John S

Pope Francis sees Atheists as his allies in seeking truth and upholding human dignity. Can the Atheists on this very opinionated R&S section allow themselves to do the same? And in doing so, step away from their rhetoric and agree with a reasonable point?

http://christiannews.net/2013/03/21/pope-francis-m...

Pope Francis was quoted as saying:

"I feel close to all men and women who, although not claiming to belong to any religious tradition, still feel themselves to be in search of truth, goodness and beauty,” he said. “[Atheists and nones] are our precious allies in the effort to defend human dignity, in building a peaceful coexistence between peoples, and in carefully protecting creation.”

In his book "Why This Atheist Has a New Hope in Pope Francis", author Luis Ruuska seems to agree, albeit watchfully...

“I might not believe in God, but I believe that Catholics and atheists can work together just as all of humanity can work together towards equality and justice when we put the needs of modern people first and the arcane doctrine second,”

Pope Francis washes the feet of inmates in Italy, including a muslim girl. http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/28/1750...

Gives sermon to 1500 Priests on Good Friday before Easter about focussing on the poor and needy.

Opinions?

Is he trying to evangelize to the Muslim community?

Is he trying to break tradition by including women?

OR

Is he merely following an old tradition and a precedence set by other Bishops and the Congregation of the Faith?

Periodically R&S posters contact me privately.

They start out trying to convince me of something, but very quickly turn to requiring ME to convince them.

QUESTION: Do you think it is polite or good etiquette to try and convince a person of something and then turn towards requesting that they prove their view to you? Does anyone think this is acceptable behavior or even a productive way to convince a person?

Let's say I contact you and say.. oh I don't know... pick at random "The Catholic church's doctrine on the Trinity is contradictory" Then after a couple of back n forth responses say: "Show me where it says XYZ"

Do you think that is a good tool or helpful? Has anyone had success in contacting a person out of the blue and basically (in a nice way) demand that they provide you with proof?

I've been contacted by a yet unconfirmed JW in this manner. He/She won't admit who they are with..but their tactics are straight out of the JW handbook on arguing with Catholics.

Just curious if I'm being too unrealistic.

Need a good come back for this and QUICK!

My friend asked me "So are you still up for lunch?"

I told him I'd come up with a Sarcastic or funny come back for that later.

He's now come back and given me 3 chances to hit him with my best witty retort.

Anyone? got a funny come-back for that simple question?

PLEAZ!

God is a title, we give to what we believe is the most supreme being.

Can thee God, assuming there is only 1, contradict himself?

Self-Contradiction is a flaw -- RIGHT?

The most supreme being would by sheer definition be perfect... right?

If a god can self contradict, go against his own principles, then he is by definition not perfect and thus not truly God -- something else might be, then.

.

Stated another way, If there exists the possibility of something else greater, either in mercy, internal consistency, knowledge, love, etc. then by definition the being we use the title of thee God on, is in fact NOT god. -- RIGHT

So I ask you, under what circumstances can thee God (assuming there is just 1) ever contradict himself or do anything which is not perfect and still be God?

Remembering that: If he is not perfectly good, then something else might be slightly better,... in which case there then exists the possibility something else, perhaps on Earth is better. But if that's the case, then by sheer definition that immediately becomes God.

Argue this point ad-infinum until you arrive at a point where you concede that WHOEVER thee God is.. he HAS TO BE, by sheer definition, perfect, incapable of self contradiction, perfectly loving, just, merciful, everything good. OR he simply fails the definition of being "the 1 God."

Which would then mean we most likely have multiple gods (or no god if none of us are any better then the rest of us in any way shape or form, which we know is not true) These multiple gods would then be beings, either entirely human or not, which represent the best examples of each character trait, area of knowledge, etc.

I know this must sound terribly circular, but to those which continually try to enlighten theists by showing how depraved or screwed up their God is.. your examples, interpretations of scripture, or what-not, seems to ignore the very definition of what those theists believe GOD is.

