Today's Picture: The Pope's Wednesday Audience
By Dan Gilgoff, God & Country
(AP Photo / Gregorio Borgia)
The image of Pope Benedict XVI appears on a giant video screen at the Vatican during his weekly general audience yesterday. On Tuesday, the Vatican wrapped up a five-day conference on the possibility of alien life, part of Benedict's effort to reconcile faith and reason.
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Tags: Pope Benedict XVI | religion | extraterrestrials
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Reader Comments
There's no way to reconcile reason with mythic faiths
Religion appeals to people who don't have intellectual stamina to study the "hard sciences," --biology, geology, astronomy, paleantology, etc. They prefer to "study gods" in theology classes. Scripture itself says Christ comes not to the wise. Maybe that makes mentally lazy folk feel good. Recently, a celebrity described costly years of work with a psychiatrist. Her doctor said patients seemed to feel very good that they were able to have it known they can AFFORD to spend lots of money on psychiatry. Maybe believers feel good to go to church and have pew-mates realize how much they can AFFORD to put in the plate. Fox owner, Catholic Murdoch gave ten milllion dollars for a new cathedral in Los Angeles. He & his wife were awarded a pontifical honor for doing great benefit to the church. Religion, because it threatens disbelief with Hell, makes it hard for believers to say they don't believe in Creation. From that point, they must say they believe God created everything in seven days, with all the absurdities attached to that. We actually had a presidential candidate who said humans and dinosaurs lived in the same era..(Palin.) The pope is "elected" by old men like himself. If he must, to save tithes, he'll say almost anything.
Should citizens of a republic want to be a herd animal?
Edward mentions the pope's "lovely flock." When herds or flocks of animals are brought together to breed calves or lambs, it's done because someone OWNS them. The owner expects to profit from the animals' flesh, milk, & hides, and to get more breeding stock. Atheists have too much self respect to allow herders to control them with church laws that act like fences, crooks or ropes. Religion is not respectable. It teaches the shameful lesson that a person should want to have a Fall Guy (Jesus) to take punishment they deserve. It's bad to tell victims "to love people who trespass against them"==meaning commit some crime against them. There is no justice where there is "mercy." Almost all of America's convicted bank swindlers, embezzlers, forgers, counterfeiters & members of organized crime are religious. They confess, pay the prescribed penance, are forgiven & are free to commit more crimes. After the IRA took note of Mafia funerals starting at cathedrals, Mobsters began having smaller ceremonies. In jail, many crooks are paroled sooner if they "get religion." Nixon's felonious Colson made a job for himself as a prison preacher.
Pope, voice of moral message
If we tolerate abuse of power and wealth, then we say its a basic right to every authority, if we tolerate sex objects and disrespect of sacred reproduction, then we say its basic right to every individual and self-judgement. The bottomline is, are we responsible for every actions and doings along our way, this is no longer question wether the pope is doing his job or not, this is a question in us. Perhaps the influence of the pope affects our lives in some way, yet, I believe that our pope would not do fatal harm to his lovely flock.
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