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Good points.
But as my pal Timur says, the new pope "package deals" the bout against relativism and the bout against egoism. He's quoted as saying: "We are moving towards a dictatorship of relativism, which does not recognize anything as definitive and has as its highest value one’s own ego and one’s own desires." And the Pope's biographer observes: "Having seen fascism in action, Ratzinger today believes that the best antidote to political totalitarianism is ecclesiastical totalitarianism."
The conventional anti-egoism and the positing of any kind of totalitarianism as an antidote to relativism ... gets me nervous.
But nothing gets on my nerves more than this proclamation: that rock 'n' roll is "evil" and full of "diabolical and satanic messages." According to the NY DAILY NEWS: "[H]e singled out the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Queen, and the Eagles as especially evil."
But as my pal Timur says, the new pope "package deals" the bout against relativism and the bout against egoism. He's quoted as saying: "We are moving towards a dictatorship of relativism, which does not recognize anything as definitive and has as its highest value one’s own ego and one’s own desires." And the Pope's biographer observes: "Having seen fascism in action, Ratzinger today believes that the best antidote to political totalitarianism is ecclesiastical totalitarianism."
The conventional anti-egoism and the positing of any kind of totalitarianism as an antidote to relativism ... gets me nervous.
But nothing gets on my nerves more than this proclamation: that rock 'n' roll is "evil" and full of "diabolical and satanic messages." According to the NY DAILY NEWS: "[H]e singled out the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Queen, and the Eagles as especially evil."
Re: Likes Beethoven, Hates Rock
(#59043)
by Mark Fulwiler on April 20, 2005 at 1:32 PM
by Mark Fulwiler on April 20, 2005 at 1:32 PM
But Chris, you would have to agree that those "folk masses" the Catholics used to do were really satanic. By the 9th "kumbaya" you were ready to sell your soul to the devil just to get out of there! But being from the Eastern Orthodox tradition, God may have spared you from that torment!
But seriously, this link shows the remarkable insensitivity of the new pope to the sex abuse crises:
http://www.cathnews.com/news/212/27.php
Not a great start for Benedict IMHO.
But seriously, this link shows the remarkable insensitivity of the new pope to the sex abuse crises:
http://www.cathnews.com/news/212/27.php
Not a great start for Benedict IMHO.
Re: Likes Beethoven, Hates Rock
(#59060)
by Chris Matthew Sciabarra on April 20, 2005 at 3:05 PM
by Chris Matthew Sciabarra on April 20, 2005 at 3:05 PM
Well, you have to hand it to the Greeks: They have never embraced these New Age "folk masses." Till this day, the services are conducted in Greek ~and~ English (that's about the only "compromise" they've made with modernity), they are never trimmed for time, and they feature as much pomp and circumstance as always.
Re: Likes Beethoven, Hates Rock
(#59064)
by Aeon J. Skoble on April 20, 2005 at 3:50 PM
by Aeon J. Skoble on April 20, 2005 at 3:50 PM
"[H]e singled out the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Queen, and the Eagles as especially evil."
So much for papal infallibility.
Seriously, I strongly resist the notion that loving classical music implies hating popular music. And the whole "hidden satanic messages" thing is so silly as to be beneath discussion.
Re: Likes Beethoven, Hates Rock
(#59066)
by Chris Matthew Sciabarra on April 20, 2005 at 4:15 PM
by Chris Matthew Sciabarra on April 20, 2005 at 4:15 PM
I agree! Loving Classical music does ~not~ imply hating popular music... except among some.
In fact, there are also plenty of "fusion" artists who fuse rock ~and~ classical or classical ~and~ jazz idioms.
But for eons, a certain group of people have always found hidden Satanic messages in the music of every generation younger than itself.
In fact, there are also plenty of "fusion" artists who fuse rock ~and~ classical or classical ~and~ jazz idioms.
But for eons, a certain group of people have always found hidden Satanic messages in the music of every generation younger than itself.
Re: Likes Beethoven, Hates Rock
(#59072)
by Steven Horwitz on April 20, 2005 at 5:51 PM
by Steven Horwitz on April 20, 2005 at 5:51 PM
What? He doesn't hate Rush too? Those agnostic libertarians? What kind of Pope is this guy? :)
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by Chris Matthew Sciabarra on April 20, 2005 at 10:42 AM