(no subject)

[novapsyche]

During the events of last week, the Pope said that he had a message from God.

How come we accept this statement from the Pope, but anyone else we'd think must be loony?

Comments

[inhumandecency.livejournal.com]

Well, if by "we" you mean "Catholics," then I believe it's a formal belief of their religion and not at all inconsistent. As far as the population at large, I don't think you're giving us enough credit. I think that most people have no trouble accepting the statement "God called me to this profession" or "god asked me to care for the children," if only in terms of the listener's theories about God. Someone who said that God sent them a message to feed the goldfish, or that they heard God in the same sensory way that they heard me talking to them, would be seen as unusual because those do violate our theories about what kind of experiences are reasonable for people to have.

[novapsyche.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm not Catholic, so I don't mean that when I say "we". I guess I mean "the media-minded public".

I'm sure the Pope says something to the effect of, "God called me to this position." But he also says, "God said X," which is a different statement entirely.

I guess I'm of the opinion that if God actually communicates, God speaks to more than one particular person on Earth. Perhaps that's the mystic in me speaking.

thanks to you i remembered

[phree.livejournal.com]

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