Jun 082009
 

Citizen journalists Jimmy Leow and Lilian Chan have managed to get the Penang Bishop’s views on the controversy over the eviction letters issued to villagers residing on the church’s land at St Francis Xavier’s Church along Penang Road.

Just a few quick observations arising from the Bishop’s comments:

It doesn’t look as if the Church has carried out a proper survey of the affected households to establish the residents’ socio-economic status or needs before they were issued eviction letters. The question is, why the urgency to issue lawyer’s letters and evict the residents before carrying out such a survey of their needs, especially those of the senior citizens? Shouldn’t the process have involved extensive consultations with the affected residents, the setting up of arbitration panels and the soliciting of views from lay Catholics – rather than a top-down approach of resorting to lawyer’s letters?

From the Unesco map (download here), it is clear that the village lies inside the heritage buffer zone – and not outside it. The area doesn’t merely have “heritage connotations”; it lies inside the heritage buffer zone. Hence, Unesco heritage guidelines apply.

Still not clear what exactly the Church intends to do with the land in question and the rationale for “centralising” social services all in one location. What about the needs of the poor elsewhere on the island and on the mainland?

The Bishop has called journalists “irresponsible”. But has the church been clear and transparent from the start? Most Catholics still do not know exactly what the church plans to do in the village area. One senior journalist told me he was hoping the bishop would call a press conference so that interested journalists could ask follow-up questions and receive clarification.

  74 Responses to “Evictions controversy: Penang Bishop responds”

  1. Agreed with Anil that the Church/Bishop should not use the high-handed top down approach eviction. Instead a thorough survey should be done first to assess the situation of the residents and find solutions to re-settle them if necessary. Very disappointed with the attitude of the Bishop when he said the if there are really cases where there are “independent” individual affected, then the church will “think” of a way to help them. Shouldn’t this be done before any legal letter sent out. One of the resident even said that the top people did not even bother to come even once to talk face to face with them to hear their plight. So, no need talk about centralised charity project!

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  2. So what if they nave an Astro dish at home. Is it a mortal sin to have an Astro dish? By your flawed thinking, it’s like saying a rich man can have an Astro dish but a poor man cannot.

    This reminds me of the Gospel John chapter 8:7

    I’ll rephrase it for today’s application -

    Let the man who does not have an Astro dish cast the first stone!

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  3. ok…since this Jerry has gotten the privilege to repost his comments on the “Astro” bit on this thread as well, I’d like to restate my posit and I dare say many would agree -

    If one claims to be so poor as to be living in poverty, why that person would consider having satellite paid TV more important than ensuring he covers the basics of food and own shelter is beyond many?

    it just beggers belief!

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  4. Oi! only a rich man can afford an Astro dishlah. mangkuk betul. I wonder who is paying for their water and electric bill as well. Wont be surprised if it the church. Are those people really poor??? DO they look like they are starving there? Dont insult the truly poorlah come on. I think before anyone talks please go yourself there and asses both sides of the story deeply and not superficially. I fell most negative comments made are baseless and just cheap shots to tarnish the image of the church. Sit in your own comfort zone and bark haha…lousy

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  5. 12.4 million haha – thats like peanuts in comparison to what they are already spending for the Cristian Mission which includes all spiritual, structural, charity, evangelisation etc etc. I guess they are happy to have such a surplus.
    Read on …..In recent years, the Vatican’s accounts have been battered by labor costs, a falling dollar and the costs of the Vatican’s growing diplomatic mission……
    In 2004, the Vatican netted 3 million euros after four years in the red. ….. (only country in the world surviving in the red uh – of cos with God’s grace)
    So yeah vatican does have those ‘billion’ guess somebody’s calculation went wrong haha. So before talking think 1st ok. Dont assume for u do not have enough worthy substance to assume. People like u are the ones causing lots of trouble in this world also lah all unnecessary problem. If i have employees who think like this and give such comments i would have fired them long ago d… probably wont even hire them…sure bound to have misunderstandings and problems.

