ot: 1 min of silence

[dogscoff]

{going to mars} But we are talking a massively expensive project...

The answer is both simple and on-project: The Catholic Church should fund the next Mars mission. They've got loads of money, and a mission like this could really help improve their image of being out-of-date and out-of-touch. Nothing would bring them up to the cutting edge like a boundary-pushing science project.

I'm sure some justification could be invented: extra real-estate needed for the vatican, searching for heaven/ God, want to test the power of prayer at relativistic speeds... someone will think of something.

Once they've put the money in, tried the hardware and proven the concept, the rest of us can follow in their footsteps and colonise Mars.

It's not actually such a crazy idea: Way way back the church used to be at the forefront of astronomy and the sciences- until scientists started getting burned alive for discovering the wrong things anyway.

[TurinTurambar]

oopss.... we almost went back on topic there. careful.

Turin[img]/threads/images/Graemlins/Dagger.gif[/img]

[Renegade 13]

Getting back to the subject...

I really don't want to step on any toes here, or offend anyone, but...I really can't see what all the fuss is about. I mean, I'm not a religious person at all, so the whole idea of the pope being God's chosen representative on Earth...well since I'm not religious, you can already see what I think of that. He was just a man! And even if he was God's representative on Earth, he was still just a man. People would be focussing too much on the man, and not enough on what he's supposed to represent. People who don't even know him, crying? Why? Sure, it is sad anytime a good man dies, which I have no doubt the Pope was. But my great-grandfather was a good man too, did people around the world cry for him when he died?

I simply don't understand it. I hope no one gets offended that I've voiced my opinion on the subject. I wasn't sure if I should, but I believe everyone here is mature enough to respect other's opinions.

[TurinTurambar]

Your opinion is noted. Some people are affected by it however, and so their opinions are duly noted as well, having been the ones who started this thread.

Turin

OT: Trying to start some new character mayhem in the Bar&Grill btw. Stop by.

[img]/threads/images/Graemlins/Dagger.gif[/img]Turin[img]/threads/images/Graemlins/icon42.gif[/img]

[Atrocities]

Religion divides people, faith brings them together. This I believe and firmly adhere too. I respect those who choose to buy into a any regilion, and I believe that it is their right to worship their religion over just having faith in the the belief of God if they so choose.

I personally am not at all bothered by the Pope's death, however, I do hope they give him a nice send off for all those years he had to go without a women or a little boy to keep him company.

I have often wondered how many bodies are buided under that little country.....and of what age they are?

[Strategia_In_Ultima]

Italy is not a natural peninsula at all. It was supposed to be a depression in the Mediterranian Sea. The entire peninsula rests on the dead bodies of past Popes.

[dogscoff]

Actually, something occurred to me the other day that Renegade has just reminded me of.

The Pope is supposed to be God's representative on Earth, right? And according to catholics everywhere, and lots of other people besides, this particular Pope was a good Pope, right? Therefore, all (or at least, most) of the stuff he did during his life was stuff that God would have approved of, right? So God will want to look after him in the afterlife, surely? In other words, in the eyes of Catholics everywhere, the Pope-just-passed must stand a pretty good chance of getting into heaven.

So why are thousands of those same catholics sitting in the vatican praying for him? He's going to heaven! What can their prayer possibly do for him that's better than that? Wouldn't it be logical for all those people to be devoting their efforts to someone a little more borderline? Someone who actually needs a bit of divine favour, rather than someone who's already earned a ton of it for themselves?

And if the Pope really does need that much prayer, despite all his good works in God's name, then the rest of us are truly shafted...

I'm not being flippant, I just want to understand the logic behind it...

[Atrocities]

What man has the right to claim to be Gods personal representative to man? What gave this religion the right to make that claim? Surely God himself did no such thing and to claim otherwise would be a lie would it not?

I want to feel sorry for people who buy into religion about the same way I feel sorry for the people who buy into cults. If their that needy, that blind, that desprate, then so be it, its their business and not mine.

At least, or so I hope, more good comes from the Cathlic Church than bad, and I don't see hords of fanatical Cahtlics out blowing up buildings, cars, trains, themselves, or beheading inocent people for no reason other than to be blood thursty sadists all in the name of God.

I now know why Islam (sp) was viewed by western cultures as the worship of satan... by their view, and I guess even by todays standards, killing inocent people in the name of God via severing their head off of their bodies with a two inch pocket knief would seem like something a bad person would do.... Then again, western culutres tacked peopled to crossess and let them bleed to death in the burning heat of the sun or freezing cold of winter so by islamic beliefs the western cultures were barbaric.

Religion divides people, faith brings them together.

[TurinTurambar]

Opinions are opinions. Let's don't get into a religious argument here on the forum (religion and politics=bad topics of discussion universally) and let's don't bash Catholics in a thread about the Pope.

In fact, let's not bash anything.

Except NullAshton's head in the Bar & Grill...

[img]/threads/images/Graemlins/Dagger.gif[/img]Turin[img]/threads/images/Graemlins/icon42.gif[/img]

[Strategia_In_Ultima]

I couldn't agree with you more Turin.