Every time I read of the churches all calling for "more prayer" and "more witnessing" and "stopping the flood/rise/prominence of secularism/atheism/humanism/etc" I just get this mental image. Allow me to describe it.

I get this image of a small army of figures, standing silently in the shadows. They are spaced apart outside of personal space but close enough to reach out with their arms and rest their hands upon one another's shoulder. Before them is a titanic projection of a million video feeds of pastors and priests standing at pulpits, addressing congregations that even as their "spiritual leaders" desperately scream (froth and spittle flying from their lips, their eyes bulging in zealous desperation) for faith and witness and proselytizing and threaten eternal damnation, trickle away, one member at a time standing up and walking out of the doors. As they exit the doors, they join the growing number of shadowy, individualistic-yet-mutually-respecting figures witnessing this. Eventually, the pastors are howling their brittle pleas to all but a few members each. Craven-eyed, weak-willed, dim, featureless figures; the truly brainwashed and deluded, too blinded by ignorance to look elsewhere, the last hope for these "spiritual leaders." And as all watch, one by one, the pastors die of old age, their followers clinging tightly to each other, whispering in hushed tones and clucking in self-affirmation of their "faith," hollow, empty words, devoid of purpose, void of place, of reason, of truth, nothing more than sharing a mutual lie, and eventually these, too, die, most of their children drifting off to join the silent witnesses of this spectacle. The few who remain continue to exist, but it is clear to those watching that they have no purpose, no place, nothing of value to add. The amassed horde turn, not as one, but as individuals, at their own pace, in their own ways, murmuring softly to one another, discussing and debating and exchanging ideas calmly and with open minds, as they all eventually turn their eyes away from the false light provided by the religious, and towards the darkness...and in the darkness a light swells, brilliant but not blinding, awe-inspiring. The direction they stare in is to the east, where the sun would rise, but it is not the sun that is rising. It is a hundred billion stars rising into view over the horizon, swirling around a titanic quasar. The rising of the Milky Way. Still murmuring and discussing quietly, they begin to walk off into the stars. Behind them, the few delusionists who remain behind wail in despair, hands held aloft to their low-hanging sky, baying and begging for a god that is not there to make good on his promise to reveal himself to his chosen few. There is no answer. The false, blinding light overhead dims slowly, before casting the faithful into eternal darkness. Briefly, the sounds of frenzied, psychotic violence ring out...before total silence falls, nothing but the murmurings of discussion to be heard again.

This is how it will go.

(October 26, 2012 at 4:18 pm)Faith No More Wrote: Being the greedy leeches that they are, I'm sure the leaders of the church will find some sort of resource to milk from them.

I was about to suggest that there are plenty of children in Africa but I see that you guys are way ahead of me!

(October 26, 2012 at 5:53 pm)Minimalist Wrote:

(October 26, 2012 at 4:18 pm)Faith No More Wrote: Being the greedy leeches that they are, I'm sure the leaders of the church will find some sort of resource to milk from them.

I was about to suggest that there are plenty of children in Africa but I see that you guys are way ahead of me!

Damn right, Min, keep up!

Eclipsed by a materialistic world?

Last time I checked, it wasn't the non-religious secularists who have mansions and massive estates built from the hopes and dreams of the countless gullible.

Apparently "Catholic" is the new word for "hypocrite".

Trouble is, Min, there's not alot of ass to grab ahold of, so, not strictly speaking the clergy's cup'o'tea.

I'm not sure that the guys who came up with the totally insane idea of the pope are allowed to complain about materialism.

(October 26, 2012 at 6:40 pm)Welsh cake Wrote: Eclipsed by a materialistic world?

Last time I checked, it wasn't the non-religious secularists who have mansions and massive estates built from the hopes and dreams of the countless gullible.

Apparently "Catholic" is the new word for "hypocrite".

New? Do you know where Protestantism came from?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indulgence#Abuses

wikipedia Wrote:However, the later Middle Ages saw the growth of considerable abuses. Greedy commissaries sought to extract the maximum amount of money for each indulgence. Professional "pardoners" (quaestores in Latin) - who were sent to collect alms for a specific project - practiced the unrestricted sale of indulgences. Many of these quaestores exceeded Church teachings, whether in avarice or ignorant zeal, and promised impossible rewards like salvation from eternal damnation in return for money. With the permission of the Church, indulgences also became a way for Catholic rulers to fund expensive projects, such as Crusades and cathedrals, by keeping a significant portion of the money raised from indulgences in their lands. There was a tendency to forge documents declaring that indulgences had been granted. Indulgences grew to extraordinary magnitude, in terms of longevity and breadth of forgiveness.

wikipedia Wrote:The false doctrine and scandalous conduct of the "pardoners" were an immediate occasion of the Protestant Reformation. In 1517, Pope Leo X offered indulgences for those who gave alms to rebuild St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The aggressive marketing practices of Johann Tetzel in promoting this cause provoked Martin Luther to write his Ninety-Five Theses, condemning what he saw as the purchase and sale of salvation.

Catholic is indeed a word for hypocite.

(October 26, 2012 at 6:59 pm)JosephBowie Wrote: I'm not sure that the guys who came up with the totally insane idea of the pope are allowed to complain about materialism.

Ya think?

never in this nations history, have so many catholics left the catholic church.
if all goes well, the first german pope in 500 years will sucesfully de-catholicise the german nation. something i`m looking forward to.

Catholics sure have been great with PR recently haven't they? I would have liked that it wouldn't take pedophilia and the Church covering it up to get people out of the faith but I suppose that very dark cloud can get us a positive offshoot.