liveonearth | Entries tagged with catholicism

I cannot accept your canon that we are to judge Pope and King unlike other men, with a favorable presumption that they did no wrong. If there is any presumption it is the other way against holders of power, increasing as the power increases. Historic responsibility has to make up for the want of legal responsibility. Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority. There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it. That is the point at which the negation of Catholicism and the negation of Liberalism meet and keep high festival, and the end learns to justify the means.

--Baron Acton
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Dalberg-Acton,_1st_Baron_Acton

Crossposts: https://liveonearth.livejournal.com/1444920.html

Randy Blazak is a PhD from Emory University with a specialty in hate crimes. Specifically he studied racist skinheads (he doesn't say just "skin heads" because you can shave your head without being a racist). He's a professor of sociology at PSU where his intro class is opening people's minds, and a professor of criminology at OU.

His talk for the Freedom From Religion Foundation on 1/15/18 was entitled "With Odin on Our Side; The Role of Religion in Right Wing Extremism." I didn't understand why he said Odin in the title until the end of the talk, but it has to do with the fact that an ancient Viking religion is being propagated in our prisons. I'm going to take the information from his talk and put it in chronological order, and flesh it out with links to articles around the web, trying to make sense of the times.

At the end of his talk Blazak summarized that there are two profiles for violent haters; sociopaths, and lower level thinkers. Sociopaths, or more specifically people with antisocial personality disorder, have no qualms about injuring or killing others because they have no conscience. These are the people we need to imprison long-term. Lower level thinkers are simply regular folks who joined the cause because they were alone and needed to belong. They weren’t philosophical about it, they were simply vulnerable. These are the people that we need to help.

( Timeline and Links behind Cut )

I keep reading in the media that the record Latino turnout at the polls is a new "firewall" or somesuch for Democrats. Well that may apply in this election, but don't count on it in the future. Latinos are independent and have been provoked to vote for their own interests. Trump voters have provided a new impetus for the Republican party to stop shafting its lower income voters. If the R party can respond in any effective way to this challenge it could result in a shift in the demographics of both parties.

*First use of new tag: hispanic. This population now activated is likely to become a powerful force in US politics. Too bad they're so Catholic.

There is no poverty so great
as that of the prosperous,
no wrechedness so dismal
as affluence.
Wealth is poison.
There is no misery to compare
with that which exists
where technology has been
a total success.
--Thomas Merton, Catholic monk

It's not an infectious disease, its' a cultural phenomenon. Here on Kauai the decorations are everywhere. There are blow up santas at every commercial destination, and lit trees in the windows of homes, and bright lights on signs and rooflines. Island television is full of Christmas music and men wearing santa hats. There are Christian churches scattered over the island--the missionaries have been quite successful. The biggest Catholic church has a giant crucifix framed by palm trees. There are just a few alternatives--a couple of Buddhist temples and an LDS church in Kapa'a that was established in 1933. (According to some folks from SLC that we met, there's a "Mormon pipeline" by which a great many Hawaiian recruits end up settled in Utah. I wonder how long it takes them to realize their mistake.) The music in grocery stores is Hawaiian-style Christmas songs---to the tune of "I wish every day was Christmas because then peace and love would fill the world", and one about the grinch, and other songs unfamiliar to my ears. I want to know why it has to be Christmas to be peaceful and loving.

Because Muslims, Hindus and African Animists are also made in the very likeness and image of God, to hate them is to hate God! To reject them to is to reject God and the Gospel of Christ. Whether we worship at a church, a synagogue, a mosque or a mandir, it does not matter. Whether we call God, Jesus, Adonai, Allah or Krishna, we all worship the same God of love. This truth is self-evident to all who have love and humility in their hearts!
--Pope Francis

I didn't hear about these women until today. Perhaps you've already heard. Pussy Riot a Russian punk rock band who performed an anti-Putin song in the "main cathedral" of the Orthodox Church. Now they have been held in "pre-trial detention" for months. It is expected that they will serve years of jail time for the offense, which was, in a word, a sacrilege.

I don't know about you, but if someone did this in my sacred space, I would be offended. I don't mean that Russia's powers that be (government and church in cahoots) should be able to imprison people for years over this sort of behavior. I think not. I personally relish hearing the words Pussy Riot in the news, and am glad that women there feel powerful enough to do this. Putin's continuing reign is a far greater blasphemy than the most raucous of punk rock in a cathedral.

In spite of my sympathies for their causes, I would be totally pissed if somebody made this kind of noise in my sacred place. Blast that crap at the river? Get OUT. I understand anger, and suppression, and the need to eliminate Putin. And I understand the outrage against their methods. Too bad the punishment is so out of proportion with the offense.

Here's the NPR story: http://www.theworld.org/2012/06/anti-putin-punk-rockers-pussy-riot-to-stay-in-jail-await-trial/

A teenage girl sued her school to get a prayer taken down from the gym wall, and won. Local Catholics then showed how classy they are when challenged.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/27/us/rhode-island-city-enraged-over-school-prayer-lawsuit.html?_r=2

Here's his manifesto. Sounds pretty familiar. He was a good writer. He wants to wake up Americans. Maybe if enough people read this, they will realize that we the people are in similar situations for similar reasons. A little suicidality is certainly not out of the question when times are so hard for people. I heard the feds took down the original post so I was happy to find that it is out there. For posterity, here is ( Joe Stack's manifesto, text from link above. )

Big news in Europe: the Swiss have consitutionally banned new minarets.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091129/ap_on_re_eu/eu_switzerland_minaret_ban

I heard the story on NPR, and until then I had not realized that minarets are supported mostly by the political arm of Islam. There is some dispute among ardent Muslims about their use. I am proud of the Swiss. Those who pine for diversity may not realize that wolves are diverse among sheep.

