Disqus - Latest Comments for thomasmichaelbarnes

Re: FBI Teaches Agents: ‘Mainstream’ Muslims Are ‘Violent, Radical’

thomasmichaelbarnes — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 09:03:42 -0000

As a half Irish half Italian American with long family history tied to the Fenian movement and the IRA, I uderstand the fear of a religious group using its place in society as a hammer to strike back at the larger group which it characterizes as oppressors. To state this simply, ANY religion can be used as either a divider or a uniter. It is up to the adherent to decide which route he/she wishes to take relative to the Brotherhood of Man or the commandments of any particular Deity.

In the 13th Century, when Francesco Bernardone started the Franciscan Order the Papal in crowd was terrified of his power because it was simple Christianity that appealed to the disenfranchised of Europe like mainstream papal Catholcisim could not. The power was in the simplicity of the message. The same is true for Islam.

We fear them because they truly, honestly, deeply believe in a Deity which has all the markings of a desert and ancient tribal god. He demands absolute loyalty, they give it. They do not hold back. If they believe that their god demands death, they freely give their god death. Lets be honest, those of us in the West have no god. He is too inconvenient. We find the entire idea of a god quaint and more or less something to be used to keep the family cohesive. We have very little to no tribal identity with a deity in the way that Islam does.

They believe. More or less in any real way that is reflected in our lifestyles, we do not believe. We simply act "as if" because we feel guilty about being honest concerning our own majority view of secular humanism. They find us Infidels, and based on their standard of conduct, we are infidels. We do not include a deity in our lives in any real way, not even our so called religious people truly live in a Biblical way. This is not true for them.

They believe and live and die in the shadow of a deity. We do not. Lets be honest. We are scared of the power he holds over them.

Re: The Catholic Church is Finished - Magazine - The Atlantic

thomasmichaelbarnes — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 09:59:21 -0000

Ross: According to the prophecies of the famous Irish bishop, saint and prophet, St. Malachy, this is the last Pope.

The Church, according to one of her own saints, truly IS finished.

Tom Barnes,
Alexandria, VA

Re: Tom Roberts on Archbishop Tomasi's "Indefensible Defense": Abuse Crisis Is about Clerical Privilege

thomasmichaelbarnes — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:06:28 -0000

Thank you.

Re: Tom Roberts on Archbishop Tomasi's "Indefensible Defense": Abuse Crisis Is about Clerical Privilege

thomasmichaelbarnes — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 16:26:30 -0000

Go for it.

Re: Tom Roberts on Archbishop Tomasi's "Indefensible Defense": Abuse Crisis Is about Clerical Privilege

thomasmichaelbarnes — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 11:01:08 -0000

As a victim of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of nuns and a few priests in grade school and high school and an attempted rape at the hands of a priest in college, I speak from personal experience. This has very little to do with sex.

This is about privilege. And power. And a sociopathic mindset within Catholic clergy (to include nuns and brothers) that sees parishioners, especially children, as property. This is essentially a Middle Ages institutional world view among people who live a lifestyle little changed from the Middel Ages and foisted upon the serfs, the peasants, the parishioners.

This is a study in management. This is an organizational development problem, a leadership and training problem inside of an institution that models itself on organizational behaviors that originated approximately 1,ooo A.D.

This really has little to do with individuals seeing themselves as possessing the right to rape children or adolescents. What this is really about is a clerical class seeing themselves as having the right to do anything, ANYTHING, they wish to do with the serfs.

What this really is, is a pre-medieval/medieval mindset brought forward into the empirical era of human history. This is about an institutional management style whose time has come...and gone...over seven hundred years ago.

This about serfs (i.e. parishioners) being bound to the land (i.e. remaining faithful to the church and her dogmas) and therefore being open to clergy for abuse.

This about the clerical class taking their privileges with the barely human among them.