Quote:
Originally Posted by sesame
Why do you think was Joan condemned by the Church of blasphemy and executed in a ghastly manner? On May the 30th 1431, she was tied to a pole and burnt alive in the middle of a marketplace!!
500 years later, this same Joan is cannonised to Sainthood by the Vatican Church!!
My querries are:
1)How can a "blasphemous witch", as she was called, become a saint over time?
2) Jesus said in essence to love your enemy as yourself---to pray for and bless your enemy. Now how can the Church disobey it's God and inflict inhumane torture? In so doing, the Church is going against Christ himself!
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I see Mel already beat me to the punch here, but I will tell you how I see it.
Question 1 Answer : First I would say that
saint and
witch are only labels. As labels they are only a tag which we use to denote something. Jeane d'Arc was neither a saint or a witch, her essence was/is separate from any label. Labels change and evolve over time. Ex. At one time the earth was
flat and the
center of the universe. If you didn't believe it, then off to the rack with you. Now we know the earth isn't flat, and we know that it certainly isn't anywhere near the center of the universe if there is such a position in a seemingly infinite cosmos. Yes, it is nice to know that the CC can change it's position on matters when it becomes politically expediant to do so. These guys are not stupid you know - witness the change in their stated position on evolution. This kinda leads into the next answer.
Question 2 Answer:
"Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them" - Mat 7-20
The church could disobey their god because:
1. They really didn't believe there is a god and thus did not believe they would be accountable for their actions. And/Or...........
2. They were able to rationalize their actions by dismissing the core teachings of Jesus and pouncing on older teachings in the Old Testement which advocates attacking your enemies. Instead of
turning the other cheek as Jesus advocated they were much more willing to
smite them hip and thigh.
It's almost as if their bible was the Satanic Bible which urges:
"Hate your enemies with a whole heart," The Satanic Bible advises. "And if a man
smite you on one cheek, smash him on the other!
Smite him hip and thigh, for self-preservation is the highest law!"
3. In those days, the heads of the church were oftimes the most despicable sons a bitches that walked the earth. They were power-mongers whose main aim was the preservation of their control at any and all cost. They ruled through ignorance and the threat of excommunication and all that entails. They had the authority and the power to do pretty damn near anything they wanted. To put it simply, they were the survivors. They stamped out any dissenting views as heretical; as you may or may not know, the Crusades weren't just against Muslims, they also were against other branches of Christianity. Look up the crusades against the Cathars and the Albigensians if you are not familir with this topic.
I know my church history, even more so than the Founding Fathers of the United States did. They didn't put in the clauses separating Church and State on a whim. Considering it's bloody, bloody past, the Catholic Church has come back closer today to what Jesus taught. But, they still have a hell of a long way to go. When they take most of the resources they have and devote them to really helping the children of Jesus; they will then approach the ideals he spoke of. Meanwhile the Cardinals travel around in limos and fly in private jets...........they are still rationalizing their behavior.
Perhaps by now you have thought to youself, "this guy is ranting." Yes, if that is how you see it. I too like Jesus know that "most do not have ears to hear, nor eyes to see" to paraphrase him. Most people are so locked into their regular habits of thought that they cannot see the Truth right in front of them. My hope is not that you will believe my convictions; rather my hope is that you will find out for yourselves. That you will search out the truth of the matter for yourselves. That you will gather evidence and arguments from differant sources and both sides of the question. That you will weigh the data in a rational manner and decide for yourself.
Ah, I need a break. Catch ya all later, alligators.
