Pensioners forum LetsChat

Probably not for the same reason the Pope has because rightly or wrongly I have it in my head that the Catholic church has rather mysogonistic views.

Pope Francis: Gender Ideology Is the 'Worst Danger' of Our Time

ROME — Pope Francis warned against the evil of "gender ideology" Friday and its tendency to obliterate the real differences between men and women.

"Today the worst danger is gender ideology, which cancels out differences," the pontiff stated in off-the-cuff remarks before his opening address to participants in an international conference titled "Man-Woman Image of God" held in the Vatican's synod hall.

The pope told a group of Polish bishops in 2016:

Today, schools are teaching children — children! — that everyone can choose their own sex. And why is this being taught? Because their textbooks are chosen by the people and institutions that give money. This is ideological colonization, promoted by very influential nations. This is terrible.

In response to the pope's words, Francis DeBernardo, the executive director of New Ways Ministry — a "Catholic" LGBT advocacy group — said that the Pope was ignorant about LGBT issues.

"Nobody chooses a gender identity. They discover it. Transgender people come to know themselves in a process is [sic] similar to the way that lesbian, gay, and bisexual people discover their sexual orientation," DeBernardo said.

In his letter on marriage and the family, Amoris Laetitia ("The Joy of Love"), Pope Francis underscored the unique value of motherhood and fatherhood, neither of which is dispensable or replaceable with a unisex version of "parent."

Full story: https://www.breitbart.com/faith/2024/03/02/pope-francis-gender-ideology-is-the-worst-danger-of-our-time/

Meanwhile....

Woke Church of England Posts Job for Anti-Racist Officer to 'Deconstruct Whiteness'

The Church of England has sparked backlash after posting a job for an anti-racism official who will be tasked with the mission of "deconstructing whiteness".

This week, the Church of England Dioceses in the West Midlands announced that it is looking for an "anti-racism practice officer" who will be paid £36,000 per year.

The posting stated that the position would entail identifying "internal and external resistance to addressing issues of anti-racism in a way that develops understandings of equality and positions everyone to take an equal role".

Additionally, the job would include developing a consultancy for clergy and others to help "engage in challenging institutional and individual racism and facilitate the development of channels through which this can happen."

More: https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2024/03/02/woke-church-of-england-posts-job-for-anti-racist-officer-to-deconstruct-whiteness/

I just thank God that I'm an atheist  :wink:

Very interesting.
The RC church is demonstrating its ability to retain common sense.
At the same time, the CofE church is demonstrating is woke nonsense.

It is known that the numbers who subscribe to the CofE in this country are reducing noticeably.
I wonder whether many of those people are converting to Roman Catholicism.

The CofE was founded in the 1530s.
I wonder whether it might fall apart as early as some time in the 2030s.
All the historic cathedrals in this country might, logically, transfer themselves to the RC church.

The CofE church is slowly falling from grace.... 
I live near a CofE church.. not as busy as it once was..
We used to have weddings every Saturday .. There would be many people standing outside the church to see a local marriage.. and the bells would ring out..
I haven't noticed one for ages..
 The bells do not ring out on a Sunday morning.. and the vicar is not known to me..  Changing times..

Quote from: JBR on March 03, 2024, 11:57:54 AMI wonder whether it might fall apart as early as some time in the 2030s.
All the historic cathedrals in this country might, logically, transfer themselves to the RC church.

Or be converted into migrant accomodation.

Quote from: klondike on March 03, 2024, 12:56:53 PMOr be converted into migrant accomodation.

If they are turned unto HMOs, its possible.

A friend lives in a flat in a converted church.  It was expensive, but it's lovely.  The reconfiguration has been done really well.   

They'd need to be converted to mosques with guest accommodation probably.

Quote from: klondike on March 03, 2024, 03:26:20 PMThey'd need to be converted to mosques with guest accommodation probably.

In all seriousness, that is what is happening to some small churches, either mosques of carpet warehouses.

