"Cult of Mary"

Quote: Evenbob

And this
act of not having sex somehow makes her special?

No, it is what makes her Son so special.

Quote:

I read somewhere that in the Church,
the rules and regs regarding sex are twice as long
as all the other rules put together.

nope, where ever you read that it was wrong.

Quote:

I have a friend
who went to Catholic school 50 years ago who says
they indeed frowned on highly polished shoes, you might try
and peek up a girls skirt with them. Obsessed..

Obsessed? Why don't you ask the little girls what they thought about those highly polished shoes?

Quote: FrGamble

No, it is what makes her Son so special.

He's just a regular guy who had a
regular mom, and lots of brothers
and sisters. His outrageous rep is
not his fault.

Quote: Evenbob

He's just a regular guy who had a
regular mom, and lots of brothers
and sisters. His outrageous rep is
not his fault.

Ha, not His fault? Who was the one going around preaching He was God's Son, the Messiah, the Savior, and YHWH? Who was going around healing the sick, raising the dead, performing miracles, and then being Resurrected?

But I do also like to think of Him as a regular guy as well. It makes me realize that every regular person is also extraordinary and special.

Quote: FrGamble

Ha, not His fault? Who was the one going around preaching He was God's Son, the Messiah, the Savior, and YHWH? Who was going around healing the sick, raising the dead, performing miracles, and then being Resurrected?
.

You're thinking of the urban legend, not
the real man. Like the Old West, most of
what people think happened never
did at all. For instance, there is not one
recorded instance of two men facing
off in the street and fast drawing on
each other. Yet 99 out of 100 people
think it was common.

In the 70's I lived in Hawaii for awhile
and was around Mormons on an almost
daily basis. Very nice people, giving and
intelligent. They were always selling, however,
selling their religion. Always 'closing', as
they say in Glengary Glenross, always trying
to close the sale. The story behind their
religion is about as believable as the story
of Santa, yet they believe it with all their
heart.

My wife thinks Mormons are hilarious, that
their beliefs are beyond dumb. Yet if we try
and talk about her religion, Christianity, it's
all absolutely true. The ability of humans to
rationalize is the miracle here, not the religion
itself. You can get people to believe almost
anything, given the right conditions.

I imagine you are not exempting the crazy ideas of atheism in regard to your point that "You can get people to believe almost anything, given the right conditions."

Quote: FrGamble

I imagine you are not exempting the crazy ideas of atheism in regard to your point that "You can get people to believe almost anything, given the right conditions."

Are you being purposely obtuse? Why?

Atheism has no beliefs, no ideas. It's
simplicity itself, a rejection of theism.

Is there something you don't like? I
don't like peanut brittle. So I reject it
as something I might eat. That's it. No
fanfare, no heavy thinking. I reject it
and move on.

It's the same with atheism. God is an
impossible concept with no evidence
whatever, so I reject it. Simple..

The idea that there is no God is not an idea? Isn't rejection of something a thought that should be based on something? Especially when the evidence for God is all around and inside you.

Quote: FrGamble

The idea that there is no God is not an idea? .

A rejection of a concept is not in
itself a concept. It's a lack of one.

I don't think you're kidding, you
really don't get this, do you.
Some think there shouldn't even
be a word for rejecting theism.
There's no word for rejecting
belief in the Loch Ness Monster,
because none is needed. There
really is no need for a word
rejecting theism, all it does is
confuse people. They then think
atheism is a thing, when it's
actually the opposite of that.

Quote: Evenbob

A rejection of a concept is not in
itself a concept. It's a lack of one.

Why isn't the lack of a concept not a concept? It is a thought isn't it? It is based on something or more appropriately the lack of something isn't it?

Is rejecting the Loch Ness Monster, which I too agree with, not an idea or thought? Does it not come as the fruit of examining the evidence and concluding that there is no such monster? I can see why an atheist would want to not have his or her rejection of God to be considered a thing, but that does not make it so.