Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Mission accomplished

To those of my regular readers who despair that I'll ever discuss anything other than Yellow Ribbons again, let me reassure you that this will likely be my last post on the subject.

This morning Jeff Allan suggested that we accept the efforts of the Waterloo Regional Police to show support by wearing pins rather than having magnets displayed on the cruisers. Now I am inclined to agree; especially considering the fact that there are about 900 members of the force and only about 100 marked cars.

Also, magnets can be stolen off the vehicles. It's unlikely someone would try to take a pin off of a police officer...


Anyway, onto other things. Lots of stuff in the news.

What is bothering you today? What would you like to discuss?

I can think of a few topics. I'll bet the Pope isn't very popular today. Jeff will be discussing this topic later in his show this morning. I'm looking forward to it.

Also there's the Live Earth hypocrisy.

Or maybe we should legalize pot?

You be the judge.


* * * *

Thursday Update: Don't miss Warren Kinsella's awesome column ("A Genuine Tribute to the Fallen") in the National Post this morning!

Politically speaking, I rarely agree with Mr. Kinsella, but he is an exceptional writer and a very patriotic Canadian. Well done, Warren.


33 comments:

Omar said...

I really don't understand all the fuss about the Vatican issuing a document restating its belief that the Catholic Church is the only true church of JC. Everyone knows this belief is the cornerstone of Catholicism so why wouldn't the Rat-man put in writing what he is attempting to sell?
It's not personal. It's strictly business.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

The other side of it is that extremist Muslims believe that theirs is the only way to heaven and the rest of us are infidels, right?

So, yeah. What's the big deal?

Omar said...

Well, don't get me wrong, as an atheist I don't believe any of them have a lock on "the absolute truth", but the Pope stating the obvious about his religion is a non-issue in my mind.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Yes, I suppose the uproar is the idea that Christianity is seen to be so accepting and loving. Yet most Christians believe that nobody will get to heaven without accepting Jesus Christ.

I know you feel the concept of 'heaven' to be irrelevant, but I thought I'd throw that in there.

Omar said...

Now, as far as the reformation of antiquated marijuana laws
I believe (I may send a letter to Preston Manning) a very good start would be to allow those who wish to grow their own to do so without fear of penalty.
Not that I would know anything about such agricultural endeavors. ;-)

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Not that I would know anything about such agricultural endeavors. ;-)

No, never. Not you!

Anonymous said...

Obviously, ecumenism is not in His Holiness' dictionary, Latin or otherwise.

Anyhow,my subject is reaction to Jack Layton's position on airstrikes in Afghanistan.

First,there is that infamous interview by am770CHQR's Rob Breakenridge with Jack Layton on NATO airstrikes-

http://tinyurl.com/34tuox

Then 580 CFRA's Steve Madely with Afghanistan's ambassador to Canada, Omar Samad on the record opium crop and Layton's NATO position-

http://tinyurl.com/ytxk9v

And finally Steve Madely again with retired Canadian Colonel Michel Drapeau on Layton

http://tinyurl.com/36zl46

Anonymous said...

I really don't know much about theology, but I would have to agree with Omar. I mean, isn't the Pope just doing his job?

Anonymous said...

Does the RCC teach that non-RCs can go to heaven?

Anonymous said...

that is, can non-RC's go to heaven without first converting to Roman Catholicism.

Anonymous said...

Be it ever so humble there is no place like Rome!

Joanne (True Blue) said...

that is, can non-RC's go to heaven without first converting to Roman Catholicism.

That's a good question. I'm an R.C., and I have no idea. But I'm a Christian before that; there is a difference.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

BTW, ChuckerCanuk has taken an irreverent look at this.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Madmacs, Layton must be doing something right!

Anonymous said...

The old joke went like this:

Guy dies and goes to Heaven. He is being shown around, ushered down the streets of gold and as they pass different areas, he is told "that's the Anglican area", or "here's the Baptist area", "that's the Muslim area" or "this is the Jewish area". On it goes, every faith has their own piece of Heaven. Presently they pass a very high wall. Sounds of the usual heavenly activities are heard, and our guy asks what's behind the wall. He is told "Shhhh. be quiet around here. Behind that wall are all the Roman Catholics. We don't want to disappoint them, but they don't know anyone else is here!"

Burton, Formerly Kingston said...

Seriously has to attribute Mr.Laytons number in Montreal to the fact that no election is on the horizon just like the Greens polling higher right now. When people cast their vote they tend to reflect deeper on the choice and I am sure Montrealers are no different. I think they might win the bi-election there though or possibly hand it to the CPC even due to the splitting of the LPC and Bloq vote with the NDP candidate. It should be interesting to watch.

Eric said...

Liberal Supporter:

I believe the answer to that question depends on which R.Cs you speak to. Some will likely say that you absolutely must be a Catholic to go to heaven. Others will say that no that is not the important thing.

Somewhere I've heard however that every pope has signed onto the idea that only Roman Catholics may go to heaven directly. The rest of us burn away our sins in purgatory or something like that before being allowed in.

