The Financial Crisis is a Manifestation of Widespread Moral Decline

"[A]fter a career in finance I look aghast on what has happened since the turn of the 21st century. The conclusion I have come to is that the present financial crisis was caused by, and is one of the most blatant manifestations of, widespread moral decline in our society."

-- George C. Karlweis, Geneva banker to George Soros, speaking safely in retirement, here

In the Pox-Eclipse . . .

. . . a piece of bread . . .

. . . could buy a bag of gold.

A Brief Catechism of the Copula

In which no questions are posed, and no answers required of thee:

Ye are the salt of the earth (Mt. 5:13);

Heaven is God's throne (Mt. 5:34);

Earth is His footstool (Mt. 5:35);

Wide is the gate that leadeth to destruction (Mt. 7:13);

Narrow is the gate which leadeth unto life (Mt. 7:14);

John is Elias (Mt. 11:14);

Whoever shall do the will of my Father is my brother and sister and mother (Mt. 12:50);

The tares are the children of the wicked one (Mt. 13:38);

This (bread) is my body (Mt. 26:26);

This (cup) is my blood (Mt. 26:28);

My meat is to do the will of him that sent me (John 4:34);

John was a burning and a shining light (John 5:35);

For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven (John 6:33);

I am the bread of life (John 6:35);

The bread that I will give is my flesh (John 6:51);

My flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed (John 6:55);

The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life (John 6:63);

One of you is a devil (John 6:70);

I am the light of the world (John 8:12);

I am the door of the sheep (John 10:7);

I am the true vine (John 15:1);

Ye are the branches (John 15:5);

Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia (Gal. 4:25);

The church is his body (Eph. 1:22-23).

Now reach up with both hands and touch your ears, and feel that they are the long furry ears of an ass. 

Uh Oh. Lady Gaga Really is Nuts.

"I feel like honestly that God sent me those lyrics and that melody. When you feel a message to give to the world and people are shooting arrows at it... there's no way for something that pure to be wrong."

-- Lady Gaga, quoted here

Augustine: In Favor of the Death Penalty, and of the Just War

"The same divine authority that forbids the killing of a human being establishes certain exceptions, as when God authorizes killing by a general law or when He gives an explicit commission to an individual for a limited time.

"The agent who executes the killing does not commit homicide; he is an instrument as is the sword with which he cuts. Therefore, it is in no way contrary to the commandment, 'Thou shalt not kill' to wage war at God's bidding, or for the representatives of public authority to put criminals to death, according to the law, that is, the will of the most just reason."

-- The City of God, Book 1, chapter 21

Thomas Aquinas: In Favor of the Death Penalty

"Every part is directed to the whole, as imperfect to perfect, wherefore every part exists naturally for the sake of the whole. For this reason we see that if the health of the whole human body demands the excision of a member, because it became putrid or infectious to the other members, it would be both praiseworthy and healthful to have it cut away. Now every individual person is related to the entire society as a part to the whole. Therefore if a man be dangerous and infectious to the community, on account of some sin, it is praiseworthy and healthful that he be killed in order to safeguard the common good, since "a little leaven corrupteth the whole lump” (1 Cor. 5:6)."

-- Summa Theologiae, II, II, q. 64, art. 2

Glenn Beck: The Growing List Alleging Plagiarism

Or "content theft." Or "use without proper attribution."

Namely:

Breitbart, Rebel Pundit, Media Research Center, Christian Hartsock, Liberty Chick, Verum Serum, Atlas Shrugs, Jihad Watch, Accuracy in Media, Associated Content, Founding Bloggers, Citizen's Radio and Michael Opelka.

The DC has the story here. 

IMHO the MO is thoroughly consistent with Beck's religion: The Book of Mormon is nothing but a cheap rip-off of the Christian Bible, after all. And the chutzpah! They want to be considered "Christians."

So what else would you expect of one of its followers?

The Eternal Flame

In Mark there's a fire asbestos

Not fleeting, as if just to test us:

Where their worm is eternal

And their flame, unquenchable.

Repeated three times! Imbecillus!

The Dark Side of English at Religion Dispatches

Will the harassment never stop?

(source)

With Rob Bell . . . in Hell

There once was a pastor named Bell

His first sermon, chronicl'd in hell:

"Jesus' radical love is a scandal!

