Christian relic makes move to fight secularism

[Greendruid]

This should be amusing:

Benedict tapped a trusted Italian, Monsignor Rino Fisichella, to head the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization, which is designed to reinvigorate Christianity in the parts of the world where it is falling by the wayside.

The appointment of Fisichella marks a tacit acknowledgment by Benedict that his efforts to reinvigorate Christianity in places like Europe, where it has long had roots, needs a focused boost.
Benedict announced the creation of the new office earlier this week, saying it would promote Christianity in countries where the church has long existed "but which are living a progressive secularization of society and a sort of 'eclipse of the sense of God.'"


Source (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5is12X7Pw1Gmpbx8OkDDTercOx93wD9GLLDQG0)

I didn't know that the RC was this serious about evangelising to the heathen masses. This always struck me as a Protestant thing to do growing up but perhaps Non Sequitur can elaborate on that point.

I just think it's absolutely darling that the Pope's silly-looking red sunhat is called a Saturn ... you know ... the Roman god of agriculture and the harvest!

Anyway, this effort by the church to reinvigorate the West's march towards secularism sounds amusing to me. It strikes me as no different than atheist's bent on the destruction of religious institutions in society. Why can't religions be run more like Boy Scouts? (get your minds out of the gutter) They don't preach their values but are available for anyone to join. Some religions do this nicely, like the Quakers. How many of you have been awoken by the annoying din of a Quaker at your door on a Sunday morning? I welcome the Pope's evangelising heavies though and would cherish the opportunity to see their efforts go up in flames, metaphorically speaking of course :sneaky:

[Non Sequitur]

This should be amusing:





Source (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5is12X7Pw1Gmpbx8OkDDTercOx93wD9GLLDQG0)

I didn't know that the RC was this serious about evangelising to the heathen masses. This always struck me as a Protestant thing to do growing up but perhaps Non Sequitur can elaborate on that point.

I just think it's absolutely darling that the Pope's silly-looking red sunhat is called a Saturn ... you know ... the Roman god of agriculture and the harvest!

Anyway, this effort by the church to reinvigorate the West's march towards secularism sounds amusing to me. It strikes me as no different than atheist's bent on the destruction of religious institutions in society. Why can't religions be run more like Boy Scouts? (get your minds out of the gutter) They don't preach their values but are available for anyone to join. Some religions do this nicely, like the Quakers. How many of you have been awoken by the annoying din of a Quaker at your door on a Sunday morning? I welcome the Pope's evangelising heavies though and would cherish the opportunity to see their efforts go up in flames, metaphorically speaking of course :sneaky:

Aside from horrible timing (evangelizing at this moment in time seems like a bad idea) There is nothing too shocking here. Christianity is a mission orientated faith. There are better and worse ways of doing missions, but it's kind of central to the message.

As for the Pope's "sunhat", historically Christian theology and practice has had no problem adopting other religious icons and practices. Read Augustine's On Christian Doctrine.

[Michael]

I didn't know that the RC was this serious about evangelising to the heathen masses. This always struck me as a Protestant thing to do growing up but perhaps Non Sequitur can elaborate on that point.
How do you think that Catholicism became the largest Christian denomination in China and/or Africa? Suffice it to say that the process was neither spontaneous nor immaculate! ;)

Why can't religions be run more like Boy Scouts?

You can't be serious! :eek:

I can only say that you clearly are not familiar with that particular organization.

The Boy Scouts are officially a CHRISTIAN organization and you cannot become a Boy Scout unless you pledge your alligience to the Christian God (at every meeting - if your religion prevents this, GTFO). They are very front and center about this policy - to the point that the Boy Scouts are in serious terminal decline across North America (almost entirely dead in Canada already).

And the Boy Scouts have been challenged with dozens of lawsuits because of their outright religousness. In the USA this caused the Boy Scouts of America to lose their 'free' camping privileges in National Parks (deemed to be an illegal State subsidy to a religious organization).

The Boy Scouts have been confronted with this issue repeatedly and they keep doubling down on the religious basis of their organization. Their only path to survival is 'pure secularism' but they are not interested in that at all. Given present trendlines, it is only a matter of time before the organization is entirely dead.

[Michael]

Btw, shouldn't the title of this thread refer to "Christian Cleric" not "Christian relic"???

Say what you will about the RCC, they are not a relic yet. ;)

[Zarquon]

The RCC has already screwed Latin America, and is busy screwing Asia and Africa, this is surely more symbolic alarmism than a sincere effort (Like every corporation, the RCC knows damn well where the fastest growing and most lucrative markets are, and they aren't in western europe).

[The Drunk Guy]

How do you think that Catholicism became the largest Christian denomination in China and/or Africa? Suffice it to say that the process was neither spontaneous nor immaculate! ;)


You can't be serious! :eek:

I can only say that you clearly are not familiar with that particular organization.

The Boy Scouts are officially a CHRISTIAN organization and you cannot become a Boy Scout unless you pledge your alligience to the Christian God (at every meeting - if your religion prevents this, GTFO). They are very front and center about this policy - to the point that the Boy Scouts are in serious terminal decline across North America (almost entirely dead in Canada already).

And the Boy Scouts have been challenged with dozens of lawsuits because of their outright religousness. In the USA this caused the Boy Scouts of America to lose their 'free' camping privileges in National Parks (deemed to be an illegal State subsidy to a religious organization).

The Boy Scouts have been confronted with this issue repeatedly and they keep doubling down on the religious basis of their organization. Their only path to survival is 'pure secularism' but they are not interested in that at all. Given present trendlines, it is only a matter of time before the organization is entirely dead.The Mormons are the largest supporters of the Boy Scouts in the US. They use it as a means to slip Mormon ideas into little boys heads. Much more mild than what the Catholics slip into little boys heads. :eek:

[Michael]

The RCC has already screwed Latin America, and is busy screwing Asia and Africa, this is surely more symbolic alarmism than a sincere effort (Like every corporation, the RCC knows damn well where the fastest growing and most lucrative markets are, and they aren't in western europe).

Yes, I forget which pope said it, but quite a few years ago people pointed out that the RCC was in terminal decline in Western Europe and North America (not including Mexico of course!) and the pope's response was that the RCC was growing faster than ever before (China and Africa) and that overall, the number of RCC adherents was on an upward trend, so delclines in Western Europe and USA didn't really matter all that much.

It is obvious that the RCC has decided that this is a lame policy with respect to Western Europe and USA and thus, the policy announced in the OP is a way to at least make it appear that the RCC cares about this trend. I personally can't imagine how the RCC could presume to reverse that trend in Western Europe or USA. It just ain't going to happen.