What is your perception of the current pope?

The current pope

  • I believe he is a good man

    Votes: 15 33.3%
  • I believe he is evil

    Votes: 21 46.7%
  • I don't know for sure

    Votes: 9 20.0%

  • Total voters
    45

BigDallasDick8x6

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Who's this "we" you're talking about ? Do you have a multiple personality disorder or something ? Whatever you're becoming pretty tedious, if you don't like what I post that's fine, but don't try to involve me in some internet-drama grudge marathon. I don't want to put you on ignore because in general I respect what you have to contribute and have enjoyed reading some of your posts but if your new thing is going to be picking on anything I have to say I'll gladly ignore you.

I'm tedious?? Almost all of your posts on religious topics reduce to "All Christians are bad." Sometimes it takes you a couple hundred words to get there, but you always wind up in the same spot.:wink:

Do us both a favor and put me on ignore already.:rolleyes:
 

BigDallasDick8x6

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I wouldn't bank on it though, Stronzo. The prevalence of the D 32 gene in Europeans is 1:7 tops. But to have the resistance to HIV you'd need to be homozygous, i.e. a matching pair, one from each parent. So both parents would need to be heterozygous, i.e. carry one, with the other gene being the normal, non-D 32 gene varient (allele).

Doing math: the chance of both parents carrying one allele is 1 in 7x7 = 1:49. That would only give you a 1:4 chance of ending up as homozygous. So if you don't know the D 32 status of your parents, the chance of you being homozygous is 4 x 49 = 196. Let's call it 0.5%. Pretty long odds.

However, being heterozygous is said to delay the onset of AIDS by an average of 2yrs if you get infected with HIV.


Ironically, the D 32 mutation is a damaged gene, which is meant to express a protein in the wall of certain white blood cells that helps fight infection, and the lack of it would reduce resistance to viruses. However, HIV actually binds to this protein and uses it to enter the white blood cell so that it cannot be attacked by antibodies. If this protein is missing HIV cannot enter the cell.

It does however raise the possiblitiy of gene therapy to turn people into homozygous D 32, and therefore resistant to HIV and then the pope can keep his condoms

Wow -- I'm not up on this at all, apparently. About a year ago I had genetic testing done for ancestral haplotype and that was fascinating. Learned we were Scottish which we didn't know before that. I did my Y DNA (father's line) and full mitochondrial sequencing (mother's line). A paternal cousin did her mitochondrial DNA which give us her maternal line (including my paternal grandmother) and found our haplotype traces back to one of four women Ashkenazi Jews are descended from (or maybe just our sub-haplotype). Anyway, so now we know we are descended on the male line from Norman French who became Danish Vikings who moved to Scotland (Haplotype I2b1) and on my father's mothers line has Jewish ancestry. I'm also in email contact with several other distant relatives since we found each other through this process. I used www.ftdna.com for genetic testing. I'm really into genealogy but I would think even if you weren't, most people would find this time of information about themselves interesting.

Recently, I saw an article for 23andme and their genetic testing. Going on to their website I saw they have a test for about 30 things including HIV resistance which is the first I'd ever heard of that. The test is pricey at $499. Doing more research, I learned that despite their investment by Google (the co-founder is wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin) they do have some shortcomings.

I found Genetic Testing Labratories is fully accredited and does more in-depth tests but tests for fewer predispostions and doesn't include HIV resistance. Their test is only $99 so I am eagerly awaiting the results.

After that I may go back and get the 23andme test also just because it includes so many more things. On the other hand, who really cares what one's earwax type is? This is seriously one of their tests, but there are some other worthwhile ones they offer that GTL doesn't.
 

DiscoBoy

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He's probably got good intentions, but I don't think he's going about the best way of achieving them. For the most part, anyway.
 

D_Tim McGnaw

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I'm tedious?? Almost all of your posts on religious topics reduce to "All Christians are bad." Sometimes it takes you a couple hundred words to get there, but you always wind up in the same spot.:wink:

Do us both a favor and put me on ignore already.:rolleyes:


No you just want to pretend that's what I've said to justisy your bizarre grudge. Your persecution complex demands that you have a bogeyman to blame and because I happen to take a strong line on the evils of religion I happen to make a very poor fit to the template of this evil-nazi-antichristian-atheist-bigot you've constructed in your fevered mind.

Go and project your crazy complexes on someone else, and I wont need to put you on ignore.
 

BigDallasDick8x6

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No you just want to pretend that's what I've said to justisy your bizarre grudge. Your persecution complex demands that you have a bogeyman to blame and because I happen to take a strong line on the evils of religion I happen to make a very poor fit to the template of this evil-nazi-antichristian-atheist-bigot you've constructed in your fevered mind.

Go and project your crazy complexes on someone else, and I wont need to put you on ignore.

I seem to have called one of your bluffs yet again. :biggrin1:
 

BigDallasDick8x6

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OK I told you I was reluctant to ignore you, but you can see me not doing so as some sort of pathetic victory if you want. :rolleyes: P.S. "yet again" ? What are you talking about ? Weirdo.

