Pope Invites Muslims to Dialogue, Slams "Holy Wars"(Hooray for the Pope!)

Reuters News Service ^ | Sep 12, 2006 | Philip Pullella and Madeline Chambers

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"Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul".

Half right? Considering the sin nature we are born into vioence seems quite compatible with the flesh; maybe the Pope wasn't in 'the zone' when he said this.

[Torie]

At his university lecture, Benedict, a leading theologian who has always drawn clear lines between Roman Catholicism and other faiths, also appeared to criticize Protestant churches and contemporary Third World theologians for not stressing the link between faith and reason clearly enough.

What does the Pope mean by the above? Protestant churches in any event cover the gamut.

[tkathy]

Good for him. He should get tougher.

[kellynla]

Oh, and you are more knowledgeable on the nature of the soul and the nature of God than the Pope?
yeaaaaa...right!

Better to keep your opinions to yourself and let people think you a fool than to post them and remove all doubt.

[truth_seeker]

I don't think the musli hordes will be impressed by the Pope or by ancient Greek wisdom.

[Brilliant]

based on the premise that the concept of an Islamic "holy war" is unreasonable and against God's nature.

Oh, no. In light of these disparaging comments, I'm betting on another Islam-inspired Papal assassination attempt.

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I just know what I read in the Bible.

[khnyny]

God bless Pope Benedict.

[wtc911]

When I was a kid in the fifties we prayed the Rosary in school for the fall of communism.

[ArrogantBustard]

I don't think the musli hordes will be impressed by the Pope or by ancient Greek wisdom.knowing full well they will ignore him, he forces them to show their hands, to reveal to the West exactly what they are.

[ArrogantBustard]

I don't think the musli hordes will be impressed by the Pope or by ancient Greek wisdom.

Of course not ... but he's not just addressing the mohammedan barbarians. He's also addressing a timid Christendom, that has become entirely too unsure of itself. By addressing the musli as he does, knowing full well they will ignore him, he forces them to show their hands, to reveal to the West exactly what they are.

[Huber]

But man contains both good and evil. The Pope is not attempting to dialog with the evil that lies at the core of Islam, but is rather appealing to the vestiges of goodness within some of its aherents. Although my knowledge of the Koran is superficial, it does seem that Islam, unlike Christianity and Judaism, is incompatable with reason.

Therefore, the seeds of reason can weaken Islam's death-grip on at least some fortunate souls.

[sonic109]

gee , now if the US had ONE politician with half the bals the Pope has maybe we'd be getting somewhere. Just one who will call Islam for what it is . Even our own republicans are lame when it coe to saying whats really on the minds of people like us . Time for drastic action I say . Lets see if ANYONE steps up to the plate.

[Gamecock]

Must resist urge to post obvious pic....

[pgyanke]

Pope: "Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul".

You: "Half right? Considering the sin nature we are born into vioence seems quite compatible with the flesh..."

Who exactly are you responding to? It certainly wasn't the Pope.

[No.6]

"Half right? Considering the sin nature we are born into vioence seems quite compatible with the flesh; maybe the Pope wasn't in 'the zone' when he said this."

I'm guessing he's speaking of the soul, not the flesh, that being why he said 'soul.' Or, hey, we could just give him the benefit of the doubt.

I'm not Catholic but I'm definitely for giving fellow Christians more of a break and not trying to deconstruct their words; we are on the same team after all.

Speaking of deconstructing words:

"I would like to see the Pope now challenge the leaders and clerics of Islam to put out a 'fatwah'--condemning to hell, any maniac that kills innocent people in the name of Islam."

I think the clerics would be very happy to say this in English. They then will turn around and say, in Arabic, to their followers that there are no innocents in the West, that even Muslims that reject violent jihad are guilty of complicity with the West, and so it's OK to murder.

[sageb1]

The Italian Muslims were quick to praise (or shall I say agree) with Pope Benedict when he spoke about the West's secular trend.

Here is another related article which just appeared:

Pope weighs into controversy over Islam and violence during Germany visit

[ArrogantBustard]

[sageb1]

I should clarify my comment about the Italian Muslims. They are attempting to get recognition by the Italian government. They will, of course, grab any chance to take a jab at the West to promote Islam, but they are not going to jeopardize their effort for recognition. I would prefer they not be recognized, but we will see what happens.

[ArrogantBustard]

Mo' ham-head is the one with his guts ripped open.