So the argument fails to convince because it violates the definition.

Do you agree? If not, under what set of circumstances can the 1 true God be less then perfect?

I have a serious question for Islam and I mean no offense.

Why don't Muslims get as offended by the depiction of God, as they do Allah or Muhammad?

Don't Muslims believe that Jews, Christians, and Muslims all believe in the same 1 God..thee God?

Muslims may call him Allah..but isn't it the same God?

If so, and I may be wrong on this...

When a Cartoon or Sitcom makes fun of God.. why don't Muslims come to the aid of their Christian and Jewish bretheren and defend their honor and MORE IMPORTANTLY, the honor of their God?

Seems inconsistent to me. A friend and I were discussing it. Neither or us are experts on the Islamic faith..but to us.. it is the same God.

So if a certain cable TV show makes fun of the Christian God, aren't they actually making fun of the Muslim God?

Shouldn't any attack on the Christian God eilicite threats and rebukes from all Muslims as well?

I don't actually WANT more threats to be made.. but I just found it odd.

Am I wrong in my understanding? Please correct me.

Thanks

Atheists / Agnostics / Philosophers

Do you have issue with the following statements:

Because man has a capacity for spiritual thought, even if it is not real, the following seems to make sense.

Our beliefs (thought) influence our feelings and actions. Actions influence our feelings and thoughts. Feelings influence our thoughts and actions.

Therefore, Faith, Love, Action are intertwined because man is both physical and emotional, and has the capacity for spiritual thought.

Do you Agree?

Stated a slightly different way:

Faith often times leads us to cherish or love something. Love demands expression (it can not be go unexpressed forever). Actions done without love are done for the wrong reason. Beliefs which don't result in any action, ever, are dead and worthless.

RIGHT?

What has just been expressed is the Catholic view of Salvation. It is not "faith alone" or "bible alone"

It is a balanced, middle of the road view that we should have all 3, faith, love and actions.

Do you find this sufficiently deficient in any way?

I'm just trying to see if there are any parts of the religious teachings that an Atheist on the R&S section can agree with and say "Yeeeaaahhh MAN!"

Happy Cinco de Mayo and Shalom! (Hebrew for Peace)

Heard about this on the nightly news.....

http://www.freeshippingday.com/

Happy Holidays!

What do ya think about this Phrase? -- "we are all on merely traveling between the Eternities"

or the related thought...

"Life is but a brief stop, as we travel between the Eternities"

I heard this or something very similar on the TV Movie "Lonesome Dove" not sure where they got it from.

Since then.. it pops into my head now and again.

What are your thoughts on it?

Is it just me, or is everyone getting lots of "points" today.

I've noticed just today that anytime I answer something, next to my profile picture I get

"WHOA! 10 points" listed by my name for a few seconds.

Sometimes it stays there until I answer another question. It fluctuates from 4-10 points.

I get the message AS SOON AS I answer a question even though ZERO people have given me thumbs up.

If I believed all those messages.. I've probably supposedly gotten 100-200 thumbs up today...which is not the case in reality.

Anyone else have this glitch or is it just me?

Question: WHY do people make generalizations about Christians and Christianity based on the minority and not the majority? Do many people stop to think what they are doing?

REASON: ALL the time I see non-Christians defend Catholics when other Christian groups say Catholics aren't Christians.- GREAT!

YET, these same groups turn around and make generalizations about Christianity that are based on a minority and not the majority - WHY?

Do they not realize it? Are they just bigoted or over zealous? Are they ignorant?

Catholicism makes up 2/3rds of Christianity worldwide. Or roughly 1.2 billion or the estimated 2.0 billion Christians. THEREFORE, statistically, whatever the Catholic church believes or does is by defacto standard what "MOST" Christians do. Pure statistics.

I'm sorry to say but if Catholics believe that the moon is made out of Cheese...then by sheer statistics.. MOST Christians believe the moon is made of cheese.

