Rantings of a New Yorker

The pope, decorated in his finest glitter, gave his annual Christmas speech, this year decrying said glitter and consumerism. It’s hard to take someone who is the head of the wealthiest church on the planet seriously when he does not practice what he preaches.

“Let us ask the Lord to help us see through the superficial glitter of this season,

The pope certainly needs more help than I do in this matter. I don’t live beyond my means. I don’t pay off anyone who brings criminal charges against me. I don’t own anything lavish. I own one gold ring and nothing encrusted with gold, diamonds, or rubies.

“If we want to find the God who appeared as a child, then we must dismount from the high horse of our ‘enlightened’ reason,” he said.

Uh, no thank you, sir. I’ll keep my enlightened reason. It allows me to think and reason for myself and not blindly follow made up people and made up religions.

“… In this spirit let us celebrate the liturgy of the holy night, let us strip away our fixation on what is material, on what can be measured and grasped.”

I’d rather stick with what can be measured and grasped instead of fixating on imaginary things.

Mark 12:38-44
New International Version (NIV)
Warning Against the Teachers of the Law
38 As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39 and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

If Jesus ever existed and walked into Vatican City in 2011, he’d be one very pissed off god.