What is Digg?393 Comments
- Indyanna, on 10/11/2007, -22/+343So, would God smite a religious statue, including one that depicts Jesus?
Welllll, considering this statement from the article: "Thousands of people visit the shrine each year to pray and pay homage to Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first American citizen canonized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church."
And then, when you combine it with "I am the Lord your God...You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them..."
I'd have to say Uh-huh. Yup. - smoothmedia, on 10/11/2007, -36/+304It wasn't God smiting his own statue, it was the Flying Spaghetti Monster smiting a statue of a false deity.
- EntropyMan, on 10/11/2007, -13/+184Not to be insensitive, but I never understood how Christianity got past that whole commandment thing, especially with statues of Christ*, but also of every other graven image they pray to.
Did God ever officially rescind or amend that commandment? Did Jesus say anything to that effect, as God's man on Earth?
If God is truly omniscient, then why wasn't the commandment so prescient as to say: "Thou shall have no graven images, except of my son, who will show up in a few thousand years. So give him a break, okay? He's a good kid."
( * that's even considering the Holy Trinity. God was clearly, according to the bible, using "me" in the first person, not "we" in the collective sense.) - inactive, on 10/11/2007, -26/+92More Christians need JESUS in their HEARTS...
CINCINNATI (EAP) - A Cincinnati teenager was killed last week when her plastic Jesus dashboard figure was driven into her chest by her car's airbag which inflated during an accident involving two other vehicles.
17-year-old Darlene Fulps of Cincinnati was apparently holding her Jesus figure close to her chest when she ran through a red light and collided with two other vehicles in a busy intersection.
"The air bag inflated and pushed the head of Jesus straight through her heart," said Tom Young, medical examiner at the scene of the accident. "If it wasn't for the plastic Jesus, Ms. Fulps would still be alive today."
"Air bags have saved thousands of lives, but in this case it actually took a life, thanks to Jesus," said police officer Graham Pryor, first officer at the scene.
Robert Fulps, Darlene's father and devout Christian man said "It was just our daughter's time to go, and we can't question the actions of God. My daughter loved Jesus and worshipped Him, and I think she's probably talking to Him in heaven right now."
"We gave our daughter the dashboard Jesus for her birthday last year, and she really liked it," said Mrs. Gladys Fulps. "It's too bad that Jesus ended up killing her, but we believe she's in heaven now, and we're happy for her, and hope to re-unite with her when we get to heaven."
"We're just glad our daughter had Jesus in her heart when she died," said Mr. and Mrs. Fulps. - Roger, on 10/11/2007, -7/+65@nsummy
Really? Then why do they bow down in front of the statues?
Jesus statue, Golden calf statues, not much difference. - kaje, on 10/11/2007, -66/+123Buried as inaccurate. God can't smite anything if God doesn't exist.
- geekchic, on 10/11/2007, -5/+61While very funny, alas Snopes.com says "false"
- feb420, on 10/11/2007, -12/+62Someone was praying the WRONG way.
- mobbo, on 10/11/2007, -2/+47Dugg for using the word "smites". That word needs to make a comeback.
- meshman, on 10/11/2007, -15/+603. Thou shalt pick and choose from the bible which passages to follow based on your opinion.
4. Thou shalt smite anyone that does the same. - Indyanna, on 10/11/2007, -1/+43Just to clarify a couple of things, based on comments posted:
In Christendom, religious statues and images are in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions. (Maybe Anglican, too? Anyone here know?)
Protestant denominations do not have religious statues. That was one of the issues of the Reformation, when Luther, et. al. protested many of the practices and teachings of the Roman Catholic church. - futureb, on 10/11/2007, -5/+45as idols go, this one isn't that big. ever drive East on Hwy 70 in Illinois?
http://www.crossusa.org/Netscape/images/wallpaper/wallpaper_3_640.jpg - brstilson, on 10/11/2007, -5/+43"as idols go, this one isn't that big. ever drive East on Hwy 70 in Illinois?"
I never understood the fixation with crosses. If a friend of yours got stabbed to death, you wouldn't wear a knife around your neck. - glasnostic, on 10/11/2007, -7/+45God wants all his followers to remove their left arms and right hands. It’s obvious.
- brstilson, on 10/11/2007, -3/+39"A statue or painting of Jesus is not necessarily an idol and almost never treated as one. An idol is something you specifically trust as ultimate power in your life. These pilgrims do not think this statute of Jesus is their God, but only a representation of their god"
Correct me if I'm wrong, but when the Israelites made the golden calf, did they not claim that it was the representation of Jehovah (or Yahweh, or what-have-you)? Since God still destroyed them, one would think that even if you assign an idol to God or Jesus, it still violates the commandment against idols. - atdigg, on 10/11/2007, -18/+53There is a weasely explanation, before Jesus, God could not be represented because he didn't have a human (or otherwise) form, but since Jesus was a man he had an image that could be reproduced.
