Replies

I love you guys, but the Reformation happened, because the Catholic Church was a mess. That, and the fact that God wanted it to. Deal with it.

So does is say that in the bible or is that simply an opinion? Are we better off now that the reformation occurred? Did we solve the corruption of indulgences or are we still building worship palaces on the credit card donations sent to televangelists?

Are Joel Osteen, Jimmy Swaggart, John Shelby Spong, Benny Hinn, Katherine Jefferts Schori, and many others an improvement over some of the Roman Catholic clergy and hierarchy of the 15th century? Is the protestant church (or are the protestant churches) less of a mess than the Catholic church was?

Are more or fewer people in the west (on a percentage basis) among the faithful? Do more or fewer literate people read the bible? Is the Christian faith a greater or a lesser influence on our culture?

Also, after 500 years, why do protestants still define themselves in terms of the Catholic church (or is there something else that they are protesting)?

Of course, the kicker is, that if you follow this article to its logical conclusion, then Catholics should look to the Greek Orthodox Church for guidance.

It IS the older organization, after all. Much closer to where the Gospels were actually written, etc.

I love you guys, but the Reformation happened, because the Catholic Church was a mess. That, and the fact that God wanted it to. Deal with it.

= = =

INDEED.

But they are in a catch-22. They CANNOT deal with it.

If they deal with it . . . they'd be left alllllll

ALONE

WITH GOD.

And that's as scary for them as it was for the Israelites who refused to meet individually with God at the Tent of Metting and insisted that Moses talk to God for them.

The whole idea of standing naked before God without even Mary's hanky to cover themselves with just sends them into fits of appoplexy and endless loop genuflecting.

They're like a fish flopping around in the Sahara without their 'holy' water.

They'd have to run and hide behind their robes and pomp and circumstance.

Just think . . . Strip away the rituals.

Strip away the layers of "saints" and pontificators.

Strip away the multitude of layers of Mary's hankies . . .

Strip away the layers of magicsterical power-mongering . . .

Just a collection of Christians meeting in a home a la I Cor 12-14 . . . GOODNESS! That's TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Biblical.

No fossilized edifice to hide behind?

The whole thing comes crashing down around their garters.

The terror of facing God ALONE with "just" the Blood of Jesus must be really starkly horrific, to them.

WHAT AN INSULT to the PRICELESS BLOOD OF JESUS!

GOD AND GOD ALONE!

BUT NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! They gotta have the magicsterical tell them how to think and act in all things RELIGIOUS. RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD is for the professionals.

IF they started facing the truth of History, the truth of Scripture the truth of linguistic accuracies . . . the whole house of cards would crash in a whoop.

Besides, if they got personally close to God, He'd peek in all those nooks and cranies and tell them how to live. CAN'T HAVE !!!THAT!!!

Better to keep all the hoopla between the RC individual and God. That way, in classic fashion in complex systems, there's always an out. One can always argue some facet of some magicsterical pontification to rationalize anything.

Just look at the rationalizations for the Pontificator of Rome being the head of all the clubs from the South Pole to Siberia. Add in the fantasies about Magnificent Magical Earth-Mother Mary . . . So many things to attend to and hide behind. Affords all manner of RELIGIOUS games instead of a 1:1 RELATIONSHIP with God that Christ died for.

Besides, jumping through all the magicsterical's hoops provides SUCH a self-congratulating sense of earning one's way RELIGIOUSLY. Who needs the Blood of Jesus THEN!

CAIN INDEED!

Praise the Pope and pass the rosaries!

[gag]