Opinions on Mother Teresa

[gb8]

I just started to read up about the woman, who is seen as a modern example of goodwill and peace. Found this article which seems to give a contradictory view, anyone here (RBP) maybe have an opinion on her being classed as a saint?

[ALBballer]

I just started to read up about the woman, who is seen as a modern example of goodwill and peace. Found this article which seems to give a contradictory view, anyone here (RBP) maybe have an opinion on her being classed as a saint?

Where's the article?

I'm assuming it's the one where it made it seem like she enjoyed the torture and suffering of the poor.

I'll try to find a link....

[gb8]

Where's the article?

I'm assuming it's the one where it made it seem like she enjoyed the torture and suffering of the poor.

I'll try to find a link....

Sorry thought I had posted it.
http://www.slate.com/id/2090083/

[DirtBag]

I think she was one of the few people that got it right, She wasn't anti war, she was pro peace. think about it.....

[mike239489]

Great person of course, it's pretty stupid to think otherwise.

All this really teaches us, that even if you live as selfless and good a life as Mother Teresa...you will still have your haters.

You can never please everybody, and you shouldn't even bother trying.

[RainierBeachPoet]

christopher hitchens is a known anti-religious writer and his criticism of mother theresa goes back a long way. hitchens could be defined as a zealous atheist he had written a book in the late 1990s; most of the arguments in the article were from his earlier work "missionary position: mother theresa in theory and practice"

although i havent read hitchens book, there was one review of hitchens' various positions that was thoughtful. mark zima is an author and former religious brother who picks apart the various claims by hitchens as shallow attemps to undermine various pro-life teaching of the catholic church

it is a good "counter-position" to hitchens: at http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=2VXL2BZ3NV&isbn=185984054X&itm=1
zima questions zima's sources, arguments, motivesas well as conclusions. one thought provoking argument was provided by hitchens himself: all the honors/awards and writings about mother theresa that show her life as saintly

here is part of zima:

The question the book did not ask: What is a Saint? In the Catholic Church, to be a canonizable Saint a person must practice perfect faith, hope, love, prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. After passing these criteria, and only after, can reputed miracles be examined.


this is an important point



i am no expert on the beatification/canonization process but it too had evolved. a saint is not one who is "perfect" but one whose life is exemplary in following jesus as the christ. no one saint has all the qualities of sainthood


there was a time where one became a saint because of "popular acclaim"-- this meant that when the people themselves believed that a person was a saint because of the aforementioned criteria, then the person was made a saint. this doesnt necessarily mean that the church has caved into media frenzy; it means that the voice of the people is important


i believe that the person who became a saint in the shortest time was st anthony of padua-- less than a year



seems like with mother theresa, we are taking seriously the sense of the people of God and the idea of "popular acclaim"

[RainierBeachPoet]

I just started to read up about the woman, who is seen as a modern example of goodwill and peace.

ps--

were you thinking about mother t as you recovered from your massive hangover?
:cheers:
:banana:

[gb8]

Yea man I was, its crazy how your mind wanders when you in the bed all day unable to eat.

[ikoiko]

seems to me hitchens is right about mother theresa. watch these clips and your view of this "saint" will forever be altered:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIZMmAhsAcA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz8GTs1MISY&feature=related

[gb8]

seems to me hitchens is right about mother theresa. watch these clips and your view of this "saint" will forever be altered:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIZMmAhsAcA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz8GTs1MISY&feature=related

Interesting videos, am not sure where I stand on her, more research is needed.

[RainierBeachPoet]

seems to me hitchens is right about mother theresa. watch these clips and your view of this "saint" will forever be altered:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIZMmAhsAcA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz8GTs1MISY&feature=related
hmmm

do you take all of your leads in life from penn and teller?

also, bill donohue is the favorite sound bite guy who fox news likes because he is over the top. most thinking catholics do not want donohue speaking for us; he is a marginal figure for most leaders in the catholic church

one must always consider the source

besides hitchens and penn and teller, who else is claiming these insinuations? and what is their proof?

[Thorpesaurous]

I've never read anything by Hitchens, but he's a great interview. He defends his points extremely well without pushing. He doesn't smash other people's data for the sake of his case, he just presents his own theories with his own backing, and if it's not enough, it's not enough. I've seen him on The Daily Show, Colbert, Larry King, and he's dealt extremely well with Bill Maher, who's a pompous blowhard himself, although their both being almost evangelically athiest (ironically) probably helps their relationship, although they should be pretty close to mortal enemies on most other topics.
And I say this in spite of really disliking the guy personally. He gives off an air of total arrogant jackass. He's the only guy I've seen smoke on TV in 25 years. Your doing a five minute interview for christ's sake, wait until it's over. Maybe it's just the accent.
That arrogance may be what lets him sit above the fray of the shouting that's become commonplace in any sort of counterpoint dialogue.

