Joseph Svarty is back.

You guys remind me of Ricardo Montalban as Khan in Star Trek II. Specifically that glorious scenery-chewing death scene, in which the battered, bloodied and dying Khan vents what remains of the hatred in his spleen towards Kirk, misattributing Shakespeare, spitting invectives into space as he drags his broken body across the floor to blow himself up. You spend all this time throwing rocks at the walls of the Church, your lives animated by seething rage. You don’t understand that which you hate so much, nor do you really care to correct that misunderstanding. You attack and spit upon all which does not conform to the perspective of your warped lens of hate. Not only will you destroy your own lives in the name of your hate, but you’re willing to destroy the lives of others. It’s sad. Genuinely, tragically sad.

Spare us your pity. We get to sleep in on Sundays.

You spend all this time throwing rocks at the walls of the Church, your lives animated by seething rage.

A few things here. First, my life is not consumed entirely of rage. My fiancee makes me incredibly happy (as does pre-marital sex with her, birth control and all). I enjoy gaming immensely (and will stomp you at League of Legends). I also love spending time with my family and quiet walks in the outdoors. If you think my life is entirely composed of rage, do you think all Ebert ever does is go to the movies?

Second, in the face of an organization that spreads scientific falsehoods (including a Pope who announced that it was the conclusion of science that condoms spread HIV, not hinder the spread of HIV), wastes charitable dollars pushing for legislation that will force others to conform their love lives to the Church’s preference or on bibles to send the poor rather than oranges, and who appoints thoroughly wicked leaders (if you think shielding child rapists and hiding political prisoners from human rights monitors are wicked actions, you cannot disagree with this assessment), along with a host of other crimes against societal well-being, there is but one proper response: rage. That so many Catholics are not just apathetic, but jubilant in following an organization culpable of all of these makes people like me wonder just what the hell is wrong with your moral compass. Right now it should be pointing directly to “rage”. If it isn’t, it’s been mangled by faith.

Rage is the proper emotional reaction to inhumanity. And when that inhumanity is spread the world over by a corrupt organization that imposes itself with fear of torture (hell), seething rage is just a starting point. You want to talk about tragically sad? It’s tragically sad that you’re here defending them, indignant at my rage.

You don’t understand that which you hate so much, nor do you really care to correct that misunderstanding.

I’m sure it would be nice if “you’re wrong” amounted to an argument, but it doesn’t. In the real world, if you want to change someone’s mind (or just argue responsibly), you need to go with “you’re wrong, here’s why.” See what I did above? I helped you to understand exactly why I thought you were wrong. You have not given me the same courtesy. Instead, you’ve sneered in the same sentence you practically announced you were failing to live up to the minimal standard of discourse, like chasing me on a tricycle making fun of my Ferrari.

You attack and spit upon all which does not conform to the perspective of your warped lens of hate.

Yes, I oppose the protection of child rapists because I’m full of hate. Brilliant. Ordinarily, one would think a person would oppose the protecting of child predators while ignoring their victims because they cared about morality and other human beings. But nope, it’s just because I hate Jesus and Bergoglio and all that is good in the world. Way to figure that one out, Holmes.

Well, I do hate certain things (see the stuff in the first paragraph of my response). You should hate them too, Joseph. And insofar as the Catholic Church is guilty of those things with pride rather than repentance, you should also hate the Catholic Church. You throw out collections of words like “warped lens of hate” when I don’t think you’ve given any thought into what that means. Of course I spit on things that operate in opposition to human happiness. You could also say I spit on the people defending them, like you and Mark Shea. But when saying “you’re wrong and that matters, here’s why” is the same as being spit on, you essentially have confessed to have grown too soft for human interaction.

In the case of Ratzinger and his aiding and abetting the rapists of children, I am livid and you think I shouldn’t be. It takes a lot of brass (or a deficiency in compassion) to claim that I’m the warped one.

Not only will you destroy your own lives in the name of your hate, but you’re willing to destroy the lives of others.

And how will my criticism of the Church (or you, or Mark Shea) destroy the lives of others? Again, you gave me no reason to believe this.

If you truly disdain destroying the lives of others, where is your outrage when Ratzinger’s proclamation on HIV and condoms destroys countless lives in third world nations (and even some in civilized nations when people don’t have the presence of mind to ignore your infallible Pope)? If you think that my criticism of such policies (and my unwillingness to suffer their advocates kindly) is a greater sin than that, then your morality has become so totally fucked by your precious church that you can’t tell up from down in ethical terms.

It’s sad. Genuinely, tragically sad.

No, sad is when people eagerly adopt wicked masters and then go skipping off to prop themselves up as morally superior, all while never justifying a single thing they’ve said. A warrior for god should be made of nobler stuff, but instead he is indistinguishable from a man bursting with pride about ideas that he adopted immediately through faith rather than thought.

You seem to think that coming here and making undefended assertions of fact and morality makes you a champion instead of a punching bag. You are simply wrong, and I’ll treat you that way. As my neighbor here on earth I demand you think instead of just posture. In doing so, I have a higher estimation of you than the church you so love.