Atheists & Agnostics
Related: About this forumApocalyptic beliefs may explain why Francis is a pope in a hurry
As he has before, Francis went out of his way to invoke an apocalyptic 1907 novel by an English convert from Anglicanism called “Lord of the World.” The novel lays out a dystopic vision of a final conflict between secular humanism and Catholicism, with the showdown taking place on the fields of Armageddon.
Author Robert Hugh Benson depicts a world in which Marxism and secularism have run the table, culminating in a charismatic “savior” figure, increasingly recognizable as the Anti-Christ, who arises to lead a one-world government. Attacks on Christian symbols and believers mount, and euthanasia is widely practiced.
Francis first praised the novel back in November 2013, in the context of a homily in which he denounced what he called “adolescent progressivism.” He returned to “Lord of the World” in the recent airplane news conference, saying, “I advise you to read it” because it explains what he meant by a reference to “ideological colonization” during a session with 20,000 Filipino families in Manila.
http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/01/25/apocalyptic-beliefs-may-explain-why-francis-is-a-pope-in-a-hurry/
Oh great, now the leader of a billion or so christians is an end times woo advocate.
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skepticscott
(13,029 posts)Frankie is a hard core, unwavering conservative. As are all of the church's upper hierarchy, or they would never have gotten as far as they have. It is a continuing source of amazement that so many people have been gulled by the kind of PR campaign that they would see right through if it were a Republican politician conducting it. Just another example of how the obsessive need to defend and legitimize religion corrupts rational thinking.
onager
(9,356 posts)And I've been thinking about it a lot, what with all the Wonderpope love-fests going on around here.
The Catholic Church is a political hierarchy. It operates just like all of its ilk, which means it works like any big corporation or political entity.
Getting to the top means a lifetime of climbing a greasy pole, and on the way up the climber has to kiss the right butts and not step on the wrong toes.
As you note, people would see this in a second if we were talking about a political candidate (which the Pope basically is, elected by a roomful of Cardinals horse-trading and cutting deals). But sprinkle a little Religious Fairy Dust around, and suddenly the Pope becomes someone personally tapped on the shoulder by Gawd Itself.
Cartoonist
(7,311 posts)In a 2005 essay, Joseph Pearce wrote that, while Orwell and Huxley's novels are "great literature", they "are clearly inferior works of prophecy."
The world depicted in Lord of the World is one where creeping secularism and godless humanism have triumphed over traditional morality. It is a world where philosophical relativism has triumphed over objectivity; a world where, in the name of tolerance, religious doctrine is not tolerated. It is a world where euthanasia is practiced widely and religion hardly practiced at all. The lord of this nightmare world is a benign-looking politician intent on power in the name of "peace", and intent on the destruction of religion in the name of "truth". In such a world, only a small and shrinking Church stands resolutely against the demonic "Lord of the World."
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Creeping Secularism: Watch your back!
Godless Humanism: You got a problem with that?
Traditional Morality: Misogyny & Pederasty
Warren Stupidity
(48,181 posts)John L. Allen Jr. is associate editor of Crux, specializing in coverage of the Vatican and the Catholic Church.
He has written nine books on the Vatican and Catholic affairs, and also is a popular speaker on Catholicism both in the United States and internationally.
The London Tablet has called John “the most authoritative writer on Vatican affairs in the English language,” and renowned papal biographer George Weigel has called him “the best Anglophone Vatican reporter ever.” When John was called upon to put the first question to Pope Benedict XVI aboard the papal plane en route to the United States in April 2008, the Vatican spokesman said to the pope: “Holy Father, this man needs no introduction.”
That’s not just a Vatican judgment. Veteran religion writer Kenneth Woodward of Newsweek described John as “the journalist other reporters – and not a few cardinals – look to for the inside story on how all the pope’s men direct the world’s largest church.”
His work is admired across ideological divides. Liberal commentator Fr. Andrew Greeley calls his writing “indispensable,” while the late Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, a conservative, called his reporting “possibly the best source of information on the Vatican published in the United States.” John’s weekly column, “All Things Catholic,” is widely read as a source of insight on the global Church.
Among John’s books are “Opus Dei: An Objective Look Behind the Myths and Reality of the Most Controversial Force in the Catholic Church”, and two about Pope Benedict XVI. The first was written before Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became pope; the other came after Benedict’s election to the papacy and was the first biography of the Pope in English.
John is an associate editor of The Boston Globe, which carries his Sunday column, All Things Catholic. His articles have appeared in The New York Times, CNN, NPR, The Tablet, Jesus, Second Opinion, The Nation, the Miami Herald, Die Furche, and the Irish Examiner.
He is a senior Vatican analyst for CNN, and was a correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter for 16 years.
