Pope's Encyclical Blasts Atheism

[MommaSquid]

Linkage:  http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepubli ... l1201.html

Associated Press
Dec. 1, 2007 12:00 AM

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI strongly criticized atheism in a major document released Friday, saying it has led to some of the "greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice" ever known.

In his second encyclical, the pope also critically questioned modern Christianity, saying its focus on individual salvation has ignored Jesus' message that true Christian hope involves salvation for all.

The document, titled "Saved by Hope," is an exploration of Christian hope: that in the suffering and misery of daily life, Christianity provides the faithful with a "journey of hope" to the kingdom of God.

"We must do all we can to overcome suffering, but to banish it from the world is not in our power," the pontiff wrote. "Only God is able to do this."

An encyclical is the most important papal document, addressed to all members of the 1 billion-member Roman Catholic Church.

The pope sharply criticizes Karl Marx and the 19th- and 20th-century atheism spawned by his revolution, although Benedict acknowledges that both were responding to the deep injustices of the time.

"A world marked by so much injustice, innocent suffering and cynicism of power cannot be the work of a good God," the pope wrote. But he said the idea that mankind can do what God cannot by creating a new salvation on Earth is "both presumptuous and intrinsically false."

"It is no accident that this idea has led to the greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice," he wrote. "A world which has to create its own justice is a world without hope."

Apparently the pope is unfamiliar with the history of christianity if he can charge atheism with the "greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice".

[McQ]

Yep, I just read this thing this morning. One word...crusades.

[Will]

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

...oh god my side hurts... Hey, Popers? You evolved from an ape in denial. Or perhaps from a kettle.

[myleviathan]

A world which has to create its own justice is a world without hope."

What a base, destructive view of humanity and the progress it's made through secular government. That comment makes me sick.

[Will]

I miss John Paul. I mean, he was a theist, no doubt, but he was someone who understood reason, equality, fairness, humility, etc. way better than Benedict. Benedict is a dick(t?). He treats people with disrespect and is clearly more of the conservative radical type, which may very well set back 40 years of Vatican 2 progress. You know what we need? An atheist pope. It'd really bring things into perspective. I volunteer.

[myleviathan]

You get to wear a SWEET hat.

[Mister Joy]

The distinction that many Christians fail to grasp is that while you can get atheists who are evil people, given, this cannot be directly attributed to their atheism in the same way that Charles Manson's idiotic fantasies, say, can be directly attributed to theism. An atheist cannot be driven to commit atrocious acts in the name of the theory of evolution, or big bang, as a Christian could be driven to do the same in the name of God. With something like the crusades, any sensible person can clearly see the religious motives. With somebody like Hitler (who at various points called himself a Christian, an atheist and even invented his own form of paganism) you can't say "he incited genocide because of his lack of faith" simply because that would be a lie. He did what he did because he was a racist wanker with a huge chip on his shoulder about having been a tramp in Venice after WWI.

[SteveS]

Atheism = evil?  Ridiculous.

I volunteer.

I would happily vote for you, if only I was a Cardinal  :?

[Will]

First thing: I need my little bro to be Cardinal of Florida and to mess with the chads. The rest will b easy as pie.

[SteveS]

Combined with a butterfly ballot, you couldn't lose!