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Pope Benedict's recent mass in Paris, oh gimme a break.
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They would be able to do X amount of additional work, with X being the money value of the relics they sold to museums.
They hold on to those items because they're important to their faith and hold religious significance. Not to mention, the money they'd get from selling them would be a one off, and likely not nearly as much as you seem to think.
And the point that several others have made is that the church DOES send money and some of that money DOES get to the people, it's just not money that's made hawking relics on the black market. It's money earmarked "CHARITY".
And the blanket statement that something like the U.S. government isn't an institution set up for the betterment of mankind sort of contradicts that whole Revolutionary War thing. All institutions have relics, however big or small. You have pictures, the U.S. government has documents, the Catholic church has other things. Things that aren't going to get sold because they're part of history.
You can have a beef with that all you want. Just don't point the Finger of Fucking Doom at the Catholic Church.
It's all about who you feel the most righteous in blaming. And that's different for everyone.
Mat 19:21 wasn't really an abjuration to live in absolute poverty and help others, it was Jesus slapping down a rich dude who did nothing for others and thought he was awesome because he followed the law. He was calling the rich man's bluff.
It's honestly the most amazing building in the world. Never seen anything like it, and probably never will...
I have a secular mom, who although is a hardass, is conservative in the literal sense, which is not all that bad. By that I mean "no drinking, partying, fucking around, and no hatin'.
But I think Catholic churches vary between region and priest. The priest here in central florida is all "punish all the gay people punish all the gay people" using the word abomination a LOT. And I once took a trip to New York and the priest was very upbeat and pleasant.
Oh, and the universe is 14 billion years old.
God forbid you expect people to include context with their Bible quotes.
Especially when they're using them for lol[strike]fundies[/strike]catholics.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
There are certainly elements of the Church that believe in that, but most are okay with relieving suffering. "I was hungry, and you fed me; naked and you clothed me," etc.
My point was that they have no prerogative, and thus MikeMan's logical argument fails.
EDIT: I am getting the impression that anything I say can be rebutted by a Bible quote. This is a losing position. <.<
the ministry of charity is one of the thee main parts of the Church's mission, according to Pope Benedict XVI. The other two are to proclaim the word of God and celebrate the sacraments
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est_en.html
Then, my next question is, does possession of the artifacts by the Church contribute more to either of those missions than it would/could to the ministry of charity?
Wait, are we balancing this like a fucking checkbook now?
As someone said, why doesn't the US sell The Constitution then? It could sure use the money..
And I contend that it doesn't. And I have yet to be convinced otherwise, though I'm open to the possibility.
It's the most interesting bit of conversation in this thread. <.<
Holy shit, you can't be this stupid.
You can apparently. Objects have value beyond their monetary worth.
Prong 1: The catholic church has as one of its main goals charity; that is, uplifting people from suffering and poverty.
Prong 2: The hoarding and/or possession of the relics and artifacts of the catholic church is an impediment to the furthering of Prong 1, as is any expenditure unnecessary to the enacting of the other prongs.
Prong 3: The benefits obtained by the possession of the relics and artifacts by the church as opposed to by community-owned museums does not outweigh the suffering of those in poverty who might otherwise be helped, even a relatively little amount, by said money.
I dispute the Church's claim that its material possessions are a necessary part of its faith. I think the telling part of the Pope's message is that an essential core of the church is charity. Neither Charity, nor Sacrament, nor Love is less important than the others. All are main components of the church.
If every soul is a sacred creation by God, in a way that the works of art the church seized centuries ago are not, it stands to reason saving a life is more important than the 'heritage' provided by said item. It is pure greed, nothing less.
It's more fun to treat the Catholic Church as a big bogeyman, and they certainly have flaws (such as the Africa business), but their charity work is pretty great.
How so? You have to actually prove your arguments you know.
I don't see how the money they make comes close to what museums would pay for those things, but as for that I must confess ignorance.
Have you read the thread? I'm not going to hold your hand.
MikeMan would apparently kill the Goose to get all the Golden Eggs at once.
See, this is actually the first argument in this thread that has actually raised a valid counterpoint. Thank you, sir.
I would, huh? That's weird... Coulda sworn I never said that...
They also have a huge charitable organization, which helps them fullfill that part of their mission.
Disagreeing with the relative priorities of these two missions does not make the church hypocritical. They responsibilities to both the needy and their followers. They are not just a charitble organization. Their behavior is consistent with their goals. It's only inconsistent when you misconstrue the Church's purpose.
Yu want to sell off relics that, as both FencingSax and at least one other person like 2 pages ago already pointed out, make money being rented to museums and on ticket sales and such.
Beyond that, these relics have value beyond their monetary worth, as I've already mentioned.
These aren't complex arguments. But I guess you need your hand held.
To be fair, most of the money for stuff like that sprung alot of souls out of purgatory.