Stupid things religious people say

[Fake Messiah]

You should pray for Howard Stern because he has been saying words that our religion forbids on the radio, he has been defending trans people instead of threatening them, he has been shielding himself from COVID instead of trusting that Jesus will protect him - the man clearly has problems.

Why Christians Should Pray for Howard Stern

Over the years, radio stations and networks who have employed and aired the radio deejay have been fined by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for his repeated violations of broadcast decency standards. They’ve even decried his foul-mouthed antics, and yet at the same time exploited it for promotional purposes.

During his tenure on WNBC radio in New York, a station that also employed Don Imus, the vulgar pair were advertised with the slogan, “If we weren’t so bad, we wouldn’t be so good.”

Hypocrisy has long been alive and well. Wrote William Shakespeare, “God has given you one face, and you make yourself another.”

In recent years, he’s been accused of going “woke” in the wake of several politically charged outbursts, including his support for the sexually confused Dylan Mulvaney of Bud Light infamy.

A self-described germaphobe, Stern was known to isolate himself for years following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Few men in media have been viler and cruder for so many years than Howard Stern. Some have even credited him with helping to normalize the abnormal. That’s the progressive nature of filth. What shocks one generation rarely surprises the next.

Whether he renews a contract or retires, it would be good to pray for Howard Stern. His efforts have done much to harm and pollute America’s airwaves and fill people’s minds with unspeakable trash. It’s impossible to know what he believes these days – or in whom he might be placing his hope and trust.

One of the many incredible aspects of Christianity is that God has made clear He will meet anyone anywhere regardless of anything they’ve done if they’re repentant and seek a relationship with Him.

Nobody this side of eternity is irredeemable, including Howard Stern.

https://dailycitizen.focusonthefamily.co...y-for-him/

[emjay]

Pastor reports possible miracle in Naples after blessed oil jar mysteriously refills

A July celebration honoring St. Charbel Makhlouf at a parish in Naples, Italy, has drawn attention after worshippers reported what they believe may be a miraculous sign.

The reported event took place at St. Ferdinand Church July 24, where hundreds gathered for Mass in honor of the saint.

Following the liturgy, pastor Msgr. Pasquale Silvestri began anointing parishioners with blessed oil sent from the Maronite Curia in Rome for the occasion. As he moved down the long line of the sick, he noticed the jar of oil was nearly gone.

By the time he reached the final person, Msgr. Silvestri believed the last drops had been used. However, when placing the jar back in its case, he discovered it was once again full and noticeably heavier.

“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” he said, according to RVA.

The news was met with applause from those present. Msgr. Silvestri who remarked that “there was a production of matter; this is a very serious thing,” and noted that, following canon law, he immediately contacted the postulator for St. Charbel.

The following day, a group of Lebanese visitors came to the church and asked to smell the oil. They reported a strong cedar fragrance, a scent closely tied to Lebanon and deeply symbolic in St. Charbel’s life and heritage.

The jar of oil is now secured for examination by Church authorities, who will determine whether the incident meets the Church’s criteria for a miracle.

https://catholicvote.org/pastor-reports-...y-refills/

I hope you don't mind me asking, but I was wondering what your thoughts were on this particular claim? I'm asking because lately I've been experiencing a lot of depression, after a recent near-death operation on my head, and sadly its been bringing up a lot of religious irrational thoughts/baggage in me which usually, when my mind is clearer, doesn't affect me. Thankfully I'm not irrational enough yet not to dismiss the clearly silly claims of witchcraft and suchlike that you often show, but this one just feels a bit more like it will mess with my depression.

