fishbait
Raggin' the Blues
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2003
- Messages
- 1,026
Lately I have been channel surfing through the various religious stations to see what kind of message is being offered the faithful. After taking as much as I could from the Trinity Broadcasting Network freakshow/ shakedown, I tuned into the Eternal Word Television Network Catholic station with Mother Angelica Himmler. What a disappointment!
When did the Catholic catachism peddlers decide to go for the yuks rather than the "burn in everlasting firey agony" spiel that I remember so fondly from my youth? The show I'm referring to is called Web of Faith.
Two Jesuit priests.respond to emails from troubled or confused Catholics seeking answers to questions regarding Catholic teachings. What a hoot it was to hear what these two priests had to say in response to the sincere questions sent in by viewers! As I recall from my Catholic catechism way back in the mid 50's, the answers where pretty much consistent:
"God will get you with his terrible wrath and you will burn in Hell for eternity!"
That kind of threat is pretty effective when used on a bunch of 6 year old kids. But, these guys seemed to be offering Catholic doctrine for a new age. Here's an example from the episode I saw:
Question: "I am having trouble remaining chaste in body and spirit and have certain urges that are very tempting. How can I overcome the urge to act on these impure thoughts and keep from touching myself in impure ways?"
Fr. Tragillio: "Your body is a temple given by God. You must keep the temple clean. When you have impure thoughts you must pray until the thouhts go away so God will not be offended. Also, I have found that humor is a good distraction from impure thoughts. Watching the Three Stooges will take your mind off self abuse. Maybe go bowling, too."
I'm not making this up. This Jesuit priest recommended watching the Three Stooges poke each other in the eye and going bowling as a way to avoid everlasting damnation! Holy Trinity, Jebus! If it had not been on EWTN I would have though it was a terrific parody but, these guys were serious. I dam near dropped a lung from laughing The Landover guys would be impressed with the sincerity.
Is this the best the Catholic church has to offer on their worldwide network? Religion for Smurfs?
When did the Catholic catachism peddlers decide to go for the yuks rather than the "burn in everlasting firey agony" spiel that I remember so fondly from my youth? The show I'm referring to is called Web of Faith.
Two Jesuit priests.respond to emails from troubled or confused Catholics seeking answers to questions regarding Catholic teachings. What a hoot it was to hear what these two priests had to say in response to the sincere questions sent in by viewers! As I recall from my Catholic catechism way back in the mid 50's, the answers where pretty much consistent:
"God will get you with his terrible wrath and you will burn in Hell for eternity!"
That kind of threat is pretty effective when used on a bunch of 6 year old kids. But, these guys seemed to be offering Catholic doctrine for a new age. Here's an example from the episode I saw:
Question: "I am having trouble remaining chaste in body and spirit and have certain urges that are very tempting. How can I overcome the urge to act on these impure thoughts and keep from touching myself in impure ways?"
Fr. Tragillio: "Your body is a temple given by God. You must keep the temple clean. When you have impure thoughts you must pray until the thouhts go away so God will not be offended. Also, I have found that humor is a good distraction from impure thoughts. Watching the Three Stooges will take your mind off self abuse. Maybe go bowling, too."
I'm not making this up. This Jesuit priest recommended watching the Three Stooges poke each other in the eye and going bowling as a way to avoid everlasting damnation! Holy Trinity, Jebus! If it had not been on EWTN I would have though it was a terrific parody but, these guys were serious. I dam near dropped a lung from laughing The Landover guys would be impressed with the sincerity.
Is this the best the Catholic church has to offer on their worldwide network? Religion for Smurfs?
