Yes, really.

If this sort of thing keeps up, our grandchildren will dress exclusively in sackcloth and eat mud.

It's the twenty-first fucking century, and humanity still has to put up with this sort of infantile bullshit?

But, Trog, no one expects...

I fully support this exorcism squadron, as long as it's made up of a bunch of rough and tumble priests who don't get along too well but end up coming through for each other, when faced by the utter evil that leaks forth from hell, or, if none is available, the odd seizure, and undiagnosed mental illness.

And, by The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit, they mighn't do things by the book, but they get results.

"I got your exorcism right here."

I think TM hits the apposite chime:

exorcism was virtually a thing of the past until Hollywood made this movie, The Exorcist . The bulk of the Satan scares of the 70s-90s were directly spawned from that movie and the hysteria it incited in a suggestible mass consciousness.

Lithos, I see, has already written the trailer blurb for the next superstitious blockbuster movie/game hybrid.

First thing these squads will be confronted by is the challenge of removing the alien brain implant the pope has recently been seen wearing:



(It brings out the evil oyster gleam of his eyes.)

When I was still a practicing Catholic ca. 50s, early 60s, the church taught that exorcism, possession and such were the childish superstitions of a medieval past. In those days, some of the top psychologists in the country were priests (mostly Jesuits). Now the church is retreating to the Middle Ages again. It must be desperation time.

"Vatican sets up 'exorcist squads' to fight Satan"

quote:

Originally posted by John Maddox Roberts:
When I was still a practicing Catholic ca. 50s, early 60s, the church taught that exorcism, possession and such were the childish superstitions of a medieval past. In those days, some of the top psychologists in the country were priests (mostly Jesuits). Now the church is retreating to the Middle Ages again. It must be desperation time.

Anything to get our minds off papal pedophilia. (Ooh: 'papal ped...' just plain *sounds* nasty.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: kenmeer livermaile,

quote:

Originally posted by Gromit:
Yes, really.

If this sort of thing keeps up, our grandchildren will dress exclusively in sackcloth and eat mud.

It's the twenty-first fucking century, and humanity still has to put up with this sort of infantile bullshit?

I posted that in Whoa News.
And said "come get some."
For real.

quote:

"Vatican sets up 'exorcist squads' to fight Satan"

Fighting demons from inside
Fearless men who hump and hide
Men who mean just what they pray
The brave priests of the Black Beret

Silver crosses on their chest
These are priests, the Vatican's best
One hundred priests will test today
But only three win the Black Beret

Trained to live off simple minds
Trained in brainwash, mind-through-blind
Priests who keep demons at day
Courage peak from the Black Berets

Silver crosses on their chest
These are priests, the Vatican's best
One hundred priests will test today
But only three win the Black Beret

Back at home a young boy waits
His Black Beret has met his fate
He has lost his courtroom case
Leaving just a settlement chase

Put silver cross on your son's chest
Make him one of the Vatican's best
He'll be a priest they'll sue one day
Then he'll win the Black Beret.

The more or less inevitable result of having a group of old men setting the policies for an institution spanning a billion people and five continents. It doesn't help that in order to get into a position where they can influence the policies of the organisation they need to demonstrate that they've accepted the pre-existing policies of the current regime.

Institutionalised religion is icky and brutal.

Religion is more or less designed to maintain its meme. It is designed against evolution and reassessment.

This is what has made it so successful and, not coincidentally, one of the main reasons it buts up against science.

Science is designed to evolve and incorporate new data while religion is designed to remain pure and undiluted.

quote:

Religion is more or less designed to maintain its meme. It is designed against evolution and reassessment.

Not so, say I. It *is* extremely conservative, but in highly flexible ways. Have to be when you're selling snake oil.

I've always looked at it as being open to interpretation.

Whatever religion you look at it all comes back to a starting point, but the values it endorses and stories it emphasizes and the lessons it tries to teach change with each generation.

When the Christians first showed up in Rome they were the great anti-authoritarians of the age. Once they became the state religion and became part of the ruling forces they became extremely authoritarian.

Even that's a grave simplification when you look at all of the heresies that the various state churches have denounces over the last two thousand years. Most of them would have considered themselves Christian, they just interpreted the source material differently.

But bad stuff happens when you institutionalize an ideology and give total power over a small group of people.

Agreed. Any ideology formed by a man who sought absolute political power on earth while claiming to know the will of god and the rules which determine each man's fate in the eternal beyond is not to be trusted. Whether that's Catholic doctrine, or [whistling innocently], you know, any other system that might fit that description.

Catholic Sargent: "I'm not going back in there. If that guy is possessed by the devil then let the devil have him."

Catholic Colonel: "We have to go back in there. It's our job. This Trogdor fellow has, by no fault of his own, been overcome by the power of Satan. We alone can save him."

Catholic Sargent: "Sir, he threw up on me. Human vomit. That's not in my job description, putting up with that. It smells."

Catholic Colonel: "Nonsense. He spit orange juice on you."

Catholic Sargent: "I don't like orange juice."

I think the old boy would be a lot happier if he just loosened up a bit...

quote:

Originally posted by Splitcoil:
Agreed. Any ideology formed by a man who sought absolute political power on earth while claiming to know the will of god and the rules which determine each man's fate in the eternal beyond is not to be trusted. Whether that's Catholic doctrine, or [whistling innocently], you know, any other system that might fit that description.

You whistle about as innocently as my cousin Fiona blows cops.