Why weasely? Because Christians claim to know what God actually intended with that commandment in such way to self-justify their behavior. - EntropyMan, on 10/11/2007, -2/+36@nsummy, If you're going to attack me, at least quote me accurately. I didn't mention anything relating to worshiping a graven image vs. merely praying in front of one. The commandment is pretty clear: no graven images. Period. I don't believe it gets specific as to what you could do with them.
God, or Moses at least, was pretty adamant about that after the whole "golden calf incident." I saw it on the teevee.
And if you need a statue to be reminded of something, how strong is your faith? I mean really. Are you saying Christians are stuck in the developmental stage where OBJECT PERMANENCE isn't established?
Try this. Put some small object behind your back. Can you tell me what's there without looking?
Frankly, I think my knowledge of Christianity is probably just fine compared to yours. And I'm not even Christian. I claim no special expertise in violating the ten commandments and justifying it through dogma. - inactive, on 10/11/2007, -1/+35no, Protestants have an empty cross. Only the catholics (and Lutherans?) still have Christ hanging there
- rockhead42, on 10/11/2007, -17/+48Atheism solves so many of these silly little questions...you can hate the idea, but it sure simplifies things like: "how could God permit such things?" Perhaps if we tumble to the fact that it is us and us alone who are responsible for the most of the human condition and it is we who can make the crucial difference not a forgiving god...
- brstilson, on 10/11/2007, -2/+30"but I don't think theres a direct reference to the holy trinity anywhere in the Bible. It's a tacked-on concept."
That's correct. According to the New Catholic Encyclopedia, the Trinity doctrine isn't explicitly taught in the New Testament. It wasn't officially added to the doctrine until the Council of Nicea in the 4th century, and wasn't something the original fathers of the church had any concept of. There were a few efforts in the middle ages to introduce Trinitarian statements into the scriptures, but since older manuscripts still exist, it's easy to spot the spurious additions. - gabacho2, on 10/11/2007, -21/+49Thats the origin of the whole holy trinity. God is jesus, is the holy spirit. They needed a way to explain that ***** too. Thats why that concept was invented. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think theres a direct reference to the holy trinity anywhere in the Bible. It's a tacked-on concept.
- nagaisu, on 10/11/2007, -10/+37That is so friggin funny. It's hard to process that much irony at once.
- Afreyt, on 10/11/2007, -15/+37Its a waste of time to try to understand insanity. By definition it is not bound by reason.
Yes, its only God if its a good thing. Its never his fault otherwise. Okay? Got it? Good. - geekchic, on 10/11/2007, -5/+27"2.You shall not make for yourself any idol, nor bow down to it or worship it."
Puts away my Digg Shrine :( - robbyjo, on 10/11/2007, -1/+22Here's the Snopes link of that story:
http://www.snopes.com/religion/plastic.asp - synapseattack, on 10/11/2007, -10/+30gabacho2: You say God is Jesus, but in the bible Jesus prays to his father. If his father is himself than why would he need to pray.
I'm not picking on you. Just the Bible.
And for all those that say the Bible is the word of God and therefore flawless, just remember that MAN had to write it down for God and we tend to skew things in our favor. - AtheistAcolyte, on 10/11/2007, -2/+20Reincarnation and Karma (in the cosmic sense). Without that, Buddhism isn't much more than a philosophy of how to live one's life. However, Buddhism is far more conducive to scientific thought than other religions. In fact, Buddhism can be regarded by some definitions as atheistic, since it doesn't believe in any personal god (correct me if I'm wrong).
- JaYBrooks, on 10/11/2007, -1/+18Well... My first thought wasn't about god or religion. The rebar in the statue was most likely a factor (and the hight too I am sure). At least lightning didn't pick a person to ground through instead?
- Afreyt, on 10/11/2007, -7/+24That depends. As a Buddhist do you believe in things you have no evidence for and are, in the absence of your belief in them, fantastically unlikely?
If so, you are a irrational religious person. If not, you are a rational philosopher.
BTW, as a Buddhist, why does it matter what other people think of you? Doesn't that represent clinging to ego? - EntropyMan, on 10/11/2007, -4/+20"I never understood the fixation with crosses. If a friend of yours got stabbed to death, you wouldn't wear a knife around your neck."
I might wear a knife for protection, not worship.