[LJJ]

one must always consider the source

besides hitchens and penn and teller, who else is claiming these insinuations? and what is their proof?

Actually, a lot of the things said in the video are checkable facts. And I really doubt they are just big lies.

[Hawker]

hmmm

do you take all of your leads in life from penn and teller?

also, bill donohue is the favorite sound bite guy who fox news likes because he is over the top. most thinking catholics do not want donohue speaking for us; he is a marginal figure for most leaders in the catholic church

one must always consider the source

besides hitchens and penn and teller, who else is claiming these insinuations? and what is their proof?

a nun who worked for teresa...

[RainierBeachPoet]

Actually, a lot of the things said in the video are checkable facts. And I really doubt they are just big lies.

and that is why i refered to a reviewer (in previous post #6) who did check out the claims and debunked them

[RainierBeachPoet]

a nun who worked for teresa...

if you want to use anecdotal evidence, then there will be literally thousands of others who will "witness" otherwise

please refer to the counterpoint previously listed in post #6

[RainierBeachPoet]

I've never read anything by Hitchens, but he's a great interview. He defends his points extremely well without pushing. He doesn't smash other people's data for the sake of his case, he just presents his own theories with his own backing, and if it's not enough, it's not enough. I've seen him on The Daily Show, Colbert, Larry King, and he's dealt extremely well with Bill Maher, who's a pompous blowhard himself, although their both being almost evangelically athiest (ironically) probably helps their relationship, although they should be pretty close to mortal enemies on most other topics.
And I say this in spite of really disliking the guy personally. He gives off an air of total arrogant jackass. He's the only guy I've seen smoke on TV in 25 years. Your doing a five minute interview for christ's sake, wait until it's over. Maybe it's just the accent.
That arrogance may be what lets him sit above the fray of the shouting that's become commonplace in any sort of counterpoint dialogue.

he is cool under pressure but i believe it is better to take the arguments at face value which is what the reviewer refuted well imo

[T_L_P]

Hypocritical [insert expletive here] tbh.

Basically said suffering was beautiful then went and got first class medical treatment when she fell ill. Preyed on the poor and weak for her religious agenda.

[Cactus-Sack]

Hypocritical [insert expletive here] tbh.

Basically said suffering was beautiful then went and got first class medical treatment when she fell ill. Preyed on the poor and weak for her religious agenda.

Literally just had warehouses for sick people to writhe around on the floor in.

cvnt.

[Dresta]

I've never read anything by Hitchens, but he's a great interview. He defends his points extremely well without pushing. He doesn't smash other people's data for the sake of his case, he just presents his own theories with his own backing, and if it's not enough, it's not enough. I've seen him on The Daily Show, Colbert, Larry King, and he's dealt extremely well with Bill Maher, who's a pompous blowhard himself, although their both being almost evangelically athiest (ironically) probably helps their relationship, although they should be pretty close to mortal enemies on most other topics.
And I say this in spite of really disliking the guy personally. He gives off an air of total arrogant jackass. He's the only guy I've seen smoke on TV in 25 years. Your doing a five minute interview for christ's sake, wait until it's over. Maybe it's just the accent.
That arrogance may be what lets him sit above the fray of the shouting that's become commonplace in any sort of counterpoint dialogue.
That's a bizarre thing to care about, really. Plenty of his interviews go into the hours as well, and i'm pretty certain there's not a single 5-minute one where he smokes.

Also a good way to keep alert if you've got a bit of a hangover, which Hitchens almost always had. Oh, and he was spot-on about Teresa.

[BurningHammer]

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/iv-drip/academics-suggest-hitch-called-it-right-on-mother-teresa-8521363.html

[Tarik One]

Gandhi >> Mother Teresa

[Penny37]

I've been to Calcutta and volunteered at the Mother House (Home for the destitute and dying).

Being very curious about her myself, I asked many locals what they thought of her. Every single person I talked to said she is an even better person than the media portrays her to be.

I have a close friend who worked with MT in Calcutta and he has nothing but amazing things to say about her.

[fiddy]

Gandhi
racist sob

[LJJ]

I've been to Calcutta and volunteered at the Mother House (Home for the destitute and dying).

Being very curious about her myself, I asked many locals what they thought of her. Every single person I talked to said she is an even better person than the media portrays her to be.

I have a close friend who worked with MT in Calcutta and he has nothing but amazing things to say about her.

I have a couple Indian buddies and her reputation in India is much more sketchy than in the west.

[Dresta]

I've been to Calcutta and volunteered at the Mother House (Home for the destitute and dying).

Being very curious about her myself, I asked many locals what they thought of her. Every single person I talked to said she is an even better person than the media portrays her to be.

I have a close friend who worked with MT in Calcutta and he has nothing but amazing things to say about her.
I just don't believe you, sorry.

