Pope John Paul II’s sainthood is under consideration from Pope Benedict XVI and cardinals of the Catholic Church. To be officially recognized as a saint, or to be canonized, as the process is called, is not easily accomplished. Canonization is an arduous process, in which an investigation must be undertaken to examine the virtues of the deceased, as well as to determine if there was any wrongdoing in his or her life. There are any number of requirements which must be satisfied before canonization officially occurs, including the fact that if the canonized individual was not martyred, then he or she must have performed a miracle by his or her own intercession.
Saints and Sexual Abuse
April 12th, 2010Fight against the Hate Church
April 12th, 2010The Westboro Baptist Church is a dangerous and frightening organization. It is a church, yes, but it is also a hate group of terrifying vitriol and venom. The founder of the Church, Fred Phelps, is a disbarred attorney, and is also banned from ever entering the United Kingdom. He has helped his Church to implement some of the most horrible hate slogans imaginable, including such phrases as “God Hates F**s”, “Thank God for Dead Soldiers”, “America is Doomed” and “Priests Rape Boys”. The Church’s signs are offensive and garish, and the Church has often staged pickets of funerals for homosexual victims of hate crimes. The Westboro Baptist Church is almost like something out of a nightmare.
Soldiers Fear Jesus Rifles
April 12th, 2010It is oft considered something of a joke when someone comes out, claiming to have seen Jesus Christ in a tortilla chip, or on a piece of toast, or something similar. After all, putting aside any personal beliefs about religion that you may or may not have, it seems so utterly unlikely that Jesus Christ would choose to present himself in such a silly form. But two months ago, an aspect of Jesus Christ was found in a much more serious place: on the rifle scopes being used by American soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Christian Militias: Cognitive Dissonance with Weapons
April 12th, 2010Christianity is based upon the teachings of Jesus Christ, as recorded in the Bible. The Bible also includes numerous other teachings and sources, but all of these are secondary to those lessons presented by Christ. Furthermore, modern Christianity has focused itself even further by ignoring certain elements of Christ’s lessons, in order to create a fundamentally moral core for the modern world. There is a certain amount of illogic in doing so, but in the end, this is forgivable, as it shapes Christianity into a religion which should, at its heart, embrace forgiveness, mercy, generosity, and other such important human values. Except clearly, some elements of Christianity do not seem to understand this core kernel of Christ’s morality, as is best evidenced by the recent attack on a Michigan police officer by a Christian militia group.
The Unreasonable Faces of Christian Beliefs
April 12th, 2010Christians across America struggle daily with the inherent problems of faith. The path of the Christian believer is not an easy one to tread, not least because there are so many elements to today’s world that stand as sources of doubt for any Christian. After all, if nothing else a core, fundamental belief of Christians is that this world is governed by a God who is all powerful and benevolent. Why then, a Christian must ask, is the world in such a terrible state? If God is truly responsible for all natural events in the world, then why would the Christian God choose to send such an earthquake to Haiti? Why would He hit southeast Asia with such a devastating tsunami? These kinds of questions must plague modern-day Christians, as the presence of information creates newer and stronger doubts.