That's him on the far right . . . on the far left is the brother of the late lamented FReeper BCM . . . of "kiss my royal Irish . . . " fame.
Posted on 09/15/2006 5:24:02 PM PDT by Mount Athos
This is the continent where some leading thinkers are talking about a "post-Christian Europe." And this is the country of philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who infamously quipped, "God is dead."
So some may be surprised at the receptivity in Germany this week to visiting Pope Benedict XVI's message: Europe needs to rethink the thesis that secularism and economic progress go hand in hand. Coincidentally, some of Europe's stalwart secularists are challenging the idea that religious reasoning inevitably retreats from the public sphere as countries modernize.
Germans themselves are modeling a growing acceptance of religion's role in shaping society:
• Head of state Angela Merkel - the daughter of a Protestant minister - this month renewed calls to include a specific reference in the EU constitution to Europe's Christian heritage.
• There are more theologians in the German parliament than in any other Western parliament, including the US Congress. And when the last government cabinet was sworn in, nearly every member - instead of the usual 50 percent - opted for the religious version of the inaugural oath, according to Karsten Voigt, coordinator of German-American relations at the foreign ministry.
• In a recent survey gauging the perceived credibility of different professions, pastors were ranked in the Top 5.
• German students must take either ethics or religion classes, though Berlin recently made ethics compulsory, and religion optional. Mr. Voigt reports that "more and more" high schoolers in the state of Brandenburg are opting for religion too.
• Church attendance is no longer declining, and in one state the number of young churchgoers is going up, says Voigt.
Approximately two thirds of the 82 million citizens are church members. About 26 million are Roman Catholics, and a similar number are Protestants.
(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...
Inspiring the almost as infamous graffiti rejoinder, "Nietzsche is dead--God."
Good news.
From this he predicted a 20th Century of psychopathic, murdering leaders who would cause tragedies not then dreamed of.
He was right and this differentiated him from the usual village atheist that has always existed but is seldom of influence. In a certain sense he was affirming Glaucon's assertion in Plato's Republic that one has difficulty proving a moral life is better than an immoral life; hence, the anything goes as long as we believe the outcome is more important than the means.
Germany, home also of Martin Luther.
Where millions of Lutherans could not practice their religion in East Germany for decades and churches were locked up.
Perhaps, but methinks the Germans have found religion only because they're faced with that Thin-skinned, perpetual-grievance Death Cult known as Islam.
Good all over in other words.
The biggest obstacle to going to services is the break neck pace of modern society. Come the weekend, all I can do is sleep and catch up work--with a few hours left over for the wife and kids if I'm luck. It's not that I don't want to be religious, its just that I'm so damn tired. I fully expect to get flamed as a result of this post, but its true.
Good news for western society, bad news for the radical Left.
And for all the good he did, he was one of the most disgusting and vile Jew haters the world has ever produced.
It is absolutely true that Martin Luther was a rabid anti-Semite in his later years; however, in all fairness, he was rabidly anti-anyone who opposed him or any of his beliefs at that point in his life. His hatred of Catholicism far exceeded his hatred of Judaism. What I'm trying to get at is, while he was anti-Semitic in particular, this was just one manifestation of his general xenophobia.
haters
I guess you have some of that too.
I grew up in an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood.
Have Jewish family line.
You can go to Holy Spirit Interactive and get the daily Mass readings. Take you just a few minutes to read, a little time for reflection, and you're ready to face the world!
Luther was a Benedictine. He wanted to clean up corruption in the Church, not rip it apart. But things took on a life of their own...
"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth."
Rev 3:14-16
Attributed to Christ (in red-letter editions, this passage is red).
Also, he asked if Rationalism and the New Sciences, which were created by men, but had unforseeably killed God in their hearts, would not ultimately force these men to become Gods themselves, just to appear worthy of their deed. This is one of the basics on which he founds his transhuman, his Übermensch.
Of course, I don't have a real killer of a job any more . . . used to work 70 hour weeks, but that was when I was young and crazy.
Luther was an Augustinian. Like the pope.
In the pre-Vatican II days, it was called the "Irish Mass". In and out in 20 minutes. You could read along with your missal, say a rosary, or nod off.
My late father was very fond of the Irish Mass because he could get his weekly ticket punched and move on. With the arrival of the mass in English, he would position himself nearest to the door so he could be the first one out when the priest said, "The mass is ended."
When he died 9 years ago, there was some debate as to whether his ashes would be within the sanctuary or not. (The local bishop made it the option of the pastor.) My mother decided that in order for us to be true to him, we would place his ashes immediately by the door.
Thank you...You have it right.
Merkle was born and grew up in East Germany under the Godless Communism. After the fall of the Wall, Christian Missionaries have been flocking inside, (as well as to other Soviet satellites) thus generations born after Stalin takeover, who never had been exposed to faith except faith of government (which they new was never to be trusted) embraced not only freedom and democratic forms of government but also are flocking to Evangelical congregations springing up as a result of American Evangelical Missionaries.
These are the people and countries that President Bush refers to as "The New Europe" as opposed to "The Old (still atheistic) Europe.
Regardless, looks like progress to me.
I watched Angela Merkel on TV at the dedication of the rebuilt Frauenkirche in Dresden. She sang all the hymns without looking at the hymnal. I took this as a good sign.
It is a bit amusing to read this story...while I've lived in Germany for 13 years...and see a dwindling population interested in any church activities whatsoever. And the church tax...which is required unless you deny your religion...is a major hinderance to regular people. My wife and I ended up tossing $900 into a tax pot last year...mandatory unless you say no. Of course, after you say no...then no church wedding or funerals for you. In recent years, alot of private chapels have popped up and arrange your funeral service for you...so people stop the tax contribution and just settle for a $1000 fee at the end to cover your funeral service.
Merkel may have grasped how the general public is quiting the church tax, and trying to convince the "flock" to go back.
Oops. Apparently it's been longer than I thought since I read his bio...
And while you are correct that the commie government was not all too fond of religion and persecuted the Christian Churches which still had strong connections to West Germany, the Church stayed an important factor in the DDR.
Excellent find!
Funny you should single that quote out, I was thinking about it all yesterday
Same as in America, religion is still there, the churches are still there. The infrastructure has been maintained for the day that everybody looks up from their TV football games and notices the building over there and asks what that is.
God is at work everywhere even in the darkest corners of the world. Blessings in His name.
I thought M. Luther was an Augustinian, not a Benedictine.
That's him on the far right . . . on the far left is the brother of the late lamented FReeper BCM . . . of "kiss my royal Irish . . . " fame.
Geez! Corrected twice on the same thread!
Not counting Muslims (3%), Jews (0.25%) and other denominations (i.e. non-Germans ethnically, but by citizenship), over 95% of ethnic Germans do not go to church regularly.
Other European countries are similar. In American, 80% of the population claims to be some sort of Christian. Only about 20% of Roman Catholics regularly attend church services. American entertainment and life style is decidedly secular.
In Japan Shinto and Buddhism co-exist harmoniously, yet the majority of the population is a-religious. As one Japanese told me on a train to Tokyo "when you are born, married and when you die" is when you have anything to do with Shinto priests.
What we call progress is somehow very closely associated with secularism. IMO, religion has been reduced to political a garnish and a lip service.
It sounds like a positive development.
"Approximately two thirds of the 82 million citizens are church members. About 26 million are Roman Catholics, and a similar number are Protestants."
So much for those who proclaim doom. Most of my own friends are God believing, but don't often attend churches.
Across Europe, the bad deeds of muslims are likely causing many people to re-examine their own beliefs.
Seeing death threats against their own German Pope can't help the cause of islam with Germans.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.