John, a native of Kansas, received a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Fort Hays State University and a master's degree in religious studies from the University of Kansas. For several years, he taught journalism at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California and also supervised the student-run newspaper, The Knight.
He received an honorary degree, Doctor of Sacred Letters (D.S.Litt.), from the University of St. Michael's College in Toronto, Ontario in 2011.
http://www.cruxnow.com/author/johnallen/
onager
(9,356 posts)
Curmudgeoness
(18,219 posts)that "godless humanism" is supposed to be triumphing over "traditional morality". When I look at how horrible the atheists are with their cries to enforce the separation of church and state, then I compare it to the atrocities of the church and the more recent child abuse issues, I have to wonder where that "traditional morality" is. Then again, I stand by my assertion that I am a moral person.
AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)It'll be via attrition and education though, not by gathering in the middle east for a fist fight.
"Hey, come stand here to fight me."
"Why?"
"Because THEN my god will show up and fight you for me."
"Ok. Well. I'm not gonna stand there then."
onager
(9,356 posts)The "Papal Prophecies" of a 12th-century Irish Archbishop, long considered an ancient hoax/fraud by most sane people.
According to those Prophecies, Francis may be the last Pope. Or the next-to-last Pope. Or maybe neither, there could be a boatload more Popes. This prophecy stuff is tricky.
Anyway, supposedly during the reign of this Last Pope, the city of Rome will be destroyed and the Pope will leave the Vatican, stepping over the corpses of the Cardinals on his way out.
Considering this is the 21st century and all, many people still believe the Malachy Malarkey. And for once, not all of them are gullible Americans...
The prophecies of the Irish saint Malachy, the 12th century bishop of Armagh, have thrilled and dismayed readers for centuries. He has stated there will be only one more pope after Benedict, and during his reign comes the end of the world. So Francis could be the last.
http://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/st-malachy-predicted-pope-benedicts-successor-will-be-last-pope-190715001-237789421.html
This just in, Pope may be replaced with space alien...
Have you heard? Tom Horn and Cris Putnam have written the book of books demonstrating Pope Francis to be the last pope. Yes, folks, the end of the world is upon us. The book is called Petrus Romanus: The Final Pope is Here, published in 2012.
This is not to be confused with their sequel, Exo-Vaticanus, published in 2013, which exposes a secret plan of the Vatican to usher in the arrival of a savior who is actually an alien a la E.T.
http://www.catholic.com/blog/tim-staples/is-pope-francis-the-final-roman-pontiff
...As many of you know, Saint Malachy was born in Northern Ireland and was appointed Archbishop of Armagh in 1132. Many of those who knew him best said he received the gift of prophecy and witnessed many miracles throughout his lifetime. He was even known to have predicted the day and hour of his death.
In 1139 he received a vision from the Lord which revealed a long list of popes who would rule the church until the end of time (112 Popes total). This vision eventually became known as the “prophecy of the succession of the Popes,” which has resurfaced with the election of the new pope.
http://beforeitsnews.com/prophecy/2014/02/a-twist-in-malachys-prophecy-will-pope-francis-be-the-last-or-will-it-be-a-pope-after-him-2458796.html
Finally, a more objective look at the Prophecies from the Cesspit Of Lies. And after reading the above, you'll NEED an objective look:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prophecy_of_the_Popes
defacto7
(13,485 posts)this religious theme has played out over and over again about once every 2 or 3 generations for the last thousand years to one extent or another. The Renaissance was ended and practically demolished through the use of the apocalypse theme, only then it was the Di Medici family playing Pope who were crushed by a raging street preacher who came to notoriety by damning the Pope and causing an uprising of fundamentalist popularism, you know, the usual burning of art masterpieces that were too risqué or painted by an unrepentant sodomite, burning of books, burning people at the stake, ransacking cities, the usual tripe. There was a great revival in the early 19th century, there have been people waiting for the second coming of X on certain dates over and over in the late 19th and 20th centuries who were quite disappointed. We've had the same Revelation crap several times in the last 100 years as well.
It's always been a way to control the masses, the ignorant, those who would listen to reason, and those who would wake up from religious ideology. It's a story as old as Abrahamic religion and has been very successful at crushing free thought though fear, leader worship and mass euphoria.
It reminds me of one time when I was in Rome. There was a cathedral I visited, I think it was St. Paul Outside the Walls, anyway, on the highest part of the walls just below the ceiling a portrait of every Pope from Saint Peter to the present day went all the way around the church until you come to empty spaces where there was just an oval frame waiting for the next pope's painting to be etched. Then at one point, the oval frames stopped and there were no more. I was told that the last frame would house the picture of the last pope. Last time I visited, there were 5 or 6 left. So who do I believe, a guy who just wrote a book, or the architects, painters and religious leaders of a massive cathedral over 1600 years old? I choose to believe none of them.