    So who else are in for shotting the vatican now after shooting Penang Diocese??? Come humor us more haha

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  6. ei logical u got no logiclah. U talk so much go be a CEO of a company and then drive a kancil and also wear sarong and singlet to work with Japanese slippers. Show your humility if that is the way for u to show one. Go do that.
    I wonder what perks does a high position in church has haha. Please specify in detail. If u say the priest all live in comfort then i ask you why cant they live in comfort? They are humans too and have their rights and dignity which they deserve. If you are in their shoes how would u want to live? How do you live now??? No comfort ar?
    Jerry u are cheeky like those tenants. U forgot to type a surplus best in 8 yrs….everybody pls go read that link jerry posted then Ganesh you would know how rich Vatican is. Jerry dont take cheap shotslah and also dont quote the bible….its insulting d

    Gamesh you seriously are oblivious to a single bit of information regaridng how the church structure works and also how the relationship between vatican and local diocese so until you go learn about them dont pass comments. be fit and qualified to pass a comment if not dont just shut up.

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  7. ho mun on,

    It would have made more sense if you said that they were driving around in BMWs/Mercs yet insisted on living free off church property.

    An Astro dish is such a basic thing. Almost all houses in Malaysia have Astro dishes. Can we deny this basic entertainment to these poor senior citizens?

    This reminds me of the Gospel John chapter 8:7

    I’ll rephrase it for today’s application -

    Let the man who does not have an Astro dish cast the first stone!

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  8. greg,

    It’s interesting to note that the church spent “7 million euros ($8.9 million) for the funeral of Pope John Paul II and the election of his successor”.

    It’s not just about this particular incident of these tenants in the Penang church. It’s about the general trend and focus of the church today, which is more about maintaining rites and rituals, building bigger and more sophisticated, state of the art churches but not on building better christians who truly understand the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles and endeavour to practically apply them in their daily lives.

    Did Jesus and the Apostles give so much importance on these things?
    If you research you will find that they were more concerned about teaching people how to build the kingdom of God on earth by living simple non-materialistic lives.

    In Luke 11:2,

    Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say this:

    Our Father in heaven, holy be your name;
    Your kingdom come”.

    http://www.jerrymohan.blogspot.com

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  9. Jerry – Stop being so pathetic lah. If you have so much brains, go make a better blog lah. Your blog is like a piece of carbon paper, taking all the videos of others and paste it on yours. Go lah, don’t be so pathetic to hang around trying to stir s***. If you want some blogging lessons, come to me. I can teach you how to make money, how to get better traffic (and no, stirring s*** here every day is not one of them) and I don’t even need to spew copy and paste Bible verses to show I know the faith. Please lah, go do something more productive. And you can just leave your pathetic URL in the website column instead of pasting it in full after your comment. Just show how naive a blogger you are.

    Jerry is most welcome to comment here in the same way that anyone else is. – Anil

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  10. lilian dear,

    My blog has got nothing to do with this controversy. I posted it at the end just to let you know who I am.

    The discussion/debate here is whether the Penang church did the right thing to these tenants by trying to evict them using lawyers letters.

    Let’s honestly and truthfully ask this question –
    “Would Jesus have done this?”

    Let’s hope the church doesn’t evolve into an oppressive institution similar to the Pharisees which Jesus rebuked in the Gospels.

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  11. jerry & co,

    There’s a point I was trying to make. I think you got it, but, unfortunately, you’ve spun to win. For a fact, from what’s been discussed here, we don’t know if the tenants own Beamers or Mercs, personally or otherwise. Have you found out what their near kinsfolk own? Satellite paid TV is a luxury as opposed to watching free terrestrial TV.

    Anil, of course, we would welcome everyone to express their opinion. Perhaps, some have gotten so frustrated with others as to start calling names – lol! it’s normal…

    no wonder RPK says it’s frustrating to get Malaysians to discuss issues and discourse.

    and… I don’t have Astro ;)

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  12. Jerry – You are going on and on and on over the same question. You won’t find the answer simply because you get only a fraction of what is the truth about this issue. It is kind of a pain that you swipe the priests, the church, the Bishop and indirectly, me because I am a Catholic too with the same pharisees thingamajig phrase every day. Jesus did tear down many things too, you know? But nay….Anil, I am not asking for anyone to stop commenting, I am just feeling bored and think people shouldn’t repeat the same pharisees thingamajig phrase every day on a my faith.

