Happy Easter!

Quote: FrGamble

The crucifix is a reminder of the love

Oh, it's love that has Jesus perpetually
nailed to the cross. Not guilt. Having
that in your face 24/7 makes people
feel loving.

Seriously, are you giggling when you
write stuff like this? Cause I am..

Quote: FrGamble

For Catholics the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is an eternal event.

No, it's an eternal melodrama that you
continue to milk for all it's worth. You
will keep poor old Jesus nailed to that
cross as long as it serves the selfish
aims of the Church. Which is power
and money, same as every other
righteous 'cause' in the world.

I think a crucifix does remind me that Jesus still suffers with our brothers and sisters who are hungry, poor, oppressed, sick, in despair, or dying.

Quote: FrGamble

Step two: the Resurrection of Jesus is the best explanation of these facts

Step one: Fiction, including religious myths, is usually self-consistent.

Step two: I will not accept the New Testament as truth just because there are no major plot holes in the A-storyline.

Quote: FrGamble

I think a crucifix does remind me that Jesus still suffers with our brothers and sisters who are hungry, poor, oppressed, sick, in despair, or dying.

That's a nice touch, but it makes most
people feel guilty that he went thru all
that for THEIR sins, whatever that means.
So they feel a crushing guilt, as they were
meant to when the crucifix was invented.

People forget that just because there were
no cars and planes and cell phones 1500
years ago, that doesn't mean there weren't
very smart people around. Just as smart as
we are today, only not tech wise. They
turned all their brain power into manipulating
people to their advantage. Everything we see
in the Church was designed to do that, keep
the rabble in line. But nothing works forever.

This is the first time I ever remember you extolling the intelligence of ancient people and it is quite refreshing to hear. Of course you immediately ruin it by thinking everyone is so stained with original sin that were using all their brain power into manipulating people to their advantage. You also seem very hung up on guilt, I don't know why that is, but when I see a crucifix I don't feel guilt but love.

Quote: FrGamble

T You also seem very hung up on guilt, I don't know why that is, but when I see a crucifix I don't feel guilt but love.

It's not me, it's all the ex Catholics all
my life that talk about Catholic guilt.
How it's drilled into their heads every
day of Catholic school.

When I see a crucifix I feel nothing,
or mild revulsion. At least I don't
feel guilt, thank the gods..

I'm sure you feel guilt sometimes, its not always a bad thing.

Quote: FrGamble

I'm sure you feel guilt sometimes,

Not Catholic guilt, the 'no place to run away
from it' type of guilt. The guilt that makes you
dependent on the Church for life, the guilt
that was instilled in you on purpose to control
you. Insidious guilt. Long before Sigmund
Freud started studying human behavior, the
smart people who ran the Church were way
ahead of him.

Isn't guilt a natural and healthy feeling when we do something we know is wrong? You make it sound like the Church invented it. What Christianity does offer is a healthy way of dealing with that guilt by trusting in God's unconditional love for you and making changes in your life. This allows you to not let guilt get the better of you and fester into despair and shame. The whole point of the Church is to allow love and conversion to lift you out of your guilt so that you may be truly free. It has nothing to do with control; why do you keep saying that?