Cathedrals are another matter.
Firstly, they are the last Christian places of worship to be given up.  They are far too big (and cold) to be used as housing, although if Christianity does disappear they could conceivably be used as museums and I'm sure there are other non-religious options.

Germans are of the opinion that the Roman Catholic Church needs to be reformed and there's a severe discussion between Pope Franziskus and the German archbishops in this respect at the moment. 

Quote from: ansu on March 03, 2024, 06:20:27 PMGermans are of the opinion that the Roman Catholic Church needs to be reformed and there's a severe discussion between Pope Franziskus and the German archbishops in this respect at the moment.

That's interesting.
I have never personally been attracted to the RC church, even when I thought I was a Christian (no doubt due to persuasive brainwashing!).
However, on the other hand, it can provide incentives and persuasion to lead a good and honest life.
As I say, I don't have any personal experience of the RC church and, consequently, I have no idea about what some suggest needs 'reforming'.

Admittedly, from my limited perspective (eg, a recent funeral), the RC church has a rather more formal set of procedures than the more laid-back (except for coronations!) ones of the CofE, but even these I found somewhat interesting and even entertaining.  Of course, they were new to me.

Wishy washy religions don't attract anyone .
Like children people look for an orderly and regulated  life .
The Catholic Church ( used to ) provide this .
Follow the rules = heaven
Do the other = hell.

There you go sorted .

Absolutely..
We do not need big ornate buildings to worship anyone..
We do not need someone to point out the rules of (our) beliefs.
We do not need to gather..
Live life the best you can.. Try to do the best you can.
So, we get it wrong sometimes.. !!
We are all human..

Quote from: Scrumpy on March 05, 2024, 09:29:28 AMAbsolutely..
We do not need big ornate buildings to worship anyone..
We not need someone to point out the rules of (our) beliefs.
We do not need to gather..
Live life the best you can.. Try to do the best you can.
So, we get it wrong sometimes.. !!
We are all human..

I certainly don't.  The only person I worship is Marge.
I do, however, like large historic cathedrals for their architectural attraction, and their organs of course.

I love cathedrals and churches and always have a wander round whenever I'm away.  Just imagine today's brickkies, (not sure if we'd have enough stonemasons to cope) trying to build Notre Dame.

There seems to be a growing trend of turning pubs into Indian restaurants.

My first MIL said that our children (her grandchildren) were illegitimate because we had not been married in a RC church!  She had very little money, probably because she had so many children, but that didn't stop the priest visiting every Friday for his donation.

Really ? 
Must have been Ireland .
The priest visited us every now and again , never asked for money .
Just made us all knew for a blessing .
( and we had coconut matting ) 

I used to help a neighbour way back.. 
She was elderly and a pensioner.. I used to collect her pension for her at our local post office..
Every week she would lay her pension money on the kitchen table and put it into piles for things that needed paying ... plus food money..
She had very little for the food stuff but always put money in a little envelope to pay our local church.. CofE.
Perhaps if they had collected the pension for her .. saw her little piles of money and what was left afterwards they wouldn't have accepted the envelope. 
Money grabbing..

Quote from: Scrumpy on March 06, 2024, 07:21:18 PMPerhaps if they had collected the pension for her .. saw her little piles of money and what was left afterwards they wouldn't have accepted the envelope. 

They likely would.

I am not a religious person, but as a "Christian"  I am trying to help others if needed. Since the fall of the wall we have a lot of atheists in Germany and more and more people leave church to save the church tax. 
In Germany Roman Catholic believers complain that women are considered to be more or less inferior to men and can't become priests etc. - moreover many think that it would be good for priests to be allowed to get married.
As to religion - what's quite astonishing is that humans always believed in something - in former times there existed a lot of gods, today some believe in one god, others still believe in many gods and even our atheists partly believe that nature is responsible. So maybe it's in the nature of humans to look for someone being responsible (destiny). 
However, some ask - if there's a god, why can he allow that there are such a lot of wars on earth, why doesn't he stop them. 
Heaven and hell - I read somewhere that people in the Middle Age had such a hard life that the prospects of getting into heaven after death seemed to them wonderful.
Nowadays we know or suppose that a life after death is an illusion. 
Sorry, it's a bit long.

