I appreciate the comment, and I will admit that I gave more than a second and even a third thought to that particular line.
I understand that people are easily offended when somebody says that their most dearly-held beliefs are just wishful thinking. Whether we're talking about beliefs in the literal transformation of the Eucharist, or their belief that the Roman Catholic church can do no wrong, saying that is going to raise some hackles.
The reason I did it anyway is that I've learned from talking about feminism, from talking about racism, and from talking about homophobia that there is no way to tell someone that they're living in a fantasy land which causes grievous harm to innocent people that will not piss them off. I would give concerns about the offendability of Catholics reading this more weight if I thought there were a way to make this point without rubbing them the wrong way.
I'm really not sure there is, though. When my blog series is about how the RCC is such an unreformably degenerate and destructive organization that it is not even worth defending, I don't know how to properly couch it so that I can seduce Catholics who need to hear this into actually paying attention to it.
no subject
I understand that people are easily offended when somebody says that their most dearly-held beliefs are just wishful thinking. Whether we're talking about beliefs in the literal transformation of the Eucharist, or their belief that the Roman Catholic church can do no wrong, saying that is going to raise some hackles.
The reason I did it anyway is that I've learned from talking about feminism, from talking about racism, and from talking about homophobia that there is no way to tell someone that they're living in a fantasy land which causes grievous harm to innocent people that will not piss them off. I would give concerns about the offendability of Catholics reading this more weight if I thought there were a way to make this point without rubbing them the wrong way.
I'm really not sure there is, though. When my blog series is about how the RCC is such an unreformably degenerate and destructive organization that it is not even worth defending, I don't know how to properly couch it so that I can seduce Catholics who need to hear this into actually paying attention to it.