If bullshitting was a cardinal sin, George Pell would be in trouble.
In an Easter column in The Australian the cardinal waxed lyrical about the Eternal City. He lauds Italy for having “at least” two government-sponsored television stations (although there’s really only one that matters, and Italy ranks below Australia in Reporters Without Borders’ annual Press Freedom Index).
The thumbs-up to Italy, though, is just a little device to allow Pell to have a crack at the “Gramscian” ABC, a reference to the trope of “cultural Marxism”, a debunked conspiracy theory that has been found to be anti-Semitic.
He suggests Australia should have an alternative national broadcaster (presumably one that did not bother to cover the peccadilloes of the Catholic Church).
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There’s not enough room here to go through his supernatural claims about whether or not a dude called Jesus was the son of God. Or if, indeed, God exists. There’s also not enough space to wade through the Pet Sematary-esque claims about the resurrection of the aforementioned son of God, or the notion of miracles.
It’s also not really possible, in a column about the preponderance of bullshit, to start tackling claims that are not falsifiable. So let’s stop the self-flagellation and move on.
What is entirely falsifiable is Pell’s claim that Australians don’t give a fig leaf about the “Christian origins” of Easter.
Pell spends much of his precious broadsheet real estate bemoaning the little colony down south and its ignorance of Christian teaching. “Most of the poor and all of the taxi drivers in Rome have a viewpoint on religion and the Vatican,” he writes.
“In Australia, everyone enjoys the Easter break, as they enjoy the Queen’s Birthday holiday, but many haven’t much of a notion about the Christian origins of the celebration, even of Good Friday.”
The Christian origins of Easter?
For Christ’s sake. Believe in miracles, in the son of a God crawling out of a tomb to ascend bodily to Heaven, if that’s your faith.
But to wilfully ignore the actual, factual origins of Easter in the rush to perpetuate the culture wars is self-indulgent tosh. Easter’s origins are pagan. It’s in the name, derived from the pre-Christian goddess Eostre. It’s in the timing, dictated by the movements of the sun and moon, coinciding with spring equinox in the northern hemisphere. It’s even in the symbolism of eggs and bunnies as fertility symbols.
It was eventually adopted by Christianity, but did not originate with Christianity.
Pell’s self-righteousness is so ingrained he imagines devils where there are none. He’s trying to exorcise non-existent ghosts at the ABC, and to perpetrate the idea that there is some existential threat to life as we know it.
Pell believes that “there were no bones in the tomb after the resurrection”. He believes in miracles. But he also believes something patently false, that Easter sprung fully formed from Christianity (a Virgin birth, if you will).
Perhaps his dismissal of history shouldn’t come as a surprise. This is a guy who once described people who want action on climate change as modern-day pagans.
“In the past, pagans sacrificed animals and even humans in vain attempts to placate capricious and cruel gods — today they demand a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions,” he said.
You can’t make this shit up.
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You got it in one. You can’t make this shit up!
Pell is riding a slow horse that is trending slower.
I assume Pell was appalled at the pro-Trump Murdoch media, or was he convinced that Trump was a true believer doing the chosen ones work and only Rupert understood ?
Please explain George.
George, like Scott, doesn’t believe in, or care about anything except himself
If there is a God, then surely Cardinal Pell isn’t someone he or she could possibly wish to have pontificating on their behalf?
I’m not so sure. The God depicted in the bible gets a kick out of testing the faithful, e.g. see the book of Job, where God and Satan bet each other about how far the remarkably devout Job can be pushed without breaking.
Just an observation- if the article was written like this about Mohammed- your head would separated from your body by the next week end. That is what happens in Europe
The author can speak for herself, but for my money, the article was about Pell’s random religious re-mix and not his imaginary cloud friend.
I agree with Desmond but it is sad that so many people who do believe and follow the Christian faith in thought and deeds are spoken about in such a disparaging way.
If these people making these nasty comments lived by the ten commandments of the Christian religion the world would be a better place
Hey I’m sure no one covets their neighbour’s oxen, anymore……
Adultery?
With your neighbour’s oxen? That’s in the Ten Commandments?
nah, that’s covered (sic!) in Leviticus 18:23
But does it qualify as adultery?
In the relevant religious law(s), yes.
So much so as to be almost the apotheosis of the concept.