That's why I took off my sandals!"

Twofold more child of hell than yourselves.

Story here.

The Proofer is a Protestant

Naturally:

"I believe in God. I am Christian. I think The Bible is certainly, it is THE book. It is the thing. ... First Presbyterian Church in Jamaica queens is where I went to church. I'm a protestant, I'm a Presbyterian. And you know I've had a good relationship with the church over the years. I think religion is a wonderful thing. I think my religion is a wonderful religion."

-- Donald Trump, interviewed here

Tithing: 58 Percent of Evangelical Leaders Say It's Not Required

"42% of evangelical leaders believe the Bible requires tithing, while 58% do not."


Find the complete story here.

Woe Unto You, Pastors! Hypocrites!

All their works they do for to be seen of men:

they make broad their diplomas on their walls, adorned in oak and glass, which they do use to command a higher salary but prove every Sunday from the pulpit, that they are worthless;

and they seek ever to enlarge the size of their ride, which they do wash and polish until gleaming but inside is full of dead men's bones;

and love the choicest spots reserved for them in the parking lot;

and to be visited by the sheep which was lost, in a large private office in the church, during office hours only;

and greetings in the restaurants, and the country club, and at the boat dock;

and to be called of men, Reverend, Doctor.

Woe unto you, pastors, hypocrites! for ye extort the tithe and devour women's houses, and for a pretence make long prayer for the poor, and the sick, the unemployed and the homeless: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.

Woe unto you, pastors, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one convert, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves, while the beggar on thine own street do ye refuse and turn away, and teach men so to do.

Woe unto you, pastors, hypocrites! for ye build excess square footage at great expense, which lies vacant and warm most of the day, and mistake its desolation for the kingdom of God. You have your reward.

Woe unto you, pastors, hypocrites! for ye bind on men heavy mortgages, grievous to be borne, and then do run away to take another call.

Woe unto you, pastors, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men.    

Little Danny Tutwiler

Little Danny Tutwiler

Sat upon a Rottweiler

And he began to cry:

"Maaaama! Maaaama!

Reverend Dr. Dan am I!"

"We don't even know how life got started on Earth"

So says the newest winner of what used to be called "The Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion," Cambridge cosmologist Martin Rees, here.

And not only that:

RCR: You are often presented in the press as a respecter of the gods but not a believer in them.

Rees: I think that's true. I don't have any religious beliefs but I'm not allergic to religion. I participate in the religious services of the Church of England, which is the culture in which I grew up. I'm an analogue to the substantial fraction of Jews who don't believe in God but still practice some of the traditional rituals. The liturgy and music of the English Church are part of my culture that I value and would like to see preserved.



Averse alike to flatter, or offend,
Not free from faults, nor yet too vain to mend.

-- Alexander Pope

 

 

People Are Swine

"For the Constitution, rather than suggesting that all behave in a godlike manner, recognizes that, to the contrary, people are swine and will take any opportunity to subvert any agreement in order to pursue what they consider to be their proper interests."

-- David Mamet, 2008, here

Counterrevolutionary Acts: First We Kill All The Televisions

"Television certainly worked a revolution. But does anyone still maintain that the boob-tube has improved the minds of the young? Certainly, television opened the way for an even fuller Information Revolution. The apologists for television used to tell us that their darling has moulded the minds of 'the best informed generation in the history of America.' Also, it has moulded the minds of the most ignorant generation in America . . .."

-- Russell Kirk, 1983, here

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Somewhere, you wrote about the mass media, including the computer industry, conspiring to pervert our need for community. That the dream of having all this information at our fingertips to make us godlike is really doing the opposite and making us forget our humanity. Could you elaborate on that?

"It's not really that they're conspiring to, but they might as well be. If you sit down in front of the television with 700 channels, there's probably something on those channels that's going to interest you. It's a very good way to get stupid very quickly."

There's nothing you get from television? The information is just a delusion?

"I absolutely think so. If there's any information, it's purely accidental. Furthermore, I don't think there is any information to be gotten from television. I think it's an illusion. It's an interesting narcotic."

Even documentaries or historical programs?

"No, it's television."

What about the Internet and the promise of all this information becoming available?

"I don't know anything about it, but I'm sure it's worse."

-- David Mamet, interviewed, 1997, here