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  13. My dear lillian,

    It’s about the bigger picture……. the direction and focus of the church today.

    ho mun on,

    It costs between RM80/= to RM100/= per month for Astro. Do you seriously think that’s a luxury?

    As you probably know, the basic package is much lower than that. – Anil

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  14. Jerry come one – the church IS already doing what u are telling them to do. At the same time u cannot tell them not to do what u are telling them not to do cos it would paralyze the church in the long run. Our church is not under a coconut shell to look at one glance and call it materialistic. Its a massive institution.
    Let break down the 7 million – how many people they had to accommodate during his funeral? Millions!!!! What are u trying to say bury the dead man behind close doors or dump him in some cemetery paying a few thousands. How much does it need to bury the dead respectfully here in Malaysia completely with doing the tombstone?? go figure. Are u trying to say that those millions needs to be denied entry to meet him?? 7 million yes…look at the coffin? Simple wooden box for u it may be very expensive and exotic for you but for the whites its like rubber wood to them. And for me 7 million is like wow so little! Also dont convert to RM to asses their spending. Its dumb.
    I have been following all the comments here and after clear consideration and without biases sincerely i think those comments are childish and its just to find fault with the church. yes perhaps the church should send a priest instead of a lawyer but how do you think the people will react to the priest? They might chase him out and i think there are already priest who might have gone and seen them already. Come one so clear 2 yrs eviction notice. Honestly i would not hold a tenant for 2 yrs to vacate, for me its within months and i think u and anyone else would do the same. I dont see force. Time was given. Simple. Is it the church sole responsibility to take care of these people for generations???? Not fair right? If the church is so kind if the ans above is a yes wow i want to go stay in the churchlah for free. These tenant problem is not only in this church but in many others too. There is a incident where the tenants warned the church not to evict them if so they would burn the church. U got anything to say to that? So till now there is no front gate to the church only a wall. One guy stayed for yrs in this church not paying rent, and bills in which the church paid for it. (he was working as a church gardener till he got fired due to discipline problems) He went on living for free even when he is successful in his transport business. He even turned that place into a ‘den’ for himself later yrs. But now he got evicted.
    For me Jesus will evict them if not He is not teaching them how to fish but just giving them fish to eat everyday. Help those who help themselves. U are a fool is you keep on helping those who cheat you at the same time. (Take this in the modern corrupt world even the poor remain poor cos they are simply stubborn).

    poor adjective 1. poor people with very few belongings|live in poor circumstances badly off, poverty-stricken, penniless, hard up, needy, deprived, in need, needful, in want, indigent, impoverished, impecunious, destitute, penurious, beggared, in straitened circumstances, as poor as a church mouse, in the red, on one’s beam-ends;
    ———————————————————
    Excerpted from Oxford Dictionary

    For me to add through experience – they are people who are sincerely poor. Some choose to be poor to live a easy life, these people should not be helped.

    so go figure are those tenants poor??????????? Is it rightful for THEM to stay there now and for coming generations????? (Dont ask if the church is rightful to evict them). What gives them that right??? Poverty??? Noe go back to the 1st question.

    Oh yah one of the tenants said that the Bishop has no right over the land. So blatant stupid!! Who else does? And what right does he have to stay in that land compared to the Bishop??? Simply causing trouble right??? Assess the video carefully in all perspective. Media will always be media.

    Go figure = Shalom
    No point commenting further d. Those who support the church has given many examples and from different perspectives to defend it. But those who condemm continue to condem on the same point like dont understand English.
    Bye

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  15. greg,

    Your last comment in the 1st paragraph last line you said, (the church) is a “massive institution”.

    That sum’s it all!

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  16. All talk is vain.
    So what after all the arguments and cheap shots?

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  17. It is really pain to hear / see all this !!!!

    If we become offended and leave a situation angry, we can become spiritual vagabonds. For the rest of our lives we grow more and more offended and isolated, and develop a persecution complex. We blame everyone else for our unhappiness. Immature Christians often try to protect themselves in difficult situations. They do not see that God has brought them into this situation to help them acknowledge their own character flaws.