I think I would dismiss this with the thought of two possible explanations if it happened as claimed, 1) that it is a psychological explanation, perhaps similar to the sorts of mistakes we can often make when we're on 'auto-pilot' with any task, in this case a guy intending to pour out this oil in some way, or 2) that someone else could have seen it was empty and replaced/refilled it and then for whatever reason, possibly embarrassment or whatever, not admitted to that when it became a headline press-story. That's all that comes to mind really as possibilities to me, but I was wondering if you had any more? Usually I wouldn't even bother trying to explicitly address some claim like this, happy enough with the thinking that psychology/behaviour of people is always a more likely explanation, hundred-fold, than "magic", but as I said I'm just feeling a lot more irrational these days and nights in these terrifying depressions I keep falling into recently. Feel free to ignore if you too don't think it's worth explicitly addressing beyond a basic Occam's Razor finding in favour of psychology etc. I was just curious if I was missing anything, cos I don't feel that confident in my thinking ability at the moment, and it's at times like these that the more gnostic-like atheists around here give me much more confidence, which I'm very grateful for.

[Fake Messiah]

I hope you get better, and I'm sorry to hear about your illness.

Since priests aren't particularly intelligent, I believe he may have had more oil than he realized.

Or he was lying for Jesus. The Catholic Church has a tradition of lying about self-fulfilling oils. Consider the holy oil used to anoint French kings. It is said to have been transported from Heaven to France by a pigeon on its beak, and it then inexplicably multiplied for centuries, enabling clergy to anoint kings.

[Paleophyte]

Least possible miracle syndrome. Screw the kids dying of starvation, I've got oil jars to top up!

[emjay]

I hope you get better, and I'm sorry to hear about your illness.

Since priests aren't particularly intelligent, I believe he may have had more oil than he realized.

Or he was lying for Jesus. The Catholic Church has a tradition of lying about self-fulfilling oils. Consider the holy oil used to anoint French kings. It is said to have been transported from Heaven to France by a pigeon on its beak, and it then inexplicably multiplied for centuries, enabling clergy to anoint kings.

Thank you and thanks for your thoughts on the claim... they help I'm getting there slowly, I'm being told, physically at least. But mentally this depression is really hurting me, and so far it's mainly been Buddhist-like thoughts that gets me out of it, usually accidentally; eg I end a train of thought and my focus jumps to my breath and suddenly it becomes clear, in a Buddhist like way, how pointless all of that thinking had been, and also how avoidable, with Buddhist-like meditation. Basically I wish I could get into the state where I'm not imaging what it's like be in hell for instance, when I don't even believe in it, but that's where my depression takes me most nights at the moment and it's terrifying. But rationally speaking I'd guess that you guys would say that you shouldn't imagine situations just because they're unfalsifiable, but rather only if they are probable... ie you believe them to be true? In a clear state of mind that's what I'd think I think, but I just wish I could get that into my depressed state of mind as well.

[The Grand Nudger]

Just remember, if you find yourself imagining what it's like to be in hell, it's still not as bad as it could be. Yet.

I guess it takes a cynical mind to find comfort in that, but it gets me everytime. All of my problems stacked on top of each other don't even make it to somebody else's mediocre day.

[emjay]

Just remember, if you find yourself imagining what it's like to be in hell, it's still not as bad as it could be.  Yet.

I guess it takes a cynical mind to find comfort in that, but it gets me everytime.  All of my problems stacked on top of each other don't even make it to somebody else's mediocre day.

I'm really sorry, but I'm not sure I understand what you're saying here, could you rephrase? If you just mean that being in a real hell would be worse than just imagining it, then sure I get that, I guess, but it is still traumatic to me, I think anyway, because this head injury came out of nowhere, with no clear cause known or offered, and with them saying I only had a 33% chance of surviving the surgery they gave me... basically I came out feeling much weaker and more fragile both physically and mentally, and with the real fear of it happening again... and I think that is what is driving the depression I'm in now, this total feeling of powerlessness... leading to these highly emotional and irrational sometimes states of mind. I know you're trying to help me, and really appreciate it, and hope you know that you'll always be my hero, but I am sorry to say I do sometimes have trouble understanding you, as I think you probably already know.

[emjay]

Sorry about all that, guys. I didn't mean to derail this thread, if I did. Please just ignore me and if I want to talk about it more in the future, I'll try and do it in a more appropriate place