Pope prays for rain

[arcticpenguin]

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/08/10/pope.heatwave.reut/index.html

CASTELGANDOLFO, Italy (Reuters) -- Pope John Paul asked God on Sunday to shower down rain on a scorched Europe, where fires have killed several dozen people and destroyed tens of thousands of acres.

[KelvinG]

If he had prayed a little earlier maybe there would have been no fires at all.
Way to go Pope.

[The Central Scrutinizer]

If the people of Europe want rain, they should turn to Agur, not the pope.

[shemp]

Yes, it is clearly Agur who is behind this drought! He must be made Pope immediately!

[a_unique_person]

Originally posted by shemp
Yes, it is clearly Agur who is behind this drought! He must be made Pope immediately!

At least he would make more sense.

[EdipisReks]

maybe Cthulhu could be convinced to spread his mighty tentacles over Europe and drool.

[Yahweh]

The Pope is extremely rude. Nothing but "I want this... gimme that...". The Pope gets nothing and he better like it.

[Trollbane]

Lovely timing.. Considering that the weather forecasts I saw on Saturday promising colder weather with a good chance for rain atleast for eastern Europe.. Hey easy PR points for the Pope for his skills as a shaman, too bad he aint in a condition to perform a proper rain dance, that would be a bit more entertaining.

[Brown]

Theologically speaking, what is the message if it doesn't rain in, say, the next three days?

[Luciana]

Wow, that means the Pope has gotten a promotion and is now a shaman. Congrats. I think...

[crocodile deathroll]

As the drought gets worse, the people will get desparate and pray for rain and when it finally rains the will make a fallacerous link like the Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc Fallacy (http://www.cuyamaca.net/bruce.thompson/Fallacies/posthoc.asp)

[fishbait]

Originally posted by Brown
Theologically speaking, what is the message if it doesn't rain in, say, the next three days?

"I suppose it would be sort of raining spiritually, only we were too sinful to see it."

-Rex Mottram to Father Mowbray in 'Brideshead Revisited'
by Evelyn Waugh

[hgc]

What they need over there is Pat Robertson. He turned a hurricane back from Virginia Beach with his mumbo jumbo.

[Cleopatra]

Originally posted by Luciana Nery
Wow, that means the Pope has gotten a promotion and is now a shaman. Congrats. I think...

No, he is the magician of his tribe by default :D

Seriously.

In his famous book "The Golden Bough", Sir James George Fraser, demonstrates how the primitive magicians of the tribe have survived in todays priests.

So, the Pope is acting according to his pertinence :)

edited to add Can we criticize him for doing his job, although none criticized him here, I am just wondering.

[arcticpenguin]

Originally posted by Cleopatra

edited to add Can we criticize him for doing his job, although none criticized him here, I am just wondering.
Here's a hint: If you do not want to see yourself or others criticised, you might stay off Internet forums.

[Cleopatra]

Originally posted by arcticpenguin

Here's a hint: If you do not want to see yourself or others criticised, you might stay off Internet forums.

Did I touch a nerve? I apologize in advance.

[Skeptical Greg]

Originally posted by arcticpenguin
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/08/10/pope.heatwave.reut/index.html



What is praying anyway?

In praying, are we assuming God has made a stupid mistake, and we are asking him to take it back?


Or is God just having fun with the weather and waiting to see if we have a problem with it?

[hgc]

Originally posted by Diogenes


What is praying anyway?

In praying, are we assuming God has made a stupid mistake, and we are asking him to take it back?


Or is God just having fun with the weather and waiting to see if we have a problem with it? Don't try to follow this down any logical path.

You might also ask what would happen if Popey didn't pray. Would God Of Fire keep bringing heat? What was God thinking anyway? "Maybe I'll make it really friggin hot down there in Europe because I haven't heard from Popey lately." Or was it, as you put it, a stupid mistake? Like God went out and left on the coffee-maker, and didn't realize it until Popey sent up the alarm. "Hey my flock is cooking out here in the sun; don't make me look like a bad shepherd! I got a reputation to maintain."

This stuff is crazy. I mean it makes me think about "The Ten Commandments," when Pharoah's (Yul Brenner!) magicians make their staffs turn into snakes. People used to really believe in that. But, oh, they still do. No different. Ooga booga!

[Yahzi]

Originally posted by Diogenes
What is praying anyway?
Prayer as magic:

Hmm... no rain... ok, lets recite these mystical phrases, while moving our hands in just the right way, and attempt to force spirits of the otherworld to do our bidding.

