Today's Latin joke

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Interaxus
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Today's Latin joke

Post by Interaxus »

The pope's visiting Britain. The first thing he does is attack 'aggressive secularism'. In response, someone sent the following comment to the Guardian online:

Benedictus eunt domus

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Int

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Hampie
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Re: Today's Latin joke

Post by Hampie »

Please explain how it's funny :P... I've tried, but I don't get the point :(...
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brookter
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Re: Today's Latin joke

Post by brookter »

It's a quotation from Monty Python's Life of Brian.

Brian is rebelling against the Roman Empire and writes 'Romanus eunt domum' on a wall.

He is caught by a centurian (John Cleese), who corrects his grammar (at swordpoint) in the style of an old-school latin teacher and makes him write out the correct answer on the walls 100 times...

Interaxus
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Re: Today's Latin joke

Post by Interaxus »

Hampie,

Here's the link you need:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIAdHEwiAy8

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Int

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Hampie
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Re: Today's Latin joke

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Interaxus wrote:Hampie,

Here's the link you need:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIAdHEwiAy8

Cheers,
Int
Oh, no wonder I did not understand the phrase... Benedictus they walk house, made no sense at all to me. I've seen the movie, though I did not recall what he actually wrote on the wall :P.
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Re: Today's Latin joke

Post by Markos »

What an excellent joke! I did not get it until I watched the You-Tube video from Life of Brian, but the joke is funny on many levels. That we still need to tell people who seek to control us to "go home" is sad and funny. As long as none of us take any of us too seriously, I suspect we'll all be okay.
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Lex
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Re: Today's Latin joke

Post by Lex »

While I agree that some "'aggressive secularists" can be annoying (especially the "Brights", implying that anyone who isn't an atheist is dim), I also find it highly hypocritical that the leader of the Catholic Church would criticize others for trying to spread their beliefs. After all, the Church tried to spread Christianity through missionary work and preaching, so why shouldn't atheists be allowed to do the same? If the Pope wants people to return to Christianity, perhaps instead of trying to remove the motes in the eyes of the atheists, he should remove the beam from his own, and concentrate on cleaning up his own house so that people can take the Church seriously once again.
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Re: Today's Latin joke

Post by jowens »

Lex wrote:While I agree that some "'aggressive secularists" can be annoying (especially the "Brights", implying that anyone who isn't an atheist is dim), I also find it highly hypocritical that the leader of the Catholic Church would criticize others for trying to spread their beliefs. After all, the Church tried to spread Christianity through missionary work and preaching, so why shouldn't atheists be allowed to do the same? If the Pope wants people to return to Christianity, perhaps instead of trying to remove the motes in the eyes of the atheists, he should remove the beam from his own, and concentrate on cleaning up his own house so that people can take the Church seriously once again.
I've been reading his speeches, and I think you are missing a critical distinction. The pope isn't attacking those who spread their beliefs - he is speaking out against secularism, I don't see anything in his speeches that could reasonably be construed to indicate a call for anyone shut up and stop preaching.

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Lex
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Re: Today's Latin joke

Post by Lex »

jowens wrote:I've been reading his speeches, and I think you are missing a critical distinction. The pope isn't attacking those who spread their beliefs - he is speaking out against secularism, I don't see anything in his speeches that could reasonably be construed to indicate a call for anyone shut up and stop preaching.
I haven't read his speeches, so I'll admit that I'm working from a position of relative ignorance here, but I think that if he is indeed criticizing "aggressive secularism", rather than secularism in general, that means that he is really saying "Hey, you secularists; shut up! If you don't believe in God, I can't make you, but must you spread your noxious beliefs to others? Why can't you be "polite" and not talk about religion in public?"
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furrykef
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Re: Today's Latin joke

Post by furrykef »

Other people in the thread have already explained it... the short version of it is, it's a riff on a Monty Python quote.
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Re: Today's Latin joke

Post by dlb »

Lex wrote:While I agree that some "'aggressive secularists" can be annoying (especially the "Brights", implying that anyone who isn't an atheist is dim), I also find it highly hypocritical that the leader of the Catholic Church would criticize others for trying to spread their beliefs. After all, the Church tried to spread Christianity through missionary work and preaching, so why shouldn't atheists be allowed to do the same? If the Pope wants people to return to Christianity, perhaps instead of trying to remove the motes in the eyes of the atheists, he should remove the beam from his own, and concentrate on cleaning up his own house so that people can take the Church seriously once again.
A few words from Matt Slick concerning hypocrites:

"Church is a good place for hypocrites, as well as liars and thieves. It is there they will be exposed to the Word of God, and learn that hypocrisy is wrong. For you to judge those in the church is to condemn yourself, because we are all hypocrites in one form or another. Your recognition and condemnation of it tells me you know it is wrong. Is it hypocrisy to point a finger at the church full of sinners when you yourself are one as well?

It has been said that you must be smaller than the thing you hide behind. Are you hiding behind the hypocrisy of others to keep yourself out of church? You must realize that you are responsible for yourself and God won't ask others about you on judgment day. He will come to you and ask you to give an account for your life. The hypocrites in the church will also stand before God, with or without you there."

P.S. we are in the wrong froum for this argument to continue.
Deus me ducet, non ratio.
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