Cardinal O'Brien resigns: Good Riddance

[Coito ergo sum]

A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the LORD your God detests anyone who does this. Deuteronomy 22:5

[Thinking Aloud]

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Whenever I find myself in a Catholic Church, I always watch the activities of the priests closely. If you watch them as people are filing in and stuff, there will be church organ music playing, and the priests and such will be walking around "doing things" -- folding and unfolding cloths, wiping some sort of goblet, moving some sort of relicky looking thing, etc. But, when you actually look at what they're doing, it's not really anything. I think it's just designed to present the image that they are "preparing" something very sacred and holy. But really they are just folding and unfolding cloths and moving goblets.

The pageantry is all important -- they dress in highly symbolic clothing - deceptive clothing. Did you ever see the priests with their high-backed capes on -- i raises the back of the neck of their robes several inches. So, if they turn around and face away from the congregation, and then bow their head, their head disappears below the high backed-neck. It gives the illusion of having bowed one's head lower than one actually bows it.

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It's a uniform, designed to have an impact.

And, the rituals - incense waiving, all sorts of stuff, robes, chants, and all that. If we werent' so used to it, we'd think it a cult.

I stopped churchgoing regularly in 2010 I think it was, having carried on despite atheism because I looked after the music. Anyway, after my departure, I've been back once or twice a year on special request to play piano. The funny thing is that at some point since my departure, RCs have changed the wording of many of the regular congregational prayers (removing some thees and thous and updating other phrasing): the last two times I've been there it's been like walking into a bizarre cult - it's not familiar any more, and because of that, it's revealed itself quite starkly to me for what it was. Yes, I'd come to feel uncomfortable with the old service, but it was so familiar that there was a comfort and homeliness to it that slipped under the radar. Now, it's just creepy. Seriously creepy, and I can't wait to get out of there whenever I'm in.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I stopped churchgoing regularly in 2010 I think it was, having carried on despite atheism because I looked after the music. Anyway, after my departure, I've been back once or twice a year on special request to play piano. The funny thing is that at some point since my departure, RCs have changed the wording of many of the regular congregational prayers (removing some thees and thous and updating other phrasing): the last two times I've been there it's been like walking into a bizarre cult - it's not familiar any more, and because of that, it's revealed itself quite starkly to me for what it was. Yes, I'd come to feel uncomfortable with the old service, but it was so familiar that there was a comfort and homeliness to it that slipped under the radar. Now, it's just creepy. Seriously creepy, and I can't wait to get out of there whenever I'm in.

It failed the Outsider Test.

I tried using this line of logic on a salty old chief back in 1970. He had tried to scold me for posting a peace symbol on our sleeping bay. He was immune to logic, of course, and asked for me to be transferred to another team. I didn't fight it and a heard a few months later that he had gotten his entire team killed because of some bad decisions. I've always imagined that he was confident that God would be watching over him and just didn't do everything he could himself to keep his team safe-ish. ("Safe" being very fucking relative in that time and place.)

[Jason]

A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the LORD your God detests anyone who does this. Deuteronomy 22:5

He just has to click his heels three times and he'll return to Marktl.

[klr]

A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the LORD your God detests anyone who does this. Deuteronomy 22:5

...

That's what did for Joan of Arc, although she should have been let off on a technicality.

[JimC]

You need flummery to hide the flimsiness.

Get thee to a flummery!

[klr]

You need flummery to hide the flimsiness.

Get thee to a flummery!

From the "director's cut" of Hamlet.

[Svartalf]

the flim flam is impressive naetheless