If Catholics believe they are eating the actual body of Jesus…

All of it, plus the blood, soul and divinity of Christ as well.

It's, errr, metaphysical?

Yes, lets mock religion, the one method of bringing civility to otherwise barbaric ancient times ... does that make you feel better OP? Make you feel superior to the humble masses?

R3 Fuck religion. Almost all of them hates gay people. They are all stuck in a time 1000s of years ago. Religions don't move with the times.

Also developed and richer countries have fewer religious people in them. So much for religion being great. It's not, it's superstition that holds people back.

That's why you hear tiny little screams as you munch down on the wafer 😱

[quote]R3: Yes, lets mock religion, the one method of bringing civility to otherwise barbaric ancient times...

Religion has never brought civility anywhere, anytime, ever. It was a major factor, perhaps THE major factor, in why ancient times were barbaric.

There were so many wars over religion then, like the Crusades. Even today, there's terrorism based on religion (ISIS).

R2, no, not for Catholics.

How about that Spanish Inquisition?

"The Inquisition was a powerful office set up within the Catholic Church to root out and punish heresy throughout Europe and the Americas. Beginning in the 12th century and continuing for hundreds of years, the Inquisition is infamous for the severity of its tortures and its persecution of Jews and Muslims"

2, 4, 6, 8,

let us trans-substantiate!

First you get down on your knees

Fiddle with your rosaries

Bow your head with great respect

And genuflect, genuflect, genuflect

R3 It was good enough for Joyce. Surely you remember the "little trouble about those white corpuscles" at mass in Ulysses.

I always told my Catholic relatives that the wafer/host was The Cock of Christ.

When the priest puts it in your mouth, you should hear Cock of Christ.

They still don't speak t me.

Good Friday: the last day to get fresh Jesus meat.

It’s leftovers for the rest of the year.

[quote]Yes, lets mock religion, the one method of bringing civility to otherwise barbaric ancient times

😆😂🤣 this has to be one of the funniest things I’ve ever read on DL.

You know you want some of this

Shoah was especially civil, no? Well planned and orderly systemic killings, and the tattoos were a great touch! We owe so much to "civilized" societies.

How dare you mock the idea that little wafers ARE the two-thousand year old body of a a man who literally rose from the dead and ascended to heaven? How dare you?

[quote]what part of his body do they think they’re eating?

Well, apparently he had an unlimited supply of foreskins.

Which sure beats loaves and fishes.

The Flesh

It's cannibalism.

No! It is not cannibalism because Jesus is divine. Are you?

Jesus may not be divine, but he is definitely fabulous!

Just a little nibble now. We have to share the Jesus flesh!

In honor of Good Friday I want to post my favorite Jesus painting 😉

It is NOT metaphorical .

The Church concluded that Transfiguration is the changing of the host and wine LITERALLY to the body and blood of Christ for Catholics.

Yes, Catholicism is a cannibalistic religion

Just like for other points of Catholic doctrine, I’m sure some were tortured and killed over this

R27 here—sorry, it’s transubstantiation

Transubstantiation

The funny bone

Cool post. The body of Christ that is creepers. I find most all religions to be equally creepy. I Just read Shamus Heany's version of Beowulf. Amazing book it will definitely give one night mares. Reading More about the history of the book. It is considered by some to be the very first "Epic Poem" written in the Proto English language. Historians believe it was about the coming of Christianity to western Europe. The Thing That attracted so many to the new religion was that after death was heaven. The Viking religions offered only glory for those dying while exacting revenge. Christianity presented itself as insurance. Hence the first International corporation was an insurance company.

These posts are disgusting

The entire Old Testament is gory and filled with blood and guts references, a little nibble on Christ's ass shouldn't be that upsetting 😉

@r33, 😂

Which ones?

Like all systems of control, Christianity and monotheism inject poison while claiming to have the antidote.

Yes they provided comfort to people in times of grief and despair, but you come to find out what they offer is the security of a tribe that agrees on who won't be admitted. And 1000 virgins or whatever.

It's a crushing realization that an idea anchored in love can be so corrupted as Christianity is.

