Pope Benedict XVI visits Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I

Pope, Orthodox Christian leader in historic prayers

Okay, so traditionally Protestants don't care about either the Roman Catholic Church or the Eastern Orthodox Church, or they think the churches have something to do with the antichrist and all that.

What do the xtians in here think?

I'm not sure of your backgrounds or denoms, but this is an historic event, you got to have some opinions.

My opinion is that healing is good, and so are bridges, how can xtians expect to be able to reach out to the rest of mankind if they can't even look their brother in the eye?

Hopefully something substantial comes of this(and i'm not talking about that 'left behind' bs).

 

The division between eastern and western churches is based on typical piece of christian inanaity. The so called 'procession of the holy ghost'. (does it proceed from the father, or from the father and the son)It seems very unlikely that the division will be overcome as a result of ratzinger's visit. Too much established tradition would have to change, and neither side is up for that.
The main thing his visit has achieved so far is a big headache for the Turkish security forces, as he's not at all wellcome to the majority of Turks who are muslim, and also perhaps recall his opposition to Turkey's bid for EU memebership when he was still a humble cardinal.

 

True, that's a bit of a difference that's hard to gloss over( that and papal primacy, yeah i've been doing some reading ).

But from what i can tell, he has made religious tolerence and christian unity a centerpiece of his papacy(is that the word?) especially in regard the the eastern orthodox church.

And although there are plenty of theological barriers, it seems to me that christians are looking for unity across denoms and branches(maybe not so much in Amerika, but even here you can sense it). This is very apparent when confronted with the seemingly increasing unity among muslims.

on a side note, what do you think of his position regarding turkey? Is it so much to ask for a little bit of religious tolerence from a nation so eager to join the EU?

 

Turkey is unique among Islamic countries in that it has a secular culture founded by the famous Attaturk, whose tomb was the pope's first stop on the current tour.

There are one or two points though on this I'll mention. First, I don't think the pope or any other religious figure should be seeking to dictate the direction of politics in Europe. I think his position that "christianity is the basis of European culture" is deeply flawed. In fact, political organization in Europe owes more to the ancient Greeks than anyone, and advances in society have come as a result of secularization, and despite, rather than because of, c/anity.
I don't think it's for the vatican to get into politics.

As to Turkey wanting to join to EU - I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, the EU has imposed conditions on Turkey which are probably beneficial for the Turks - an insistence on improving the human rights record for example, which in the past has been apalling. A general modernization of the infrasturcure of the country, ecomomic reforms, legal reforms etc.
The problem is, it seems doubtful that Turkey can fulfill the conditions, and also the big stiumbling block is over Turkey's refusal to recognize Cyprus, an EU memeber, as a soveriegn state or open it's ports and airports to traffic from Cyprus. Unless the Turks relent, I can't see them ever getting into Europe.
And actually, I'm not sure Turkey is really part of Europe. I wouldn't support them joining the EU at present. Far deeper reforms are needed in Turkish society before they could really be considered, and sadly, most of the divisions devolve back to cultural prejudices based on religion.
There could also be negative economic effects on the rest of Europe if they were to be allowd in now - too complex to go into here.

 

Point taken.

Agreed.

This was the view i heard yesterday on bbc radio as well.
Aren't there nations in the EU who also don't recognize Cyprus?
Or am i mistaken?

 

I think you're mistaken there. It is inconcieveable that within a single market, with a single currency, you could have one state refusing to recognize another.

Just to say that actually, I'm quite pro-europe, unlike many brits.

 

I'm pretty sure that all EU members recognise Cyprus. Turkey recognises a separate state -- Northern Cyprus (a part of the island occupied by Turkey) -- which nobody else recognises. I think...

 

Dead right. It dates back to the Turkish invasion of Cyprus during the 70's.

 

The majority of Turks do not attend the mosque or the church, infact it is a secular society with religion playing not much of a factor in their lives at all
The extent to which it is called a "muslim" country is only the same extent to which Britain is called a "christian" country
less than 1% of Britains practice any religious worship, yet 70% or 80%
claim to have a belief in the possibility of god which, when pressed to elaborate, tallies with the notion of the christian god

Its rather an pesimistic outlook you've got. However we shouldnt be too disappointed as it is also a massively strategic country which borders 8 others and will be seen as the greatest attribute in terms of military strategy that Europe has. For this reason I cannot see that their membership will pose one iota of a problem. Europes military neds them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey

 

ever been to Turkey? It's pretty muslim I can tell you.

 

I'm not doubting that Turkey is a fairly muslim country and I'm not doubting that peoples perceptions on life accord with a muslim ethic and tradition. Yes its values, morality, traditions, styles etc are muslim but I think from everything I know about Turkey I believe that the same could be said of Britain if you replace the word "Turkey" with "Britain" and the word "muslim" with "christian".
But at its best its the remnants of a religion like Britains christianity is the remnants of its religion. The majority of Turks have the same regard for religion as the majority of Brits, they simply regard it as a fuddy duddy ancient oddity