Clipmarks | Catholicism Clips

Christian Prisons and Paying for Prayer

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:17:18 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: The absurdities keep on coming. Maybe we should take up a collection and buy Hatch some basic science books?

Clip Source: scienceblogs.com

The law loves American Christianity

At first glance, I thought this story was good news: Oklahoma is going to build a Christian prison! About time, I thought, I can think of a few Christians who deserve a few years for faith-abuse. But no…it's a prison to be administered by Christians to give Christian criminals special privileges. Not quite as appropriate, but more in line with what we've gotten used to from our dominant faith tradition.

We're getting more of the same from Congress, too. Religion is being given permission to intrude on science once again, with the sanctimonious Orrin Hatch (abetted by a pair of Democrats, Kerry and Kennedy) sponsoring a provision in the mangled health care football to allow prayer to count as medicine.

I may just have to convert to Catholicism under this bill so I can charge the US and my insurance provider to cover my near-sightedness treatments at Lourdes. And the French Riviera.

Vatican summons world leaders to discuss Church's fears that politics is losing its religion

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:02:53 GMT

clipped by: nuttyriv3r

Clip Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

By Nick Pisa

04th November 2009

Catholic convert Tony Blair is among several world leaders being invited to attend a top level summit with Pope Benedict XVI to discuss the role of the Church in politics.

The two-day summit will be held at the Vatican and will include other Catholic politicians from all over the world, including German chancellor Angela Merkel, U.S. vice president Joe Biden, former Spanish PM Jose Maria Aznar, and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Church officials have been quietly working on the conference, which will be called 'Witnesses of Christ in the Political Community', for several months.

Items to be discussed include the family, right to life, Christian roots, education and bio-ethics.

He has met current Pope Benedict XVI and he has also set up The Tony Blair Faith Foundation. Two months ago he told the Communion and Liberation Committee in Rimini, Italy, that switching to Catholicism was like 'coming home' and is now 'where my heart is.'

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Tags: angela merkel, joe biden, jose maria aznar, pope benedict xvi, revelation 17:1-2, silvio berlusconi, tony blair, vatican

POPE SETS PLAN FOR ANGLICANS TO JOIN CATHOLICS

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 04:24:35 GMT

clipped by: ellington
clipper's remarks: WHAT DOES THE DECISION TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR ANGLICANS TO CONVERT TO CATHOLICISM SAY ABOUT THE CHURCH?

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Pope Sets Plan for Anglicans to Join Catholics

The Anglican archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and the Catholic archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, discussed the Vatican's plan on Tuesday. Video: nytimes.com/world.

VATICAN CITY — In an extraordinary bid to lure traditionalist Anglicans en masse, the Vatican said Tuesday that it would make it easier for Anglicans uncomfortable with their church’s acceptance of female priests and openly gay bishops to join the Roman Catholic Church while retaining many of their traditions.

Anglicans would be able “to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of the distinctive Anglican spiritual and liturgical patrimony,” Cardinal William J. Levada, the prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said at a news conference here.

What does the decision to make it easier for Anglicans to convert to Catholicism say about the church?

Join the Discussion »

Clip Source: graphics8.nytimes.com

Tags: anglicans, catholics

Vatican backs Obama's Global Agenda

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:31:53 GMT

clipped by: Antara

Clip Source: www.newswithviews.com

These topics are mostly taboo in the liberal and conservative media. Liberal and conservative Catholics alike would prefer not to discuss how the Catholic Church, here and abroad, functions like a liberal/left-wing political lobby.

But the facts should not be much of a surprise. A majority of Catholics voted for Obama, despite the fact that his pro-abortion record was well known

The Nobel Committee’s award to Obama has been viewed by many, on the left and right, as a surprise. But it makes perfect sense. The committee noted that Obama “has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play.” All of this is true. Obama has built up the power of global institutions at the expense of the United States.

While the Vatican statement congratulating Obama was also seen by some as a surprise, it too makes sense.

Tags: vatican, catholicism, obama, pope benedict, global government

Every Ideology is Right

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 03:00:38 GMT

clipped by: willhelm
clipper's remarks: Originally clipped by a non-thinker. I thought I would re-clip to add insight and clarity.