The Pancreas Of the Christ…

Catholics are insane. Everything to eating people, drinking blood, telling someone your secrets, the cult that houses pedophiles, the worshiping of statues, the head dude living in a palace… fucked up.

[quote]The Church concluded that Transfiguration is the changing of the host and wine LITERALLY to the body and blood of Christ for Catholics.

[quote]sorry, it’s Transubstantiation

Please don't ever again confuse church nonsense with a serious subject taught by Professor McGonagall at Hogwarts.

I tried to ask the nuns that question…not quite so specifically … in grade school, and it never went well. At all. Lots of sitting in a chair outside “the office” trying to be sorry for questioning things.

OP, I get that you're agitated because it's Good Friday, but man, you're a stupid motherfucker.

It’s so much fun to laugh at the ignorant and superstitious

I went to Catholic school for several years (but am not a Catholic). All that time, I thought that the host was a *symbol* of the body of Christ. Why you would want to, even symbolically, eat another human's flesh, I don't know.

My friend, an actual Catholic who was an altar boy as well, said that Catholics believe that the host is, *literally*, the body of Christ.

What part of the body? I'd say the human equivalent of a chicken or turkey breast.

[quote] What part of the body? I'd say the human equivalent of a chicken or turkey breast.

Can I chew on the nipples?

It’s been transmogrified

It's symbolic.

Not according to Catholic doctrine, r46

Peter Griffin drinking wine at church.

"this is the BLOOD of Christ! Whoa! He musta been tanked 24/7!"

I'm down with anything trans!

I was just here for a good time...

[quote]Not according to Catholic doctrine,

Which makes it about as relevant as used toilet paper.

It’s hardly the worst part of their doctrine.

Catholicism is nothing but bullshit.

Organized religion is just as way to exert power over people while bilking them of their money— the entire history of Catholicism proves that

Sure, R3, because religion has never led to barbaric behaviour 🙄

R3, religion didn’t “civilize” any people. Instead, people had to civilize themselves if they wanted to live together. They had to create civil laws. Religion has to change with civilization and make people think religious leaders had some special connection to god.

[quote]Yes, lets mock religion, the one method of bringing civility to otherwise barbaric ancient times

We have government now. Religion isn't required anymore. It's outdated and causes too many problems.

I was raised Catholic, went to Catholic school for 12 years. I absolutely hated taking Communion because the wafers had such a gummy texture and you weren’t allow to chew them. We were told horror stories about kids who did and ended up with their mouths full of blood and other stories about bad things happening to kids who chewed them.

I used to envy my Protestant friends who were served grape juice in tiny cups and tiny crackers. In those days Catholic Churches just did the hosts, not the wine, bit. Protestants got a snack! And it was just symbolic for them. But we were taught it was the body of Christ. We wouldn’t have dared to wonder, much less ask about, which part.

Now I think it’s child abuse to teach children that bullshit but as a poster said above it’s hardly the worst thing they do.

The cock. They think they’re eating the big, hairy cock of Jesus.

The idea of it is just creepy.

^^Well, not the cock part.

Well, now that Jesus has risen...do you bake him?

He’s already baked

[quote]According to Bennett, Jesus was called the Christ because he violated the Old Testament’s taboo on the Holy anointing oil. Jesus’ use of cannabis oil is briefly mentioned in the New Testament, but explained in rich detail in the Gnostic texts.

Now I would be willing to worship Cannabis Christ.

[quote] It's symbolic.

No it isn’t.

[quote]Well, now that Jesus has risen...do you bake him?

He's already baked. You leave him on the counter for 10 minutes allowing him to cool, then serve to your guests with a fine Chianti.

R4 A gay Rabbi officiated at my son’s Bar Mitzvah.

R46 It’s not “symbolic “ for Catholics. Transubstantiation – the idea that during Mass, the bread and wine used for Communion become the body and blood of Jesus Christ – is central to the Catholic faith.

Catholic scholars go deep into this topic: cannibalism is kinda dismissed.

But the real freak show is the care of scholarly insight into the digestion of the eucharist.

"The sacramental body of Jesus remains with us for about 15 minutes, until the external species are digested."

R3 Go visit St Luke's Episcopal Church in the WV. Most the priest/priestesses are gay, most the parish is gay...gay, gay, gay.

