Comments | gorkabear: I'm no longer a virgin!

gorkabear

I'm no longer a virgin!

Oct 26, 2008 22:38

This weekend has been the "Xavi and the Catholics" thing.

First of all, I did something I had never done before. Being born and raised in this city, which I love but which sometimes I loathe, I visited the Sagrada Família for the first time. Dominique (neoclyps ) made me do this! As a revenge, he says that I should ask him to go to the highest point open ( Read more... )

church, atheism, hate of church

Comments 20

paterson_si October 26 2008, 22:10:33 UTC

Well... I would love to lose my virginity with Sagrada Familia, too.... even though I am a straight atheist. :)

gorkabear October 27 2008, 07:44:31 UTC

Well, when are you coming to Barcelona? :)

paterson_si October 27 2008, 08:35:11 UTC

I think it might happen sometimes in Spring.

fingertrouble October 26 2008, 23:15:54 UTC

What I don't understand - why would they want to make a saint out of Alexia Gonzalez Barros? Because she was a girl who suffered? There are thousands if not millions of those.

Seems very odd to me. As does the whole Sainthood thing. Like some loyalty scheme...

gorkabear October 27 2008, 07:42:26 UTC

It's so ridiculous to non-catholic eyes, that they don't realize. Basically they have 2 or 3 cattegories of sainthood. People who were very good believers and are thought to have interceded between god and some people are beatified. This is the case of this girl and Gaudí. The only difference with "regular" people who suffer... Well, that some people are interested in promoting them to promote their religion. The case of this girl is so flagrant. While I can respect her faith and how she went through, the Opus is using her story to doctrinate people (www.alexiagb.org)

Then, those who have made miracles - which they have to "assess", are then elevated to the altars and become saints. Such is the case of the founder of the Opus Dei, who was a known pederast and a manipulator but since the Opus has invested a lot of efforts, they found "testimonies" of him healing ill people. So, through the fast way, he became a saint.

graeco_celt October 27 2008, 07:05:23 UTC

Man, people (both here and back in New Zealand) are always berating ME for not having been to La Sagrada Familia yet - and I've only been here for a year and a half!!! :D

I'm not a fan of organized religion either.
Also, apart from my own personal feelings on the matter, I grew up in a country that has traditionally been Anglican but can't actually be bothered, for the most part!
Consequently, living in a practising Catholic country has been very interesting for me - and, in many cases, also quite horrifying.

I must admit, I get a shiver every time I hear Rajoy or various bishops etc trotting out that line about 'leaving the past in the past'.

gorkabear October 27 2008, 07:44:10 UTC

Ah, so you now have placed yourself at one of the two Spains.

The thing is that while they're making beatus and saints their dead, they ignore the other people...

Well, Sagrada Família is quite worthy, if you like to see things being constructed. Now that the ceiling starts to be finished you can appreciate how magnficient is... But the museum at the basement is great.

vksi October 29 2008, 17:05:02 UTC

I hate all Churches too. I was of course baptised as (almost) all here in Slovenia but I went out of Church few years ago. It was quite difficult but I don't even want to be their statistical number.

gorkabear October 29 2008, 18:12:39 UTC

So did I :)
Congratulations

tilia_tomentosa November 2 2008, 22:08:21 UTC

"of course baptised as (almost) all here in Slovenia"? Viki, my grandparents arranged for my brother and me to be baptised SECRETLY at our godparents' house, and everybody was lucky that the priest was not an agent of the Communist party! I must have been between 10 and 12 years old, so I remember it. It was not illegal, but it was UNOFFICIALLY forbidden, and I suppose there would be some repressions for my godmother, but I don't know what exactly. We had the Soviet type of Communist rule here in Bulgaria, which was AGGRESSIVELY atheistic, (see also this for details http://tilia-tomentosa.livejournal.com/24023.html?thread=150743#t150743) and I'm ready to struggle tooth and nail for my right NOT to be an atheist.
But Catholicism seems to me an UNBEARABLE form of Christianity, I admit (we have the Eastern Orthodox Church in Bulgaria).

gorkabear November 2 2008, 23:18:39 UTC

Here it used to be almost compulsory... For instance, you couldn't get a passport if your local priest didn't sign it.
I guess all extremes are bad

Thread 13