This statement is true. Every ideology IS right. There is nothing inherently evil in ANY ideology. It may be that the ideology I despise most..Fascsim..is the best political ideology there is, and I believe it may be. Here is the rub. You cannot take any ideology in a vacuum. The best ideology for the current state of humanity is the one which allows for the greatest expression of liberty. Since, the closest one that allows for this happens to exist under the framework of Jeffersonian Democracy in this Republican system of government.

Clip Source: www.tinyrevolution.com

What I mean by "right" is that is each one is responding to a genuine problem within human existence. And their prescriptions for how to deal with that problem "work," at least in the short term in limited circumstances.

Obviously, there are unforeseen consequences because each ideology looks at a limited aspect of reality, and then tries to apply its solution for that part of reality to ALL of reality. The important thing is to try to have your ideology "look" at as much of reality as possible.

When you're dealing with people with other ideologies than your own, it's difficult not to try to persuade them they're wrong.

So instead of telling them they're wrong, you have to demonstrate that they're only seeing part of the picture.

Every ideology is right

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 20:57:08 GMT

clipped by: Lexica
clipper's remarks: More:

But you can't, because their ideology does correspond to some of their direct, lived reality. They're not just imagining it. And they'll fight hard against any attempt to tell them they haven't experienced what they've experienced. So instead of telling them they're wrong, you have to demonstrate that they're only seeing part of the picture.

That's the theory, anyway. It seems to work as much as 2% of the time.

Clip Source: www.tinyrevolution.com

I've come to believe that every ideology is right. Liberalism is right, conservatism is right, radicalism is right, fascism is right, communism is right, Catholicism is right, Rastafarianism is right, Pastafarianism is right. Any ideology that survives more than ten minutes in the ferocious Planet Earth laboratory is right.

When you're dealing with people with other ideologies than your own, it's difficult not to try to persuade them they're wrong.

Tags: ideology, isms

Religious Definitions of "Shit Happens"

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:27:02 GMT

clipped by: celestialdancer
clipper's remarks: The rest is here:
AGNOSTIC ----------- Maybe shit happens, maybe it doesn't.
STOICISM ----------- So shit happens ... I can take it.
PAGANISM ----------- Shit is a part of the Goddess too.
SCIENTOLOGY -------- Join a course and you'll know why shit happens.
RASTAFARIANISM ----- Let's smoke this shit and see what happens.
LAOTSEISM ---------- The shit that can be described is not the absolute shit.
OSHOISM ------------ If you don't see shit in my eyes, in my gesture and in my silence, you will never find it in my words.
BYRONKATIESM ------- What would you be without that shit?
BACHISM ------------ If you give a few drops of this shit in a bottle and take it four times daily, you are able to better bear all the other shit.
YOGANANDAISM ------- Always concentrate on the shit on the top of your head.
RUMIISM ------------ Love that shit.
FREUDISM ----------- Let's talk about your shit since childhood.
PAPAJISM ----------- There is no shit.
SATSANGISM --------- Damned, why don

Clip Source: docs.google.com

TAOISM ------------- Shit Happens.
BUDDHISM ----------- Shit happening is an illusion
CONFUCIANISM ------- Confucius says, "Shit happens".
ZEN ---------------- What is the sound of shit happening?
ADVAITA ------------ To whom does this shit happen?
ISLAM -------------- Shit happening is the will of Allah.
CATHOLICISM -------- If shit happens, you deserve it.
PROTESTANTISM ------ Let shit happen to someone else.
ORTHODOX ----------- Our shit is very special.
JUDAISM ------------ Why does this shit always happen to us?
JEHOVAH'S WITNESS --- Let us in and we'll tell you why shit happens.
CALVINISM ---------- Shit happens because you don't work hard enough.
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE -- If shit happens, pray and it will go away.
MORMONISM ---------- If shit happens ... Fuck it!
HINDUISM ----------- This shit has happened before.
HARE KRISHNA ------- Shit Happens, Shit Happens, Shit Shit, Happens Happens.
ATHEISM ------------ Shit happens for no reason at all.

Tags: humour, relgious definitions of shit happens

Jesuits priest supports Maoist rebels spread across rural India

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 19:00:55 GMT

clipped by: nuttyriv3r

Clip Source: www.kelowna.com

In many ways the rise of Maoism in India echoes unrest in China where last year there were over 70,000 "mass incidents" involving over 1,000 people.