But WHY do people generally do the opposite and assume whatever non-Catholics believe is what the Majority think?? It makes very little sense.

Does it make sense to base assumptions, generalizations and stereotypes on the 1/3 minority OR the 2/3rds Majority?

RELIGIOUSLY - If something can be shown to be 1 thing, in the past, and there isn't evidence that it has changed... isn't it still that same thing it was in the past?

Confusing.. I know. Let me get to the point.

IF the Catholic church can be shown to be Christian in the past. And it has not changed its core doctrines, doesn't that mean it still IS Christian?

OR

Can it stop being Christian, even if it use to be and has not changed its core doctrines?

The only way I think something can be 1 thing and stop being that thing it was, is if:

A) it has changed - in which case it is up to the person proposing this, to show WHEN exactly it changed

OR

B) The Definitions conveniently changed, making what was previously 1 thing no longer that thing. As was the case with the Planet Pluto, NOW being called a "Rocky body" or "Proto-Planet"

Someone asked about all the Catholic Poop jokes he's hearing around the internet.

I haven't heard a single one.

As a Catholic.. I'm offended I wasn't included in the joke telling.

Someone said it was because of the Animated Show "The Family Guy"

Can anyone enlighten me about these poop jokes?

Do any Christian Denominations claim to have a direct, historically verifiable link back to the Apostles and Jesus through their leadership?

I'm assuming the Catholics (which includes the Orthodox groups) do and can show some evidence to support this.

I'm wondering if any other denominations make such bold claims or can show evidence. I'd love to hear it.

If not, ANY proof linking their religion historically to the 1st century or so, will do.

Thanks

BONUS: If not, isn't this a slight credibility hit, because where's their consistency to prove they are right?

What are the implications of this?

This question got me thinking...

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=200909...

Do people Truly think that the Catholic church LIES about what it truly believes to cover its true beliefs up?

Are Catholics really this sneaky?

Doesn't that mean they know they are wrong so they are covering it up?

Let's inject some levity without asking fake questions. Give me your best religious jokes.

10pts. to funniest one.

Come one, there has to be some good ones I haven't heard out there.

Are we SURE we understand what Freewill is about? If so, WHAT does it mean to you? - I'm curious.

Just a Poll, but you can use your freewill to expand your answer if you want. hehehehe

I've been seeing a lot of questions about "Freewill" and the apparent unfairness of being "punished" for it. Like Freewill is a right and there fore expressing that right in any form, shouldn't incur any consequence OR Something like that.

What does Freewill mean to you? - apparently the right to do whatever the F*** you want. RIGHT?

Like using a THING, you are merely using your freewill how it was designed to be used.. therefore you should be punished for it.. RIGHT?

Alot of the questions seem to imply this attitude.

PERSONALLY, I think MOST people think Freewill is about "the right to do whatever I want"

But is it really?

I think Freewill is merely the ability to differentiate our will from that of others. Nothing more. It allows us to realize that we don't have to do what others tell us. THUS, we formulate our OWN will, free from theirs.

Our "will" is free and we can formulate an idea of what we want and differentiate that from other people... even God.

While everyone I have heard uses this to justify ANYTHING, I THINK that instead.. it actually gives us great responsiblity and was designed for 1 thing in particular.

With a Free WILL, we can freely CHOOSE to cooperate. We can actually use it to SUBMIT to others authority. We can actually USE it to REALIZE what is best for other people and freely choose to help them.

We can use our freewill to differentiate what we want and what others want.. this allows us to realize WHAT people want and help to fullfill it.

I can't see there being any love, any altruism without the existence of Freewill. We'd be slaves, Zombies, Action--Reaction Engines. Computers, where you input something and get predictable output.

But Freewill allowed us to ANALYZE situations and realize what He wants, What She wants, and what I want.. and weigh and balance all those things, before reacting.

To ME that's ALL Freewill is about. NOT doing whatever we want. Not being SHOCKED when our choices actually have a negative impact.. which seems to be what most people think. They seem to think "but I have freewill... why am I being "punished" for using it??"

