What He Said...

[wxyz]

THESE ARE MY WORDS | An Open Letter to the Archdiocese of Cincinnati

 

Andrew Short's commentary on the absolutely unbelievable policy recently adopted by the Diocese of Cincinnati.

[theguru]

Religion is going to die a slow death around the world over the next 50 or so years and policies like this just add nails to the coffin.

[spindoc]

Soon Christ will return and find the church like it's proclaimed by John the Revelator.

[Jumper_Dad]

Religion is going to die a slow death around the world over the next 50 or so years and policies like this just add nails to the coffin.

 

You think all religion or just Christianity is going to die?

[wxyz]

Religion is going to die a slow death around the world over the next 50 or so years and policies like this just add nails to the coffin.

 

I agree and it makes me sad.

[Bluegrasscard]

Can someone defined 'openly gay' vs. 'non-openly gay'? And how does behavior in a professional environment change depending on this status?

[theguru]

You think all religion or just Christianity is going to die?

 

All religion.

[Hellbird]

Religion won't die a slow death in the next 50 years. Religion will always be a part of our society. What is going to change however is the number of people who attend church each week. I do not attend as much as maybe I should but it has nothing to do with religion but everything to do with politics.

 

Yes religions have always had political views weaved within each religion and church etc. Yet that isn't what I go to church for. I go to Church to hear the word of God, not a political statement on who we should vote for or how much money we should give etc.

 

I was raised a Roman Catholic and I attended Blessed Sacrament School until I went to High School. I would attend Church religiously (pardon the pun).

 

I then joined the military and as I moved around the country and world during my years in the military I finally settled down in South Carolina where I met my wife. The Church I went to in SC started to become very one dimensional. Every week the priest had one purpose for his sermons. They were all about give more money to this church. Each week had the feel of a telethon and all they were concerned with was raising money. It was a big turn off especially for a young kid with not much money to begin with.

 

When I got enganged we went to our priest at that church to ask if he could marry us. Well his reason he gave was because he said we were too young. The real reason was because we didn't give enough money in the offering plate each week. He kept track of how much was donated by all the families who were members of the church because everyone had their own envelopes with names etc. on them and so each week he would keep tabs on how much you gave. So because of his own greed he refused to marry us in the Catholic Church. We found a nice minister from another church that would perform the service. That episode really opened my eyes to what that Church's priorities really were. Turned me off of attending mass. We still went through all the pre marital counseling sessions etc. and even though the priest declared the reason was because we were too young, we have just celebrated our 26th anniversary.

 

I am still very religious I feel, I just don't attend Mass every week and it's because of the personal views of the priest turned politcal slants instead of simply teaching the bible.

 

 

So I don't feel Religion is going to die, I feel people will still worship in their own ways but maybe not with their respected Churches as much.

[PP1]

The letter is well written but I think the comparison to the Westboro Baptist Church is kind of ridiculous.

But we can't blame the Catholic Church for not changing their stance on homosexuality. The Catholic Church has always believed that homosexuality, divorce, having children out of wedlock, suicide, and other things are sins. They have believed this for centuries, why are we surprised that this has come out?

 

I also would say that the "Liberal Side" of our society also attacks the conservative side in very much the same way. The CEO of starbucks a few years ago told his franchisees that if they support the marriage amendment that they should consider selling their businesses.

 

I would say that their are many negative attacks in this letter by Andrew Short as well. Is he becoming the same judgmental bigot that he is fighting against?

 

Just some food for thought.

[spindoc]

The letter is well written but I think the comparison to the Westboro Baptist Church is kind of ridiculous.

But we can't blame the Catholic Church for not changing their stance on homosexuality. The Catholic Church has always believed that homosexuality, divorce, having children out of wedlock, suicide, and other things are sins. They have believed this for centuries, why are we surprised that this has come out?

 

I also would say that the "Liberal Side" of our society also attacks the conservative side in very much the same way. The CEO of starbucks a few years ago told his franchisees that if they support the marriage amendment that they should consider selling their businesses.

 

I would say that their are many negative attacks in this letter by Andrew Short as well. Is he becoming the same judgmental bigot that he is fighting against?

 

Just some food for thought.

Well stated.

[UKMustangFan]

Religion is going to die a slow death around the world over the next 50 or so years and policies like this just add nails to the coffin.

 

That's just silly. Religion will never "die" no matter how much people wish it would.

[halfback20]

All religion.

 

Not going to happen.

[Content1]

I see more non-believers coming to Christ than I have ever seen before.

 

Organized "religion" may take a beating every now and then, however, more folks are growing with their relationship with Christ. I find myself reading the Bible more now than ever before. I hope you all do the same! :thumb:

[LIPTON BASH]

Religion is going to die a slow death around the world over the next 50 or so years and policies like this just add nails to the coffin.

 

I know this is an opinion but it's hard to understand where you get this idea with no evidence to support it.

[theguru]

I know this is an opinion but it's hard to understand where you get this idea with no evidence to support it.

 

There is actually lots of evidence to support it. I was recently watching a "science show" and they provided some empirical data. However, I don't remember which show.

 

For starters check this out:

 

This ratio is changing. According to a 2013 survey of 14,000 people in 13 nations (Germany, France, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Israel, Canada, Brazil, India, South Korea, the U.K. and the U.S.) that was conducted by the German Bertelsmann Foundation for its Religion Monitor, there is both widespread approval for the separation of church and state, as well as a decline in religiosity over time and across generations.

 

In response to the statements “Only politicians who believe in God are suitable for public office” and “Leading religious figures should exercise an influence on government decisions,” even in über-religious America only 25 percent agreed with the former and 28 percent with the latter. All other countries reported lower figures (with Spain at or near the bottom at 8 and 13 percent and Germany in the middle at 10 and 21 percent, respectively). Moreover, most of the countries in the survey showed a declining trend in religiosity, especially among the youth. In Spain, for example, 85 percent of respondents older than 45 reported being moderately to very religious, but only 58 percent of those younger than 29 said they were. In Europe in general, only 30 to 50 percent said that religion is important in their own lives.

 

Why the decline? One factor is the dramatic spread of democracy around the globe over the past half a century. Most people surveyed agreed that democracy is a good form of government, with no differences across religious faiths. One of the features of a democracy is the disentanglement of the sacred from the secular because in religiously pluralistic countries no one can legitimately claim special status by faith membership. Democracies also have higher literacy rates and mass education that lead to a tolerance for the beliefs of others that, in turn, lowers the absolutism most religions in the past required, thus undermining the truth claims of any one religion over others.

 

Is God Dying? - Scientific American

 

 

Also, check this story out again:

 

To answer your question because many people are free thinkers that were not brainwashed from an early age to believe this particular brand of fiction.

 

I did a quick search and found the following but in short about 20% of Americans are non-believers and among Americans under 30 it rises to almost a 1/3 of Americans are non-believers. Here is the info from the article:

 

Back in July, some readers might have been surprised when TheBlaze reported that one in five Americans now consider themselves atheists, agnostics or “nones.” While some may have dismissed the figure then or questioned its accuracy, a new analysis from the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life confirms a growth in secular world-views — and a decline in religious adherence — among U.S. adults.

 

This morning, Pew announced its new findings that show a rapid increase in individuals who claim they are unaffiliated with a faith or religious structure. While approximately 20 percent of the nation’s adults fall into this category (19.6 percent, to be exact), the new proportions also show a startling result among America’s young people: One-third of those individuals under the age of 30 are unaffiliated.

 

 

Pew: 20% of Americans Are Now Atheist, Agnostic or Unaffiliated With a Religion | TheBlaze.com