The more you look for crazy, the more you find it. Only a day after my post on Satan, the Pope is telling Africans to divest themselves of foolishness, to reject belief in witches and evil spirits, "..malign and threatening powers." Says the guy who makes a nice living promoting exactly that, whose church specializes in exorcisms ferchrissakes! I mean, really, can't he hear himself?
Well, at least it's better than telling them that using condoms makes the AIDS epidemic worse.
Between saying self-contradictory things with no sense of irony, and making statements that not only are in direct opposition to reality but, if believed, will literally kill people, it's a pretty sad spectacle. Which is not to say he's any worse than most other religious leaders.
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At least Herr Benedict doesn't have a Dead Rat rotting behind his walls...You'd have been a great cellmate on "The Green Mile" probably call Amnesty International when that guy coughed up that wad of Horseflies... Sure, I know, Catholics suck, but why not pick on someone your own speed,like your lover Barak did...
ReplyDeleteYou WERE joking about that "Humane" Mouse trap?? Heck, even Jimmy Carter shoots annoying animals...
Frank
Ann Swidler,at U Cal Berkeley, gave a presentation last evening which addressed this very topic, although she was speaking more broadly to the roles of African Chiefs, NGOs, governance and culture on HIV prevention and treatment rates.
ReplyDeleteWhat she found is that when historical modes of good governance are protected and public health initiatives respect the culture of that governance (role of chiefs, traditional healers, including those dreaded witches, shamans, etc.) and which involve the routine testing for HIV instead of by exception (patient request, public health messaging, stigma, etc.), prevention and treatment rates dramatically increase.
She also found, much to everyone's disappointment and perplexity to date, that condom use isn't having any measurable effect at this point in time, and so she wasn't too concerned about any negative effect resulting from the guy in the funny hat from Rome's tirade about them.
Lost my faith in Con-Doms after having a water baloon fight with some Navy Corpsman...OK, it was probably only 1% of the Penis Helmets that leaked, but its the Hivie you don't see that gets ya...Just remember...those Government Dick Blockers are made by the same guys who thought AIG was a good investment...
ReplyDeleteFrank, are you high?
ReplyDeleteSit back in your chair a moment and let your mind wander. Picture in your mind's eye, if you will, a grimy, shaggy, middle-aged man who stands ramrod straight, eyes wide, fists clinched. (This will be easy if you've spent much time in a big city.) His manic stare fixes slightly above the horizon line. He opens his mouth wide and "Aaaaaaaaa..." issues a loud, constant tone. Then he rants: "Coughed up a wad of Horseflies... Catholics suck... Barack is gay... Jimmy Carter shoots animals... Penis Helmets... its the Hivie you don't see that gets ya."
ReplyDeleteThe he dances a few crooked, jerky steps and shuffles off, head down and muttering.
Whoops, forgot my sig from the last comment:
ReplyDeleteBest,
Sam Spade
Hey Annon, First thing that goes with the Alzheimers is little things, like forgetting to sign your name...
ReplyDeleteand wat-evah...I can Moonwalk like Jacko in his Billie Jean prime and thanks for noticing the Ramrod Straight features but I'm DC only ... and anyways, its Sid thats got the 7 Plagues in his pad and can't figure out why...
Frank
See, I remember, Neurofibrillary Tangles Boy...
There you go again, Frank.
ReplyDeleteLeaving aside the "crazy homeless man" tease, you honestly do give the impression that your brain buzzes for a bit and then you ejaculate one of these clods. After compensating for the weird capitalization and punctuation I usually, but not always, figure out what you are getting after. To your credit you seem to have an active mind. Unfortunately you are also uncouth and garishly insecure, and no doubt clingy [shudder]. It's great that you mastered the Moonwalk! Treasure that focus and drive.
"See, I remember, Neurofibrillary Tangles Boy..." Credit where it's due: that was pretty funny.
Best,
Sam Spade
Perhaps Frank has been snared by a witch or an evil spirit. That would explain most of his posts.
ReplyDeleteReturning this discussion to the Pope's comments - yes, there is a comic element about this considering the elaborate, embellished theology of the Roman Catholic church. I went to Catholic school in the 1950's where we learned of cherubim, seraphim, archangels,guardian angels, and just plain old angels; of heaven, hell, purgatory, and limbo; of saints, the mystery of the Trinity, and a virgin birth; of original sin, venial sin, and mortal sin. Not to mention miracles, sacraments, divine interventions, and ..... well, you get the picture. Centuries of embellishments. Although it has created some beautiful Renaissance art. But it also makes witches and evil spirits look downright tame.
ReplyDeletespynster: Good point about art. The most moved I've ever been, art-looking-wise, was when I saw Michelangelo's Pieta in St. Peter's in Rome. Breathtaking, even for a non Christian, non believer.
ReplyDeleteAs to the rest: I can get why people believe in god. But the more into those absolutes and complexities, knowing for sure (as does a friend and respected colleague, a Catholic and a pathologist) into which level of heaven one will go, accepting all the other layers and levels and ghosts and goblins without the slightest wonderment at where it all came from, out of whose mind and over how many years and iterations; well, that's simply beyond my ability to understand, or to relate in any way.
I believe in god, science, and spirits that are present in our world among other things, there is a spirit world within our world. I have experienced many things throughout my life. However, I dare not to experience or seek out such things. I acknowledge it, have had many personal experiences that I obviously can not explain. I know it is there, I just don't seek it out.
ReplyDelete