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  18. To Lilian and the good Catholics that seemed so riled by criticism of the Bishop… it might shock you to be told that being Christian has nothing to do with being Christlike. Christ never went to Church.

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  19. let me tell u more Mush – Jesus was a Jew and followed Jewish customs for example circumcision. What u mean Christ never went to church. There was no church to begin with nor He was a Cristian. BUT He did institute the church. And it is utter nonsense to say being Cristian has got nothing to do with being Christ like. So what is the definition of Cristian for you?? As a Cristian, a follower of Christ one ought to try to be like him and follow his footsteps. What i think u wanted to say is that not all Christians are like Christ which is true unfortunately just like all Muslims are not like Muslims and so on….. . We are not riled by the mere criticism we are riled by unscrupulous dumbfounded criticisms more of which some are generalizing the whole church without understanding its basics well and also dumb pot shots. Have to say some criticisms are reasonable and hopefully the Bishop can learn from it.

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  20. Jesus never went to a Roman empire sanctioned church.

    Jesus, John the Baptist and the Apostles belonged to a Jewish sub-sect called the Essenes.

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  21. A hypothetical question, if I might: assume a poor villager in the remotest part of the planet, a person who’s never heard of Jesus Christ. His heart is filled with love, compassion. He would share the most meagre of his meals with a stranger. Contrast that to someone who goes to church every Sunday, who knows all the rites and rituals and can quote the Scriptures, but who is filled with avarice, hatred and lust, who cheats and “robs widows”. One might be Christian but who is Christ-like?

    “Not those who say, Lord, Lord, but those who do the will of my Father.”

    The early followers of Jesus were a world apart from the latter day institution. Strictly obeying the Master’s exhortation that you cannot serve two masters, they followed the way of the Essenes, welcomed poverty, shared all material possessions, and observed strict spiritual discipline. This was inner Christianity.

    How did this small Jewish sect become the Christian church, embraced by the same Empire that had sent Jesus to his death?

    Early Christianity was hijacked by emperors and medieval heads of state, power-brokers and warlords, and they plunged the church into centuries of religious wars, conquests, brutal persecutions, political intrigues, ambition, strife and greed for power and gold.

    Between the 4th and 9th centuries, the Councils of Constantinople comprising emperors and bishops decreed on the faith, deciding for the rest of Christendom all the various tenets and doctrines that define the church. They decreed the doctrine of papal infallibility, not for religious or spiritual reasons, but for power and control. Theodosius in 381 AD decreed that God was made up of Father, Son and Holy Ghost. It was a contentious doctrine because the Trinity is not mentioned in the Gospels, and the debate developed into a fistfight. In 553 AD, reincarnation, taught by the Essenes, was expunged from Christian beliefs.

    Then there were the Inquisitions, papal as well as the Spanish versions, and the persecutions of heretics, the witch-hunts. Notably, Galileo was persecuted for saying that the Sun did not go around the Earth. It was inconceivable to the church at the time because surely God had made man the centre of the universe!

    In 2000, Pope John Paul II acknowledged this ignominious part of the church’s history, issuing a formal apology for all the mistakes committed in the 2,000 years of the Catholic Church’s existence.

    I apologise if I seem such a vociferous critic of the church but Greg did appear to need a history lesson. Just putting things into perspective.

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  22. wow! what a good history lesson u gave there. Good perspective on the alternative history of the church, no i should say Christianity right? Well i was mentioning about the Gnostics before, well here is one example of sects like them then. Cool to have Essenes followers on your web Anil. Very unique to find the existence of many modern religions and teachings and sects popping out here and there.

    For the public view:
    http://www.essenes.net/naz/index2.html,
    http://essenes.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=12&id=89&Itemid=194.

