Sydney – Backdrop to the greatest story ever told

Alan writes – There are many aspects of the Roman Catholic Church that I have learnt to admire and draw from; so being near Sydney at the time of the ‘World Youth Day’ events was too good an opportunity to miss.

We waited two hours with hundreds of thousands of others to see the Pope stream past in a whirr of speed and security. Seeing all the security at work – dogs, diplomatic squads, helicopters, police on motor bikes, police on horses, police on push bikes and police in boats etc made the two hours nearly as quickly as the Pope. We wandered the closed of streets with tens of thousands of young Catholics. We toured the harbour to get a feel for the extent of the crowds – 200,000 people is a huge crowd. We watched the Stations of the Cross (see here) from a park in Circular Quay with the noise of trains, rail announcements, helicopters, ferries and cars all around. It was a very moving portrayal in the midst of the market place. And somehow the story of the crucifixion made more sense in the midst of the realities of a large city.

This was the first time I have ever seen western-secular-capitalist-society dwarfed by the Christian story, Christian values and young people openly and unashamedly living their faith. There were no evangelistic hard sells! No one peddling tracts! (oh; us protestants have so much to learn. Why are protestant gatherings like conventions of commission salesmen?) There were just tens of thousands of young Christians waving flags, singing and laughing all over the city. And they ruled the city.

The streets were closed to traffic but awash with people. Sydney, it seemed, didn’t know what to make of it – yet everywhere there was delight in what was happening and open conversations about faith, spirituality and belief. They were happening on the streets, in the cafes and the pubs. The shop keepers, proprietors of flash hotels and restaurant owners seemed more perplexed than annoyed that theses crowds weren’t buying. And all the talk of protests and concern about apologies might have been part of the media view but it wasn’t what it was like on the ground.

As we wandered the streets and listened and watched it slowly dawned on me this was the first time I had ever seen secular capitalist society step back, move beyond perceptions and prejudices of Christianity and enjoy watching, listening to and being with Christians. So for one weekend, in my life time, I can now say I have seen a major western city become the backdrop to the greatest story ever told. And to be honest, from my perspective; most Sydney-ites seemed to enjoy it, be moved by it and value it just as much as we did.

Comments

[Merv]

Thanks Alan - wonderfully evocative observations.

Is that by any chance a New Zealand flag in the photo?

[Alan Jamieson]

thanks Merv

to be honest I'm not sure if it is NZ or Oz. But I'm not sure you could say for certain from the photo

[Sue]

Your religious and cultural provincialism is showing.

Two thirds of the worlds population are not Christian and would therefore quite rightly disagree with you re your claim about the "greatest story ever told".

Moslems would consider the story, and stories, of Muhammad to be "greatest".

Most Hindus would revere the Rig Veda, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Buddhists the multivarious birth and life stories of the Buddha.

The Zoroastrians, Jains, etc etc, would consider their foundational stories to be the "greatest".

Plus your use of the word "greatest" implies superiority. A superiority which gives you and all christian missionary types (past and present) a "divine mandate" to convert all others.

Our way is superior.

Such a "divine mandate" has provided the "religious" justification for most of the Western imperialist project.
Which began in a big time way when the "church" was coopted by Imperial Rome, and thus became an integral part of the imperial project and its drive to total power and control.

The slaughter of countless millions was the inevitable result.

Just as the name the "New" Testament signalled to the Jews, that your religion is now old hat and inferior, and therefore you ought to get with our "new" (subtext and real meaning message SUPERIOR way).

Such a subtext message has provided the base support for anti-Semitism over the centuries. And of course also given further justications for "christian" imperialism altogether. We ARE the "new" Jerusalem. We possess the one "true faith/way/revelation.

And what is Western-secular-capitalist culture anyway?
Where did it come from? What are it roots?

I would say that it is the INEVITABLE manifestation or result of the moment when the "church" was coopted by Constantine and Imperial Rome.

We now have an Imperial boy-emperor in Imperial "christian" America---Constantines historical heir or manifestation. The "culture" of which is totally dominated by the Pentagon military-industrial-"entertaiment" complex---the "culture" of death.

This power and control drive became really big time at the time of the Renaissance when the cultural focus of Western man (males in particular) became man himself (and his possibilities), rather than the Divine, however that was defined or imagined.

This was also the time of the rise of Protestanism, which in turn lead to the rise of the "cultural" of competitive individualism, of which (combined with the collective power/control drive) secular capitalism is the inevitable manifestation or form.

Western "culture" thus rapidly became emptied of both the Divine Radiance and the very possibility of Divine Life.

And besides which the circus in Sydney was just that. A circus that PT Barnum (a sucker born every minute---thousands actually) would have really loved. It was all so fake and phoney.

Pure manipulation. Not altogether different to a Nuremburg rally

Show-biz and "big-brother" all rolled into one.

[rodney]

Sue,

I take it from your somewhat over the top sweeping generalisations that you are not a fan of Christianity.

Rodney

[Merv]

Congratulations Alan,

A third of the world's population loved your post.

shalom,

[Sue]

More reflections on the Sydney circus.

Jesus had no worldly power whatsoever and rode into town unannounced on a donkey.

The chap from Rome came on a jet plane with a vast entourage and a world-wide propaganda apparatus.

Jesus threw the money-lenders out of the temple. The chap from Rome was feted and financed by the money-lenders and given the best of everything.