Along with not mixing threads or milk & meat.
Ruhollah Khomeini wrote entire screeds, defining to the nth degree the depth of penetration before becoming haram.
Don;t you believe it – in the regions of Africa where xtian kraziness is the fastest growing delusion, people are very covetous of their oxen, zebu and honouring their parents.
Indoctrinating children before the age of reason is abuse. The RC and other churches rely on that fact and want to ‘convert’ the young. Pell exemplifies one who has been converted in his youth and is unable to be rational.
What a load of unmitigated claptrap
Which? Pell’s views or Tory Shepherds article?
The latter.
Spot on.
Round here they are indoctrinated to sport.
If these so called Christians lived by the ten commandments of the Christian religion the world would be a better place.
Are you happy about #1 – the death penalty for worshipping other gods?
Sounds familiar these days but I can’t recall why…
I prefer the Two Great Commandments, particularly “Love you Neighbour” . All else flows from that!
The Gospels of Christ! Not Morrisons heretical prosperity happy clappy one
interesting you choose the 10 commandments as ‘of the Christian religion’ since, although Christianity lays claim to them, they’re Jewish.
Surely it’s following the teachings of Christ (I’m thinking sermon on the mount, camel through the eye of the needle, love thy neighbour as thyself, charity etc etc) that should set christians apart?
Trouble is, while there are many fine Christians about, the most visible seem to be lazy-minded fundamentalists or greedy prosperity-Jesus types.
Regardless, the covering up of systemic child abuse etc by people like Pell should be spoken of in a ‘disparaging way’ by everyone.
God I wish I was an atheist. They only do good things
Atheists do bad things too – but mostly without the hypocrisy
The point, Justin, is that one does NOT require a religion in order to act ethically and possessing a religion is no guarantee of ethical conduct.
Just to have that one Christian value. Treat your fellow man as you would like to be treated yourself
That’s the horrendous Form Mistress in Charles Kingsley’s “Water Babies“.
A better place for believers?
How about we just live by the last 6 commandments that aren’t about worshipping your sky fairy.
We did have that world. It was called the dark ages.
Given that Christianity does not present itself in Europe and England until the 8th century it was not a factor during the “dark ages” which, by the 8th century were coming to an end.
Introduced in the 7th century but not a force until the end of the 8th century.
The Ten Commandments, given to the Jewish leader Moses according to the sacred texts of that people, do not belong to the much younger religious teachings of Christianity, except that the prophet of those teachings urged his supporters to follow them. Perhaps Christians would feel less ‘disparaged’ if they were more respectful of others, and more knowledgeable about their own faith traditions.
EXCEPT that the Commandments are located in more than one place in the Bible, Christine, AND the order DIFFERS along denominations.
My sermon on the letters of Paul integrate both testaments nicely.
Not to mention the complete obliteration of the sub clause of #1 about graven images from the Douay (Catholic) version – otherwise all those graven images of Mary et al would not be permitted.
Your traditional bet of a slab could be put out here without fear of losing – where are the soi disant 10 Commandments in the O/T?
Are you suggesting that Georgie believes and follows the Christian faith in thought and deeds? Because he’s clearly shown he doesn’t
This assertion requires an illustration. Opinion as to (e.g.) SSM notwithstanding Pell has been (remarkably) consistent as to clericalism; more so that Archbishops of Canterbury.
This flaccid organ would no more allow such an article to be published than one questioning the woman-with-a-penis faith.
Wotchit, you can be stoned for such blasphemy in this culture, Ag.
I do always find it diverting, the way militant atheism is invariably oblivious to its own prodigious capacity for hateful, irrational zealotry. Case in point, this pretty undergrad-juvey attempt at a hatchet job, m’luds. I can forgive the fiery heat of the Millennials, the Micks and Pell himself have hardly given a toss about their future (or that of the planet). And the His Eminence has been fitted up for 400 days in prison as a rock spider by the Vic DPP, slagged off as kiddy fiddler by most of the national press and parliaments, and is now going up against Vatican crooks and quite probably elements of the Mob….I doubt he’ll lose much sleep over this fart in his church.
