Is Pope Benedict XVI a Troll?

[Dean]

Unusual title, I do realize. Still, you will see what I mean. Here is the official English transcription of Pope Benedict XVI's 2011 Christmas Eve Homily. What struck me about this was it's apparent disdain for reason, and one passage in particular. Take a look at this particular excerpt, and its implications (emphasis is mine):

"It seems to me that a deeper truth is revealed here, which should touch our hearts on this holy night: if we want to find the God who appeared as a child, then we must dismount from the high horse of our "enlightened" reason. We must set aside our false certainties, our intellectual pride, which prevents us from recognizing God's closeness. ...
We must follow the interior path of Saint Francis the path leading to that ultimate outward and inward simplicity which enables the heart to see. We must bend down, spiritually we must as it were go on foot, in order to pass through the portal of faith and encounter the God who is so different from our prejudices and opinions the God who conceals himself in the humility of a newborn baby. In this spirit let us celebrate the liturgy of the holy night, let us strip away our fixation on what is material, on what can be measured and grasped. Let us allow ourselves to be made simple by the God who reveals himself to the simple of heart."

It really is difficult to know what to say about this, so I will leave that to you guys. Apparently, by way of deliberate suspension, denial and/or surrendering of critical and analytical faculties, we can come to "know", "the infinite"?! Plus, we are apparently required to "strip away" our "fixation" with what is evidently true, e.g. can be measured and verified rationally, and empirically. While I understand that he is of course, a deeply religious man, it IS 2012, nearly. Can he really, and seriously mean what he says here?

I'm not sure whether to laugh or to cry. Hence, the title. It seems exactly the sort of thing a troll might say. :lol: So, in sum, IS Pope Benedict XVI a troll?

 

[Prolescum]

No, he has a script writer who wanted to be a novelist.

This reasoning (without the flowery language) is exactly the same as many other spiritual leaders (suspend your disbelief and you'll see why my god makes sense). As you'd expect, it appeals to one's emotions and is designed to reinforce the risible doctrine that the not-we will never fully understand truth, beauty and wonder etc like "we" can. The rest is nothing more than a religious expression of don't trust the other, trust me. Beyond the already fervent, I doubt if this speech will have much impact.

The Pope is little more than a historical punchline to non-Catholics.

 

[Epiquinn]

What the Pope really means is that the Catholic Church should strip the poor people of the world away from all the possessions, financial stability and education that they have left.

 

[Master_Ghost_Knight]

 

[Laurens]

The Pope would blatantly be dead by now if it wasn't for the advances made since our species decided to stop being superstitious and start being more 'enlightened' and rational.

The reason we are not all uneducated buffoons wallowing in filthy streets and dying at the age of 28 due to tooth ache or during childbirth is because of science and rationalism.

Fuck the Pope he's a moron.

 

[australopithecus]

...let us strip away our fixation on what is material, on what can be measured and grasped...

Like, say, palaces, priceless works of art, and clothes dripping with gold?

:facepalm:

The Pope is an idiot.

 

[The Felonius Pope]

No further comment.

 

[gregoryvonubersnythe]

I find it amazing people can take this guy seriously.
This little speech reeks of a fearful reaction to what he percieves as a threat to the loyalty of his dark disciples . Just as his statement on his recent trip to britain, cant recall the exact wording but he basicaly said that athiesm and secularism where what caused the nazi regime....reducto ad hitlerum.
As well as being false as hitler was not an athiest he believed in a divine creator and whether he believed in the catholic god or not he was most definitely baptised as a catholic, this of course is irrelevant to the reason why he did the things he did (he was a nut job) but it shows the general lack of knowledge and thoughtlessness of speech.
Apologies if my grammar/spelling are squiffy i havent slept in two days and Im wired on caffeine :shock:

 

[CosmicJoghurt]

Pretty much what you would expect of someone in his position, though, is he not?