This has sparked controversy from the Left-wingers in France and even in the United States with McDonald's flag at half mast.

Given what Pope John Paul II did on the global scale makes me think he deserves it in my honest opinion. Strictly voluntary though...

What's everyone's take on the issue?

Put it this way... India has ordered its government buildings to fly the flag at half mast for 3 days in mourning for the Pope. 2.3% of the 1.027,000,000 Indian population are Christian.

What will be the next token abomination for the leftist front?

 

I agree that the pope did enough world wide to merit lowering the flags (voluntarily, as you said). However, this is only because I understand that the world in general regards organized religion as a positive thing.
Personally, I believe that all organized religions are more evil than good, and therfore the leader of any organized religion should technically be looked at by every government on earth as a threat.

 

Salty, you should know by now, that the only good people on mother Earth are:

-Muslim freedom fighters
-Vegans
-Progressive anti-capitalist backpackers
-Palestinian children

and last but not least....

John Kerry.

 

 

close...

 

Why is that?

I'm willing to bet un-organized religion has produced more evil than organized religion by a landslide difference.

You do realize Islam isn't really considered organized religion, right?

 

You make a critical error in your line of reasoning. You begin with an emotional statement ("personally"). Nothing wrong with that. However, you turn it into an overarching claim (in using the word "techincally").

Anyways, I think that if you met some of the people on the forefront of modern faith movements (excluding radical / super-fundamentalist groups) you would see that most of those people give their lives to just causes.

 

By what definition of organized religion? They have a central system of beliefs and pray in groups at certain times and certain places. That sounds pretty organized to me.

 

i dont follow that either. how is the muslim faith "unorganized"? are their potluck lines unfitting to military standards?

 

You are correct. I should have left out the word 'technically'.

You're right, most of the people in organized religions do good most of the time. But, to make an extreme point, most ***** never killed any Jewish people and lived fairly moral lives by today's standards. But they endorsed the **** party, and they are therefore guilty of the atrocities commited by the **** party. Religion should be looked at similarly, in my opinion.

 

In that there is no recognized authority structure or governing body. Muslims follow the Koran. Since it's a book, and not a person, you get all kinds of widely divergent groups with their own ideas of what the religion is, and none is required by any "Mosque council" or anything similar to listen to anyone else.

About the only authority the religion has is when one sect takes over the military or government of a Muslim country, and tells everyone else what to do.

 

OK, but a lot of Christian 'sects' have no central governing body either. And there are several of the Christain religions that are very similar but have different governing bodies. And there are Muslim 'clubs' and prayer goups, etc, that are certainly considered organizations.

I guess I use the wording 'organized religion' to mean the Big Three...

 

There are lots and lots of Christians who will tell you they don't practice organized religion. But yeah, I can see how that mistake would get made...lots of people call themselves muslim, therefore it's organized.

The prayer groups, clubs, etc, mostly all maintain that all you need for Islam is the Koran. They join organizations, sure, but your private reading of the Koran is ultimately what makes your religion in that faith.

 

I'm pretty sure at this point we are agreeing about the ambiguity of the wording 'organized religion.' I think I cleared up what I personally meant by those words in another post.

 

Regardless of the meaning of the term 'Organized Religion', Christianity in some form or another is responsible for some of history's greatest atrocities.

The Crusades
Colonization of Africa, SE Asia, The Americas & Carribean
WWII

to name a few...

Pope John Paul did atleast own up to a few of the Catholic church's screw ups.

On a personal note, it seems to me that half the time I pass a U.S. flag it's at half mast nowadays. Most of the time I never find out why, and I do watch the news regularly. Seems to me that this half-mast thing is given out like candy...