[Penny37]

I just don't believe you, sorry.
Not sure what I can say or do to convince you.
I am a Canadian living in Bangkok, Thailand working at an International School. I also founded an organization that works with Migrant Workers from Cambodia.

Last Spring Break I flew AirAsia to Calcutta because I had always wanted to go. It was a really cheap flight, less than 200 dollars for a return ticket. I spent three days there.

[Lebron23]

Not sure what I can say or do to convince you.
I am a Canadian living in Bangkok, Thailand working at an International School. I also founded an organization that works with Migrant Workers from Cambodia.

Last Spring Break I flew AirAsia to Calcutta because I had always wanted to go. It was a really cheap flight, less than 200 dollars for a return ticket. I spent three days there.


You are probably a future Saint.

[Penny37]

You are probably a future Saint.
Nope. Just a God-fearing man trying to give back. Living out the command to take care of the poor, the orphan, the widow, and the marginalized.

[SexSymbol]

Nope. Just a God-fearing man trying to give back. Living out the command to take care of the poor, the orphan, the widow, and the marginalized.
god doesn't exist

[Penny37]

god doesn't exist
I respectfully disagree.
But hey, we're all entitled to our opinion.

[iTare]

10/10 would bang

[SexSymbol]

I respectfully disagree.
But hey, we're all entitled to our opinion.
No you're not, there's no evidence of him existing.
Stop worshiping something that either doesn't exist or can't do shit and stop wasting your life.

[Penny37]

No you're not, there's no evidence of him existing.
Stop worshiping something that either doesn't exist or can't do shit and stop wasting your life.
Atheists are always saying Christians force their beliefs on others; yet you do the exact same thing. Funny how that works.

[sweggeh]

She was fine. A real sex symbol. RIP.

[SexSymbol]

Atheists are always saying Christians force their beliefs on others; yet you do the exact same thing. Funny how that works.
I'm not forcing shit on anybody, I ain't gonna do nothing to you if your don't turn to the logic side and keep living the dream like the crusades or something.
But deep down you know that you're wasting your time, it's all good and shit when you believe in God if it's 1500s or something, but modern people should know better than that. There hasn't been any sighting of god for 2000 years, why would you believe in something that abandons you for such a long time, allows famine, death, rape and stuff like that?

[JohnFreeman]

I read something a while back that said she was a cvnt

[Penny37]

I'm not forcing shit on anybody, I ain't gonna do nothing to you if your don't turn to the logic side and keep living the dream like the crusades or something.
But deep down you know that you're wasting your time, it's all good and shit when you believe in God if it's 1500s or something, but modern people should know better than that. There hasn't been any sighting of god for 2000 years, why would you believe in something that abandons you for such a long time, allows famine, death, rape and stuff like that?
You and I are walking along a beach. We see a beautiful, giant sand castle.
A child walks up to us and asks us, "Who made the sandcastle?"
I reply, "I'm not sure but someone must have."
You reply, "Nobody. It's just there. It just came to be."

Who's the crazy one?

I look around this world and see how intricately designed everything is. Everything that has been created has a creator, and we are more complex, this universe is more intricate, than anything we can possibly imagine and you argue that it just came to be by chance?

It takes faith to believe in a God but it also takes faith to not believe in a God. You're defying your own theory of logic when you say that everything was created from nothing. But hey, people can believe what they want. I won't look down on anybody for not believing in a God or think lesser of them. Obviously you don't feel the same way.

[Dresta]

You and I are walking along a beach. We see a beautiful, giant sand castle.
A child walks up to us and asks us, "Who made the sandcastle?"
I reply, "I'm not sure but someone must have."
You reply, "Nobody. It's just there. It just came to be."

Who's the crazy one?

I look around this world and see how intricately designed everything is. Everything that has been created has a creator, and we are more complex, this universe is more intricate, than anything we can possibly imagine and you argue that it just came to be by chance?

It takes faith to believe in a God but it also takes faith to not believe in a God. You're defying your own theory of logic when you say that everything was created from nothing. But hey, people can believe what they want. I won't look down on anybody for not believing in a God or think lesser of them. Obviously you don't feel the same way.
That's because logic is a human construct that deals only with appearances, grounded on the principle of causality (something that doesn't actually exist, rather, we can only interpret things according to this principle). Logic as a product of the human mind, a means of interpretation, not of discovering reality.

I think a good argument can be made that the universe is one: it is everything, therefore if anything is to be called divine, it is that - hence the universe can be viewed as God, and thus every individual a unique and invaluable expression of that divinity. Consequently, one can conclude, that to repudiate even a single aspect of existence, is to repudiate the whole, and to deny everything that exists. By over-esteeming life, and incessantly despairing over suffering, many repudiate the entirety of life without even recognising it, after all, suffering is an indispensable and central aspect of life. That is about as far as you can go without taking a leap of faith of some sort.

Oh, and ignore the pleb above intent on making the absence of belief a religious dogmatism of his own.