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

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German priests to Vatican: screw.

(This is not 1517.)

Germany's powerful Catholic progressives are openly defying a recent Holy See pronouncement that priests cannot bless same-sex unions.

They are offering such blessings at services in about 100 different churches all over the country this week.

The blessings at open worship services are the latest pushback from German Catholics against a document released in March by the Vatican's orthodoxy office.

The 'Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith' said Catholic clergy cannot bless same-sex unions because God "cannot bless sin."

The document pleased conservatives and disheartened advocates for LGBTQ Catholics around the world. But the response has been particularly acute in Germany, where the German church has been at the forefront of opening discussion on hot-button issues such as the church's teaching on homosexuality as part of a formal process of debate and reform.

The dozens of church services celebrating blessings of gay unions are the latest escalation in tensions between conservatives and progressives that have already sparked alarm, primarily from the right, that part of the German church might be heading into schism.
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Last month, two friends of mine attended a talk on hypocrisy in the church at a Holland megachurch. However, the discussion was "hypocrisy's okay because we're all broken." The pastor of this church joked about shooting atheists from the pulpit and an audience member called a queer friend of mine a dyke. My friends went public with what happened. Pastor got on Queer Friend's FB page, basically commenting "I'm sorry you were offended." Pastor of Mega Church said from the pulpit the church is "under attack," and decided to drag my friends some more. Queer friend received an ugly piece of hate mail yesterday, "you're going to burn in hell you (bundle of sticks)." There is reason to believe Mega Church is significantly bleeding financially after the loss of two big money elders and will be folding soon.

Story ran in the Holland Sentinel today discussing what happened and how the local faith community has a long way to go. Suffice to say, the trolls have already taken over the comment section.

This is why I left Holland. There are pockets of wonderful people there, but unless you're Dutch Protestant CRC, the general attitude from the locals is "we don't want you here."
 
MissThundercat said:
Last month, two friends of mine attended a talk on hypocrisy in the church at a Holland megachurch. However, the discussion was "hypocrisy's okay because we're all broken." The pastor of this church joked about shooting atheists from the pulpit and an audience member called a queer friend of mine a dyke. My friends went public with what happened. Pastor got on Queer Friend's FB page, basically commenting "I'm sorry you were offended." Pastor of Mega Church said from the pulpit the church is "under attack," and decided to drag my friends some more. Queer friend received an ugly piece of hate mail yesterday, "you're going to burn in hell you (bundle of sticks)." There is reason to believe Mega Church is significantly bleeding financially after the loss of two big money elders and will be folding soon.

Story ran in the Holland Sentinel today discussing what happened and how the local faith community has a long way to go. Suffice to say, the trolls have already taken over the comment section.

This is why I left Holland. There are pockets of wonderful people there, but unless you're Dutch Protestant CRC, the general attitude from the locals is "we don't want you here."
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Never look to the church--any church--for a reason to live in a community. Churches are near irrelevant to a quality life unless they are a negative factor. If you find people you like in a congregation, chances are they will make good friends completely apart from the church and its functions. I know it's easy for me to say, MT, but ignore the idiots.
 
Being from the northeast it is very weird to me that people think of a church as in any way relevant to the temperature of a place. Driving by a church is always a curiosity like driving by a bad dive bar. "Oh, that's where the people who flunked out of high school hang out."
 
Kepler said:
Being from the northeast it is very weird to me that people think of a church as in any way relevant to the temperature of a place.
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That comment surprises me a little, ignorant as I am about the northeast. There on Jonathan Edwards' home ice 'n all.

When people refer to "northeast" and "new england," are they talking about two different things, at least as to matters of religious culture?
 
burd said:
That comment surprises me a little, ignorant as I am about the northeast. There on Jonathan Edwards' home ice 'n all.

When people refer to "northeast" and "new england," are they talking about two different things, at least as to matters of religious culture?
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The Burned Over district has been cold for 150 years.

The Northeast is New England plus part of the Atlantic states (NY, NJ). Once you get into DE, MD, PA you are in other waters. Although I would give honorary Northeastern status to Philadelphia, as the spiritual capital of New Jersey.

Fervent religion is dead in the Northeast except of course among the bottom 20% who even inhabit California (and Europe). Even the Catholicism of the Northeast has turned country club for everyone who scored at least 500 on their Verbal.
 
On this day in history (1252), the Ad extripanda was declared, igniting the Medieval Inquisition.

And it was more than three centuries later when Luther said "I'll start my own church. With blackjack and hookers."
 
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