The election of Josef Ratzinger (party facts - his nicknames are apparently 'God's Rottweiler,' 'John Paul III,' 'The Enforcer,' 'Panzerkardinal (Iron Cardinal),' and 'Cardinal No') to Pope doesn't really represent so much a shift to bioconservatism IMHO, as a hardening and consolidation of the biocon doctrine that Ratzinger and JPII were codifying together over the last couple decades.
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"panzerkardinal" means "panther cardinal". iron cardinal would be "eisenkardinal"
Slowly, slowly, it bleeds, and IMO will some day die.
In a sense, it's already dead. Seeing how the Vatican reacts to the coming technological sea-change will be decidedly interesting. My guess is that it will be progressively future-shocked into political oblivion and live on as a well-funded cult.
"My guess is that it will be progressively future-shocked into political oblivion and live on as a well-funded cult."
Like Mormonism?
I recommend reading _The Next Christendom_ by Philip Jenkins. Catholicism may die, but Christianity will take over the world.
W.M.B --
Jenkins addresses the notion (mistaken, in his opinion) that Islam rather than Christianity is more likely to take over the world. "Taking over" does not have to involve military conquest; it can happen via insidious spreading (like what is happening in the U.S. right now).
You should read the book to see how Jenkins makes his case.
WMB and Ken --
In _The Next Christendom and the Coming of Global Christianity_, Dr. Jenkins argues that Christianity is in fact growing faster than Islam in parts of the world like Africa, South America and Asia. It is a quiet *epidemic*, if you will (although Jenkins doesn't see the growth of Christianity in such a negative light; he himself is a Christian).
Jenkins also predicts that in the future religion will once again be a potent global force, and that there will be a new wave of crusades and jihads. In other words, the coming Christendom will butt heads with the existing Mulsim world -- just like in the medieval days.
Jenkins himself doesn't think that Christianity will eventually overtake the Middle East -- but *I* contend that this is a possibility. Demography changes with time. The majority in the Mid-East maybe Muslim now, but things could be quite different a hundred years or so down the road. In fact, there are Christians there already.
Jesus's ethic is more congenial to life in a global community; as the world keeps getting smaller and more tightly knit, I think that it will seem increasingly impractical to be an honest Muslim. No matter what "progressive" and/or liberal Muslims may tell us, the fact is that Islam advocates violence (Granted, some Christians advocate violence too -- but by doing so they are not behaving like true Christians).
As for the idea that Christianity is essentially a pagan religion -- I think I would have to disagree. While there are certain beliefs and practices in Christianity which have no doubt been colored (to a greater or lesser degree) by paganism, IMO the nitty-gritty of it is still Jewish. Ideas such as "righteousness" and "sin", one transcendant Creator-God, a Messiah, a coming "kingdom of God" and an apocalyptic judgment day -- all of these stem from Judaism.
I guess one could say that Christianity is to Judaism as humans are to chimps: there isn't that much separating the two "species" of religion. As for Islam, I think it constitutes a somewhat more distant relation on the family tree of monotheism.
In any case, the bottom line is that fundamentalist monotheistic religion -- be it Islam or Christianity -- is a fever that is spreading rapidly throughout the world. There is now even a militant, fundamentalist strain of JUDAISM being spawned in Israel. Perhaps ol' Zarathustra (Nietzsche) spoke too soon when he proclaimed that God was dead.
Here is something regarding Jewish extremism in Israel:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,129014,00.html
BTW, I also think that the U.S. is pretty much finished. For one thing, there is an evident and growing polarization between the federal government (where power is being increasingly centralized) and the rest of the nation. The federal government, in turn, is becoming an overly complex bureacracy. If our economy collapses (which I think is almost certain within the next 10 to 15 years), the federal government will fall apart -- necessitating a political reconfiguration of America. Although it's still too early to say much about what America may look like afterwards, I can almost see states like North Carolina, Kansas and Utah becoming autonomous theocracies. There are also white-supremacist ideologies to the west which might consolidate into political entities. The latino population to the south is also growing in leaps and bounds, so that political boundaries may be drawn along racial and ethnic lines (the black muslims constitute yet another group which might separate and form their own state). Anyway, the thought of people like Pat Robertson and Louis Farakhan coming to power is not only depressing -- it is down right disturbing.
I guess when it comes down to it, no amount of technological progress or scientific enlightenment will ever destroy the religious inclination in human nature. An irrational predilection for feverish, fanatical faith in God is ultimately ineradicable in our species. Besides, I think faith and religion (especially Christianity) will be even more enticing in the future because apart from it there would be nothing left to become but a corporate technocrat with no soul. People will want to fill that spiritual/moral vaccum in their lives with something.
In America Christianity has struck deep roots. It is a part of the dominant culture and heritage -- even for people who profess to be irreligious. Christianity is to America as Hinduism is to India. Other imported belief systems (such as various brands of Eastern philosophy) are not so deeply rooted in American soil; they are mere fads hovering on the surface of our culture. Once our economy collapses and life becomes more difficult for a time, I think that most of these alternative religions/philosophies will disappear from the American scene almost completely. And under their hard circumstances, many people will turn to some form of Christianity for a source of comfort and perhaps a sense of community.
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