Religion: Catholics, Episcopalians, Atheists, All Are Welcome!

[St. Clown]

US Catholics get reamed out by Papa.

No, not that way.

Correction: It’s not that way this time.

[MissThundercat]

Wow. A bishop in the Episcopal Church will not be working while under investigation for abuse.

https://edwm.org/title-iv-update-bis...uYG2QzC_DrKrQ4

[MissThundercat]

Praying football coach didn't want his job back after all.

https://www.king5.com/article/news/l..._GxQ-E0R1yBY88

[Kepler]

Praying football coach didn't want his job back after all.

https://www.king5.com/article/news/l..._GxQ-E0R1yBY88

He likes the wingnut welfare grift better.

[MissThundercat]

He likes the wingnut welfare grift better.

Faux pays more than HS football. I can't necessarily blame him there.

[St. Clown]

Chat between me, my wife, her parents and her aunt (my FIL’s sister).

WIFE’S NOTE:
Hi guys!

[Daughter’s] dance studio, [Studio Name], is doing a [Store’s name] holiday fundraiser. 30% of plant sales and 15% of gift cards purchases go to the dancers.

We don’t NEED to fundraiser - it’s optional- so if you happen to be buying stuff anyway, here’s info.

Here’s the link:

http://www.[breaking link].com/
Raddatz code is 666
Include [daughter’s ] name for her to get credit.

MY REPLY:
666?

Is [Studio Name is] the Debil, Bobby Boucher?

WIFE (clearly joking):
They’re doing Devil Went Down to Georgia instead of Bouncy the Clown this Year. Shaking things up.

AUNT:
Cool

ME: insert GIF of Kathy Bates “Little girls are the Devil!”

WIFE
Jeez [Clown] *laughing emoji*

ME:
Always go full Water Boy

WIFE:
***there is no devil theme at [Studio name]. Just a goofy coupon code number.***

MIL:
You got me.

********************
Wife sends me a side chat:
Mom thought the devil theme at [Studio] was true. We need to watch our humor in text.

Mom and Dad subscribe to scare tactic news every day.
Plus they’re old.
So Mom having a bit of a freak out is not too surprising.
They wouldn’t know water boy, and a scary gif probably could have been kept between us.
*********************

So…that was followed up by a phone call where I learned my MIL was looking up the dance studio’s and store’s numbers to call them to start yelling about their devilry in fundraising.

Nucking futs.

[dxmnkd316]

lol. At work we almost had to rename a machine from 66 to 67 because it was next to machine 6. Grown *** adults complained.

[St. Clown]

My wife and I were talking yesterday, and she told
me that she’s now “just a social Catholic.” I had to ask to ask what that meant, and she explained that, basically, she enjoys the imagery of the Church, but that she just can’t hold with the Church’s sexual
abuse scandals, how they’re not truly addressing the situation, its refusal to
discuss abortion as being a need in some situations, and their unwillingness to allow women to hold more prominent roles when they control such a large proportion of individual parishes’ daily functioning.

So I now get to enjoy life without the threat of attending weekly Mass. Hallelujah!

[Kepler]

she enjoys the imagery of the Church

How could anyone not? Catholicism has been responsible for a tremendous amount of suffering and evil in the world, but my god the art. As with much of human culture, everything before 1700 is lovely.

[Kepler]

Thank you God!

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

My wife and I were talking yesterday, and she told
me that she's now "just a social Catholic." I had to ask to ask what that meant, and she explained that, basically, she enjoys the imagery of the Church, but that she just can't hold with the Church's sexual abuse scandals, how they're not truly addressing the situation, its refusal to discuss abortion as being a need in some situations, and their unwillingness to allow women to hold more prominent roles when they control such a large proportion of individual parishes' daily functioning.

So I now get to enjoy life without the threat of attending weekly Mass. Hallelujah!

For me, back in 2005/2006, it was the combination of sweeping the child-clergy sexual abuse under the rug, then making the Arschloch who played a big role in the coverup the fcking Pope, and also being exposed to people of other backgrounds and worldviews my freshman year at MTU.

I won't even call myself a "social Catholic" anymore and haven't for years, but that is a valid first step to recovery. There are still some affected aspects of my personality and psyche that I don't think any talk therapy is likely to ever completely fix.

[burd]

For me, back in 2005/2006, it was the combination of sweeping the child-clergy sexual abuse under the rug, then making the Arschloch who played a big role in the coverup the fcking Pope, and also being exposed to people of other backgrounds and worldviews my freshman year at MTU.

I won't even call myself a "social Catholic" anymore and haven't for years, but that is a valid first step to recovery. There are still some affected aspects of my personality and psyche that I don't think any talk therapy is likely to ever completely fix.

Not a catholic, so I don't know the answer to this, but doesn't walking as a "social catholic" convey implicit approval the church's handling of those awful behaviors? Something more than acquiescence?

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

That's not how I take it. To me, calling oneself a "social Catholic" would imply that you were raised Catholic and/or may still identify culturally as Catholic. You probably still believe in God in some fashion and still enjoy your parish social circle, and the sense of community belonging. You still like a good Friday fish fry. However, you've lost touch with the gerontocratic Church leadership and you can no longer square key parts of current Church doctrine, dogma, and teachings with your personal beliefs.

[St. Clown]

Not a catholic, so I don't know the answer to this, but doesn't walking as a "social catholic" convey implicit approval the church's handling of those awful behaviors? Something more than acquiescence?

For my wife, she has abdicated any form of
organized religion, but still considers herself a Christian. She supports her friends and family in their pursuit to better themselves by faith, but is done donating to churches.

She enjoys seeing various art and artifacts from religious history, and would like to visit Rome to then tour Vatican City, but I think it’s more for the art and the original intent of those not looking to wield power, but “spread the Word,” as if Microsoft hadn’t already done that.

[Kepler]

So, a co-worker friend of mine is apparently an active member of the "Passion City" movement. I can't tell if they are just a garden variety bright lights, big congregation scam (Joel Osteen) or something even worse or, maybe, just a way for Christians to connect and do genuine good things in the world. They seem to love recruiting young people, putting on a big show, raising a ton of money for causes (unsure whether it actually gets to the causes), and they don't sweat tickey-tacky stuff like "are the gayz bad?" and "are the womynz bad?" For that, they make a lot of enemies among the type of people who I want as enemies.

Choose:

a) Harmless Empty Ecumenical Happy Face Puffery. Who cares?
b) That olde tyme revival tent shakedown, Internet Era version. Just guard your pockets.
c) Someday the FBI will be fishing tortured bodies out of the pastor's basement. Nuke from space.