Comments on: Pope Benedict XVI

By: Paul

Paul — Sat, 13 May 2006 01:23:07 +0000

Homophobic Pope Benedict, speaking out on a topic that Italy’s incoming centre-left government will likely have to confront, on Thursday condemned gay marriage and legal recognition of unwed couples…

By: Tony

Tony — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 10:44:25 +0000

He who pays the piper calls the tune - a good reason to stay out of the hands of government funding full stop (including school funding, which I was arguing for a couple of weeks ago - strange place, this).

By: Kim

Kim — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 07:15:44 +0000

I think they probably should, Joe, but actually I think that it might be better if Germany embraced secularism.

By: joe cambria

joe cambria — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 01:59:07 +0000

Brian:
But now that citizenship has been extended to people of Turkish origin, shouldn��t their clergy get the same consideration?

I’m gunna get the popcorn, put my feet up to watch this one. It’s going to be real interesting.

By: Brian Bahnisch

Brian Bahnisch — Fri, 30 Sep 2005 23:49:11 +0000

Brian - the Catholic, Lutheran and Evangelical churches in Germany have their priests�� and ministers�� wages paid by the State

That’s good, Mark, I like it. I must admit it crossed my mind.

So here we have the secular state paying up to help God’s work. And it makes God’s messengers financially independent of the flock.

But now that citizenship has been extended to people of Turkish origin, shouldn’t their clergy get the same consideration?

By: Amanda

Amanda — Fri, 30 Sep 2005 22:31:19 +0000

The best gin I ever had was Bulgarian.

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 30 Sep 2005 16:13:01 +0000

No, no, what happens (in 2003 - actually) is you end up in a bar in Wollomooloo (or however you spell it...) with a post-Marxist at 2am debating whether Foucault was a Jansenist over gin, lime and tonics. And people should never settle for anything less than Bombay Sapphire.

By: Tony

Tony — Fri, 30 Sep 2005 09:08:45 +0000

Marx and Foucault walk into a bar on the Left Bank, and there’s this fish drinking absinthe, so Marx says to the bartender…

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 30 Sep 2005 08:58:50 +0000

Brian - the Catholic, Lutheran and Evangelical churches in Germany have their priests’ and ministers’ wages paid by the State - out of an opt-out church tax - standard-ish model in Northern Europe - Sweden is the same. Therefore, parishioners or no parishioners, provided people don’t take the legal step of ceasing to register and thus not paying that proportion of the tax indirectly to the church (they pay the tax anyway but it goes into secular welfare stuff), the reverends get paid.

Hence the German churches are among the most cashed up in the world.

By: Brian Bahnisch

Brian Bahnisch — Fri, 30 Sep 2005 08:47:57 +0000

Mark, it was more about stuff than Heidegger. That is, about what was most significant about the 20th century in terms of the future of the world. I’m planning a post, but time and energy have been a bit lacking.

btw I was talking to a friend who had been in Europe recently. She said the churches would all end up being used for something else as the worshippers had pretty much vanished.

But then I also met again recently a guy I went to school and uni with who is now a Lutheran pastor in a small community of about 5000 in Germany. I forgot to ask him about his flock, but someone must pay his wages.

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 30 Sep 2005 06:46:05 +0000

Brian, you could always write your own post on Heidegger.

By: Ron

Ron — Fri, 30 Sep 2005 04:27:13 +0000

“Church in Europe where religious faith seems to be dying” and the rest of the modern world.

Perhaps as people become more educated, they have less need for the fantasy of religion.

By: Brian Bahnisch

Brian Bahnisch — Fri, 30 Sep 2005 04:10:31 +0000

On and off this morning I’ve been crafting a brilliant comment in my head on Heidegger and stuff. Now there’s nowhere to plant it. A shame!

By: joe cambria

joe cambria — Fri, 30 Sep 2005 03:49:59 +0000

If he speaks with a voice people understand, it will have meaning and credence. Europe needs a voice. Not just any voice but someone who can help get it off life support.

Many non-conservatives may not agree with the comments by that Spanish writer I referred to earlier. He felt through Auschwitz Europe destroyed a people who helped the continent develop in every way, cultural, scientific, etc. In it’s quest to regain respectability Europeans replaced those it killed with a culture that is essentially alien and inimical to European ideals. Europe��s slow death is evident in lots of ways. There is no leader that can reverse this decline. Maybe this is Benedict’s calling, as he certainly ha the intellectual stature.
I don��t say this from a religious perspective in the sense that he would help convert more people to Catholicism.

I want to add that I am not religious in any shape or from. I do believe in God, but only because the odds favour belief, in the sense of why piss off the big guy if the alternative is nothing anyway. Pascal’s wager?

As Europe is our heritage and the heritage of the new world, we don’t want to see it end.

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 30 Sep 2005 03:26:10 +0000

Because they're Catholics?

By: Sach

Sach — Fri, 30 Sep 2005 03:21:04 +0000

What I don’t understand is why some people give credence to what the Pope says… can anyone help?

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 30 Sep 2005 03:01:21 +0000

I decided it didn't make sense when I was sober - composed after quite a few pinots. So I deleted it.

By: Glen

Glen — Fri, 30 Sep 2005 02:16:04 +0000

hey what happened to the post about marx and foucault?

By: Kate

Kate — Fri, 30 Sep 2005 02:10:45 +0000

Word, Amanda.

I’m off to worship some false idols and contemplate which level of hell I’m going to end up in.

By: anthony

anthony — Fri, 30 Sep 2005 02:09:44 +0000

Is it just me, or does Jesus look like he’s rolling his eyeballs?