gareth19 (imported) wrote: Sun Apr 12, 2009 10:57 pm Because priests and popes are simulacra of Jesus, they must be as he was an intact male

This has actually be in dispute at various times and places within the Christian realm. The Skoptzy sect of the Eastern Orthodox Church (flourished 1721 to ???) believed that Jesus was a eunuch and that Adam and Eve had been originally created without sex organs. They were God's punishment when they were expelled from the Garden of Eden.

While I have not had time to read through all of Tertullian's writings, one of the secondary sources that I've read quotes him as stating that Jesus was a eunuch and that Tertullian knew the author of the Book of Matthew, who was also a eunuch. Tertullian (ca 160 AD to ca 220 AD) was an incredibly prolific early Christian author and the first one known to have written Christian literature in Latin. He is the first person known to have described the Christian "Trinity" – "three Persons, one Substance" ("tres Personae, una Substantia")

The one thing I learned early in life is how hypocritical the Catholic Church is. They have such a lack of understanding for the thoughts and feelings of everybody around them. Coming from a Catholic family, I decided to drop the ties with it when I was around 14 years old... mostly because I could no longer pretend to accept their views.

hmm intact... does it include circumcision?

Not only eunuchs may not beome a pope. Neither can women, protestants, moslems, jews, buddhists or, in practice, anyone who isn't a cardinal.

"Catholic" is thus a single word oxymoron

Visionary (imported) wrote: Wed Apr 15, 2009 5:13 am The one thing I learned early in life is how hypocritical the Catholic Church is. They have such a lack of understanding for the thoughts and feelings of everybody around them. Coming from a Catholic family, I decided to drop the ties with it when I was around 14 years old... mostly because I could no longer pretend to accept their views.

Amen!

Hypocrisy is everywhere and it comes from everyone everywhere from all walks of life. I'd like to think that one gender, group, race, or religion is better than any of the others but it just isn't so.

Lest we not forget that all of the fallable human beings who contributed in one way or another to the ancient writings that wound up in the bible, et. al. were not exactly M.B.A's or PhD's. Being genitally intact seemed more important than being mentally intact. Persons selected to be Pope are generally healthy caucasion. Any pre-existing physical disability seems to usually be a disqualifier. Mental dysfunction seems to not be a disqualifier to be Pope (or most other elected officials, notwithstanding the New York Governor who may be blind in sight, but wise in vision).

Also, back in ancient times cancer, and other medical maladies, and how to treat them, were not understood when people were inventing religion. It's impossible to know how many men were castrates due to medical reasons, or by reason of battle, or otherwise. Generally speaking, today, most men will forgo having testes if medically necessary to otherwise save their life; I doubt any sane person would choose to retain diseased testes to prevent being disqualified for consideration for Pope.