To Bible-Only Christians who believe in the following principles of "Sola Scriptura" or bible alone....

To those who believe:

-- Each person has the right and duty to interpret scripture on their own, and should not follow the interpretation of MAN.

-- If you are a Christian and pray to the Holy Spirit to help you interpret the bible, the Holy Spirit will reveal to you the CORRECT interpretation/meaning of scripture

-- All Christian teaching, beliefs, and examples are in the bible, alone.

_________________________

To those who believe that a question regarding interpretation?

How do you KNOW you are interpreting the bible correctly and not letting some or maybe a lot of your PERSONAL biases and sinful nature lead you to incorrect Interpretations of scripture? Anotherwards, how can you be SURE you are correct, in light of differing interpretations of Scripture. Example: verses Catholic teachings based on scripture?

If 2 Christians differ on interpretation/meaning, and BOTH prayed and supposedly received revelation/help from the Holy Spirit, how do they stay as "one universal church" or anotherwards NOT break apart over the division?

How can you be sure your Pastor is right, verses the pastor across town (or in another state, etc.) who has a different take on things?

IF you are insistent that your interpretation, your pastors, or your church is right and the Catholic church is wrong, how can you be sure? By who's authority do you have to say that? How can you be sure that the Catholic church isn't right and your interpretation is wrong.

Just curious.

To me, Sola Scriptura and individual interpretation SOUNDS good on the surface, but it leads to everyone being an authority, great division within Christianity and everyone thinking THEIR way is the RIGHT way.. kinda like they are infallible. So instead of having 1 infallible office or position, we have 38,000 infallible churches registered thru the IRS in the US, alone. Everyone bashing each other, thinking they are right and everyone else is wrong.

Seems arrogant.

Sorry if that offends, Just curious.

I just love this question. I read this supposed answer to this question over 5 years ago, but I still google it now and again for a quick laugh.

Here is an urban legend of how supposedly 1 college student answered the Question:

Using Boyle's law, Is Hell Endothermic or Exothermic?

http://www-users.cs.york.ac.uk/susan/joke/exoendo....

What is your opinion on the matter?

Please help me out with this one.

We live on a farm. We have a dog. My wife has a love/hate relationship with the dog. She is definitely more of a cat person. To her defense...our dog is VERY high energy and emotionally demanding.

OK, so we ALSO have a wild domestic white rabbit that SOMEONE dumped on our property. It is not ours..but about 2 years ago...suddenly a white domestic rabbit was seen here and there on our farm.

Tonight, after letting my dog out to go to the bathroom...he chased after the little white rabbit and managed to kill it. He's happened upon it several times before..but it always elluded him, usually by running under something he can't fit into.

I think he just go lucky and happened upon it, OR it stumbled/slipped as it tried to run into an irrigation pipe.

NOW...question is: Should I tell my wife and A) Make her sad for the poor bunny and B) Make her dislike the dog even MORE and C) Possibly make ME "watch" him whenever he goes outside to make sure he doesn't "accidently kill" anything else (she is VERY likely to do this, since we have cotton tail, and ground squirrels on our property too.)

I feel very bad about this because I was watching him sniff around a garden shed and try to squeeze his body partial under the shed..which he ALWAYS does but is never successful. Moments later he was no longer by the shed. I walked a ways and found him by the irrigation pipes shaking something white. HORRIFIED I ran over yelling "NO! Gambit, NOOOO!!! -- but I was too late :(

I feel REALLLYYY Bad that if I had been watching him closer I could have MAYBE stopped him and our little white, wild rabbit would still be alive :(

Should I wait until she asks "hmmm... I haven't seen the little white rabbit anywhere lately. " Which may take a month or two

OR

Should I not even tell her then..and just say "huh! niether have I" and leave it at that?

What would a good husband do?

Is a little white lie like this OK to keep the harmony between my wife and my ADHD Dog?