Hey ninteen
School is over Friday. It's been quite the adventure. As much as I hate what Xavier High School stands for, I have to give it props for making me realize that the Catholic Church is the embodiment of all evil. Well, maybe I can't go that far. But Christianity really sucks. If it weren't for Xavier I would have probably just gone along blindly accepting my faith all these years. I'm actually glad that I went through a hardcore religious period in high school because now I can look back on it and realize what a horrible person I was back then. I remember one time when I didn't want to pray before a show with the band because Brant wasn't Catholic and I thought Matt was a bad Catholic. I've never stopped hating myself for saying that. The weird thing is Brant actually agreed with me on it. I'm glad he's so much more chill now. I can't get over how much of an asshole I was when I went to church every week.
I guess now by biggest beef with the Church is its reluctance to support Liberation Theology. Our religion book makes it sounds like Liberation Theology is written into church doctrine, but in actuality the majority of it is rejected because of its ties to Marxism. And of course, Marxism is pure evil because it only leads to totalitarianism, right? Ok, and an oppressive social hierarchy doesn't? The church hates Marxism and Socialism and Communism so much because they are ideologies that are subversive to the hierarchy of the Church. Why would Christianity call for the destruction of all classes? Based on doctrine, isn't heaven a classless world? Oh, but trying to create heaven on Earth is absolutely wrong. That would be taking the Gospel with too worldly of a view. Hence why the Gospel of Thomas is so controversial. In truth, the Catholic Church, any other Christian church and Christianity in general are the the fulfillment of bigotry and discrimination in the world. Sure, we can live out the Option for the Poor and Vulnerable but we can't ever make the poor equal to the rich in society because that would eliminate the need for an afterlife. If the world were perfect, heaven would not exist. I don't think anyone can make the world a perfect place, but I don't think it's right to oppose ideas that might tear down the barriers between rich and poor. Catholic social teaching is a joke. It's a scam to make the Church look better. If Christians really wanted equality and freedom for all they would focus on this world and not the next. The idea of heaven is an excuse to do nothing about poverty in the here and now. I am aware of the Church's efforts to alleviate the suffering of the poor, but I think it's really been secular governments that have actually done anything about poverty. John Paul II opposed Romero's activism in the late 70s and excommunicated a number of bishops for trying to directly influence the politics of Latin American countries to do something about poverty and injustice. Benedict XVI is directly opposed to Liberation Theology. If one looks into the teaching of St. Paul, one will find countless speeches about not challenging authority. Jesus himself never challenged the Roman occupation of Palestine. He told people to pay their taxes to Caesar.
The Church has always disapproved of radicals. The Church is so anti-violence these days, but no pope has really apologized for the Crusades. John Paul's "apology" was pretty generic and merely called for people to put aside their violent pasts and work together for peace.
Sorry if what I'm saying is really weak and makes no sense. I don't really have time to go through and organize it and get more support for what I'm saying. I'm going to bring this all up in religion class tomorrow. There's no doubt about it now though, I'm conviced that religion is evil.
I guess now by biggest beef with the Church is its reluctance to support Liberation Theology. Our religion book makes it sounds like Liberation Theology is written into church doctrine, but in actuality the majority of it is rejected because of its ties to Marxism. And of course, Marxism is pure evil because it only leads to totalitarianism, right? Ok, and an oppressive social hierarchy doesn't? The church hates Marxism and Socialism and Communism so much because they are ideologies that are subversive to the hierarchy of the Church. Why would Christianity call for the destruction of all classes? Based on doctrine, isn't heaven a classless world? Oh, but trying to create heaven on Earth is absolutely wrong. That would be taking the Gospel with too worldly of a view. Hence why the Gospel of Thomas is so controversial. In truth, the Catholic Church, any other Christian church and Christianity in general are the the fulfillment of bigotry and discrimination in the world. Sure, we can live out the Option for the Poor and Vulnerable but we can't ever make the poor equal to the rich in society because that would eliminate the need for an afterlife. If the world were perfect, heaven would not exist. I don't think anyone can make the world a perfect place, but I don't think it's right to oppose ideas that might tear down the barriers between rich and poor. Catholic social teaching is a joke. It's a scam to make the Church look better. If Christians really wanted equality and freedom for all they would focus on this world and not the next. The idea of heaven is an excuse to do nothing about poverty in the here and now. I am aware of the Church's efforts to alleviate the suffering of the poor, but I think it's really been secular governments that have actually done anything about poverty. John Paul II opposed Romero's activism in the late 70s and excommunicated a number of bishops for trying to directly influence the politics of Latin American countries to do something about poverty and injustice. Benedict XVI is directly opposed to Liberation Theology. If one looks into the teaching of St. Paul, one will find countless speeches about not challenging authority. Jesus himself never challenged the Roman occupation of Palestine. He told people to pay their taxes to Caesar.
The Church has always disapproved of radicals. The Church is so anti-violence these days, but no pope has really apologized for the Crusades. John Paul's "apology" was pretty generic and merely called for people to put aside their violent pasts and work together for peace.
Sorry if what I'm saying is really weak and makes no sense. I don't really have time to go through and organize it and get more support for what I'm saying. I'm going to bring this all up in religion class tomorrow. There's no doubt about it now though, I'm conviced that religion is evil.