Joseph Stalin, seminarian

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/020614.html

First of all, let me point out that I’m not the PC-fixed kind of guy who runs amuck (verbally) whenever he detects the slightest misformulation in a hot topic. Nonetheless, I’d like to say I disapprove of parts of this particular column.

Cecil seems to compare the procedures in an orthodox Christian seminary, and possibly even the Church as a whole, to Stalin’s ruthless totalitarian regime. JS was inspired about how to oppress people in the seminary, there are parallels between his dictatorship and the system of the Church, and the like.

As much as I stand in awe whenever uttering his name, I think Cecil overdid the anti-clerical jokes thing here. If I were an Orthodox, I’d demand an apology.

You are aware that Unc’s a smartass, right? I mean, you did read the registration agreement and the FAQ where it says, “Warning: We got us a resident shoot-from-the-hip smartmouth sometime-PITA, and only the fact that he’s also a genius keeps the Chicago Reader from tossing him out into the alley when he lets fly with another column full of smartass remarks. And unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond the Reader’s control, and involving a series of Polaroid photographs, he’s got a note from God excusing him from ever having to apologize.”

Okay. Just checking. :smiley:

Schnitte, it looks like reading comprehension classes are in order; aside from a couple of yuk-yuks about terrorizing altar boys and the like, Cece’s article mainly says that Stalin hated the seminary, they hated him, and the only inspiration Stalin retained from those days was a determination to wipe out Christianity in the USSR.

To quote the Great Guru himself, “About the only people this column has failed to offend already in its checkered history are left-handed Anabaptists–and just wait till they get a load of next week’s blockbuster.”

Luv that line.