Look at this thread on an American site. The OP, and most of you, are likely not Catholic. Yet the knee-jerk anti-Catholicism and the obsession with that particular religion prevails because it's ingrained in you since childhood. Pew says only 23% of Americans are Catholic yet you would think they've done more harm to you than the dominant faith system in the US (Evangelical Protestantism) which, unlike Catholicism, preaches open hatred, hostility, isolation and even persecution of homosexuals. Yet somehow Catholics are the default bogeyman every time an anti-religion thread is posted on DL. Why?

The obsession with Catholicism by Americans is very fascinating to me because even though most of you are raised to automatically hate it; very few would pass up the opportunity to send their kids to Catholic school (even in the aftermath of the child abuse scandal), attend Catholic institutions themselves, or visit Catholic sites like the Vatican, or Cathedrals like Notre Dame de Paris or the Cathedral of Cologne etc. Very schizophrenic.

Pope Francis openly says he has no right to judge gays, yet in most Americans' eyes, he's eviler than the Pat Robertsons, Rick Warrens, Joel Osteens, James Dobsons and Jerry Falwells of this world.

"Catholics are the default bogeyman every time an anti-religion thread is posted on DL. Why?"

They're the original motherfuckers who said that gay is evil, all the while being hypocritical about it by not allowing priests to marry, ensuring that most of their clergy was gay, it's a long history of self-denial and hatred towards homosexuality of any sort.

I know there are more relaxed Catholics who don't hold this view in their personal lives, but the official position of the Catholic church, the oldest denomination (heh heh) is that homosexuality is evil.

I don't care if you have a cool congregation. It's written. In fucking Latin. It's ancient and still fucking with our politics. That's why.

If the Catholic Church hadn’t existed, none of the other evil branches of Christianity would exist

I went to Catholic School until high school, which was public.

Although understanding Church history, symbolism, and teachings are actually helpful in understanding world history and customs, even I knew that one hour a day was devoted to magical thinking

r74 Catholic countries and congregations are less homophobic than Protestant ones.

R76, barely

Sloppy seconds

God hates religion.

r77, no.

R71/R72 = pedophile priest.

On my list of reasons to mock Christianity:

— Virgin birth

— Resurrection after three days of rotting

— The impossibility of god being all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-merciful. Pick two. Three are impossible.

— Consignment of any who don’t have a deathbed conversion to ever-lasting burning Hell after a run at life that at best is around 70 years.

Could it BE any more mockable? And on a GAY website devoted to pointless bitchery? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

The Christian god is a DLer.

So much pointless bitchery.

Oh, sweet jizm of Jesus!

At least the Catholics supported and paid for very beautiful art.

The Muslims, on the contrary, destroyed such beautiful art from the Hagia Sophia, and everywhere else they went.

R85, nice whataboutism there…

oops!

r85 And music, architecture, literature and the works. But other than plastic surgery on themselves, Evangelicals don't care for beauty.

Very funny R87, but the Romans were much better at this than impoverished Asians.

Catholics stole Jewish babies and gave them to Christian families and supported Hitler. Fuck them.

Sons of God

Hear his holy word

Gather round the table of the lord

Eat his body

Drink his blood

And we'll sing a song of love

Hallelu Hallelu Hallelu-u-jah!

Protestantism is not any less stupid than Catholicism especially since so many Protestants take the Bible literally and there's still a lot of corruption since many Protestant churches are independently run and have no one to answer too. Then there's other sects like Christian Scientists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, etc that are also problematic. The Protestant Reformation was also riddled with authoritarianism, anti-science and violence. . I generally hold very, very few Christian denominations in high regard except maybe Quakers.

^ Protestantism is worse. The fundamentalism even today in America would not fly in Europe.

R82, you forgot “The Holy Ghost.” I told a friend (who’s Catholic) that I could understand believing in God (the Father), Jesus (the Son), but come on with the Holy Ghost. She was upset with me for saying that.

I learned in Catholic highschool that the church think everything up to the Noah's arc story in the bible is not true/ fact. Adam and Eve were the name for man and woman in ancient Hebrew. We aren't children of incest...whew!

