Restoring Faith in Religion
Options
fbmandy55
Posts: 5,263 Member
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/20/world/europe/pope-bluntly-faults-churchs-focus-on-gays-and-abortion.html?ref=world
Pope states that the the love of God should be the church's focus over gay and abortion issues.
I'm not Catholic, but was raised Lutheran. For 10 years, school consisted of reciting bible verses, an hour of religious studies and a weekly worship service. I grew up loving God, the gorgeous gothic revival church full of stained glass, the hymns... but as a child, I was blind to the PEOPLE that filled the church. By the time I graduated high school, I started noticing politics, how the families who attended church every Sunday and took up the front pew were worshiped. Eventually, I realized that the focus of church became the judgement of others and less about God and faith.
Regardless of one's beliefs, I think this is a big wake up call for humanity. The pope's message has already touched members of the church I was driven away from. Whether you believe in Jesus, Buddah, Allah or nothing, I think it's a great message to the world.
Pope states that the the love of God should be the church's focus over gay and abortion issues.
I'm not Catholic, but was raised Lutheran. For 10 years, school consisted of reciting bible verses, an hour of religious studies and a weekly worship service. I grew up loving God, the gorgeous gothic revival church full of stained glass, the hymns... but as a child, I was blind to the PEOPLE that filled the church. By the time I graduated high school, I started noticing politics, how the families who attended church every Sunday and took up the front pew were worshiped. Eventually, I realized that the focus of church became the judgement of others and less about God and faith.
Regardless of one's beliefs, I think this is a big wake up call for humanity. The pope's message has already touched members of the church I was driven away from. Whether you believe in Jesus, Buddah, Allah or nothing, I think it's a great message to the world.
0
Replies
-
Francis is a cool pope but for me, I will still never have faith in any Religion that insists that there is only one way and tells me that every hard working, decent , caring person that I know is 'evil and wicked' because they don't believe the same way.
I highly doubt the benevolent entity worshiped as 'God', "Jehova', 'Budda', 'Allah' or whatever name is used in that part of the world would be happy with people killing, torturing, starving, beating, mutilating etc in their name. There are as many beliefs as there are people on the planet. I will defend the rights of people to hold whatever belief they wish assuming that it does no harm to another independently alive entity. Religion is just another way that people justify committing atrocities on one another. If it becomes 'friendlier' people will just find other ways to justify bad behavior.0 -
How not to restore faith in religion![Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst's] extravagant style at liturgies has not set well
with local Catholics either. He favors ornate vestments with gold
brocade and white gloves when presiding at Mass. During a hospital
chapel dedication this year, he used so much chrism oil and incense
that the altar caught fire and two-yard-high flames shot up. A
catastrophe was only avoided in the last minute.
http://ncronline.org/news/global/vatican-sends-mediator-fractious-german-diocese0 -
I highly doubt the benevolent entity worshiped as 'God', "Jehova', 'Budda', 'Allah' or whatever name is used in that part of the world would be happy with people killing, torturing, starving, beating, mutilating etc in their name.
Why not? The God of the Bible killed a bunch of kids with bears for calling his prophet bald. Sounds right up his alley.0 -
2 Kings 2:23, 24Then [Elisha] went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the way, young lads came out from the city and mocked him and said to him, "Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!"
When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two lads of their number.0 -
Of course that's tame compared to the God of Deuteronomy. For some cities, God commands all the male inhabitants be killed, the women, children, and animals enslaved. For others, he commands that everything be killed: men, women, children, animals. Deuteronomy 20:12-17:. . . if [a city] But if it refuses to make peace with you and instead joins battle with you, lay siege to it, and when the LORD, your God, delivers it into your power, put every male in it to the sword; but the women and children and livestock and anything else in the city—all its spoil—you may take as plunder for yourselves, and you may enjoy this spoil of your enemies, which the LORD, your God, has given you.
That is how you shall deal with any city at a considerable distance from you, which does not belong to these nations here. But in the cities of these peoples that the LORD, your God, is giving you as a heritage, you shall not leave a single soul alive. You must put them all under the ban—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—just as the LORD, your God, has commanded you . . . .0 -
It should be very obvious I am not a follower of religion. WHY on earth would I want to follow these 'gods' who would have me kill people? Why would anyone? and yet they do.. Religion makes no sense to me at all and probably never will.0
-
It's a nice message the Pope has.0
