[Ninong]

More proof of the disconnect between the official positions of the Catholic Church and American Catholics can be seen by this vote in Massachusetts on embryonic stem cell research: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050504/...ells&printer=1

Looks like Massachusetts wants to keep up with California where the Republican Governator supported a recent referendum that voters approved authorizing the state to spend $300 million a year for the next ten years ($3 billion!) on embryonic stem cell research. The difference is that California is only 24% Catholic while Massachusetts is 50% Catholic.

I wonder if all those Catholic politicians who voted for that bill in Massachusetts will be receiving a letter from Papa Ratzi? More likely the bishops of Massachusetts will be reminded of their obligation to deny the sacrament of Holy Communion to any Catholic politicians who voted for this legislation as required by Cardinal Ratzinger's letter of June 2004.

[Ninong]

Those wacky Baptists are at it again! Just when I thought Jerry Falwell was the craziest Baptist out there, here comes Rev. Chandler who has decided to "excommunicate" anyone who didn't vote for Bush.

Religion and Politics Clash

Religion and politics clash over a local church's declaration that Democrats are not welcome.

East Waynesville Baptist asked nine members to leave. Now 40 more have left the church in protest. Former members say Pastor Chan Chandler gave them the ultimatum, saying if they didn't support George Bush, they should resign or repent. The minister declined an interview with News 13. But he did say "the actions were not politically motivated." There are questions about whether the bi-laws [sic] were followed when the members were thrown out.

(posted at 7:30am, 5/6/05)

[schrocat]

Originally Posted by Ninong

Those wacky Baptists are at it again! Just when I thought Jerry Falwell was the craziest Baptist out there, here comes Rev. Chandler who has decided to "excommunicate" anyone who didn't vote for Bush.

Religion and Politics Clash

Religion and politics clash over a local church's declaration that Democrats are not welcome.

East Waynesville Baptist asked nine members to leave. Now 40 more have left the church in protest. Former members say Pastor Chan Chandler gave them the ultimatum, saying if they didn't support George Bush, they should resign or repent. The minister declined an interview with News 13. But he did say "the actions were not politically motivated." There are questions about whether the bi-laws [sic] were followed when the members were thrown out.

(posted at 7:30am, 5/6/05)

It would appear the members were Tali-banned.


:slap:

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by schrocat

It would appear the members were Tali-banned.


:slap:

Yep, I think you're right!

What are "bi-laws?" Sounds like something that might apply to people who are unsure of their sexual orientation? They probably mean "bylaws" but who knows?

[schrocat]

Crickey.
I wouldn't even mention the bi-law thing to them.
They could get downright foamy.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by schrocat

Crickey.
I wouldn't even mention the bi-law thing to them.
They could get downright foamy.

That was the TV news geniuses that came up with "bi-laws."

[schrocat]

Exactly my point, it's a liberal media conspiracy.

An underhanded attempt to belittle a set of rules held dear by a besieged group of patriotic pew warmers.


But anyway back to foaming...

When one gets all foamy, is one seeking "Salivation"?

[Ninong]

Here are a few points that Cardinal Ratzinger has made very clear in his previous public statements and official writings:

• He opposes the admission of Turkey to the European Union solely because it is not a Christian country. This should do wonders for the Vatican's outreach program to Islam.

• He strongly advocates reconverting all of Europe to Catholicism. This should postpone any chance of reunification with the Anglicans.

• He refused to allow German Catholics and Lutherans to join in the sacrament of Holy Communion. More evidence that the Catholic Church is not interested in ecumenical outreach.

• He is opposed to many of the civil liberties that we take for granted including equal rights, dissent from religion and even free speech.

• He considers the Church superior to government and sees government as an instrument of the Church.

• He will almost certainly increase the Catholic Church's political activism in pushing its views on abortion, contraception, stem-cell research and gay rights by publicly denouncing any Catholic politicians who hold views contrary to the official position of the Catholic Church just as he has already done in the case of Spain with its new gay marriage law where he has ordered Catholic Spanish civil servants to disobey their country's new law regardless of the consequences.

[schrocat]

... he'll never get to see this in person either.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by Ninong

Those wacky Baptists are at it again! Just when I thought Jerry Falwell was the craziest Baptist out there, here comes Rev. Chandler who has decided to "excommunicate" anyone who didn't vote for Bush.

Religion and Politics Clash

Religion and politics clash over a local church's declaration that Democrats are not welcome.

East Waynesville Baptist asked nine members to leave. Now 40 more have left the church in protest. Former members say Pastor Chan Chandler gave them the ultimatum, saying if they didn't support George Bush, they should resign or repent. The minister declined an interview with News 13. But he did say "the actions were not politically motivated." There are questions about whether the bi-laws [sic] were followed when the members were thrown out.

(posted at 7:30am, 5/6/05)

Someone posted a video of that newscast:

You can see video of the news segment here. Check it out.

[Ninong]

He just sacked the Jesuit editor of the Catholic magazine America for daring to have published an article that suggested that the prohibition against the use of condoms might be revisited in light of the spreading worldwide AIDS epidemic: http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/...reny-headlines

Lets call that a warning shot across the bow to any other priests who harbor thoughts of raising topics that are verboten. JP II made it known that he would not tolerate any discussion of women priests but it looks like Papa Razi will not tolerate any discussion, period. But then the Vatican was never known for free speech.

This is not anything that should concern us as Americans because it is strictly an internal church issue but I predict that this pope will inject himself into politics in a way that hasn't been seen before in this country.

