SoSick I agree about the power of symbolism, and how it can be used to manipulate. Do I think the Vatican is actively doing this? To be honest it doesn't interest me. The biggest threat I think they pose to anybody is in the way they keep telling Catholics not to use birth control. Thereby ensuring a plentiful supply of fertile Catholic families, and all the ensuing problems of poverty, sexually transmitted diseases, etc. My father's family ended up being dirt-poor and unable to support their youngest children because they followed the teachings about birth control.
I also think that governments and the media are where we really need to be conscious of the manipulative use of symbols, as well as various brainwashing techniques that Elvis' vid touches on, e.g. the way everyone is now convinced that many things are necessary to do because of this "war on terror," including stripping civil liberties away.
I think I would agree with all of that wholeheartedly.
But I also think it's important to keep in mind that the Catholic church was once fully and still attempts to be, the overseer of the Holy Roman Empire, which was not all that long ago.
First Caesar was god, with his treasure trove of mythological other gods assumed along the way... but Christians refused to worship caeser... then the pope became god in caesar's place when the roman empire started becoming dysfunctional and became the holy roman empire carrying the cross representing it's newest addition of Jesus added to the treasure trove of gods picked up over the centuries to unite the religious beliefs of the people it conquered. This is the same cross, metaphorically, that the romans previously used to punish and execute the enslaved indigenus peoples it conquered, now perceived by many to represent the christian faith.
Christianity is not rooted in Egpyt or Babylon, it is rooted in Israel, with the hebrews, who have always been diametrically opposed to babylonian religions, and whose teachings implore not to mix beliefs.
Catholicism is a religion of many hats and it is no wonder that so many people from that church think that god is a myth and legend. In Catholicism, god
is a myth and legend. In Catholicism, only the pope is infallible.
Anyway, and this is not directed at you Linda, unfortunately it's not possible to separate the Catholic church from politics and world events even to this day. If you choose to ignore history and the violent bloody and deceitful means that have been used by the roman empire, the holy roman empire, and now curently what may be known as the NWO in it's place, to secure wealth, territory and enslave people, that is your perogative.
