wow, sent my last email before I saw this.  This is an absolutely
delightful response.

and yes, I retract that "must be crushed" part.  (it was a Voltaire
reference)

--- \/	 FROM Andrew Reeves AT 05.04.20 23:44 (Today)	\/ ---

> Danny:
>    I think your animosity is ill-advised; I certainly oppose very
> strongly any attempt at "crushing" (whatever that means) because it
> would only cause the "circling of the wagons" by the faithful.
> Catholicism must be allowed to die peacefully, and it is my serious
> opinion that you and your generation will live to see that happening if
> you only leave it alone and let it expire by the weight of its own
> internal absurdities and prevarications. The election of Ratzinger was
> in my opinion an excellent step because it will only accelerate this
> process. I was actually trembling that they might elect a "moderate"
> Pope who would make concessions with the superficial problems such as
> celibacy (closely associated with priestly pedophilia) exclusion of
> females, and so forth which would keep the simpletons happy and thereby
> add a few decades to the moribund agonies of the church. In the
> meantime, of course, the core problems (tri-une God, Virgin Birth,
> transubstantiation) would remain untouched. Seeing that this is not what
> happened (and how promptly!) almost makes me believe in the Holy Spirit!
>    To answer your questions: All militant religions are equally evil;
> Islam has in our time a slight edge because it blows up buildings which
> Catholicism has outgrown. I don't begrudge any cleric to think that his
> religion is the only true one and all the others are false; history
> shows that the smaller the difference the hotter the fury. Remember the
> "one iota" difference (homousion vs. homoiusion) between the Anathasians
> and Arians at the Council of Nicea? 50,000 people were massacred in one
> night which was quite a feat in the 4th century. Given the advances in
> weaponry even Osama has a lot to learn. --Grandpa Andrew
>
>
>
> Daniel Reeves wrote:
> >
> >  Seriously, is there a greater force of evil in the world than the
> > catholic church?
> >
> > Couple blurbs from CNN about the new anti-gay, anti-feminist,
> > anti-contraception, anti-catholicity pope:
> >
> >   Ratzinger has said modernity led to a blurring of sexual identity,
> >   causing some feminists to become adversaries of men. He labeled
> >   homosexuality "an intrinsic moral evil."
> >
> >   He argued that Muslim Turkey did not belong in Christian Europe and
> >   issued a document saying that Catholicism was the only true religion,
> >   questioning the validity of other religions, even Christian ones, even
> >   as his Pope John Paul II was trying to reach out to other faiths.
> >
> > --
> > http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/dreeves  - -  google://"Daniel Reeves"
>

-- 
http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/dreeves  - -  google://"Daniel Reeves"

"There was a time when religion ruled the world.  It is known as the
Dark Ages." -- Ruth Hermence Green (Women Without Superstition)