(June 12, 2012 at 1:20 am)Aiza Wrote:

(June 12, 2012 at 12:32 am)Taqiyya Mockingbird Wrote: Reeling from sex-abuse scandals, the Roman Catholic Church is losing members in droves. Can it stem the decline?

Losing members in some nations != "In its death throes". That is where I have to roll my eyes.

Hemmorrhaging its membership in (HELLO: Educated!) Europe and America, while gaining members in (HELLO: Uneducated!) third world countries. And that is not the only reason to say it is in its death throes. They are literally BEGGING for people to enter the clergy and no one is biting. On the world stage, the Poop makes idiotic proclamation and the world laughs at him for it. People don't take him seriously as he does not deserve being taken seriously.

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Quote:Yes, it does pad its numbers and it keeps rolls as well. Folks who leave stay on those rolls.

No they don't. Every parish takes note of how many families it has every single year. A lot of atheists seem to think the only way to get off the "rolls" is to be formally excommunicated, but this isn't true of the Catholic Church, at least in the US. Any parish which tried to "pad its numbers" would only end up more in debt to the Archdiocese, so...they really have no incentive to pad their numbers outside of trying to maintain some nebulous bragging right to "largest Christian denomination"...I guess? We are really, really far away from losing that one though.

This has been done to death elsewhere, and of course you steadfastly refuse to face and admit the facts. You ain't fooling anyone.

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Quote:And it is not just MY assertion that the church considers folks who reject core tenets such as this transubstantiation bullshit as "not catholics", that is catholic church policy

No it isn't. It's poor catechesis, and, at worst, its heresy. But they are heretical Catholics. One of my Auxiliary Bishops advocates for female ordination. He's still a Catholic.

Blah, blah, blah. He won't be for long with this Poop.

(June 12, 2012 at 1:20 am)Aiza Wrote: Looks like at least 21% of atheists would disagree with you there, Thor. Geez, I don't know who I am supposed to believe!

Try believing the people who actually understand what the word 'atheist' means. Just a thought.

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(June 12, 2012 at 2:52 am)Epimethean Wrote: It lost over 1% of its membership in the U.S. alone over the last three years.

I think Aiza has made the point that the Catholic Church is increasing in some regions, so it's overall decline that needs to be shown, not just decline in one country.

Not so much. As TM pointed out above, what matters is where it is losing membership. The trend shows that education is making inroads against the RCC, which is not surprising, and that the church has been gaining traction among those whom it continues to oppress via its cultivation of the love of ignorance (namely, the poor fuckers in Africa).

if 21% of atheists are supposed to believe in gods according to this survey. A group who by definition do not believe in god. Then the other results look rather suspect.

WAITAFUKINMINIT -- Buddhists do not believe in any creator god AT ALL. For the superstitious Buddhists who adopted the Brahman/hindu pantheon of mythical "dieties", those "gods" -- which is to use the term VERY loosely -- are seen as lesser creatures than humans, to be pitied for their sloth, greed, and arrogance. The Buddha flat-out rejected the idea of a creator god, refuting it on the basis that if there were such a creature, there would be only determinism and no one would be responsible for their choices and their actions: a mass murderer would kill because that is how the "creator god" set the universe in motion.

To claim that 75% of Buddhists believe in any sort of god that bears any resemblance to the x-tard god-figure is an outright lie.

(June 12, 2012 at 1:20 am)Aiza Wrote: Heaven is within the eternal present, so the concept of a "day" makes no sense. Heaven is constant adoration of God.

Wings, a harp, and walking on clouds aside, how is that heaven? Isn't god omnipresent? Aren't you already worshipping your god right now?

At least the Muslims can hope for their 72 virgins when they enter paradise. You have nothing new to look forward to.

Quote:Hate causes suffering because it is contrary to goodness, and as humans we long for what is good in our hearts, it is how we are inclined.

1. Hatred is but a strong dislike for someone. Feelings by themselves can't accomplish anything. For example you can hate the miscarriage of injustice in a particular high-profile case you hear about on television but not do anything about it, not even voice your anger or frustration at what displeased you. You need direct malicious impulsive action and/or inaction, the intent to cause harm or suffering.

2. I had Helicobacter pylori for years, it caused a lot of pain and suffering until it was finally diagnosed and purged with a cocktail of antibiotics. There was no hate involved in that.

3. Hatred is not the polar opposite of goodness or love, that's apathy.

4. My heart pumps blood. If yours does something more then you should go see a doctor.

Quote:No it isn't!

Yes. It. Is. Do you not know the story of the disobedient prophet?

Quote:1 Kings 13:26 - When the prophet who had brought him back from his journey heard of it, he said, "It is the man of God who defied the word of the LORD. The LORD has given him over to the lion, which has mauled him and killed him, as the word of the LORD had warned him."

That's how your god operates - "Do as I say or die."

Have the intellectual honesty to admit that's what the scriptures say, or go away please.

(June 12, 2012 at 2:58 pm)Welsh cake Wrote: At least the Muslims can hope for their 72 virgins when they enter paradise. You have nothing new to look forward to.

(June 12, 2012 at 2:58 pm)Welsh cake Wrote: At least the Muslims can hope for their 72 virgins when they enter paradise. You have nothing new to look forward to.

I never understood that. 72 virgins is just a very good weekend.

I'd rather have 72 sluts.

I'll go one further, i';d rather have a single 72x strength slut, because unless magical richards are being handed out 72 women- of any stripe- is going to lead to eternal feelings of inadequecy.