oh…poor old widdle proky have to do some worky on factual research for a change. There, there diddums. Swallow the bads medicums, it’s good for you in the long run.

” And the intent of the priest is not to harm, but end harm, by driving out a devil with an exorcism.”
http://people.csail.mit.edu/paulfitz/spanish/script.html
or you could try a little more hard science to understand that the devils in peoples heads may be a little more rationally explainable than generic catholic control variables.

But, like, whatever! lol… As you like it!

Jacques:
All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant,
Mewling and puking* in the nurse’s arms.
Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard*,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the canon’s mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon* lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws* and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slippered pantaloon*
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his* sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans* teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
Shakespeare (As You Like It, 2. 7. 139-167)

Oh, so wiccan is just made up stuff, a cult, fake, they don’t really harm people they hex? oh ok. Glad to hear it! Like I said, great to have you all go at it and discredit this stuff then make me do all the work and get all the flames.

Now, does the intent of the human heart matter at all? The intent of the witch is the harm with her hex. That’s wrong. And the intent of the priest is not to harm, but end harm, by driving out a devil with an exorcism. Life is about choices. I know which one I chose.

I am beginning to wonder if Prokofy isn’t 15 years old.

Such witticisms from the self-appointed intellectual master!

Not that he’s made any intelligent replies here, but even had he, they would be hopelessly stained by the use of these dismissive, juvenile literary devices.

Who can take anyone who uses such vacuous and sophomoric language seriously, especially when they claim to be some mover in the RW political arena?

What a laggard.

soooooo…all those people throughout history who died (and families/lives ruined) at the hands of so called priests performing exorcism rituals are now officially downgraded by you to “occasional misuses this ritual in fact to upset a person psychologically and think they have a devil, when they don’t” and “In the case of the priest, his motives are better (ending not causing harm) and he has the church and God over him to make the judgement.”

ah..ok…right…gotcha…

I think thats called the Nuremburg defence.
http://www.adversity.net/Terms_Definitions/TERMS/Nuremberg_Defense.htm

Go check that out…as a journo of foriegn relations it should not be too much of a strain. You have heard of it?

So intent excuses all, even when guided by superstition, dogma, and old men in funny robes with arcane rituals, incense, and chanting?

How is that any better than a person making ” her unilateral notion that that person deserves punishment, based on facts over which she alone is judge and jury;” (ie: the vigilante defence)

Let me guess your response to save you the time….

It’s ok cos god told me to do it?
http://www.nobeliefs.com/henchmen.htm

I rest my case, sunshine.

Like, whatever! lol

One action seeks to harm a person; the other action seeks to end harm. Perhaps both accomplish nothing in a world of scientifc scrutiny. But intent is all. If a priest occasional misuses this ritual in fact to upset a person psychologically and think they have a devil, when they don’t, that stands in contrast to the numerous times when he freed the person of their satantic possession. Whatever you think about these judgements and what backs them, in the case of the witch, she’s trying to cause harm, in the case of the priest, he’s trying to end harm. In the case of the witch, she gets to decide about who to punish without anything higher over her to curb her egotism. In the case of the priest, his motives are better (ending not causing harm) and he has the church and God over him to make the judgement.

It’s actually sort of fruitless and ultimately meaningless to even attempt to disagree with prok (theories of proks real motivations aside), because no matter how well structured and factually supported you present a case prok will find some lame way of twisting the discussion to support his/her view as the only version of official reality that should exist. Lessons learnt from close study of the Russian communist party, I suppose.

And if all else fails prok uses the ultimate weapon of mass destraction: closing a post with “Whatever!” (see post 83 above)

It’s an interesting new development in the english language…whatever!

What’s he/she really saying with it?

“Whatever” is as incendiary as it is nonchalant: the nonchalance is what makes it incendiary. “Whatever” turns supposed disengagement into something withering and mean. The word immediately exhibits a complete lack of respect for your point of view or situation. It’s basically saying your point of view is crap.
ref: recent article

Actually I’ve had some fun with this thread – it’s not everyday you get to poke a pumped up windbag in the eye and watch them whizz around the discussion room like limp balloon:-)

Hey, you know what would be really interesting…to see prokies code of journalistic ethics. But I suspect it does not exist…

“But as usual you will no doubt brush the evidence off as either:
a) an internut hoax
b) evul propaganda
c) an isolated abberation, which may or may not have happened
d) and even if it did happen it’s okay cos they deserved it
e) whatever lol … they are just a bunch of tree hugging pagan wiccan heathens who deserve to be boiled in oil after a jolly good inquisition (ie: traditional BDSM session) lol”

BWAHAHAHAHAHA! TY Joe! I needed that today!

Yes, it sure appears that the Church is the originator of BDSM, doesn’t it?

Also, Athel, yes, you were right on in supposing that I mentioned what I did because I was interested in your personal spirituality. A good reporter should always be concerned with covering as many aspects of a story as possible.