^ Only Catholic schools will be intellectually honest enough to teach that. Protestant-run Christian Bible schools, on the other hand don't even teach evolution.

Catholic schools were set up in Northern urban areas which are diverse and lean liberal and the schools were designed to educate everyone. Protestant schools tend to be in rural or urban Southern areas and were set up to put affluent white kids in there after desegregation.

And Catholicism only makes sense and seems more logical to those who were raised and indoctrinated into the church. To outsiders it is just as nonsensical and problematic as any other strain of Christianity. A lot of people leave the Catholic church just like they leave any other Protestant denomination. The same narcissistic abuse and corruption is found pretty evenly in every sect of Christianity.

R94 that is because the Holy Spirit is the real all encompassing God that uses the Father and Son as sock puppets for simple minded humans.

I was an altar boy (untouched, thank you). Those hosts came out of a plastic bag just like nachos do. I'd pour wine into a decanter from the priest's Carlo Rossi jug that he kept on the closet floor in the sacristy. I never understood the mystery.

The mystery is how people could be duped by the explanation of the "miracle" of transubstantiation.

We were taught that, by the mercy of God, the trans substantiated blood and flesh, retain their APPEARANCE. That once upon a time, a devout monk actually saw the blood and flesh in the cup and was driven mad. See Grace of God.

Christian Snake Oil on top of Christian Snake Oil.

Miracle Whip is more believable.

Well, we know it's not the foreskin. That was long gone by the time he got to the cross. Probably a snack for one of the manger animals.

It might be more appropriate to use pieces of aged jerky instead of host to better simulate the body of Christ. Red wine is fine for faux blood. It would be nice if it was a pinot.

Do they cut it off the Jesus on display, or do they keep a special serving Jesus tied down in the sacristy to carve slices off of?

[quote] Pope Francis openly says he has no right to judge gays, yet in most Americans' eyes, he's eviler than the Pat Robertsons, Rick Warrens, Joel Osteens, James Dobsons and Jerry Falwells of this world.

The Pope is an outlier and those Protestants you named are right wing fundamentalist con men and many mainline Protestant denominations disagree with the prosperity's gospel. Also, Catholics in America were the ones trying to restrict abortion for years. Ironically, Baptists were the liberal ones and had no opinion on abortion until the rise of Evangelicalism in the 70s. Catholic Americans still tend to be more conservative and fundamentalist too which is just because American society leans that way. I know plenty of right wing conservative Catholics who even deny evolution and plenty of super liberal Protestants who are pro choice and pro science and don't believe in biblical literalism. Most Christian denominations in general are conservative and filled with misogyny, homophobia and denial of science. To say Catholicism is less "evil" than Protestantism is false. As most mainline Protestant denominations like Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Anglican, Quakers, Seventh Day Adventist, Unitarian, Lutheran and Methodist have members who lean liberal. Baptist and non-denominational can lean conservative or liberal depending on the church as they are independent entities. The Catholic Church still disapproves of homosexuality and gay marriage, still deny women priesthood and still are pro-life..

[quote]The Pope is an outlier...

Correct, R105. Francis I 𝑖𝑠 an outlier, the object of various degrees of disapproval ranging from dislike to open hatred within what is for the most part a conservative religion.

[quote]The Pope is an outlier and those Protestants you named are right wing fundamentalist con men and many mainline Protestant denominations disagree with the prosperity's gospel.

Pope Francis is not an outlier. Maybe in America, he is, but he's just the head of the largest religious denomination in the world, meaning it casts the widest tent. There are several competing orders, factions and intellectual movements within Catholicism, which is why, for example, American Christian Fundamentalists like to rail against Jesuits in particular. That someone of his liberal leanings can become Pope is testament to this.

And please stop referring to Episcopalians/Anglicans, Presbyterians, Quakers, Seventh Day Adventists, Unitarians, Lutherans and Methodists as "mainline" denominations. Their political and social influence in America is minuscule compared to Evangelicals. Factions of the Catholic flock may disagree with the Pope, but he remains the final word.

R107 Okay quit with the Catholic apologetics. My point is that modern Protestantism is not any less intellectual or liberal than Catholicism. Catholicism was and is still conservative compared to mainline Protestants like Episcopalian and Unitarian. Can gay people get married by the Catholic church? Can women and openly gay men serve as priests?

