the pope turns "green". what do you think?

Ivan_Melgar_M wrote: The Bible already says it:   Luke 6:31: And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.   You want to live in a trash deposit? Surely not   Do companies have their offices full of toxic waste? I guess no.   They throw their trash away from their houses and offices because they are relatively safe (for now), they don't care about heat wave, because they have air conditioner in the dog's house.   So the golden rule applies to this situation and it's in the Boible...The Pope has the priviledge to interpret the Bible.   The funny thing is that of the Pope does nothing about this issues he'¿s a jerk for most people, and if he does, people makes mockery.   Please decide.   Iván

StyLaZyn wrote: One more thing. Sorry to hit a nerve.   Ivan_Melgar_M wrote:   Then don't criticize a man who is followed by 1.5 billons of souls  and who's words will create an impact on 1,500,000 of persons, he's doing something that's an advance.    I perceive this as a PR move and never said it was a bad thing.    If you are inferring that 1.5 billion can't be wrong...wow! I have a bridge for sale.

1. The Pope is the spiritual leader of 1,500'000,000 of persons
2. The Pope is in Charge of a State
3. The Pope has authority over millions of Churches an local Parrishes.
4. He asks the Catholics, the parrishes and the churches  not to cause contamination or deal with drugs.

So:

 This topic shows again, that the attidude of many people towads Christianity and anything related to it is something like this:

Don't you have some Dream Theater to listen to?

The T wrote: cuncuna wrote: I care for real about environmental issues. "A" church (instead of "the church"; get rid of those conquered/slave habits, T) won't do much for environment, unless you count praying, wich, again, won't do much.   What's this conquered/slave mentality man? You're seeing ghosts everywhere! As I was born in a 90% catholic country, I've called the catholic church THE church always... i don't care for other people's churches as being also THE church, I guess for them, it will be their THE church. I'm non-religious but that doesn't mean I will be offended if somebody says THE church... gee!   The thing is, of course it doesn't mean much. But remember: not every person is as independent in their thinking as you are, so there are millions who REALLY obbey what comes out of Rome. So, if ate LEAST ONE PERSON changes his/her attitude towards the enviroment thanks to this new position, it's already a success. Because ONE is better than ZERO.

The thing is, as long as you keep calling one church "The Church", you'll be passing a little amount of power. CAreful with language, it is full of ghosts indeed. ¿Is somebody left in your country that has managed to keep alive some native religion? My guessing is not. This language thing is partially how it happens. This is not about being offended, it is about cultural invasion.

Now, religions and environment. Uhm... I like to believe that I have independent thinking, but the truth is I don't. But because I like to think it, I care about environment. That is as useless as one church 
declaring that you will go to european hell if you don't recycle. What the environment need is something 
that won't happen, because it involves finances and numbers. Planet Earth is doomed, and all there'll be 
left will be a big mess and millions of years of recovery. 


Edited by cuncuna - March 12 2008 at 14:50

Exactly... My late mother used to be one of those people. I am not religious myself (and certainly not in any traditional, recognised fashion), but I tend to dislike the equation: religious=close-minded or even ignorant.

On the other hand, I think the whole environmental issue is a very complex one, since it touches upon many people's ingrained way of life. Just to make a very trivial example, so many people are so dependent on their cars that it would take much more than the Pope's words to make them give up such a commodity.

Ghost Rider wrote: Exactly... My late mother used to be one of those people. I am not religious myself (and certainly not in any traditional, recognised fashion), but I tend to dislike the equation: religious=close-minded or even ignorant. On the other hand, I think the whole environmental issue is a very complex one, since it touches upon many people's ingrained way of life. Just to make a very trivial example, so many people are so dependent on their cars that it would take much more than the Pope's words to make them give up such a commodity.

just as believing in science and believing in a deity are not contradictions at all. on the contrary, many top scientists do believe in God because of the discoveries of their science; they just can't believe that such wonderful structure and harmony could be the result of random processes and rather feel the presence of a planning mind

More general matter:

Vatican City (AHN) - In an attempt to give moral and ethical behavior more significance to current times, the Vatican has recently announced seven new deadly sins, published in an issue of the L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican's official newspaper.

The revision of the list comes after 1,500 years, with Vatican officials explaining that the new items address a global "secular" society bent on the concerns in the age of globalization. The sins are said to be an address to the "decreasing sense of sin" in the modern world.

"The sins of today have a social resonance as well as an individual one," said Monsignor Gianfranco Girotti, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary. "In effect, it is more important than ever to pay attention to your sins."

Mgr Girotti named the new mortal sins to be (1)genetic modification; (2) human experimentations, (3) polluting the environment; (4) social injustice; (5) causing poverty; (6) financial gluttony; and (7) taking drugs.

The sins were added, according to the Telegraph, to the original seven, which Mgr Girotti described has having "rather individualistic dimenion(s)."

Mgr Girotti explained that numbers have shown that less Catholics in Italy go to confession, with 60 percent no longer participating in what is considered one of the most important sacraments.

In remedying this, he acknowledged that priests must also consider new sins, brought about by changes in the global community.

"You offend God not only by stealing, blaspheming or coveting your neighbor's wife, but also by ruining the environment, carrying out mortally debatable scientific experiments, or allowing genetic manipulations which alter DNA or compromise embryos," the Times quoted Mgr Girotti.

Girotti also recognized the growing problems of abortion, pedophilia, and a widespread habit of "making do without God."

"Those who trust in themselves and in their own merits are, as it were, blinded by their own 'I', and their hearts harden in sin," said Girotti.

 

 

Nice words. But the evangelicals in the U.S. have a bigger advertising budget, and more experienced PR reps. And they still tilt heavily towards the "no use preserving & conserving, 'cause we're soon goin' on up to meet Jesus, and leaving the bad folks behind to burn.
As for the Pope spelling out these "new" sins, well ... most Catholics,  actually all Catholics AND all people of faith (christian, muslim, jew, hindu et al) are cafeteria confessors when it comes to our religious beliefs. We believe the parts of our faith that we want to, disregard or dismiss those that we don't want. And YES, this includes the lapsed believer and the fundamentalist.
The anti-homophobe spiel that Martin Sheen unleashed in The West Wing is a good example used by those who consider themselves moderate. The more righteous could also just as easily put together a diatribe exposing the other side's inconsistencies.

P.S. Let me repeat ... this occurs in ALL faiths. Since 9/11, we have seen this displayed publicly with Islam, and how varied the actual beliefs of Muslims can be.