Quote from: ansu on March 08, 2024, 04:46:28 PMI am not a religious person, but as a "Christian"  I am trying to help others if needed. Since the fall of the wall we have a lot of atheists in Germany and more and more people leave church to save the church tax.
In Germany Roman Catholic believers complain that women are considered to be more or less inferior to men and can't become priests etc. - moreover many think that it would be good for priests to be allowed to get married.
As to religion - what's quite astonishing is that humans always believed in something - in former times there existed a lot of gods, today some believe in one god, others still believe in many gods and even our atheists partly believe that nature is responsible. So maybe it's in the nature of humans to look for someone being responsible (destiny).
However, some ask - if there's a god, why can he allow that there are such a lot of wars on earth, why doesn't he stop them.
Heaven and hell - I read somewhere that people in the Middle Age had such a hard life that the prospects of getting into heaven after death seemed to them wonderful.
Nowadays we know or suppose that a life after death is an illusion.
Sorry, it's a bit long.

Well said.
Several reasons, perfectly believable, which explain why there isn't a god.

I believe... er, no, no I don't!
I'll start again.

I believe that the reason the concept of a god initially came about was that early man couldn't understand or explain why certain things happen in the world, and so their logical explanation was that 'God' (who acquired a completely different name and character in different parts of the world) was responsible and, of course, He (it was always a 'he' for some reason!) had His own reasons for doing such things and that all humans were so inferior in comparison that they could never know why 'He' did such things.

And it came to pass that this was so persuasive that people have continued to never question 'His' existence for hundreds of years.

I think it came about more because somebody was a bit smarter than the rest and realised there was an advantage in inventing  gods that he and he alone could communicate with and pass on their edicts which by pure coincidence were advantageous to him.

Quote from: JBR on March 08, 2024, 06:07:27 PMWell said.
Several reasons, perfectly believable, which explain why there isn't a god.

I believe... er, no, no I don't!
I'll start again.
He (it was always a 'he' for some reason!)

Not in all religions - the Norse worshipped Freya, Ran, Oestre, all  ladies off the top of my head, they also feared another lady Hel, the goddess of their equivalent of Hell

Quote from: klondike on March 08, 2024, 10:43:53 PMI think it came about more because somebody was a bit smarter than the rest and realised there was an advantage in inventing  gods that he and he alone could communicate with and pass on their edicts which by pure coincidence were advantageous to him.

And so came the beginnings of the priesthood!
Quite a position of power, I should say. 

March 10, 2024, 11:28:50 AM

Quote from: Michael Rolls on March 10, 2024, 09:42:24 AMNot in all religions - the Norse worshipped Freya, Ran, Oestre, all  ladies off the top of my head, they also feared another lady Hel, the goddess of their equivalent of Hell

A female god?  Why not?  Rather less dictatorial and overbearing than God, or certainly Allah, I'd say.

Quote from: JBR on March 10, 2024, 11:26:28 AMAnd so came the beginnings of the priesthood!
Quite a position of power, I should say.

March 10, 2024, 11:28:50 AMA female god?  Why not?  Rather less dictatorial and overbearing than God, or certainly Allah, I'd say.

Sheeesh, can you imagine the Muslims if it turned out Allah was a female.  :grin:

A transitioned gay one at that.

Quote from: dextrous63 on March 10, 2024, 11:42:34 AMA transitioned gay one at that.

Brilliant.  I wonder what would happen if I publicly stated that Allah has 'transitioned' to a woman?

I should have to quickly disappear, of course.
Or perhaps transition to a woman.

😬😬😬😬

Quote from: JBR on March 10, 2024, 11:46:58 AMOr perhaps transition to a woman.

They would doubtless provide you with some assistance in that.