When we have discussions you criticize my choice of sources as being inferior to yours. Yet you never cite your sources despite being repeatedly asked to do so. Apparently you're ashamed of them or you wouldn't play that game. That's what I'm talking about. Got it??
 

D_Tim McGnaw

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See what I mean?? LOL


I have no idea what you mean, but I do see that you're obviously bitter about having been shown up as naive for believing that your sources were unbiased and reliable rather than purely propaganda outlets. Your issue isn't with me, it's with the compilers of the Catholic Encyclopedia, and with the educators who didn't teach you how to critically analyse source materials.

If you're really going to continue this nasty little campaign of yours that's fine, but I think you should examine your reasons for doing so.
 

BigDallasDick8x6

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I have no idea what you mean, but I do see that you're obviously bitter about having been shown up as naive for believing that your sources were unbiased and reliable rather than purely propaganda outlets. Your issue isn't with me, it's with the compilers of the Catholic Encyclopedia, and with the educators who didn't teach you how to critically analyse source materials.

If you're really going to continue this nasty little campaign of yours that's fine, but I think you should examine your reasons for doing so.

I'm not bitter at all. In fact I'm highly amused. I've never read the Catholic Encyclopedia or any part thereof. Your inability to keep your facts straight is pretty funny.

It's also hilarious (Hey! That must be where your name comes from!:wink:) that when you disagree with me you are bringing enlightenment to the world. When I disagree with you it's a "nasty little campaign."

Do write back soon. I can't wait to hear some more of your jokes. :biggrin1:
 

D_Tim McGnaw

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I'm not bitter at all. In fact I'm highly amused. I've never read the Catholic Encyclopedia or any part thereof. Your inability to keep your facts straight is pretty funny.

It's also hilarious (Hey! That must be where your name comes from!:wink:) that when you disagree with me you are bringing enlightenment to the world. When I disagree with you it's a "nasty little campaign."

Do write back soon. I can't wait to hear some more of your jokes. :biggrin1:


Oh you'll have to forgive me, you bear a striking resemblance (in text, since your actual likeness is nowhere to be found) to another random mentally ill person who stalks these boards, with whom I confused you. It's an easy mistake to make.

You are right hilarious is exactly where I got my name from, how pleasing that in all your blather and nonesense you stumbled upon a truth.

My patience is run out consider yourself ignored.
 

BigDallasDick8x6

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Oh you'll have to forgive me, you bear a striking resemblance (in text, since your actual likeness is nowhere to be found) to another random mentally ill person who stalks these boards, with whom I confused you. It's an easy mistake to make.

You are right hilarious is exactly where I got my name from, how pleasing that in all your blather and nonesense you stumbled upon a truth.

My patience is run out consider yourself ignored.

Dear Hilarious,

1) My likeness is on the last page of my gallery, right where it has always been.

2) Yee - haw!!

BDD
 

pornographicpoet

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LOL, Dirty Videophile....

I really have no opinion on Ratzinger...or at least had no opinion on him until I read this thread. If he was in Hitler Youth and against the use of condoms....that's some pretty wicked stuff.

I mostly have objections to the idea of the Pope being a conduit to God. I think Catholicism is flawed in this (and other) respects.
 

ryan25yo

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LOL, Dirty Videophile....

I really have no opinion on Ratzinger...or at least had no opinion on him until I read this thread. If he was in Hitler Youth and against the use of condoms....that's some pretty wicked stuff.

I mostly have objections to the idea of the Pope being a conduit to God. I think Catholicism is flawed in this (and other) respects.
Just for the record....Catholics do not believe that the Pope is a conduit to God.
 

D_Tim McGnaw

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Just for the record....Catholics do not believe that the Pope is a conduit to God.


OK, but you are required to believe that on those occasions when he indicates that this is the case that he is infallible, that when he speaks in this capacity, he is speaking in a divinely inspired mode, making his words more important than those of the church fathers or doctors. When speaking to the faithful in this infallible mode the Pope may even contradict Jesus and the both testaments, as indeed the Popes have done on numerous occasions.
 
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jason_els

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The pronouncements you speak of are those made in what is called, ex cathedra, meaning, "from the throne." It's actually a fairly new doctrine (1870) and has been used only once and that was in 1950 concerning the bodily assumption of Mary into heaven.

Like everything else in an organization that once held serious debate about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, the dogma behind infallibility relates the to concept that God will not allow the Catholic church to promote dogma which is in error. Basically that means that if the Catholic church thinks an article of faith is true, that God must want it.

The Catholics aren't the only Christian organization to believe such a thing. It's actually common among orthodox Christian denominations.

As to what I think of Pope Benedict? I think he's no JP2. I saw JP2 in action in person and his ability to move people was phenomenal. I've never witnessed such glamor in my life. Benedict has none of that. I think he's still, "God's Rottweiler," rather than, "Christ's Shepherd."