@reflux: "Jesus simplified the commandments to their purest essence and condensed them to just two:"
Is this anything like George Carlin's routine on the 10 commandments? - Afreyt, on 10/11/2007, -5/+20No no no, the commandment was against idleness, not idolatry. God just didn't know how to spell. He was pissed because the people were being lazy and arguing on the golden digg when they should have been at work.
- 15thPD, on 10/11/2007, -8/+22I don't know about other Christians, but I've never prayed to any statue or graven image. I pray to Jesus with my eyes closed, and that's the way I've always done it. I think it's just the catholics that pray to 'saints' and 'prophets' and statues and rosary beads and such. I've never done any of that.
- noamsml, on 10/11/2007, -0/+14No, you're being rational. Meanwhile, we're having fun.
- DreKor, on 10/11/2007, -1/+15what address?
your spam lacks logistical specifics. - bardamuclichy, on 10/11/2007, -13/+25Please explain how being 'educated' should make one an atheist. I am Buddhist. Please explain how being a Buddhist makes me irrational.
I will leave you with this:
I can't believe that we have SO many educated people in this world, yet they still don't have adequate grammar or proofchecking skills. - dclowd9901, on 10/11/2007, -5/+17The writers of the Bible ran into the same issues that the writers of Superman ran into: His power created holes in the plot.
- trer, on 10/11/2007, -4/+16"Why is God only ever responsible for good things?"
Just like partisan politics, you only pick and choose from the things that fit your agenda. Religion is no different. - SilverhammerMBA, on 10/11/2007, -3/+14The interesting thing about this situation is that all of the believers will say that there was no religious symbolism because that would mean god hates them, while the non-believers will say there was religious symbolism because it's funnier that way.
- Comanch09, on 10/11/2007, -2/+12Evidentally Zeus didn't like the Jesus idol.
- bjornski, on 10/11/2007, -8/+18And theology is for easily led sheep who are uncomfortable with free thought.
Atheists like to figure things out. "Believers" just say that "god did it" and happily continue on their ignorant ways, and following the corrupt people in power that tell these things to them.
I don't believe in something just because a man with a white collar or pointy hat read it out of a book of fairy tales. - CannedMango, on 10/11/2007, -1/+10@reflux
"(Matthew 22:34-40) "34Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:
36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'[b] 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'[c] 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
Thanks for that reflux. So what this is saying is that every Christian who supports war is directly disobeying Jesus himself. He tells people that you must love God and that you must love your neighbour as you love yourself. Unless people REALLY like shooting at themselves, then they aren't loving their neighbours very well. - brstilson, on 10/11/2007, -2/+11All this hoopla just because lightning struck something of significance. If everyone worshiped trees, we'd be scared as *****.
- Afreyt, on 10/11/2007, -3/+12Once again, digging a comment down doesn't make it any less true. If anyone here can explain why belief in the absence of evidence or logical reason is somehow rational, be my guest. If you can't, you must accept the label. Its not perjorative if you can justify that its a good thing to be irrational in certain ways.
And as to my comment on why does it matter what other people think of you... aren't Christians as well supposed to turn the other cheek? Or is it better to get angry when people point out your flaws? - tragicmuffin, on 10/11/2007, -3/+12When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad, and that is my religion. ~Abraham Lincoln
- darzeecompany, on 10/11/2007, -4/+13"The lightning bolt broke off one of Jesus' arms and a hand and damaged one of his feet"
Child abuse!! I'm calling Family Services! - DreKor, on 10/11/2007, -1/+10One of the key theological differences between protestantism and Catholicism is represented in Catholics having crosses with a corpus while protestants don't.
- DreKor, on 10/11/2007, -1/+9@ heresyforme
A longer version of that would be that Protestants view Jesus as resurrected or "off the cross". This represents a completed atonement for humanity's sins and allows for the notion of free grace. Catholicism represents Jesus as still being on the cross. While they do believe that Jesus was resurrected, depicting him on the cross reinforces the idea that grace is not freely given and demands earthly works. - TheBanditKing, on 10/11/2007, -1/+9Oh my... i'd digg you up for your humourous comment if you hadn't just said "escape goat"..
scape goat*
no bloody "e", alright?? - IllBeBack, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8"The nuns at Mother Cabrini Shrine in Golden were thanking God on Sunday that no one was hurt when a bolt of lightning shot out of the sky and struck their 33-foot statue of Jesus."
They thanked God that no one got hurt, but blamed nature for hurting their statue? Do they not comprehend their complete lack of logic in coming to this conclusion? - wm2010russ, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8the main difference between protestants and catholics, as enumerated by luther in his theses, is that while catholics believe that entry to heaven is gained through good works and deeds, protestants believe that all that is necessary is to ask for forgiveness for your sins and accept god into your life.
edit: drekor got it right -
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