Passion Play

[Anonymous]

Well, as you guys started the ball rolling. :wink:

We're a Parliamentary Democracy, with a christian hereditary monarch as head of state who is head of her own Church. Legally, there may be a case for calling us a christian country, but in practice there hasn't been a criminal blasphemy prosecution here for over 30 years (which caused more confusion than anything) and we've moved on since the 17th Century and the puritan regime where Byron would have probably been locked up for proclaiming himself a non-Abrahamic pagan

You appear to argue against yourself, here, Tarby, since a prosecution for blasphemy would be a legal matter and you've already admitted that it is in matters of law that we may call Britain a Christian country. Not that we needed anyone's permission! :wink: In any case, I was not suggesting, for one moment, that Britain is Christian in terms of the beliefs of the majority of its population, but in terms of its established religion (which point you concede) and its culture. Subsequent posts reveal how widespread Passion Plays are in our culture, even today, and that's one aspect of the way our state religion permeates our society, but it's all around us, all the time, often in ways so subtle that non-Christians wouldn't recognize it. Everyone within our Christian nation remains free to worship, or not, in the way he chooses, so why are you so keen to change the label , what does it matter? I was making the point that our friend is surrounded by Christian culture and has succeeded in ignoring it; where's the problem with that?

[P. Clodius Secundus]

I think it was the stand-up philosopher Emo Phillips who said "The whole concept of monotheism is a gift from the Gods". :lol:
Seriously, when I was stationed in Germany my friends took me to a festival of Passion Plays and such at a Monastery in their home town. The local dialect was so heavy that I could hardly understand a word, but then again neither could some of my German friends. I still had fun trying to follow the storyline and drinking beer und schnapps. Those monks sure know how to brew. the greatest moral lesson I drew from the expeience was never try to outdrink a local. Even if she's a silver haired granny. :lol:

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

But the fun was in the trying I'm sure! :lol: :lol:

[Jona Lendering]

are you sure, i read a book called "the sexlives of the popes" very entertaining!

I read that one too. It is certainly amusing, but it is not to be taken seriously. It would have been a lot better if the author had written an introduction in which he told us that there have been waves of anti-catholic rumors: like the sixteenth century (Reformation), the eighteenth (Enlightenment), and the nineteenth (Italian Unification). Always, the pope was an easy target for ridicule.

I am not saying the guy is perfect, but there is a tradition of anti-catholic gossip. And even when you repeat a rumor for half a millennium, it is still not the truth. Compare the ancient sources about ancient democracy. Many of them are hostile (Xenophon, Plato) but we can all easily recognize the bias. Why can't we recognize the bias in our sources when writing about the Catholic Church? Serious biographies of notorious popes like Julius II (e.g., Shaw, The Warrior Pope) often tend to rehabilitate the subject.

There is nothing wrong with publishing a collection of historical gossip, but the author must just state that it is just gossip, and must offer some context.

Faith in its self ca not be bad but generally I treat all types of "organized clergy" with suspicion.

What I object to is the general tendnecy of the people to be slow in recting to abused in "the name of" whatever...

I fully agree. What I do not understand is that the religious experience, which is deeply personal, is used as a set of rules to keep society together. If God is transcending our knowledge (which is what all theologicians say), we can not understand Him, and can not use religion as a set of prescripts for how we have to live with other people.

[M. Demetrius]

If God is transcending our knowledge (which is what all theologicians say), we can not understand Him, and can not use religion as a set of prescripts for how we have to live with other people.

Well, it would be unrealistic to think that any human could fully embrace the concept of "infinity", as an attribute of deity, but what if God has given us a book of instructions, history, and His thoughts on various topics? Many people know more than I about practically all topics, but that doesn't mean I can't fellowship with them due to my lack of understanding.

You can know a person, for example, without understanding every detail of their inner thoughts and lives. Same with God.

[Jona Lendering]

You can know a person, for example, without understanding every detail of their inner thoughts and lives. Same with God.

An excellent reply; I had never looked at it like that.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

[]


........ I was making the point that our friend is surrounded by Christian culture and has succeeded in ignoring it; where's the problem with that?

Well Paul, I have hardly ignored the Christianity of the country i live in!

I once actually sang on 'Songs of Praise' in my school quiore. But that was many years ago!
But to be honest, I have never heard the term Passion Play used in this context until recently, and I doubt many non-church goers would be much different! I attended sunday school in Borneo, and was soon put off by the teachers 'fire and brimstone' attitude, which was not what I assumed God to be like. We voted 'en-masse' not to attend further classes!

I doubt there is much many people can teach me about humane behaviour, and I don't feel the need to attend a church to tell me how to be good to my fellow 'man/woman'!

As for being ignorant of the christian nation I live in , well I doubt there is much more I need to know about treating others as I would like to be treated!

I know it has been a long and biased road I have been forced to tread over the many years I have lived here! But perhaps the industry I work in has made me cynical? Live and let live...

I don't feel my knowledge of christianity as a whole has suffered from my not knowing a simple turn of phrase!

And PS I would love to take part in a play, where i get to play a Roman!
i always had to be a shepherd or innkeeper when i was a kid! :wink:

[Caballo]

I'd be up for a Passion Play next Easter- count me in.
Cheers

Caballo