[schrocat]

Originally Posted by Ninong

This is not anything that should concern us as Americans because it is strictly an internal church issue but I predict that this pope will inject himself into politics in a way that hasn't been seen before in this country.

...to invite him.

Well it helps considerably when the President asks you to interject.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

[Ninong]

Yes, but how will this help poor Ricky Santorum, who is running about 14 points behind Casey in the polls right now? There should be a law against stuff like that. That's not playing fair at all. Those sneaky Democrats are going to run a pro-life Catholic against Ricky.

If the campaign in Pennsylvania is anything like the last senatorial campaign in Louisiana, I can predict the line of attack. Ricky will try to prove that he's a better Catholic than Casey. That's what happened in Louisiana when the Republicans ran a Catholic woman against the incumbent, Mary Landrieu, another Catholic woman. The Republican candidate made religion an issue in the campaign by claiming that she was a better Catholic than Senator Landrieu and that she didn't see how Senator Landrieu could present herself for the sacrament of Holy Communion since she supported a woman's right to choose. It was a blatant attempt to get the local archbishop to deny communion to Landrieu. You have to remember that Louisiana is about one-third Catholic and that's only because the southern half of the state is more than two-thirds Catholic. Both candidates were from the heavily Catholic New Orleans area.

Maybe that's why Ricky is reevaluating his position on the death penalty and making statements about evolution being a serious modern issue that concerns a lot of people of faith. Even though evolution is accepted by the Vatican, a lot of Catholics still believe in special creation when it comes to Adam and Eve. Santorum supports the death penalty but the majority of church-attending Catholics do not. I'm not sure what Bob Casey, Jr.'s position is on the death penalty but I know Santorum is going to have a hard time trying to be more Catholic than Casey. Casey certainly beats him in the matter of which schools they attended.

[schrocat]

Red throated minister falls on sword.

[Ninong]

Looks like he drives a Hummer in Florida:



"I just want you to know that I love my BushFish
and have it boldly displayed on the back of my
truck for all Floridians from the Gulf to the Atlantic
to see!"


I wonder what the other messiah thinks about that?

Hey, aren't they a bit confused here? Is Bush the second coming?!?




P.S. -- Maybe that dude has it the wrong way on his truck? Maybe it's supposed to go like this:

[Ninong]

"The public school system is resolutely anti-Christian."

So says Bruce Shortt, a Houston lawyer who called on Southern Baptists to remove their children from public schools last year and is now asking churches to investigate whether schools are teaching acceptance of homosexuality.

How are parents to know if their local school is teaching acceptance of homosexuality?

According to a proposal co-written by Shortt and the Rev. Voddie Baucham, Jr. and submitted to the Resolutions Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, there are several telltale signs that your local public school is promoting a homosexual acceptance agenda:

• Do they offer "safe sex" programs?
• Do they offer "safe schools" programs?
• Do they offer "anti-bullying" courses?
• Do they offer "diversity" training?

All of the above are signs that your school has an anti-Christian agenda that is teaching children to be respectful of others. It is time that schools instituted Christian bullying courses and bigotry training to counteract all this diversity crap.

Rev. Baucham is to speak in support of his proposed resolution at the Southern Baptist Convention's pastors conference in Nashville next month. According to a spokesperson for the Southern Baptist Convention, there is no guarantee this new resolution will be adopted. A resolution submitted last year by Shortt and T. C. Pinckney, publisher of a Baptist newsletter, urged parents to remove their children from "godless" public schools. That resolution was rejected.

[Ninong]

"The Koran needs to be flushed."

That's the message of peace and brotherly love that the Rev. Creighton Lovelace (no relation to Linda, at least not that I know of) put up on a large sign in front of his Danieltown Baptist Church in North Carolina.

According to the Rev. Lovelace, he's just doing what's right. The fact that some people were offended just proves to him that he's doing God's work. God wants him to spread a message of hate and intolerance.

[Ninong]

Why situations like this are tolerated in the United States of America in the 21st. century is a mystery to me: http://news.yahoo.com/s/latimests/20...lylifetheyknew

It's amazing the crimes you can get away with when you wrap things up in religion!

[zhenya]

This is some scary stuff, George.

[Penguin]

A couple really interesting articles here:


Since the reelection of George W. Bush in November, the rhetoric on the Christian right has grown triumphal and proud; rumors of spiritual war are abroad in the heartland, and fervent whispers of revolution echo among the pews and folding chairs of the nation’s megachurches. I have traveled to Anaheim, California, to observe the rising power of the evangelical political movement at first hand. Orange County, along with Colorado Springs, is a center of the new militant Christianity, and it is here, among friends, that the National Religious Broadcasters association—which brings together some 1,600 Christian radio and television broadcasters, who claim to reach up to 141 million listeners and viewers—is holding its annual convention.
http://www.harpers.org/FeelingTheHate.html



They are drawn as if by magnetic forces; they speak of Colorado Springs, home to the greatest concentration of fundamentalist Christian activist groups in American history, both as a last stand and as a kind of utopia in the making. They say it is new and unique and precious, embattled by enemies, and also that it is “traditional,” a blueprint for what everybody wants, and envied by enemies. The city itself is unspectacular, a grid of wide western avenues lined with squat, gray and beige box buildings, only a handful of them taller than a dozen stories. Local cynics point out that if you put Colorado Springs on a truck and carted it to Nebraska, it would make Omaha look lovely. But the architecture is not what draws Christians looking for clean living. The mountains help, but there are other mountain towns. What Colorado Springs offers, ultimately, is a story.

http://www.harpers.org/SoldiersOfChrist.html