Our modern perception of the Roman Catholic Church as the janitor of old buildings and the provider of a different geriatric every few years to amuse us with his favourite tricks whilst hiding behind bullet proof glass, is in itself a testament of the degree to which we have separated ourselves from the theocratic oversight of this institution. None of the twenty thousand who were slaughtered at the Massacre of Béziers by Papal instruction could have dreamed of a time when the Holy See’s authority would be reduced to a symbolic figment of an ignorant past. Yet the indoctrination and violent imposition that shaped dark age Europe and resisted the development of our secular modern societies so violently still retains much of its grotesque authority.
That makes sense. I think I was - again - extrapolating too much out of my own old society, under French colonialism and never having given up hope for its independence. I had lost sight of the...
I read your link, and it is very interesting, but not because of the meaning of the word "hate" in the original. I never disputed that it means just that in the original,...
I live close t the Amish county of PA, and my wife and I go there quite often. Watching Amish people pass by in a buggy, I can’t help reflecting on the contradiction at the heart of their way of...
That often gets misattributed to Albert Einstein. It makes no difference to the content of the quote that he likely didn't say it. There is no evidence that he did.
By analogy, try to imagine that today there would be a movement of "liberal Nazis" who continue to print and distribute and cherry-pick from complete copies of Hitler's Mein...
You're thinking like a logical (if not entirely honest) businessperson thinks, when they re-brand to cover up whatever sordid behavior they did that damaged their existing brand. For example,...
The Sufis of the past have been known to call themselves idiots, crazy, etc. The word "dervish" (as in the Whirling Dervishes of Turkey) means crazy, and Bahlool (or Bahlul) means someone...
I read your link, and it is very interesting, but not because of the meaning of the word "hate" in the original. I never disputed that it means just that in the original, hate. My...
What I find interesting, as a complete outsider, is why no major denominations have ended up taking out traditional books from the Bible. I know some protestants did that with apocrypha, but I mean...
If someone is giving up 30 or more IQ points to you, they are probably suckers for the first powerful person who comes along and gives them an atta-boy, in contrast to the sneering they usually...
Yes, some people value having their beliefs confirmed endorsed more than they value their own survival. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic we saw this playing out in real time, as...
Gospel Jesus himself said a prophet is not without honor save in his own country. The farther away a miracle claim (or a god) is in space and/or time, the more believable it becomes. Ancient people...
As I've pointed out repeatedly, among the tens of thousands of Christian brands, the Amish stand out particularly in their attempt to be somewhat consistent about rejecting modernity. But even...
What's funny is when Catholics (and Orthodox Christians) tout the ancient pedigree of their religion, as if that makes their current claims more likely to be true. But then you mention...
As Ficino points out, it varies widely with the Christian brand. For the first thousand years of Christianity as a major religion (after its first few centuries as a tiny cult), most Christians...
Let them. I've found that Gemini will sometimes express an "in universe" viewpoint that it doesn't "really" "believe." If for example I point out that the...
But I can say quickly that if we look at Jesus as a "cult leader" in a cult revolving around himself, then, yes I would agree with what you are saying.
That goal, of course, may be the reinforcement of the cult and its leader, but still, he is not necessarily asking his followers to actually, literally, "hate" their families...
I was reading an article about this today. The writer (I already forget who) supposed that maybe Trump gives them back enough "stolen pride" that they feel compensated while they wait for...