tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739109289653906609.post1004268184329305122..comments2021-01-31T17:29:40.761+02:00Comments on Stumbling Steps to Heaven: Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09985014437156897819noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739109289653906609.post-28657556525774882182013-01-30T18:57:56.420+02:002013-01-30T18:57:56.420+02:00Hello Chris! I'm sure your distinction between...Hello Chris! I'm sure your distinction between the spiritual church and the institutional church is scholarly, but the public might need more convincing. Organised religion has had a bad press lately, not least because of the disagreements about who might end up in heaven; whereas subjective generalized spirituality has fared rather better. Oh God, are that lot up there as well?<br /><br />Ralph.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739109289653906609.post-88908696661682598572013-01-27T15:42:55.817+02:002013-01-27T15:42:55.817+02:00Hi Chris! Only too happy to comment - and to rambl...Hi Chris! Only too happy to comment - and to ramble. I think the point about Constantine's conversion being a disaster from which the Church has never recovered was 'borrowed' from Arthur Wallis in "The Radical Christian".<br /><br />I'll be back.<br /><br />Ralph.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739109289653906609.post-43353363842708939782013-01-27T11:49:40.115+02:002013-01-27T11:49:40.115+02:00Hi Ralph. Glad you're taking an interest in my...Hi Ralph. Glad you're taking an interest in my ramblings. 1)I was never a great fan of Christopher Hitchens but I must admit I think he had a point about Christianity as an insurance policy. 2) I think you're commenting on a blog I haven't posted yet. See 'The Church and Politics' in a few weeks' time. There is a lot of truth in what you say but I still think it's fair to draw a distinction between the 'spiritual' Church and the Church as an institution. The former comprises the teachings of Christ as handed down through the centuries and held (reasonably) intact by the Church; the latter is a human institution subject to all the sins you mention. Reread the comment by St. Augustine. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09985014437156897819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739109289653906609.post-20377959665304955382013-01-26T18:15:17.338+02:002013-01-26T18:15:17.338+02:00The conversion of the Emperor Constantine seemed l...The conversion of the Emperor Constantine seemed like a good idea at the time. The Christians had converted the Roman Empire, i.e. the "known world", to Christianity; so they had done exactly what Jesus had told them to do. In the event, it turned out to be a disaster from which the Church has never recovered. The Church became a branch of state, of government, of the civil service; with all that that implied for excess fat, excess baggage, bandwagon-jumping, gravy-training, careerism; interspersed with periodic clear-outs, schisms, revolutions, back-to-basics etc. In other words, the Church was infected by all the evils of human institutions.<br /><br />Back to basics, anyone?<br /><br />Ralph.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739109289653906609.post-47558045916289967732013-01-26T15:11:12.163+02:002013-01-26T15:11:12.163+02:00After Christopher Hitchens got his cancerous death...After Christopher Hitchens got his cancerous death sentence, Jeremy Paxman asked him: Isn't it time to take Pascal's wager? (Paxo probably added: Come on, I need an answer.) Sed Hitch: If God is conceived as valuing honour and honesty, won't he welcome an honest sceptic sooner than a cynical gambler who "believes" simply because the odds are better?<br /><br />Ralph.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com