In both India and China these acts of rebellion are by the legion of the poor who have not benefited from their nations’ economic advances and whose scant resources are being pillaged by those with power.

While few analysts believe the Maoists could attract enough support to overthrow the government as they did in Nepal, there are many who see justice in their cause.

Writing in a Catholic newspaper last week, Jesuit priest Ambrose Pinto said that at the heart of the problem is a battle between two models of development.

"It is this model that the Naxals and Maoists are opposing," wrote Pinto. "They are asking for a local model of development that would not destroy the life and livelihood of the people."

ending the insurrection, Pinto says, is to reform the Forest Land Act to give tribal peoples clear ownership of the land

Tags: ambrose pinto, communisim, jesuits, roman catholicism, vatican

Pope To Buy Islam

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:23:16 GMT

clipped by: foxyarse

Clip Source: www.thespoof.com

Pope To Buy Islam

The Pope has announced a multi-billion dollar plan to purchase the Islamic faith.

The deal, said to be too good to refuse, will see all of Islam controlled by Catholicism PLC.

Last night, the Pope stood on the Vatican balcony and announced his intention to the People of the World.

"A lot a people will think this was God's idea but I wasn't even talking to him at the time," Pope said.

"It came to me, blam. Buy Islam and all our problems disappear."

Shares in the prophet Mohammad have plummeted recently, in part due to the global credit crunch and also due to a string of failed suicide bombings which left potential martyrs in excruciating pain.

The Pope said: "We'll rebrand. Naturally, Islam will be rehoused here in the Vatican as a cost-saving measure."

But last night the Catholic PLC takeover of Islam was already in hot water.

Financial watchdogs say The Pope should have announced his intention to the world's stock markets ahead of any balcony grandstanding

Tags: pope to buy islam

A Brief History of American Racism

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 22:12:16 GMT

clipped by: foxyarse
clipper's remarks: In 1882 President Arthur signed into federal law the Chinese Exclusion Act. Chinese immigrant labor was the infrastructure backbone of the 19th century California Gold Rush, but by the 1880s a significant economic downturn increased competition and turned up animosity. Fueled by scarcity-stoked fear, nativists pushed an anti-immigration agenda, culminating in the 1882 Act that excluded Chinese workers from entering the United States.

In 1943 this act was repealed.

Full article well worth reading at source

Clip Source: www.thenation.com

Can We? A Brief History of American Racism

Congress passed the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798. These four acts of Congress were meant to protect the new nation from French immigrants. They reflected a broad paranoia that French newcomers would poison American minds and weaken the new American government.

By 1802 President Thomas Jefferson led the repeal of most of these acts because they overstepped federal authority and instituted unjust restrictions.

In 1845 the Know Nothing movement in the United States formed a national political party based in nativist sentiment. This "Native American Party" rested on populist fears of Irish immigration. The Irish, they argued, were streaming into the United States. The Know Nothings argued that these Irish were unwelcome labor competition, and that these new immigrants were bringing with them foreign values, specifically Catholicism, which were a threat to American values.

By 1860 this party was extinguished.

Tags: race, racism, american racism

Californislam

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:20:26 GMT

clipped by: Antara

Clip Source: atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com

Another leap for Islamic supremacism in the United States of Amerabia. Attention parents, homeschool your children!

California court bans "Ave Maria" in public schools, allows Islamic prayer

Relax! It's multiculturalism, and multiculturalism is grand!

"Ban Ave Maria in the California Public Schools but Allow Islamic Prayers," by Joseph Klein for the NewsRealblog, September 13:

[...] The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion on September 8th upholding a public school superintendent's decision to ban a student group's performance of an instrumental version of "Ave Maria" at their public high school's graduation ceremony. The superintendent's reason for the ban: because the song might be interpreted by some as an endorsement of religion.

What will be next on the list of banned musical compositions -- The Battle Hymn of the Republic?

