[Despanan]

Originally Posted by Sternn

I personally think it is quite telling when you see where a church of any sort puts the money it gets from it's members.

Particularly when that money is used to move priests around in order to conceal that they're molesting altar boys.

Originally Posted by Sternn

When asked the question feed the homeless, or build a new racquetball ball court for our church members, which one actually followed the path that Jesus would have chosen?

ooh! I've got biblical precedent:

Originally Posted by Matthew 26:6-13

While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. "Why this waste?" they asked. "This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor." Aware of this, Jesus said to them, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."

Just sayin': Jesus probably would've gone with the racquetball center, so long as he got to use it before he got killed.

Originally Posted by Sterrn

The religious aspect of this report seems to be an issue for some people, but the reality is you can ignore it and just look at the overwhelming results in society to see that some seem to practice what they preach a bit more than others, who seem to ignore the message they claim to themselves follow.

Looking back at their roots you can see why.

See? Right here is the problem Sterrn, the Catholics don't "practice what they preach" any more than protestants. The history of the Catholic church is one of ****, murder, torture, and authoritarianism. If being Catholic suddenly made you "practice what you preach" they would've done something during the holocaust besides step to the side and let Hitler round up and ethnically cleans a race of people they hated. If Catholicism were really about helping the downtrodden (and not using charity as a tool for expanding it's ministry) you wouldn't have Pope Sideous saying stuff like "Aids may be bad but condoms are worse" in the middle of a continent-wide health crisis.

Now, Protestants aren't much better mind you. But the point is, neither Protestants nor Catholics are overly concerned with the plight of the poor, they use service as a ministry tool, but they aren't nearly as interested in making life better for their fellow man today, as they are in saving souls and ensuring as many as possible a place in the next world. You can't even blame them for it, according to their magic zombie that's what's most important.

I mean, aren't you all about the IRA? When does that whole "Turn the other cheek" thing kick in then? Don't you, as a Catholic, practice what you preach?