Many protestant groups take a more relaxed view of things, emphasizing that one's personal beliefs are more important than which church you attended. Core doctrine for most is believing that Jesus was the Son of God.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

lol! L.S. I've heard that one before. It's a great joke. Actually the first time I heard it was from a R.C. priest, during a homily!

Joanne (True Blue) said...

S.O. - Personally, I think it's somewhat presumptuous that we humans would try to figure out who gets to go to heaven.

I'm sure it will all be clear in the end.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Then there are those who believe that if you have a blood transfusion, you'll be going to hell.

Great interview with Paul Blizard on the local newstalk show this afternoon. His website is Watchthetower.

Anonymous said...

Never forgot your bible... As a non-practicing RC, who used to be a dutiful RC, there is no debate about whether you need to be RC to get into heaven.

So when your in front St. Peter, just remember this simple sentence "Jesus save me", and your good to go.

Unless your a Jesuit... then you have to beat yourself up and at least a few hundred others before you get in.

Anonymous said...

I am an R.C. also, but I am a born again Catholic, and believe as do the Evangelicals that we Christians are going to be raptured out of this crazy, bomb filled, suicide exploding human bombs filled world, because the human bombs will keep coming as they believe that the whole world must be converted to their brand of religion.
So give me the Pope who only says what he himself believes instead of blowing himself up to prove a point.

Eric said...

I think the last two posts just sort of proved my point. Haha.

Joanne, I also think people should be more concerned about how their behaviour affects others than wondering about who will or won't go to heaven.

That being said, there should be some questions when people make serious doctrinal errors. The issue about the transfusion business bugs me mostly because they have a single (or few) verses that might possibly be taken in such a way that could mean that you shouldn't have blood transfusions, but then don't apply the same rigorous standards to other verses.

And as a Christian, the Bible tells us that if we see another Christian falling away we have a duty to guide them back.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

And as a Christian, the Bible tells us that if we see another Christian falling away we have a duty to guide them back.

Ah, yes. But that's not politically correct.

Möbius said...

We should legalize pot-smoking in Catholic churches!

Anonymous said...

anon 4:43: That is where I was getting to with the question about who goes to heaven. The modern RC church understands that God is perfectly capable of handling things and does not require His church people to kill the unbelievers on His behalf. Your entry to Heaven depends on your own belief, not on how many you kill.

If I was called "pope supporter", I would suggest that His Holiness is demonstrating how to assert one's own faith as the "true" one, without starting a war over it.

To me, the real problem revolves around evangelism. Many faiths have an evangelical tradition (Christianity, Islam), while others do not (Judaism for one).

It is one thing to spread the good news about Jesus, but some proselytizers don't understand no means no. I'm not referring to people who won't take their foot out of your door, I am thinking more of the "convert or die" types. For those who have been saved, the problem is staying saved. Interacting with unbelievers could cause a crisis of faith for believers. One solution is to kill unbelievers. We see this from the extremists.

Mac said...

Moebius said... "We should legalize pot-smoking in Catholic churches!"

What do you think they use for incense? :lol:

Joanne (True Blue) said...

For those who have been saved, the problem is staying saved. Interacting with unbelievers could cause a crisis of faith for believers.

This is why JW's are encouraged to keep to themselves, as are so many other sects.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Mac, I always did like inhaling incense. ;)

Anonymous said...

sweetgrass?

Joanne (True Blue) said...

From our local rag this morning: Stickers don't belong on public vehicles

FRANK ETHERINGTON


It's disturbing to watch a minority of local military supporters twisting themselves into an emotional knot over "Support Our Troops" yellow ribbons.

The decals -- a U.S.-style display of patriotic tokenism -- are somehow supposed to indicate solidarity with Canadian soldiers without endorsing the dangerous and hopeless armed conflict they're fighting in Afghanistan.

But I can't differentiate between the two...

...I disagree with such cover-your-backside, political decisions and feel uneasy, even queasy, about the pro-military zeal and passionate flag waving that lurks just below the surface of the ribbon campaign...

...I would suggest those dollars and cash spent on police pins would be better invested in work done by various charitable groups and agencies trying to address the misery caused by abject poverty found in large parts of Afghanistan.

In coming weeks, I hope operators of municipal vehicles who don't support the Afghan war refuse to place decals on cars and trucks.

I also hope councillors and police-board members who have allowed yellow ribbons will be just as willing to provide support for symbols that say "Get Canadian troops out of Afghanistan."


Ugh!

Eric said...

One more thing about the evangelism though.

The issue really isn't with evangelism as it is with what to do when someone says 'no'.

Some groups believe that in order for 'paradise' or 'heaven on earth' to occur that everyone must be a member of religion "A". Others (call them religion "B") believe that the world will deteriorate and decline until God comes to clean up our mess.

For people in religion "B", if people reject their religion it doesn't matter really. JWs for instance believe that the more people reject them the more correct they are. But for people in religion "A", rejection of even a single person would delay the coming of heaven.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

S.O. - Interesting. Thanks.