Also in the news: God's comment.

I heard the theory was that the Manti Te'o incident led the pope to question the presence of someone he supposedly had contact with but never saw in person.

Well this just got interesting...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/rel...t-humanity.html

That story is two years old.

And has lost none of its sting in those two years.

The pope officially resigned. They gave him the title "papa emeritus". So now the Roman church will have two popes.

Welcome to the 14th century.

The next Pope is going to be a very "make or break" person for the Catholic Church in the 21st century. If they just put another guy like Benedict XVI in the Vatican, I think the church is all but willing itself into obscurity and irrelevance.

The Catholic church will not be fading into obscurity any time soon, they are too rich to lose too much influence.

Either that, or a rather huge split between the "progressive" and "traditional" segments of the church. I rather like the idea of those American nuns who got chastised by the church for helping the needy and accepting diversity instead of condemning it starting their own group.

Yes, but women aren't seen as equals, they're always causing trouble!

They say Jesus had only men as teachers, which is why women can't be priests. Again, I really think organized religion uses Jesus as a figure head, and then that's where it stops. Jesus if he's depicted correctly, didn't seem he discriminated against anyone, except the wealthy. So the Vatican and Jesus don't really go together.

It's a boys club, some ran to it to avoid their own homesexual tendencies, maybe some joined the priesthood because they were deeply religous, and felt that was their place. But, the taste of power is there, and the more you move up, the less ones own ideals are left behind.

I'm sure there is someone there that would an awesome spokesperson, that actually is about love, and maybe even agrees with what Jesus was all about. But, he and never she, will ever be Pope. The one whose willing to play the game and politics will be the one whom is the next Pope.

They should stick to someone who has ties in Latin America and Africa, for they can still be easily scared.

If you are interested in how early Christians saw the role of women in the ministry, check out the "The Gospel According to Mary" from the Gnostic gospels (one of the "lost" books found with the dead sea scrolls). It has an interesting viewpoint that Mary Magdalene was just as much a disciple as the others, and that Jesus trusted her with some very important teachings. This book, along with others, was of course excluded from the main teachings of the church because it put women on an equal footing with the men, and of course the early church couldn't have that.

That's the funny thing about religious revanchism and conservative Christianity in general... If they actually got what they think they are technically asking for, the world would be even more progressive and open-minded than it is today. As much as I hate using the Bible and Jesus' teachings literally... if you take Jesus at his word, and ONLY his word... we'd be living in a collectivist anarcho-naturism. And we can't have that!

Yes, I'm sure there were many writings from gnostics to others that was left out of the Bible. If it didn't fit their view, it did not go in.

I agree with you about Mary Magadalene. She was around so much, that trying to paint her as a prostitute was the way to go with her- she was never a prostitute and the Vatican knows that. Because, Jesus, couldn't treat a woman as an equal, in a time- still in a time, when women aren't seen that way. They made her as someone that needed to be saved, which was why he hung around with her.

That Mary I'm sure was a big presence, and if you believe the Bible, the first person he came to, after his death, I wonder how That got left in??

I think it's good to be open to other beliefs, have your own, and debate of course. But, at the end of the day, it's what you believe that matters. The church can say all the want, and the do's and the don'ts, while hyprocarcy follows in suite.

There was only one Jesus, his name was Yeshua, and nobody how hard they try to will replace him, it will never happen. I know that's not quite what the Pope is, and yet, yes that's what the job is about.

I believe God comes to those in different ways, not so black and white.

Simple. If he'd gone directly to the men, they would know he was still alive and then we couldn't have An Aesop about believing in Jesus without asking for proof. Appearing to the women means that there are witnesses, but only the true believers will believe them.

Going to the women first was just a means of furthering the stories of the men. And we don't have to hear the womens' faith tested either, because that's not important, right?

The most interesting thing about the bible is...so many people (especially on this thread) have a lot to say about it yet know so little about it. Just to put it out there, there are things that you will not find in the bible like religion. There is no Christianity in the bible and there is no modern day Judaism in the bible either. It's quite interesting really. "Christian" is actually a derogatory term that the Romans called the Israelites who believed that Christ was the promised messiah.

The major tenants that the religion of Christianity upholds are actually lies according to the Holy Bible. For example: Celebrating Christmas, Easter (with the bunnies and eggs), Palm Sunday, Ash Wednesday, Sunday Sabbath (the Sabbath is actually Friday at sundown to Saturday at sundown) are just examples of some falsehoods that you will not find in the Bible. Also major things are lied about in modern religion like the fact that according to the bible, the messiah only came and died for the children of Israel not any and everyone (John 3:16 is purposely taken out of context). God in fact does hate people and when the messiah returns he will in fact kill a lot of people on Earth and those that are left will be taken as servants and maids and will serve the biological children of the 12 tribes of Israel in New Jerusalem. Which is the kingdom that was promised to the Israelites....

One major lie that religion pushes that you will not find in the bible is that when you die you go to heaven and live with God and the Angels or you go to hell and live with Satan. Hell is not a place but a condition played out on earth and the same goes for Heaven, though there are two heavens. Heaven where God lives and Heaven meaning the condition of ruler ship (think world domination). Hell is what the majority of the world (especially the "hidden ones" a.k.a 12 tribes of Israel) are living right now under the ruler ship of the elite. Though when you die, according to the bible your body goes into the ground and your spirit goes back to God. People are regenerated back into the earth (think reincarnation) though we do not remember who we were before or who we will come back as.

A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead. He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them...

After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight. When he was standing before it he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like Mother of Pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold. He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side! . When he was close enough, he called out, "Excuse me, where are we?"

"This is Heaven, sir," the man answered.

"Wow! Would you happen to have some water?" the man asked.

"Of course sir, Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up" The man gestured, and the gate began to open.

"Can my friend," gesturing toward his dog, "come in, too?" the traveler asked.

"I'm sorry sir, but we don't accept pets."

The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog. After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road which led through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence. As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book.

"Excuse me!" he called to the reader. "Do you have any water?"

"Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there.." The man pointed to a place that couldn't be seen from outside the gate. "Come on in."

"How about my friend here?" the traveler gestured to the dog.

"There should be a bowl by the pump."

They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it. The traveler filled the bowl and took a long drink himself, and then he gave some to the dog. When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree waiting for them.

"What do you call this place?" the traveler asked.

"This is Heaven," was the answer.

”Well, that's confusing," the traveler said. "The man down the road said that was Heaven, too."

"Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's Hell."

"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?"

"No. I can see how you might think so, but we're just happy that they screen out the folks who'll leave their best friends behind."