Prayer as submission to a drunken, abusive step-father:

Oh no, God has turned off the water again. Let's all be extra quiet and nice, and blame ourselves for anything that goes wrong, and maybe God will be nice and turn the water back on.

Prayer as communication to a infinite being:

Dear God, you already know what the problem is, what the solution is, and why we are asking for anything at all. Since you've not acted on this information, then clearly you don't intend to, and our bringing it your attention facts you are already well aware of can only be annoying. Therefore, we will shut up and never bother you again.

No matter how I look at it, it doesn't make sense.

[Andonyx]

Okay, I'll criticize the pope....

He's got crappy aim.

http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/423052.html


The Christian music festival Godstock was cancelled after a fast-moving storm destroyed the stage in Comstock, Nebraska Saturday night. Two people were injured.

[Segnosaur]

Wouldn't it be ironic if there was rain in Europe, but it caused massive floods and deaths?

[Supercharts]

Originally posted by Cleopatra


No, he is the magician of his tribe by default :D

Seriously.

In his famous book "The Golden Bough", Sir James George Fraser, demonstrates how the primitive magicians of the tribe have survived in todays priests.

So, the Pope is acting according to his pertinence :)

edited to add Can we criticize him for doing his job, although none criticized him here, I am just wondering.

Why do I love you more than the others?
Ya know, much older men are the most appreciative.
Just a thought. [I'm 57]

[Cleopatra]

Originally posted by Supercharts


Why do I love you more than the others?
Ya know, much older men are the most appreciative.
Just a thought. [I'm 57]

Maybe you find the perspective of a death by the crocodiles amusing...

[LuxFerum]

Originally posted by Cleopatra


Maybe you find the perspective of a death by the crocodiles amusing...
:D :D :D

[LuxFerum]

Originally posted by Segnosaur
Wouldn't it be ironic if there was rain in Europe, but it caused massive floods and deaths?
Ironic or that will prove that too much pray is not good.

[swstephe]

according to the weather forecasts, it will rain in Rome, (thunderstorms), on Thursday, August 19th. That is the normal expectation. To be considered a clear miracle, it has to rain before that day, the earlier the better. The challenge is on.

[The Don]

The Pope wasn't specific about where the rain would fall, for how long, how much would fall and what the result would be.

The widest possible interpretation is that some rain will fall, at some point in the future, somewhere on Earth.

Under this kind of scrutiny I would estimate that the Pope's chances of success are almost exactly 100%

[Diamond]

...in which case I'm praying that all my opponents look ridiculous. :D

[arcticpenguin]

Heat kills 3000 in France (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,6960302%255E1702,00.html)

Way to go, vicar of Christ!

[Skeptical Greg]

Originally posted by arcticpenguin
Heat kills 3000 in France (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,6960302%255E1702,00.html)

Way to go, vicar of Christ!

Gotta love those French authorities too.....a reasonable estimate is between 1,500 and 3,000 dead".


I hope the ' dead ' know who they are....:rolleyes:

[c4ts]

Originally posted by The Central Scrutinizer
If the people of Europe want rain, they should turn to Agur, not the pope.

I thought Agur could make meteors fall from the sky and evolve monkeys, not control the weather.

[The Mad Linguist]

Originally posted by Diogenes


Gotta love those French authorities too.. I hope the ' dead ' know who they are....:rolleyes:

I think it's based on a comparison of the death tolls for the last few days with the same period last year, thus the statistical uncertainty as to how many of those deaths can be ascribed to the heat wave instead of other factors...

But there's no question the French government were caught with their trousers down on this one. So to speak.

[arcticpenguin]

Originally posted by Diogenes

Gotta love those French authorities too..

I hope the ' dead ' know who they are....:rolleyes:
I wonder about the numbers as well. I remember when anti-gun groups were tallying hunting deaths in Minnesota, and they were counting some old guy who died of a heart attack while out hunting.

[crocodile deathroll]

I find it amusing when it often follows up with disastrous floods and then the fundies are floating in boats praying for rain to ....................stop falling:wink8:

[crocodile deathroll]

Originally posted by arcticpenguin
Heat kills 3000 in France (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,6960302%255E1702,00.html)

Way to go, vicar of Christ!

God turns terrorist and matches Al-Qaeda's body count on Sep 11

[swstephe]

Originally posted by The Mad Linguist
I think it's based on a comparison of the death tolls for the last few days with the same period last year, thus the statistical uncertainty as to how many of those deaths can be ascribed to the heat wave instead of other factors...

