Pope calls for UN reform.

[Grays Harbor]

wow. no bias at that website, hnh?

[Treznor]

wow. no bias at that website, hnh?

Of course there is. It's an essay, which is why I described it as "thought provoking." Dawkins goes much more in-depth, but his work hasn't been published online that I'm aware of.

As I said, you don't have to believe it. I'm fine with that. Let's do all we can to encourage education and see if it has any effect on religious devotion.

[Galloism]

wow. no bias at that website, hnh?

Of course there is. It's an essay, which is why I described it as "thought provoking." Dawkins goes much more in-depth, but his work hasn't been published online that I'm aware of.

As I said, you don't have to believe it. I'm fine with that. Let's do all we can to encourage education and see if it has any effect on religious devotion.

Ok. Sounds good to me.

[Buffett and Colbert]

I find this to be thought-provoking. I found the quote from Dr. Dawkins to be most interesting: "The only website I could find that claimed to list 'Nobel Prize-winning Christians' came up with six, out of a total of several hundred scientific Nobelists. Of these six, it turned out that four were not Nobel Prize-winners at all; and at least one, to my certain knowledge, is a non-believer who attends church for purely social reasons."

Hey, you don't have to believe it. That being the case, you shouldn't have a problem with an increased focus on education, right?

Wow that's disconcerting. Not the quote itself, but that you mentioned it. I just read that chapter last night!

[Greed and Death]

wow. no bias at that website, hnh?

You could read it or its methodology and attack the article directly rather then attacking the article's author.

[Grays Harbor]

wow. no bias at that website, hnh?

You could read it or its methodology and attack the article directly rather then attacking the article's author.

wasn't attacking anything, so you can get off your soapbox. i made a statement of fact.

[Greed and Death]

wow. no bias at that website, hnh?

You could read it or its methodology and attack the article directly rather then attacking the article's author.

wasn't attacking anything, so you can get off your soapbox. i made a statement of fact.

But it is my Soap Box.

[Gift-of-god]

Well, I think we can safely say that any man who can somehow weasel himself into the head position of the world's largest religion is not an uniteligent Christian, so let's assume that the Pope somehow bucks the trend and is actually quite smart. And stop hijacking the thread with pointless discussions.

If this does have an impact on the developing world, I wonder how that will shape entrepreneurship there?

[Gift-of-god]

As figure head for 1/6 of the world's population and the leader of a sovereign entity he has every right to call for reformations to the "United Nations". Hell, anyone NOT calling for reformations of the vastly ineffective organization is off their rocker.

So, do you then support his calls for reforms?

[New Limacon]

This isn't really anything new. Leo XIII back in the 19th century wrote the famous Rerum Novarum (not to be confused with Rerun Novarum, the encyclical they showed during the summer) which would probably be considered economically leftist, even today. More recently, John Paul II had Centesimus Annus, literally, the 100th year after Rerum Novarum. Benedict has spoken about these things, too, though not in an encyclical.
So I applaud the Pope, but while the actual details may be new, the message is just as standard as opposing abortion. It's just not one trumpeted as much, which isn't surprising.

[Gift-of-god]

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNew ... V520090708

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict Wednesday effectively removed the Vatican official who was widely blamed for a controversy involving a bishop who denied the Holocaust.

Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos was president of the Vatican department set up 20 years ago to seek a rapprochement with a hard-core traditionalist splinter group at the center of the Holocaust-denial scandal that erupted in January.

The pope has now put that department, known as Ecclesia Dei, under the control of the Vatican's doctrinal department and has named American Cardinal Joseph Levada as its new president.

Apparently Ratzinger is on a progressive roll of some sort.

[Psychotic Mongooses]

Apparently Ratzinger is on a progressive roll of some sort.

Which is most unlike him... wonder if he's sick...

[Treznor]

Apparently Ratzinger is on a progressive roll of some sort.

Which is most unlike him... wonder if he's sick...

That's cruel. Don't tease me like that!

[Greed and Death]

This isn't really anything new. Leo XIII back in the 19th century wrote the famous Rerum Novarum (not to be confused with Rerun Novarum, the encyclical they showed during the summer) which would probably be considered economically leftist, even today. More recently, John Paul II had Centesimus Annus, literally, the 100th year after Rerum Novarum. Benedict has spoken about these things, too, though not in an encyclical.
So I applaud the Pope, but while the actual details may be new, the message is just as standard as opposing abortion. It's just not one trumpeted as much, which isn't surprising.

It is one of the things I find failing in the church.
All they are today is moralizers including calling for the world to end suffering by sharing.

[Secruss]

Eh. Pope.

[Grave_n_idle]

...including calling for the world to end suffering by sharing.

...which is... bad?

[Grave_n_idle]

86% of the world is religious, of which 33% are Christian.

...which doesn'r address what you were addressing, unless you somehow relate those figures to education... no?

[KaIashnikov]

He was Hitler-Youth he knows how to do it! Kill 'em all!

[Pope Joan]

The World Bank and the IMF do not need "real teeth".

They are bad enough as they are, filled with ideas about endless growth of the consumer economy.

[Greed and Death]

...including calling for the world to end suffering by sharing.

...which is... bad?

Moralizing is moralizing.
It is just as bad to tell someone they must give their money to the poor, as it is to tell a pregnant teen they can not get an abortion.

[Tmutarakhan]

86% of the world is religious, of which 33% are Christian.

86% have some nominal religious affiliation, inherited from their parents; but the fraction who actually attend any kind of worship services regularly, or who would express agreement if asked with the traditional beliefs of their nominal religion, is very much smaller, and shrinking all the time, particularly in countries that are becoming better educated and more modernized. This is not restricted to the top-tier wealthiest countries, or to the Christian world: Buddhist shrines in Thailand are seeing the same drop-off in attendance as Catholic churches in Spain.

[Grave_n_idle]

...including calling for the world to end suffering by sharing.

...which is... bad?

Moralizing is moralizing.
It is just as bad to tell someone they must give their money to the poor, as it is to tell a pregnant teen they can not get an abortion.

But moralising isn't bad....

And, if we CAN end suffering by sharing... shouldn't we?

[Pritisakiah]

The Pope has no right to make demands about anything political, especially things like contraception and abortion, when he is (we hope) celibate. He's entitled to believe the archaic moral decrees of ancient Hebrew scribblings if he wishes, but he shouldn't expect to be able to impose them on anyone else. Having said that, I do agree with his economic suggestions.

[Starblaydia]

So, the Pope has demanded a reform of the UN...

He wants them to call it the World Assembly?

[Molested Sock]

So, the Pope has demanded a reform of the UN...

He wants them to call it the World Assembly?

Does that mean we can send them a cease and desist order now?