Pope condemns life imprisionment

[Nick1911]

I trust in the word of God, NOT the word of MAN.

So you're a Catholic that doesn't believe in papal infallibility?  Isn't that like, an important part of Catholicism?

[230RN]

So you're a Catholic that doesn't believe in papal infallibility?  Isn't that like, an important part of Catholicism?

Wasn't there a British King who solved that problem for himself?

[HeroHog]

So you're a Catholic that doesn't believe in papal infallibility?  Isn't that like, an important part of Catholicism?

Not for me! God gave man the ability to Reason and to have the ability to to think for one's self. I believe that this Pope has said several things that I believe to be wrong as have others in the past. I don't find them infallible or inflammable.
 

[Hawkmoon]

Il Papa is infallible only when he is speaking ex cathedra (whatever that means), not every time he opens his pie hole.

[230RN]

^  It's been a while and I'd completely forgot about that, so thank you.

"The doctrine of papal infallibility, the Latin phrase ex cathedra (literally, 'from the chair') was proclaimed by Pius IX in 1870 as meaning 'when, in the exercise of his office as shepherd and teacher of all Christians, in virtue of his supreme apostolic authority, [the Bishop of Rome] defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the whole Church.'[1]

"The response demanded from believers has been characterized as 'assent' in the case of ex cathedra declarations of the popes and 'due respect' with regard to their other declarations.[26]"

[Nick1911]

Il Papa is infallible only when he is speaking ex cathedra (whatever that means), not every time he opens his pie hole.

Gotcha, thanks.

[ConstitutionCowboy]

By not executing murderers or not keeping murderers locked up for life is to condemn their next victim to death instead. It's an incurable defect in these people called recidivism.

Woody

[230RN]

By not executing murderers or not keeping murderers locked up for life is to condemn their next victim to death instead. It's an incurable defect in these people called recidivism.

Woody

Yes.  Sometimes the obvious has to be re-stated to the oblivious.

Terry, 230RN

[RoadKingLarry]

If the Pope thinks life imprisonment is bad I wonder what he thinks about that whole eternal damnation thing?

[MechAg94]

If the Pope thinks life imprisonment is bad I wonder what he thinks about that whole eternal damnation thing?

I often wonder if some of these Christians still believe in that (or even the God part).  Not for me to judge that.

That said, we are supposed to be merciful not stupid.  I think these people have no ability to consider the long term consequences of their decisions.  Executing strict punishment for crimes is necessary to satisfy the need for justice for the victim (they always forget the victim)  and to highlight the strict boundaries of behavior for those who might consider doing the same crime later (so you create fewer future criminals and more victims).  I guess when you start thinking no one is responsible for their own behavior, it screws you up to the point of thinking the criminal is more of a victim than the person they hurt. 

[230RN]

Timshel

From John Steinbeck:

But the Hebrew word, the word timshel—‘Thou mayest’— that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open. That throws it right back on a man. For if ‘Thou mayest’—it is also true that ‘Thou mayest not.’ Don’t you see?

Steinbeck makes a big deal out of this word in the Bible.  I first came across it while reading his "Journal of a Novel," a record of his efforts in writing "East of Eden."

We have a choice between good and evil.  "Thou mayest."  And "Thou mayest not."

The main theme for East of Eden turns on the correct translation of the Hebrew word timshel, translated differently in various versions of the Bible. The word appears in the Cain and Abel story in Genesis, when God discusses sin with Cain.

https://www.oprah.com/oprahsbookclub/east-of-eden-timshel-mans-choice-between-good-and-evil

Terry, 230RN

REF:
https://www.ebooks.com/en-us/411876/journal-of-a-novel/john-steinbeck/

[Pb]

If the Pope thinks life imprisonment is bad I wonder what he thinks about that whole eternal damnation thing?

I am personally an annihilationist.  It is a type eternal damnation, but it is not a popular view.

There is a rumor the pope is too.  If so, it is one of the few things I agree with him on.  If he is an annihilationist, I wish he would admit it publicly.

"Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire," says the LORD Almighty. "Not a root or a branch will be left to them."
Malachi 4:1

[ConstitutionCowboy]

I mean no offense to any resident Catholics. I know Faith, by it's nature, isn't logical, but every day I wonder more how people still bring themselves to fund the Catholic Church.

I, like everyone else, need a path. Since I couldn't blindly accept faith as taught in any religion, I had to dig. There was only one way I found faith. It both convinced me of the existence of God, and in practice, worked for me. I had to question the very existence of God. I found His existence through logic. Example: Nothing in this world happens - be it a mutation, something evolving, an atomic bomb exploding, "climate change," grass growing, good or evil, or simply passing gas - that doesn't follow the laws of physics. The author of those laws of physics I call God.

Blind faith is illogical, though it can serve a person well if the doctrine has been inculcated - eh - faithfully. Faith learned through logic can't be lost, can't be bent, won't succumb to evil, and doesn't require blind obedience. You just know it to be right.

As for the Catholic Church, it has been corrupted and can only be cleansed by a lack of funding. The corrupt will have to go elsewhere to ply their insidious deviant behavior, and then the righteous will rise to the top. I believe the same thing needs to be done to cleanse the NRA. Stop the flow of cash and the greedy will go elsewhere and the righteous will rise to the top as well. How does that saying go? Oh, yeah: Money talks and bovine excrement walks.

Woody