Comments on: Pope In Christmas Appeal To World Leaders

Urges That They Show Wisdom, Courage When Facing Conflict; Voices Environmental Concerns

[formrusmcsgt]

"Echoing a theme he has raised about an increasingly secular world, Benedict said that many people act as if there is no room for spiritual matters in their lives."

I assume he''s referring to those of us who stopped believeing in fairy tales as children.

[abdoul_pasha]

Merry Christmas! God bless you and your children.

[motherhen11]

Pope me!

[vet_sk]

Amazing that we now look at the catholic church as at least somewhat progressive. They endorse evolution, and John Paul II even had a study done in the mid 80''s to find who wrote the bible - their gender, what region they were from, and even their goals in the passages they wrote.

I think all church is rediculous but at least the catholics don''t hate science as the fundamentals do. Fundamentals are just plain scary. Heck, huge amounts of them are even still supporting Bush - the war criminal.

You have people writing here like ralphj53, who can''t believe that people can be good just because with the devil and god being involved. Is their perhaps a character flaw with those who must believe in superstitious good and evil to explain societies character?

[pqqamazon]

All "Popes" should be as practical as this one. I am glad he was chosen and as far as Popes go, I believe he is doing a fine work. Now if people would listen to some of the things he is saying, the world would be a better place to live. We still cannot expect everything in the world to go well for us but there would be a lot less misery and death. May God bless everyone with His word on this Christmas day!

[ralphj53]

December 25, 2007
To: Iceman_1960

There IS a TIME when this world will come to grips with EVIL. When the world COMES to an end. It is not for GOD to prevent EVIL. Evil did come about because of the sin of ADAM and EVE in the GARDEN. And NOT because of GOD.

GOD did NOT create EVIL. EVIL will ALWAYS exist through the end of time... again because of the sin of ADAM and EVE.

Amd so, HE sent HIS only beloved SON, JESUS to suffer and die for our sins, so that REDEMPTION will be ours to behold. It is NOT for GOD to prevent EVIL. After all, HE did NOT commit that ORIGINAL SIN. It is MAN who commited this sin.

CHRIST came unto this world, to SUFFER and DIE, so that MAN can reconcile himself to GOD. Example.... During world war two.. EVIL reared it''s ugly head in the form of HITLER,MUSSOLINI and THE Japanese Empire.

And so, DID they WIN? Of course not. If they had WON, then you can say that GOD was NOT able to prevent EVIL. "If God is willing to prevent EVIL, but is not able to, then HE is not omnipotent" as you said... But HE did prevent EVIL through JUSTICE at the TRIALS at Nuremberg in Germany in 1946.

rjm

[nothappyatall]

"They came as a result of mans disobedience to God, beginning back in the Garden of Eden."

Oh right, real logic there- blame and punish EVERY person and animal ever born since Adam, sort of like your kid steals something so the cops arrest you, your husband or wife, your two sets of parents, your dog, cat, goldfish, your next door neighbor, the teacher and so on.

"He suffered and died on the cross, having taken upon Himself the sin of the world "

LOL, the concept of ''sin'' propagated by this god, who knowingly sends his own son down knowing he would be tortured and executed in order that his own unhappiness with this so called ''sin'' thing will somehow be ''forgiven'', yeah makes real sense there.... to someone in a mental hospital suffering from delusions maybe.

"or by natural disasters in a physical world which is also affected by mans sin "

Right, so we caused the earthquakes and tsunamis that killed over 100,000 men women and children along with untold thousands of animals a few years ago, and somehow we are supposed to associate THAT as some kind of twisted ''punishment''
See what it is, is this god character its clear just loves toying with us for kicks, thats the only explanation.

[nothappyatall]

Who gives a rats azz what this right wing idiot says, make time for YOURSELF and don''t worry about an invisible man in the sky, he will fade away like Zeus, Appolo, Mercury, the sun god and all the rest of the imaginary entities.

[j-whitman]

rohink,,,, I think you would get an argument about that from the actual father of Jesus,,, You''d probably get an argument from God as well since he told you not to turn a man into a God -- Merry Christmas back at you

[ontheleft]

''Doesn"t Santa Claus need a court order before he can conduct close surveillance like that ?''

No, actually Bush came up with the idea to have Santa Claus gather intelligence on suspected terrorists. It''s one of the conditions Bush placed on him for using U.S. airspace. You can find the details on page 1578 of the Patriot Act.

[iceman_1960]

"Pope Urges Time For God, The Poor"

If there really were an all powerful, benevolent God, we wouldn"t have hundreds of millions of poor people suffering in the world.

Would we....


"The Riddle of Epicurus

(Earliest known statement of the Problem of Evil)

"If God is willing to prevent evil, but is not able to
Then He is not omnipotent.

If He is able, but not willing
Then He is malevolent.

If He is both able and willing
Then whence cometh evil?

If He is neither able nor willing
Then why call Him God?"

[rohink-2009]

In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.

Merry Christmas to everyone.

[j-whitman]

I expected to see all the Bush Loving Pope Basheres here complaining how un-republican it is to give a damm about the poor. --- The day after Christmas, they will be back to their usual American & other religion hating selves.

[iceman_1960]

"He sees you when you"re sleeping,
He knows when you"re awake."


Doesn"t Santa Claus need a court order before he can conduct close surveillance like that ?

[secundus2]

I thought it was interesting that his sermon included references to the works of Augustine, Gregory of Nyssa and other church fathers and doctors. He still likes being the scholar/professor.