But Des’s point is apt – and I would be hugely impressed if Tory were to surprise, and have a crack at the Islamic Patriarchy will the same high voltage juice. Watching the likes of Dick Dawkins lose their sh*t trying to lay a glove on someone else’s Abrahamic ‘imaginary friend in the sky’ – but aiming near-exclusively at two out of the three available brands – never failed to hit the spot, as a satisfyingly delicious inside joke on soft-pap-prog selective sanctimonious certitude. At least Hitchens went after all infallible gods (save his own ego).
“I would be hugely impressed if Tory were to surprise, and have a crack at the Islamic Patriarchy”
Maybe she will when one of them gets a column in the Daily Tele or the Oz. Oh, hang on…
Fair point.
Breaking News (not really) : Pakistani PM Imram Khan sets things straight(ly).
This is incomprehensible. Pell does not have the standing of Mohammed. People have been attacked in Europe in a variety of ways simply for being unbelievers, though some of the attacks on unbelievers have also claimed believers in Islam. Australia is not Europe. Most of us are grateful that important clerics can be criticised in Australia and think the history of past and present religious terrorisms in all faiths thankfully are no longer our concern.
Yes, a point seemingly lost on Desmond. Bref’s comment also apposite.
Yeah,that’s right. Let’s tar the entire Muslim community with the same brush as the VERY few extremist DHs.
The article, however, is about George Pell, who is not a prophet or even much esteemed.
By casting emission reductions as a pagan ritual, Pell has contradicted the Pope. Perhaps it is time he explained himself before the Inquisition.
In the understanding of common folk, religion might explain away climate disasters, but science retains the power to predict them.
Interesting point, too many conservative Catholics and/or Christians criticise Pope Francis for having ‘Christian values’….. ditto Angela Merkel.
Related, some of the NewsCorp/LNP grifters turning up on news programs, when relevant, literally dribble (embarrassingly to impress) about Pope Francis, Angela Merkel, the EU et al. for projecting ‘values’, e.g. empathetic towards refugee or immigrants and the need for climate action.
One cannot describe how far Australia’s image or (formerly cool) brand has slipped in past two decades in the eyes of normal people elsewhere i.e. becoming aggressively white Christian nationalist, supporting fossil fuels and war, or simply a cheap knock off of the US…. while also fawning to the UK or ‘mother country’.
Thought ’80-’90s Labor brought Australia out of its slumber but no it has returned …..
It was Whitlam who wanted the Sleepers Awake in the early 70s.
Trouble is, the citizenry did not like the reality they found and chose to go back to sleep, especially the young which, personally, I found most distressing.
The HawKeating class traitors of the 80s locked this country into the ugly neolib nightmare of Thatcher/Reaganism and none have made a dent in it since.
Poor Fella, my Country.
Are we referring to Bach, Ken Patchen or Barry Jones (Sleepers Wake)?
If the title of the recent book by Jones is familiar (What is to be Done – sounds better in Russian) it might be because it deals with the same stuff.
On another thread I left a cf to you as one of the few here who would even know the author, let alone my allusion.
Oh you can’t blame the young Agni. This is all baby boomer conservatism and entitlement. The young had teachers and parents, I’d look there to find fault.
Mike Moore, who has been been recording across generations for quite some time, would disagree.
There are orders of magnitude more information available to school leavers now compared with those who grew up in the 60s but, ironically, the school leavers are considerably less informed; even in regard to basic geography. Moreover, every State recognises a current “crisis” in literacy.
Nothing to do with entitlement DB.
Brekky – I was at fault because my syntax did not clarify that my use of “the young” referred to those who were young in the 70/80s.
A spoilt & irresponsible cohort who spurned their birthright – the glorious inheritance of the Enlightenment – for the toys & gee-gaws of neolib nutbaggery.
Perhaps, Agni, you are overlooking the educational “reforms” that were commissioned from the mid 70s. While far from perfect the system DID produce results although not everyone received a prize. The “reforms” have got us to where we are now.
As this discussion (along with that of vaccines) illustrates looking stuff up is effective ONLY when one is in possession of a verifiable context in the first place. Contrary to the educational assumptions of four decades ago, it does not work in general. god knows what comes to be quoted.
Yep, all the progress of the 80s and 90s has gone, we’re back to small minds and white picket fences, and how dare you question my authority mindlessness. Conservative heaven. We are a tiny people again.
At the risk of appearing “picky” you seem to be assaulting (abusing?) conservativeism which does have a strict ideological meaning yet all too often confused with “traditional” values.