in less than a year,just my thoughts on the pope and the roman catholic church
July 17th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
What DO you actually care about?
July 17th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
Thanks, Terry
I wouldn’t have read the news coverage of that.
ladlie, the Pope doesn’t make the rules for the RCC - it’s more complicated. Something to do with Dogma.
But - since Sister Benigna Consalata slapped me for asking questions about infinity in catechism class - I’m lapsed.
July 18th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
It’s amazing how you will refer to a religious leaders quote when most of you degrade organized religion.
But Jesus does love you and I know that he forgives you for your ignorance.
Just as an FYI I think Green Peace has a few openings on the save the whales boat rides.
July 18th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
Well, yes. Organized religion, like any authority run by humans, with concentrated power over other humans, tends to breed corruption and greed and begins to distort the truth, subjugate and oppress. However, most religions are based on some basic fundamental social ethics, that, on occasion, can still shine through, despite all the convoluted and corrupted dogma.
July 18th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Please forward the info on the save the whale rides. Thanks!
July 18th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Catechism! Lisa, I haven’t heard that word in decades!! And I wouldn’t have even known how to begin to spell it
! We call ourselves “Catholic Survivors”.
What is amazing, John, is that people in the 21st century still believe in that biblical malarkey.
So to try and speak the language of these masses, I refer to a respected religious leader.
The pope said this stuff. I actually agree with his words and sentiments.
If I say it, you won’t believe me.
But if the pope says it, it must be true in your world, no?
Whether Jesus loves me or not, I will continue to strive to protect this beautiful planet from hypocrites who want to see it become a megalopolis.
July 19th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
I have to comment one more time, because T didn’t think this deserved its own post. Our blog is, after all, about St. Croix, not about world religions and how we view them. The Pope post above is appropriate content, because he was expressing sentiments we have been advocating for our little island, and the world, for a long time. It was refreshing to see the leader of a major world religion take a more environmentally sensitive stance for a change.
However, to keep things in perspective about organized religion, here’s a recent story clearly demonstrating that
fanatic fundamentalist muslims do not have a monopoly on looney religious wing-nut frack-wackery.
Quasi-famous, or infamous, atheist biology professor and blogger PZ Myers sums it up best in his post
“It’s a Frackin’ Cracker“:
There are days when it is agony to read the news, because people are so goddamned stupid. Petty and stupid. Hateful and stupid. Just plain stupid. And nothing makes them stupider than religion.
Here’s a story that will destroy your hopes for a reasonable humanity.
This isn’t the stupid part yet. He walked off with a cracker that was put in his mouth, and people in the church fought with him to get it back. It is just a cracker!
Would you believe this isn’t hyperbole? People around the world are actually extremely angry about this — Webster Cook has been sent death threats over his cracker…
…That’s right. Crazy Christian fanatics right here in our own country have been threatening to kill a young man over a cracker. This is insane. These people are demented %&$#wits.
There’s more, but you can go read it yourself over on Pharyngula.
July 19th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
The nuns told us that if you took the Eucharist (the cracker, altho they sure didn’t taste like a saltine or Ritz) out of your mouth, it could start to bleed, especially if it was abused, and the only way to get it stopped was a blessing by a Catholic priest. The bleeding could also start if you received Communion while not in the state of Grace. That means beforehand having gone to Confession and done your penance.
Catholic School Survivor - fer true!
July 20th, 2008 at 10:32 am
Bloody crackers - oh no!! How did they ever come up with that stuff?!
I love the “Christ Crispies” comment on Myers’s blogsite!
And, “We’re crackers for Jesus!”
July 25th, 2008 at 1:57 am
Really nice posts! Have a little respect for other peoples beliefs…no matter how looney they might seem. If everyone actually followed what was written in the Christian bible, there would be very little problems on this earth. All organized religion seems wacky to an outsider…every single one of them. We need to just look around us and everything is there..right in front of our faces!!!!!!!!!
July 25th, 2008 at 10:03 am
What? The belief that it’s OK to send death threats to someone who violated a cracker? I have respect for people who practice what they preach (unless what they preach is homicidal wackery).
If everyone followed everything that was written in the Christian Bible, we’d still be sacrificing our babies, and killing the babies of our enemies, and … oh wait, we are still doing that. The Christian Bible is full of violence, death, retribution. No wonder the world is such a screwed up place. If everyone “stopped” following the bible, qu’ran, torah, or at least their various twisted interpretations, and instead just respected other living beings (all of them, not just their own kind) we’d have fewer problems.
July 25th, 2008 at 10:22 am
The christian bible contradicts itself at so many points, Kent, that it quickly loses credibility with logical people. Page two of the bible we started reading contradicted the story on page one!!
Think about any event. If there are more than one person witnessing the event, there will be more than one explanation, and each may be different. Ever played that game where you whisper a story in someone’s ear and they whisper it to the next person and by the time it gets around the circle, it’s TOTALLY different? The “stories” in the bible have been transcribed and translated(by men)so many times that they can’t possibly be what they originally were.
To me, they are akin to fables. And anyone who actually believes them really should grow up.
Most organized religions also discriminate against women and believers of other religions.
I’m not sure what you mean with that last statement. Can you explain it to me?
July 28th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
I was refering to some of the replies on this post, not specifically yours. You are right that the old testament was pretty harsh and has caused a lot of human suffering. That’s why the muslims are still so barbaric…the Koran is mostly the books of the old testatment. The New Testament, the teachings of Jesus, cancels out all that stuff. You don’t find that nasty stuff in the New Testament.
All I am saying is that every faith, whether it be organized religion or not, has it’s nuts. So just have respect for the belivers that aren’t.
July 30th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
Please, Kent, tell me how can I tell the difference between believers who are nuts and those who aren’t?
Again, ALL of these “storybooks” were translated numerous times over many many years.
You criticize believers in the Koran. What makes believers of other religions more sane. I’m struggling here. Help me out…