    Well just like the above historical perspective given or should i say hypotheses, others too are around (for the information of the other readers) such as Jesus going to Japan, Jesus being a freedom fighter and not a Divine person (made divine by his followers), Jesus was married and had kids (like the story you heard from the Da Vinci code) what else uhmm…. Jesus has brothers (direct family line) Jehovah’s witness etc etc. Well all these different perspective wonderfully authored to make sound like its true in current times leading to the appearance of such sects like those published in those links above today, (like how the Da Vinci code and others were very well authored, i should say) got its ideas from those gnostic writings and teachings which were discarded by the early followers of Christ and His Apostles, due to its inconsistency with the actual teachings. Some of those which were discarded were like the Gospel of Philip, The Gospel of Judas and so on. In the first place the authors of those writings were not Judas or Philip themselves and both did not show consistency about Christ unlike the 4 gospels we read today.

    Jerry good you choose to follow the bible and Jesus teachings but don’t you forget the bible that you read (unless you have some Essenes holy book you call bible) is a compilation of selected books which has consistency and moreover it was compiled by early true Cristian leaders of the more established Catholic Church itself. Only with true consistency, faith can well be established and everlasting, if not it will dwell on hatred and constant bickering of the rest like in this case, on the church. If the Catholic church is bogus then naturally it would not last 2009 years. It is only logical. Anyway since it is so true that is also why there are people love to screw it, if not why bother.

    ‘Jesus never went to a Roman empire sanctioned church.’ you wrote. which is logically true – he did not go to any church. Roman sanctioned was not what i meant. Since the persecution stopped only then did the early Cristians had the liberty to put Christ teachings into proper just like how, only after the temple of Jerusalem was built the Jews wrote their Torah. Unlike the other Roman Emperors who persecuted Christians since they were growing in number, denouncing Roman Gods and thus also the emperor himself they were in fear. However as there is record of Constantine to have a vision of a cross before a victorious battle and also his mother St Helena was a Cristian he stopped the persecution. Just like any other historical writings of early time, always took place at the time of peace or ‘glory’ days of an empire. So it was time of peace for the Christians.

    Furthermore once again in Matthew : 17Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter,[c] and on this rock I will build my CHURCH, and the gates of Hades[d] will not overcome it.[e] 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be[f] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[g] loosed in heaven.” 20Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
    So if you believe in the bible then you should believe the above. Don’t selectively believe what u want to believe and then claim it as the truth. (Peter means rock in Hebrew)

    The trinity is not mentioned in the bible as the word ‘Trinity’. But there are many evidence to show it does exist in the very bible we all read (again unless u have some other holy book called bible). This is a good example of what happen when one take the bible too literally. Thank God there is no verse in the New testament where God says go and kill in my name, if not, gone! We would be butchering each other haha. The church did not do a hocus pocus dance like the Gnostic and perhaps Essene in creating something. Here is a link for you to go look up about the trinity: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15047a.htm#II

    Furthermore it comes to the question among the gnostic and the Essene – Is Jesus Divine??? If he is not Divine then none of you are Christians. If Jesus is Divine why should he join a Jewish sect or be the follower of John the baptist who was merely announcing Christ is already here. Does not make sense for God(Jesus) to be a follower or belonging to a sect. And if you say Jesus is not Divine then don’t hijack the Bible and don’t call yourself a Cristian because if you are Cristian then Jesus is Divine. You are directly insulting the book.

    ‘How did this small Jewish sect become the Christian church, embraced by the same Empire that had sent Jesus to his death?’
    The Romans did not put Jesus to death, it was the Jews themselves. Who needs a history lesson??? Simple basic. Go read the bible. The Jewish sect did not become the church. The Church was ‘born’ on Pentecost. Since the sect existed long before Jesus then it was due to mere coincidence trying to connect them with Jesus. And since its known as a sect it remains as one – It went extinct but well its back now as we see. Who hijacked who? Well i guess the Essene needed some ‘guru’ so picked Jesus and his followers to flourish.

    There are around 900 of Dead sea scrolls all which are still being under constant study and research. There are also many theories of the connection about the existence of the Essene and their relationship to it with one having a connection with Christianity but that theory is not consistent enough to be made the whole truth. So this Essen sect are now still under discussion and all under the cloud of hypothesizes. The church, not an hypothesis – its has a consistent history coming out from the bible from the day Jesus instituted it.

    Mush are you an Assene or a Cristian or you just picked up a book on so called history of Christianity debunked, from MPH bookstore and became well educated in this history??

    other more links for the public to read.
    http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05546a.htm
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essenes
    I give the public both sides of the stories.

