I recently had the opportunity to visit a special Vatican Museum exhibition in my region. Along with all the displayed artifact, they also include a documentary feature on Vatican. It talked about the life in Vatican, and some of it's history. Pretty insightful.
Those people at the top of the catholic chain of command in Vatican are realistic, rational and knows what they are doing. (or not doing).
They manage their own country, people, publicity, uniform, election, ceremony, building, and nontheless technology.
There was one cliplet I thought was intereting.
Vatican church has some construction that allowed light to shine through a hole on the wall. It falls on some design on the floor. It was intended that it falls there consistently on a specific day of the year. But they had found out that it had become later and later slowly until at a point it was a few days' late. They announced some changes to the calendar.
One part talked about how Vatican became corrupted during part of their history. Power related. How it became a place where power thirsty people who wants a piece of land goes to to try to carve a piece from the Vatican "empire".
They are an organisation well aware of science and maths. They build, they maintain, they manage a country. They (the leaders of catholic church) are every bit as realistic as the best sceptic who promote critical thinking.
And of course they do not stop their believers from far-fetch thinking, if it serves their purpose.
This advice on the limit of Bible is wise. Try to hide it is liken to wrapping fire with paper - ill adviced. Especially in this internet age, where you could practically communicate to millions your objection to a certain verses in the holy book.
There is no absolute good or bad, right or wrong. Only power and those who seek it. And I think the religious leaders and their organisation are good enough a survivor to know what to do. To know what they need to capture the minds of the meek and be at the seat of power.
FireGarden said "we are winning" , I am rather wary. It might be otherwise.
If you want to "win", wouldn't it be better if the pope publicly insist the bible is always right and embarass himself by publicly losing a logical debate about embrassing verses in the bible?