How many corporations lined up as sponsors? Including those that lend money---aka the userers or blood-sucking parasites.

By the way the modern city with all of its sky-scrapers IS a "celebration" (or monument) to the power of the money-lenders, who now rule the world.

Jesus was executed by the officers of the Imperial Roman state, with the connivance of the then religious establishment.

The chap IS the etablishment.
His establishment has executed(murdered) countless millions in its history.

Opus Dei was instrumental in staging the coup against Salvador Allende in Chile. And also instrumental in the formation and activities of the death squads that murdered tens of thousands in Central and South America in the 1980's. Its founder was an open admirer of Hitler.

Meanwhile the chap stayed at an Opus Dei establishment in Sydney. And probably in similar Opus Dei establishments when he was in the USA.

The chap from Rome was installed in what was in effect a display of Western imperial power and "triumph"---it was certainly celebrated as such by right-wing catholics especially in the USA. All of the money-lenders, the politicians and the generals were in attendance.

Jesus would not have been invited, or even welcome, at such an event.

Do you really think that a living saint would have attended that groteque mockery. Or even the circus event in Sydney last week.

The power and control seeking entirely worldly insitution that the chap heads has always been a key player (quite often THE key player) in the Western imperial project. And as such it has INEVITABLY produced untold millions of corpses.

The chap is a self-possessed (that is "sinful") human being, just like everyone else. And as a self-possessed person he is therefore infinintely godless, and always at war with the Divine---just like everyone else.

He suffers from the "stench of holiness"---he is not even a Saint. And yet he is celebrated as someone special ("holy") and also allowed himself to become the centre of a grotesque personality cult.

Isnt Jesus supposed to be the focus of Christian worship etc.

He also claims that his "authority" is given via apostolic succession passed down via "Peter".
Who were all these "apostolic successors" prior to the church becoming big-time?

And what about the popes themselves. They were always chosen by the then most powerful power faction at any given time---even now.

Saintliness or even mature human qualities often had nothing to do with it. Some of them were psycho-paths and should have been locked up because they were unfit for human company. At least once there were TWO popes---which was the "real" one?

[Sue]

More reflections on the Sydney circus.

Jesus had no worldly power whatsoever and rode into town unannounced on a donkey.

The chap from Rome came on a jet plane with a vast entourage and a world-wide propaganda apparatus.

Jesus threw the money-lenders out of the temple. The chap from Rome was feted and financed by the money-lenders and given the best of everything.

How many corporations lined up as sponsors? Including those that lend money---aka the userers or blood-sucking parasites.

By the way the modern city with all of its sky-scrapers IS a "celebration" (or monument) to the power of the money-lenders, who now rule the world.

Jesus was executed by the officers of the Imperial Roman state, with the connivance of the then religious establishment.

The chap IS the etablishment.
His establishment has executed(murdered) countless millions in its history.

Opus Dei was instrumental in staging the coup against Salvador Allende in Chile. And also instrumental in the formation and activities of the death squads that murdered tens of thousands in Central and South America in the 1980's. Its founder was an open admirer of Hitler.

Meanwhile the chap stayed at an Opus Dei establishment in Sydney. And probably in similar Opus Dei establishments when he was in the USA.

The chap from Rome was installed in what was in effect a display of Western imperial power and "triumph"---it was certainly celebrated as such by right-wing catholics especially in the USA. All of the money-lenders, the politicians and the generals were in attendance.

Jesus would not have been invited, or even welcome, at such an event.

Do you really think that a living saint would have attended that groteque mockery. Or even the circus event in Sydney last week.

The power and control seeking entirely worldly insitution that the chap heads has always been a key player (quite often THE key player) in the Western imperial project. And as such it has INEVITABLY produced untold millions of corpses.

The chap is a self-possessed (that is "sinful") human being, just like everyone else. And as a self-possessed person he is therefore infinintely godless, and always at war with the Divine---just like everyone else.

He suffers from the "stench of holiness"---he is not even a Saint. And yet he is celebrated as someone special ("holy") and also allowed himself to become the centre of a grotesque personality cult.

Isnt Jesus supposed to be the focus of Christian worship etc.

He also claims that his "authority" is given via apostolic succession passed down via "Peter".
Who were all these "apostolic successors" prior to the church becoming big-time?

And what about the popes themselves. They were always chosen by the then most powerful power faction at any given time---even now.

Saintliness or even mature human qualities often had nothing to do with it. Some of them were psycho-paths and should have been locked up because they were unfit for human company. At least once there were TWO popes---which was the "real" one?

[rodney neill]

Sue,

Your posts have an angry,hostile tone and black and white rhetoric which is hard to respond to or have dialogue with. I do have sympathy to some of your points but it is hard not to be turned off by the way you comment.

Rodney

[ben]

I saw many young (read naive) pilgrims in Sydney at WYD. None of them were aware they were just part of the biggest advertising campaign for the Catholic Church which really didn't have an ounce of spirituality about it at all.

Like battery hens in a chicken farm, they were used by the Catholic Church. Lured by the organisation's CEO, an old man masquerading as a spiritual leader, all in an attempt to showcase it's supposed power, strength and "unity".

Quote "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time."

Religion preys on the weak, the strong see beyond.

[Ruth Mazengarb]

Thanks AJ,
Your reflections give me hope.