29 Jul 13
Originally posted by Grampy BobbyI always thought the white witch was quite hot, in a chilly, magical cougar kind of way.
[b]"Bottle of Port... "
“I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a Bottle of Port
would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable,
I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.” (C.S. Lewis) Thoughts?[/b]
30 Jul 13
Originally posted by Grampy BobbyWhy don't you just become a Flaggelant and give yourself more bonus points?
[b]"Bottle of Port... "
“I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a Bottle of Port
would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable,
I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.” (C.S. Lewis) Thoughts?[/b]
30 Jul 13
Originally posted by Grampy BobbyActually I am not sure the bottle of port would make you happy either. But people generally don't do things just to make themselves happy. If that were the case, don't you think people would be generally a lot happier? The search for happiness is just one of the many motivations that humans have.
[b]"Bottle of Port... "
“I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a Bottle of Port
would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable,
I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.” (C.S. Lewis) Thoughts?[/b]
I also notice he switched it to 'comfortable' which is not the same thing at all.
However, it is abundantly clear that a significant number of people are religious because they think they get something out of being so, rather than because they think its true.
Another very significant proportion of people think religion keeps others on the right track and a large part of their religiosity is about others not themselves.
31 Jul 13
Originally posted by rwingett"Flagellants are practitioners of an extreme form of mortification of their own flesh by whipping it with various instruments. Flagellantism was a 13th and 14th centuries movement, consisting of radicals in the Catholic Church. It began as a militant pilgrimage and was later condemned by the Catholic Church as heretical. The followers were noted for including public flagellation in their rituals.
Why don't you just become a Flaggelant and give yourself more bonus points?
Flagellation (from Latin flagellare, to whip) was quite a common practice amongst the more fervently religious. Various religions, like the cult of Isis in Egypt and the Dionysian cult of Greece, practiced their own forms of flagellation. In ancient Rome, eunuch priests of the Phrygian goddess Cybele, the Galli, flogged themselves until they bled during the annual festival called Dies sanguinis (Day of Blood). Women were flogged during the Roman Lupercalia to ensure fertility.
At first, flagellation became a form of penance in the Catholic Church, especially in ascetic monastic orders. For example, the 11th century zealot Dominicus Loricatus once repeated the entire Psalter twenty times in one week, accompanying each psalm with a hundred lash-strokes to his back. The distinction of the Flagellants was to take this self-mortification into the cities and other public spaces as a demonstration of piety. As well as flagellation, the rituals were built around processions, hymns, distinct gestures, uniforms, and discipline. It was also said that when singing a hymn and upon reaching the part about the passion of the Christ, one must drop to the ground, no matter how dirty or painful the area may seem. Also one mustn't move if the ground has something on it that may cause an inconvenience.
The movement did not have a central doctrine or overall leaders, but a popular passion for the movement occurred all over Europe in separate outbreaks. The first recorded incident was in Perugia in 1259, the year after severe crop damage and famine throughout Europe. It spread from there across Northern Italy and thence into Austria. Other incidents are recorded in 1296, 1333-34 (the Doves), notably at the time of the Black Death (1349), and 1399. The nature of the movement grew from a popular interest in religion combined with dissatisfaction with the Church's control.
The prime cause of the Perugia episode is unclear, but it followed an outbreak of an epidemic and chroniclers report how the mania spread throughout almost all the people of the city. Thousands of citizens gathered in great processions, singing and with crosses and banners, they marched throughout the city whipping themselves. It is reported that surprising acts of charity and repentance accompanied the marchers. However, one chronicler noted that anyone who did not join in the flagellation was accused of being in league with the devil. They also killed Jews and priests who opposed them. Marvin Harris[1] links them to the Messianic preaching of Gioacchino da Fiore.
The movement spread across Northern Italy, up to 10,000 strong groups processing in Modena, Bologna, Reggio and Parma although certain city authorities refused the Flagellant processions entry. However enthusiasm for the movement diminished as suddenly as it arose. When they preached that mere participation in their processions cleaned sins, the Pope banned the movement in January 1261. As the movement lost momentum in Italy, it crossed into Austria and then Germany where the same pattern occurred.
The peak of the activity was during the Black Death, then called the Great Death, which began around 1347. Spontaneously Flagellant groups arose across Northern and Central Europe in 1349, except in England. The German and Low Countries movement, the Brothers of the Cross, is particularly well documented - they wore white robes and marched across Germany in 33.5 day campaigns (each day referred to a year of Jesus's earthly life) of penance, only stopping in any one place for no more than a day. They established their camps in fields near towns and held their rituals twice a day. The ritual began with the reading of a letter, claimed to have been delivered by an angel and justifying the Flagellants' activities. Next the followers would fall to their knees and scourge themselves, gesturing with their free hands to indicate their sin and striking themselves rhythmically to songs, known as Geisslerlieder, until blood flowed. Sometimes the blood was soaked up in rags and treated as a holy relic... "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flagellant
Ugh.
31 Jul 13
Originally posted by twhitehead"But people generally don't do things just to make themselves happy."
Actually I am not sure the bottle of port would make you happy either. But people generally don't do things just to make themselves happy. If that were the case, don't you think people would be generally a lot happier? The search for happiness is just one of the many motivations that humans have.
I also notice he switched it to 'comfortable' which is not ...[text shortened]... ers on the right track and a large part of their religiosity is about others not themselves.
.... you included?
31 Jul 13
Originally posted by Grampy BobbyIf you wanted to make C. S. Lewis comfortable you would probably have to go with morphine, some people can't be made comfortable, I wouldn't blame any particular brand of Religion or Port.
[b]"Bottle of Port... "
“I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a Bottle of Port
would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable,
I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.” (C.S. Lewis) Thoughts?[/b]
31 Jul 13
Originally posted by Grampy BobbyYes, I know what a Flagellant is.
"Flagellants are practitioners of an extreme form of mortification of their own flesh by whipping it with various instruments. Flagellantism was a 13th and 14th centuries movement, consisting of radicals in the Catholic Church. It began as a militant pilgrimage and was later condemned by the Catholic Church as heretical. The followers were noted for inc ...[text shortened]... n rags and treated as a holy relic... "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flagellant
Ugh.
The question, though, is if you feel your religion comes out on top because it makes you uncomfortable, then why not ratchet things up a notch?
08 Aug 13
Originally posted by rwingettChristianity isn't some manmade 'religion', denomination, cult or sect. Belief in the Risen Christ confers relationship in time and eternity. Imagine God's Plan to reconcile man and some men/women rejecting the offer of permanent relationship without any other viable options. Little wonder Thoreau observed that "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation" [by choice].
Yes, I know what a Flagellant is.
The question, though, is if you feel your religion comes out on top because it makes you uncomfortable, then why not ratchet things up a notch?