The article's headline grabbed the top number of a "rough estimate". They got a quote from a Funeral home which said their numbers were up, but if you do the math, it turns out they only experienced 37% increase of 870 more than "average". There was no mention of the expected variation in their numbers, (you would assume that winter would be even higher???). The article seems to be designed to outrage rather than inform.

[a_unique_person]

Originally posted by swstephe


The article's headline grabbed the top number of a "rough estimate". They got a quote from a Funeral home which said their numbers were up, but if you do the math, it turns out they only experienced 37% increase of 870 more than "average". There was no mention of the expected variation in their numbers, (you would assume that winter would be even higher???). The article seems to be designed to outrage rather than inform.

An article I read stated that all the morgues were full and they were having to plug in portable refridgerators with the bodies in in people's homes. 37% still sounds like a big jump to me, either way.

[swstephe]

Arctic ice cap will melt completely in 100 years (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1540&e=10&u=/afp/arctic_environment)

That's fine with my wife ... she loves Kevin Costner.

But wait, the article says that the seas won't rise, (because it is already displacing water), and that the extra surface area of the ocean will suck up all the CO2 and end global warming again ...

it will be like defrosting the fridge and getting rid of that gross viking build-up.

[a_unique_person]

Originally posted by swstephe
Arctic ice cap will melt completely in 100 years (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1540&e=10&u=/afp/arctic_environment)

That's fine with my wife ... she loves Kevin Costner.

But wait, the article says that the seas won't rise, (because it is already displacing water), and that the extra surface area of the ocean will suck up all the CO2 and end global warming again ...

it will be like defrosting the fridge and getting rid of that gross viking build-up.

Read again, it did not say all, it said it will help absorb CO2, which is really neither here nor there. The ecological disaster will be enourmous if this does in fact happen. The biological systems that exist and depend on the North Pole will be massively disrupted. Also, it says the levels will rise, although not to Waterworld proportions, which could never happen, but not at first.

Don't forget, warm water takes more volume. Also, much ice is on land, so it will melt down into the sea. The South Pole is mostly a land mass with the ice on top of it, not under it.

[swstephe]

When mankind is destroyed, then all the CO2 will return to prehistoric levels, the ice caps refreeze, a lot of new species will evolve and take over and everything will be good again. It's all good.

Note the article says:
"Because the ice cap is already in the water when it is melting, you are not adding any mass. Only precipitation, discharge from rivers and the melting of glaciers can cause the water to rise," he said

When ice floats, it displaces its mass in volume of water. When it melts, it fills in that volume. The water levels will not raise an inch due to melting oceanic ice. The ice down south, (which the article doesn't mention ... typical Norwegians), is partly on land. The melting of that ice will add water to the global volume of the ocean, but at such a small percentage. With more water, the increase will be greater at the equator, (because of the rotational bulge), the islands closer to the equator will suffer, but so gradually that people and animals aren't going to get caught by surpise while they sleep.

Promoting fear of disaster is dishonest and unconstructive. It's nothing more than idle gossip. The Maldives have been calling for disaster relief for quite some time, and most westerners couldn't care less.

[arcticpenguin]

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,7038530%255E2703,00.html

Chirac in hot seat over death toll
By Adam Sage, The Times, and AP
August 23, 2003

FRENCH President Jacques Chirac has promised an overhaul of the national health system in an attempt to defuse mounting anger over the heatwave deaths of thousands of elderly people.
Why are people blaming Chirac? The fault clearly lies with the pointy-hatted one.

[arcticpenguin]

It looks like the Pope's prayers may finally be answered; rain in France:

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,7104044%255E1702,00.html

STORMS and strong winds lashed eastern France and Switzerland overnight, provoking blackouts and property damage but no serious injuries, authorities said Friday.

Lightning strikes caused several fires, including one that burnt a house in the French Alps to the ground, while the gusts tore the roof off an airport in Chambery in a nearby region.

Firemen were called out more than 2000 times to handle flooded cellars and damaged roofs, but they said the injuries they tended to were minor.

[Andonyx]

Originally posted by arcticpenguin
It looks like the Pope's prayers may finally be answered; rain in France:

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,7104044%255E1702,00.html



Great, now it will be hot AND humid.

[arcticpenguin]

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,7237227%255E1702,00.html

Italy estimates its death toll due to the heat wave: ~ 4000.

It's a good thing the Pope prayed for good wather or there's no telling how many more might have died.

[Blue Monk]

Boy, I'd pay good money to see the Pope doing a rain-dance.

"Atta boy Popie, work it baby work it."