I rejected Catholicism for Orthodoxy, which is hardly a "lapse" and more of a "fine tuning". Later events saw my opinions change further, but I would say I was a very typical American Catholic.
I think getting into a larger discussion over "render unto Caesar" and its larger context would be futile, but Ratzinger specifically mentions, in a different part of the book reviewed here, that part of the mission of Christ was to deny dominion over the earth, and that any power that has sought to impose good by compulsion has ended creating evil because of the flawed nature of man. I would say that, compared with all the other statements, there is a very strong rejection of the notion of temporal power by the Church (which makes the Roman Empire's adoption of Christianity all the more unusual) and this rejection has had an impact on the development of the Western world from its very inception as a concept.
I think getting into a larger discussion over "render unto Caesar" and its larger context would be futile, but Ratzinger specifically mentions, in a different part of the book reviewed here, that part of the mission of Christ was to deny dominion over the earth, and that any power that has sought to impose good by compulsion has ended creating evil because of the flawed nature of man. I would say that, compared with all the other statements, there is a very strong rejection of the notion of temporal power by the Church (which makes the Roman Empire's adoption of Christianity all the more unusual) and this rejection has had an impact on the development of the Western world from its very inception as a concept.
Political correctness is the pettiest form of casuistry.
ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius
Ummaka qinnassa nīk!
*MySmiley*
ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius
Ummaka qinnassa nīk!
*MySmiley*
Jesus von Nazareth (Book I), by Joseph Ratzinger
12/02/2012 12:52:30 AM
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Do you know of any works by Ratzinger that directly address Ontological and Cosmological issues? *NM*
12/02/2012 01:54:08 PM
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Re: Jesus von Nazareth (Book I), by Joseph Ratzinger
12/02/2012 11:11:45 PM
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For the record, I was Catholic for the first 19 years of my life.
12/02/2012 11:35:16 PM
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That hardly counts: I'm talking about the degree to which one accepts the doctrines & perspective
14/02/2012 12:59:08 PM
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I meant that Paul refuted reincarnation.
14/02/2012 01:59:06 PM
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Potato-potahto. You're still the type who'd be set on fire in a more civilized time and place.
17/02/2012 11:51:50 PM
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You mean when the Church ignored Christ's teachings and burned people? Probably.
18/02/2012 02:17:12 AM
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