Tags: california, islam, catholicism, dhimmitude

1688 - the true revolution

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 10:11:36 GMT

clipped by: jcfalkenberg

Clip Source: online.wsj.com

In "1688: The First Modern Revolution," Steve Pincus challenges this received account to argue that the Glorious Revolution marked a much greater break with history than Burke realized—and proved to be an emblem of the West's future. James II, Mr. Pincus notes, sought to extend state power at the expense of Parliament and the privileges of local communities. James's adversaries preferred the dynamism of commerce; they believed that wealth sprang from the limitless striving of human endeavor rather than the finite availability of land. France under Louis XIV provided James with a pattern for absolutism; the Dutch Republic provided his opponents with a commercial ideal. The Glorious Revolution is often seen as a clash between "popery"—the term for authoritarian Catholicism—and ancient English liberties. But Mr. Pincus persuasively describes it as the collision of two ideas about the state in society. In a sense, he implies, we are all Dutchmen now.

Traditionalist Catholics Attack, Expel Christians in Mexico

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 15:33:13 GMT

clipped by: AcesLucky
clipper's remarks: This is faith. This is religion. This is why religion must never again rule.

Clip Source: www.religionnewsblog.com

Leaders of traditionalist Catholicism, a mixture of Roman Catholicism and native rituals, expelled 32 Christians from their homes in a village in Hidalgo state and another 25 from a town in Oaxaca; in each case, the evangelicals were deprived of their property for refusing to participate in drunken festivals that included worship of Catholic icons.

The Milenio Hidalgo newspaper reported on July 28 that townspeople in Los Parajes had offered to allow the Christians to return if they denied their faith and paid the equivalent of nearly $13,900 in “fines” for having refused to contribute to the traditionalist Catholic festivals, but they refused.

At that time the pastor of the group was beaten and tied up in a futile effort to force him to change his faith. Likewise, in the current case authorities told the Christians their expulsion could have been avoided if they had rejected their faith.

Tags: catholic, christian, religion, faith

THE SELF- THINKING THOUGHT

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:44:19 GMT

clipped by: ellington

Clip Source: happydays.blogs.nytimes.com

The Self-Thinking Thought

A proof for God’s existence came to Anselm in the dark of early morning, under the solemn sound of psalms, echoing against the stone walls of the church. It was the year 1077, at the monastery of Bec in what is now northern France. Anselm was happy. “The grace of God shone on his heart, the whole matter became clear to his mind, and a great joy and jubilation filled his inmost being,” his friend and biographer Eadmer would later write.

For Catholics, Anselm is a saint, a theologian and bishop who defended the Church from the encroachment of kings. For philosophers, he’s the inventor of an ingenious and still-controversial artifice of abstraction. The great 20th century mathematician Kurt Gödel had this to say about him:

It was the attempt to succeed at both Catholicism and philosophy that first put Anselm on my required reading list. But the person I found in his pages was neither bishop nor logician so much as an effusive confidant.

Tags: catholic, anselm, 1077, monastery

Whitewashing and Cherry Picking Religion

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 08:32:47 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

I was born into the group the Children of God

now, the Family International -- a Christian cult

I obsessively follow any press that the group gets

CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 report detailing

the group's well-known child sex practices, Anderson said, "Well, that has nothing to do with Jesus!"

This is how the public has always reacted to the COG. It's upsetting and so it's dismissed outright as not actually Christian

how we deal with things we don't like in religion. We reject all unpleasant elements as being frauds

Calling for the death of a teacher because she agreed to name a teddy bear Muhammad? That isn't actually Muslim. The widespread molestation of boys by priests? That isn't actually Catholicism

if the COG has "nothing to do with Jesus," then what does

The Crusades? The Inquisition?

The witch hunts?

Manifest destiny?

Fred Phelps?

presidency of George W. Bush?

When you say you are a Christian, you become everything that is or was Christianity. Good, bad or indifferent -- it's ALL Christianity

Clipmarks | Catholicism Clips

Christian Prisons and Paying for Prayer

The law loves American Christianity

Vatican summons world leaders to discuss Church's fears that politics is losing its religion

POPE SETS PLAN FOR ANGLICANS TO JOIN CATHOLICS

Why the Vatican Wants Anglicans

Vatican backs Obama's Global Agenda

Every Ideology is Right

Every ideology is right

Religious Definitions of "Shit Happens"

Jesuits priest supports Maoist rebels spread across rural India

Pope To Buy Islam

Pope To Buy Islam

A Brief History of American Racism

Can We? A Brief History of American Racism

Californislam

1688 - the true revolution

Traditionalist Catholics Attack, Expel Christians in Mexico

THE SELF- THINKING THOUGHT

The Self-Thinking Thought

Whitewashing and Cherry Picking Religion