The issue isn’t whether we ought to give a shit, the issue is the guy’s motives for pulling this stunt. Using a deliberately distorted and inflammatory account (I don’t for a moment seriously believe a university professor doesn’t actually know about WW2) indicates that he’s more motivated by “anti-Catholicism” than “anti-bullshit”.
I didn’t read exactly what he wrote plus I didn’t really give a shit because it’s not especially relevant to the discussion.
Which is irreleeveant, because Catholcis don’t claim that it hurts Jesus. What we do claim is that it is sacred, holy essence handed down by God himself.
This man is an asshole who meant insult Catholicism and many other Christians, too), entered a church fraudulently (he is invited to Mass, but taking the Host is a huge no-no and he was being deliberately deceptive), stole what does not actually belong to him as personal property, and then deliberately desecrated it. That may not be criminal, but it is ugly and depraved.
No, his motives are of no relevance whatsoever. The thread topi is supposed to be whether Catholics like Bill Donhue are hypocrites for whining about it.
And Myers isn’t anti-Catholic, he’s anti-religion in general.
What does this actually mean? What exactly is “sacred holy essence,” and what injury is done to mankind by putting a nail in it?
Do you have a cite that he acquired this host this way?
Calling it “depraved” is ridiculous. It’s just a piece of bread. The word “depraved” should be reserved for acts that actually cause some sort of injury to other people. This kind of hyperbole is very difficult to take seriously.
His motives are clearly relevant to the OP’s issue. Catholics have every right to “whine” about a display of anti-Catholic bigotry (and do not display any “hypocrisy” in so doing), and his motives and actions in pulling this stunt demonstrate reasonably clearly that this is exactly what it was.
they really aren’t, though. Myers’ motives do not alter the question about hypocrisy.
No one has said they don’t have the right, but all of their whining is still purely voluntary and recreational and arguably hypocritical. They aren’t actually being injured. Sorry. Nobody is making them read PZ Myers’ blog. They should rub some cream on their butts and move on.
Well, thanks for admitting that you don’t actually read what people write when responding to their posts, though I must say it doesn’t help your credibility.
That said, it’s pretty clear from this post that you were claiming that it was “a fact” that Germany was a Catholic nation.
So either you didn’t know the truth or didn’t care what the truth actually was.
Good to know.
You can talk about the actual topic now if you want.
Arguably, wouldn’t the last time a “Catholic nation” engaged in large-scale religion-based violence be Serbia off-and-on through the 1990s?
That was Serbian Orthodox.
Well, Catholic Lite, whatever. It’s certainly closer then 20th-century Germany.
I don’t find much in either of those links to justify the claim that most Catholics and other Christians are “horrified”. The first link is from a Christian who seems to find the incident funny, the second from one a Catholic who seems irritated. Where’s the “horrified”? And how exactly are you judging of most of the world’s ~2.2 billion Christians after looking at only two personal reactions?
Nonetheless, to slightly expand your sample size, I am not horrified nor irritated nor amused, but just thankful that I’m not as desperate for publicity as Mr. Myers is. (Then again my denomination lets dogs take communion, so I guess our approach isn’t the same as that of the Catholics.)
The war in Yugoslavia in the 90’s was started by Slobidan Milosevic, who was an atheist. Like his predecessor Tito, he had a particularly strong penchant for violence against Catholics. I, too, am pretty puzzled by any claim that Catholics have waged mass religious violence in the past century, but then again that sort of bizarre claim seems to come pretty standard from those who have dedicated their lives to hating Catholics.
Bill Donohue is definitely a hypocrite, by the way. He himself has made some pretty ridiculous antisemitic and homophobic comments.
I don’t think he really speaks for many Catholics, though. His Catholic League is self created and has no affilaition or endorsement from the Catholic Church. It’s just a money making scam for him.
What a load of disingenuous crap. The Bosnian genocide was a state sponsored genocide of Muslims by Christians. Don’t try to say it wasn’t. It was.
Perhaps I’m not reading you correctly. Are you saying that Slobidan Milosevic was not dictator of Yugoslavia at the time? Or are you saying that he was a Christian?
Communion Hosts are generally distributed for the express purpose of communicating the faithful at that time and place, not to be removed from the premises and used for whatever purpose the recipient wishes. Think of it as akjin to an on-premises liquor license or an all-you-can-eat buffet: the bottle of beer you receive at the first, the plate of food you take at the second, are to be consumed there, not taken with you when you leave – in fact, that is generally expressly prohibited.
“Not sharing a belief” is indeed not an insult. Going beyond not sharing a belief to treat with contempt what the believers consider should be treated with reverence, however wrong you may find their belief, is very likely an insult to them. I do not share your belief in your own expertise. That is not in itself an insult. Taking you to task for it with Pit-style vitriol here in GD would in fact be an insult to you and to our fellow Dopers; doing so in the Pit, probably still an insult to you. (I have no intention of doing so; I’ve found that an analogy to an aspect of someone’s own worldview often helps bring home a point, especially a clarification or the drawing of a distinction.)
IMO, he’s saying that whatever the beliefs or lack thereof of Milosevic, radicals among the Serbian Orthodox were at the heart of much of the atrocities.
I’m saying it’;s irrelevant how Milosevic identified himself. The genocide was committed by Christians against Muslims and Miolosevic deliberately appealed to that religionsism.