Theos-Talk Archives (June 2008 Message tt00176)

My views are:Try the title: "The Grand Inquisitor" by Feodor Dostoevsky - translation by H. P. Blavatsky>>> http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext05/inqus10.txt <<<Excerpted from Opus Dei by John L. Allen, Jr."... admirers of Escriva, who included Pope John Paul II, believe the Spanish saint anticipated the "universal call to holiness" that would be announced by the Second Vatican Council. The late cardinal of Florence and right-hand man of Pope Paul VI, Giovanni Benelli -- who crossed swords with Escriva over the years--nevertheless once said that what Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, was to the sixteenth-century Council of Trent, Escriva was to the Second Vatican Council. That is, he was the saint who translated the council into the life of the Church.......Escriva once described Opus Dei as "an intravenous injection in the bloodstream of society." Members would be doctors and lawyers and university professors and barbers and bus drivers, and from the outside they would appear to be exactly the same as everyone else. There's a famous story about the first three priests ordained for Opus Dei--Alvaro del Portillo, Jose Mar'a Hernandez de Garnica, and Jose Luis Mozquiz--that illustrates this point. Escriva noticed that not one of them smoked, which was rather odd in Spain in 1944. He told them that one of them was going to have to take up smoking, lest people get the impression there was something unwordly about these Opus Dei guys. The choice fell on Portillo, who would eventually succeed Escriva. Opus Dei's lay members would not wear special religious habits, they would not be cloistered, and they would not claim to possess a special state of life. The idea was to redeem the world, not by retreating from it, but by "Christianizing it," carrying out all the tasks of daily living with a new spirit. Escriva's shorthand formula was, "Sanctify your work. Sanctify yourself in your work. Sanctify others through your work."...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_L._Allen,_Jr.#Work_on_Opus_Dei- - - - - - - Let me quote the so-called beloved Pope and his greedy political cravings from 
the following recent article in one of the many newspapers who wrote about it 
either on paper or on the Internet: >>> Pope says society to fail without Christian conscience, Mar 25, 2007<<<"VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict, speaking as 
the European Union marked its 50th anniversary without a mention of its 
religious heritage, said a society that lacks a Christian conscience will end up 
failing. The Pope's comments came a day after he lambasted the European Union 
for not mentioning God and Europe's Christian roots in declarations marking its 
founding. "A society in which the Christian conscience does not live anymore 
loses direction, does not know anymore where to go, ends up empty and bankrupt," 
the Pope told parish elders on Sunday. Such a conscience was needed to promote 
justice and a sense of responsibility among one another, he said. The remarks 
came as the European Union celebrated its 50th birthday in a Berlin ceremony 
that included unveiling a broad, aspirational "Berlin Declaration" that left out 
mention of religion or the continent's Christian roots. But EU leaders like 
German Chancellor Angela Merkel -- who unveiled Sunday's declaration -- as well 
as Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, reaffirmed their support for its 
inclusion in a new EU treaty they want adopted by 2009." ......."'What the result will be, I can't say,' Merkel, the daughter of a Protestant pastor, told a news conference. 'I am realistic and that means not so optimistic.' The Pope made his displeasure over the matter clear in a strongly worded speech on Saturday, saying excluding values that helped forge its very soul meant Europe was committing a form of apostasy -- a total desertion of one's religion -- and doubting its own identity. The Pope, like his predecessor John Paul, often calls for including God and Christianity in the European Constitution. Plans to put a reference to Europe's Christian roots in a previous EU constitutional treaty were blocked by French President Jacques Chirac."(VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict, speaking as the European Union marked its 50th anniversary, Sunday, March 25th, 2007)


Christianity has nothing to do with visdom and compassionte wise magical activites. 
The Christian conscience, which the Pope craves, is nothing but a worship of a doctrine 
based on falseness, deceit and fanatism. 

We theosophists say, that there are wise magical activities and there are bad and stupid 
magical activities, especially those who keep people away from learning about developing 
wisdom, developing the compassion of the Heart, and when appropiate wise magical skills. 

Jesus was said to use magical skills, to heal and similar. Despite of this it seems that Jesus 
words: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"; (Matthew 7:12) is 
only something we humans aught to keep, while Jesus (and God) who is 
compassionate are somehow strangely being disallowed by the Christian Church 
leaders to teach us his own magical capabilities. And the Priest are not teaching them to us,
will if they have such true compassionate skills.
And when we talk about that despotism and double-talk is attached to the leadership of the Christian 
Churches it is being rejected by its leaders. 

- - - - - - - - 


H. P. Blavatsky said:
"The Society founded to remedy the glaring evils of Christianity, to shun
bigotry and intolerance, cant and superstition and to cultivate real
universal love extending even to the dumb brute".
(The Collected Writings of H. P. Blavatsky, vol. 7, p.246)



M. Sufilight----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Cass Silva 
  To: Theosophy 
  Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2008 3:30 AM
  Subject: Theos-World Morten - you're gonna love this


  Da Vinci Code movie banned from filming in church
  Monday June 16 10:51 AM ET

  Rome's diocese said Monday it has barred the producers of "Angels & Demons" from filming in two churches for the prequel to the "The Da Vinci Code" the popular book and film that angered many Catholic leaders. 
  Producers of the film, directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks, were turned down because the movie "does not conform to our views," said Monsignor Marco Fibbi, a spokesman for the diocese. 
  The crew had asked to film in the churches of Santa Maria del Popolo and Santa Maria della Vittoria, two architectural jewels in the heart of Rome that include paintings by Caravaggio, sculptures by Bernini and a chapel designed by Raphael. 

  ADVERTISEMENT
  Permission was denied in 2007, but the issue surfaced only now that filming is ongoing in Rome, Fibbi said. The Sony-produced film was put on hold during the Writers Guild of America strike that ended in February and is now scheduled for release in May 2009. 
  Fibbi's comments first were reported this week by the Italian entertainment magazine "TV Sorrisi e Canzoni." "It's a film that treats religious issues in a way that contrasts with common religious sentiment," Fibbi told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "We would be helping them create a work that might well be beautiful but that does not conform to our views." 
  Fibbi acknowledged that the controversy over writer Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" and its blockbuster movie version had weighed on the decision. 
  The story drew anger and prompted calls for boycotts by church leaders worldwide with the idea that Jesus married and fathered children and by depicting the conservative Catholic movement, Opus Dei, as a murderous cult. 
  "This is a prequel to 'The Da Vinci Code' and it's clear that the theme is similar," Fibbi said. He added that the ban would not stop the crew from filming the exterior of the churches. 
  Brown's "Angels and Demons" is a religious thriller combining an ancient secret brotherhood called the Illuminati, code-cracking, a papal conclave and a high-tech weapon threatening to destroy the Vatican. 
  It features Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon of "The Da Vinci Code" fame, played by Hanks in the movie. 
  Calls to Sony Pictures in London and Rome were not immediately returned Monday.



   

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]