The pope has no place in "politics," [why the hell is climate change "politics"] but he has the largest captive audience of any human being^ and if he uses his pulpit to encourage us to save the planet, cheers. ^there are more Indians and Chinese than there are Catholics, but neither of the former groups will listen to any one person. Catholics pretty much listen to the pope, even if they don't like him.
He is pretty awesome. I grew up going to catholic school and I never had any affection for catholicism, yet alone a pope. But Pope Francis has won me over. flagamuffin, The pope's reasoning is that climate change is now beyond speculation and is fact and as such its a matter of compassion. He claims that it will affect the poorest among us the most. He's right. He's an inspirational fella, the first of his ilk that seems truly Christ-like to me. I'm a fan. But it was disturbing how he made Cercei Lanister walk down the streets nude:
I think they had to break the mold a little with this current Pope and with all of the recent scandals they needed someone who could connect with people again. In the first few months alone the number of people coming to visit Rome and see him tripled... As Popes go he is a good one...
I definitely agree with you, I just think it's funny how the people who want to constantly appeal to God for justification for their political stance are now denouncing the Pope (pretty much the authority on the will of God, as far as I'm concerned) because it's inconvenient. Jeb Bush is one of these people, in my opinion. Also, I love the new pope. Francis is great.
If you're Catholic, yeah. But Jeb Bush is Protestant. There's a much larger global population of Catholics, but America's got more Protestants (something something Martin Luther). Notice, it was really kind of them to split up "evangelic" and "mainline" protestant, so I can know that the evangelical majority still dominates (fuck!). To Jeb Bush, the Pope is a false prophet. Worse, a popular false prophet, who believes in global warming. It's pretty clear the guy's (Jeb) a 1% shut-in with no political tact. Holy shit, I cannot wait to see anyone try to sell his bid for presidency. Source: was raised Southern Baptist. Edit: please disregard everything above the part about me being ex-BaptistI just think it's funny how the people who want to constantly appeal to God for justification for their political stance are now denouncing the Pope (pretty much the authority on the will of God, as far as I'm concerned)
To Jeb Bush, the Pope is a false prophet. Worse, a popular false prophet, who believes in global warming. Wikipedia lists Jeb Bush as being currently Roman Catholic.If you're Catholic, yeah. But Jeb Bush is Protestant. There's a much larger global population of Catholics, but America's got more Protestants (something something Martin Luther). Notice, it was really kind of them to split up "evangelic" and "mainline" protestant, so I can know that the evangelical majority still dominates (fuck!).
I hate linking to this, but the first few paragraphs explain why I was confused. HAHAHah wow, they misspelled "Catholicism" in the linked article's title. Nice. cgod, yes, more or less correct. Super confused because I knew that Dubya was Protestant. Protestants and Catholics only forge alliances when it is absolutely necessary, like, say, Christmas dinner at the Bush residence.
I have Catholics on one side of my family and Protestants on the other. I think you would be hard pressed to get them to name five differences between the two sides. The 17th century was a long time ago. While a there might be a few in each barrel who seriously object to the other sides dogma I think most religious people are generally ignorant of the nuances of their religion. Hell Mitt Romney made a decent run at the White House and he's a Mormon.
Really? I'll hammer some out now, as related to me through Protestant propaganda: 1) Protestants believe that they are "saved" through faith exclusively. Catholics believe that your actions have repercussions. 2) Catholics have saints and the Pope. Protestants have, uhhh... a string of televangelists, which at least doesn't include Ratzinger, but that's about the only good news there. 3) Catholics baptize babies. Protestants wait until they have had ample time to brainwash the child before asking them whether or not they'd like to be forcibly held underwater. If the brainwashing was successful, it's a yes. 4) Protestant "mass" isn't called mass, and it's slightly less ritualistic than a Catholic's Sunday morning. 5) Catholics drink REAL WINE for communion, and Protestants (Baptists, at least) roll with grape juice. Yeah, I was planning on getting drunk off of a third of a shot of wine. OK, yeah, you were right. I really degenerated towards the end. Still, that #1 is a big deal to a lot of folks. I remember it being hammered into my fragile little brain early on. I brought up ol' Mitt's magic Mormon underwear to my parents, who would follow the GOP off a cliff. It definitely created some cognitive dissonance for them. This especially intrigues me because I vividly recall a Sunday School lesson from when I was around 11 or 12, titled (no, seriously) "Why Other Religions Are Wrong", which seemed to feature the LDS/Mormons. Sometime between then and graduating high school, things went terribly wrong for me. Literally, went to hell. According to my parents. Cheers! :)I think you would be hard pressed to get them to name five differences between the two sides.
Yup, number one is big to some folks but not to most. Most people don't know a hell of a lot about their religion and care even less. Religions has become pretty personal in this day and age. You'll meet the people who think you are going to hell because you don't do what they do but not all that many. Earn your gold star for praising Jesus in the way which you do and it's hard enough to understand what you belive let alone try and figure out what the other guy does. I don't think many religions are still teaching the "Why Other Religions Are Wrong" unit. In a way it's good, less friction. Back in the 17th century you could wipe out a city for Jesus and the people of that city could all be Christians. My sister is a raging Catholic, she's feeding homeless people, teaching the teens, collecting recyclables for god but knows nothing about her faith. I'm faithless but will still argue with anyone who cares about that the First Council of Nicaea is where it all hit the shitter. The differences of faith are interesting and if people are going to go through the bother they should at least give a fuck but they don't. The Evangelicals differentiate a lot more than the rest. Their legalistic "accept Jesus Christ as your savior or go to hell!" shtick runs pretty strong. They do often stand apart but I don't think most of them understand much more than the legalistic dogma they get spoon fed.
Meh not so much, I live in a country with a large number of Catholics (although the number of practicing Catholics is not as high and reducing) and I don't think the Popes words carry much weight with people. I have yet to ever hear anyone say "Did you hear what the pope said yesterday?". He gets mentioned in the media of course which might give the impression people listen... Even the priests and bishops who speak directly to their congregations find it pretty tough for their message to really be heard. YMMV in other countries of course.Catholics pretty much listen to the pope, even if they don't like him.