And yeah, Catholicism is the largest Christian global denomination but so what? The Holy Roman Empire, Crusades, colonization and missionaries etc had a lot to do with that. I'm sure indigenous people in Americas, African slaves and Asian colonies had a lot of say as their traditional beliefs were violently suppressed and dubbed as "Satanic".

Evangelicals are extremists that only arose in the mid-20th century America. They are a vocal minority that maintained a powerful grip on politics. They simply pander to the emotions of the poor and uneducated. Is there anti-Catholic prejudice, yes? But no Catholic is being oppressed because people don't agree with it. And to both a non-Catholic and non-Christian, Catholicism seems like a bunch of magical rituals and teeters on idolatry.

Christianity is bullshit in general. It's all used by those in power to oppress the poor and keep the poor complacent with the promise of a better afterlife. Quit pretending Catholicism is innately better when it's really isn't. Catholicism is dying out for good reason just like Protestant denominations are dying out.

I don't understand posters like r108 who want every reply to agree with them or else, they're "apologists". Again, Evangelicals are not a "minority" in the United States. As a matter of fact, they're the most powerful and influential religious bloc/movement in all the land. Hardly a radical fringe. They set the tone for ALL political and social debates. In the US, Evangelicals ARE "mainline", unlike say, the UK, the Netherlands or Germany.

[quote]My point is that modern Protestantism is not any less intellectual or liberal than Catholicism. Catholicism

Yes, in all Western countries it is. There are examples on this thread about Catholic schools vs Protestant-run schools and colleges. Does any parent think sending their child to a Catholic college like Notre Dame, Georgetown or Fordham will intellectually stifle them? And what are the Protestant equivalents? Bob Jones? Liberty? Oral Roberts?

R109 Those "Catholic" universities are just universities now. Nobody going today cares about their religious roots. You could argue all the Ivy League schools are Protestant due to WASP association. So historically Episcopalian and Anglican universities. Many Novel Prize winners from The US are mainline Protestant. Also Protestant churches were used by African Americans for education. Thus many HBCUs would be affiliated with Methodist, Baptist or Presbyterian churches.

My point is neither Catholicism or Protestantism are superior. Both are about equal in intellectualism and stupidity and relics of the past. Most membership is cultural. You keep bringing up fundies and Evangelicals when most Protestants are not that. Most Americans who are Protestant support gay marriage and women's rights. I could similarly bring up all the vocal Catholics like Miss Pence and a plenty who are anti-science, anti-women and anti-gay. About half of Catholics vote Republican and oppose abortion. Many Catholics also wish the church would update to allow priests to be women, marry and be openly gay. You need to understand The US, most people don't say what they mean here. People go to church for social reasons, many don't actually hold those far right Evangelical views.

[quote]I could similarly bring up all the vocal Catholics like Miss Pence and a plenty who are anti-science, anti-women and anti-gay

Pence is not Catholic. The vocal American conservative Catholics are dissenting from mainstream Catholic thought and ultimately don’t matter because the Vatican formulates Catholic doctrine and the Pope is the final authority.. With Protestantism, any bigoted preacher gets to interpret the Bible in their own way to suit their agenda. It’s essentially disorganised religion.

R111 Let's just agree religion is bullshit and can be interpreted whatever and subject to be abused. Those "dissenting" Catholics are still Catholics. Just on the fringe side. Just like Judaism, Islam, Buddhism etc, there are conservative pockets on the fringe. Christianity no matter whether Catholic, Orthodox or Protestant, will have this. I hate when people try to say "that's not true _ insert whatever." It just shows religions are fallible.

^My argument is religion has a purpose in society. There are billions of people in the world who have no capacity for "morality" without religious guidance. There are people who would infringe on others' rights without compunction if they didn't have that little voice in their heads telling them it's wrong to steal, have sex with children or poison their annoying neighbour.

[quote] he's just the head of the largest religious denomination in the world

Huh? Sunni Islam Is the largest religious denomination in the world.

Protestantism isn't one denomination. A Lutheran isn't the same as a Seventh Day Adventist.