    Just putting things into perspective. Mush did u go read the Dead Sea Scrolls yourself? Or you got this history lesson from the web?
    Find consistencies. U should read up more on Galileo. Don’t want to give continue giving further history lessons here.

    Yes since the church is run by humans mistakes are bound to happen. And some of those mistakes did bring damage but those were like 700 to 500 years back with the peak at time of reformation. The church has humbled itself and acknowledge its mistakes and apologized. Good. Now? Do you have anything to say.

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  23. Greg, oh Greg, looks like you also need lessons in comprehension.
    You missed my point entirely.
    I only wanted to say that the church is just a human construct, and is shaped by human aspirations, foibles, follies, mistakes, as evidenced by its history.
    Jesus said, “Your forefathers have given you many commandments. I give you only two: first, love God with all your heart and soul; the second is just like the first, love your neighbour as yourself.”
    The church has no special monopoly on love; indeed no religion does. One’s capacity to love broadly and selflessly… that’s being Christ-like.
    I loved Pope John Paul II, not because he was the Pope or Christian and belonged to the church; I loved him for his humanity, humility and for the breadth of his compassion.
    So it makes no difference if Von Daniken was right and God was a spaceman, or if Leonardo Da Vinci was one of the teenage mutant turtles, makes no difference.
    Bless you, bro, thanks for a good laugh.

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  24. Well if you wanted to say that, you need not give a long history lesson back there. (Which is wrong sorry to say) In all my past comment i have admitted that the church is not perfect since it is run my humans. Why do you still give the impression (The church has no special monopoly on love; indeed no religion does) that the church is monopolizing this and that? It is not. Its very apparent its not because all humankind of whatever creed has it as u said above(One’s capacity to love broadly and selflessly… that’s being Christ-like.) No religion claims such copyright as well. The church and including most protestants NOW are just evangelizing or promoting the Christ way. Don’t want to believe don’t believe, but at the same time don’t mock it. Did the church now forced anyone to convert – no, did the church go around saying that being a Catholic is the only way to heaven? – no. So what the problem now about monopolizing? (Don’t bother the little Napoleons which are in existent in the church today just like in any other whatever organization whatsoever.)

    Guess we have all misunderstood each other points here and there hahaha. But don’t go make an alternative hypotheses as a history of the church which is misleading and say some one needs a history lesson (are you a true historian or Napoleonic one?) and now a comprehension lesson (go beating around the bush only, who would comprehend). Nor others who give statements by reading half a sentence of a report and say all sort of nonsense about the church which totally contradicts the meaning of the full sentence.

    “I only wanted to say that the church is just a human construct, and is shaped by human aspirations, foibles, follies, mistakes, as evidenced by its history.”

    SHAPED??? well it is not shaped but in its evolution(i would put it in this word) those things did take place but the Fundamentals of Christ teachings as the core of it, which is what that has indeed SHAPED the church till this day, which has also made it last this long. Once again u have mentioned of evidence – go back to proper history books or maybe if you have the chance real manuscripts and revise it. Then you would know if it is all folly or not. Just like proper study of the bible, history too, needs proper study.
    Simple example : If the church is shaped out of folly then so did the bible? (again the bible is a compilation of books compiled by the early Catholic church) So is the bible folly? If it is, then the quote from Jesus is also folly. Consistency??

    Well yes! – a good laugh indeed it was as we read and replied each others comments :-D – Good discussion
    Bless u too.

    One’s capacity to love broadly and selflessly… that’s being Christ-like. – When you are a Cristian.
    If you follow Buddha then you are Buddha-like. Mother Theresa – Mother Theresa-like and so on. No religion or never heard of Christ? Simple natural instinct of a human-like. Don’t we all have love no matter who and what species we are??? (now don’t go interrupt saying – what about murderers and so on??? – well they have love too but we just cant see it)

    Jerry?? was wondering where are you, hahaha, lol.

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  25. Wah Anil! so deviated d the comments has gone too hahaha. Now it has turn to history and comprehension lessons d. Hello?!?! Anyone to give maths lessons?? LOL. Good laugh indeed. lol

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