Here find five links to youtube to follow a brilliant debate on the proposition "The Catholic Church is a force for good in the world." The Intelligence Squared debaters include Christopher Hitchens and Stephen Fry against the proposition, and Archbishop Onaiyekan and Ann Widdecombe attempting to defend it. Hitchens and Fry utterly devastate the Catholics, and I was frankly cracking up.

Like many Hollywood products, there is not a great deal of substance to this movie beyond what you see in the preview. But there is some. It is a redemption story of a man who is tortured inside and finds a way to make it right. And it toys with important issues, like gang violence, racism, aging, war, patriotism and religion. Eastwood's acting brings humor to all this hard stuff. Clint Eastwood growls and snarls better than just about anybody. The snarl shown above is the face he made when his son wanted to talk about putting him in an old folk's home--on his birthday. I don't plan to go see it again, but I do think it's worth seeing once. Four stars.

( pictures from the flick and a review of the etiologies of hemoptysis )

This is the age of irresponsibility. There are moments when it seems as though every figure who waltzes across the public stage is a cheat, a fraud, a liar, or a failure. Child abuse scandals have tarnished the image of Catholic bishops and priests. Steroid scandals have racked Major League Baseball, the Tour de France, and the Olympic Games. As the men who brought the financial system to the brink of collapse were cashing in and remodeling their offices, the executives and union officials who bankrupted the American automobile industry were begging the public sector to give them aid. On any given day, any public figure might be arrested, assaulted, admit to infidelity, go bankrupt, or break down emotionally in front of television cameras. There are no consequences.
--Matthew Continetti in The Weekly Standard

Just finished reading The Spiral Staircase: My Climb out of Darkness by Karen Armstrong. Though I enjoyed the entire book, the last chapter was my favorite. It is in this chapter that she summarizes her newfound understanding of religion and culture, and explains how her study of theology in preparation to write A History of God was in part a spiritual practice, which then transformed her. Prior to that chapter she weaves her life story into modern world history, leaving me feeling more educated, if still alarmed, about what is happening.
( more )

This is the first of my (extensive) Summer Reading project. It is written by Karen Armstrong. I started it yesterday afternoon, and am already 1/3 of the way through it. In it Karen tells the story of her 7 years in a Catholic convent and the aftermath of that experience. When she attempted to integrate back into the regular world, she became mentally ill, and was unable to find real help. She was studying English literature at Oxford, and could still function as an academic, writing beautiful "Gothic" essays. But she had lost the ability to connect to other people, to love or accept love. She is a beautiful writer, nonjudgmental and straightforward about what happened to her, and how she has come to understand it. Her retrospect is quite clear, though she constantly refers to another book that she wrote prematurely, attempting to explain her experience. She says it was the "worst book I have ever written" and she is glad it is out of print. I am learning to understand Catholicism and its effects on culture at a new level.

I picked this book up first because Joe just recommended it the other night. Renee had recommended the same book, probably years ago by now, and I acquired it at Bookman's in Flagstaff, and have been carrying it around. That's how I am with books.

The Vatican reports worldwide adherent percentages at:
19.2% Muslim
17.4% Catholic
33% all flavors of Christian

In the US we are supposedly 76.5% Christian.
( randomness about isms )

Current Mood: fascinated

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Page Summary

QotD: Power Corrupts
Blazak on the Role of Religion in Hate Crimes in the US
A vote against Trump is certainly not a new Democrat voter
QotD: Wretchedness of Affluence
Kauai Christmas Fever
QotD: Pope Francis on the God of Love
Pussy Riot in a Cathedral
Rhode Island Catholics Go Ballistic Over Atheist Win
Joe Stack Crashes His Plane into IRS office building
Islamic Population Surges Worldwide
Catholics Lose Debate to Hitchens and Fry
Movies: Gran Torino
Age of Irresponsibility
Toward the Light
The Spiral Staircase: My Climb out of Darkness
Muslims pass Catholics, Mormons gain, Agnostics lose

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Entries tagged with catholicism

QotD: Power Corrupts

Blazak on the Role of Religion in Hate Crimes in the US

A vote against Trump is certainly not a new Democrat voter

QotD: Wretchedness of Affluence

Kauai Christmas Fever

QotD: Pope Francis on the God of Love

Pussy Riot in a Cathedral

Rhode Island Catholics Go Ballistic Over Atheist Win

Joe Stack Crashes His Plane into IRS office building

Islamic Population Surges Worldwide

Catholics Lose Debate to Hitchens and Fry

Movies: Gran Torino

Age of Irresponsibility

Toward the Light

The Spiral Staircase: My Climb out of Darkness

Muslims pass Catholics, Mormons gain, Agnostics lose