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December 2nd, 2013
11:29 AM ET
Rush Limbaugh: Pope is preaching 'pure Marxism'By Daniel Burke, CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor (CNN) - Pope Francis: Successor to St. Peter ... the people's pontiff ... Marxist? That's what conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh suggests, calling the Pope's latest document "pure Marxism." Limbaugh blasted the pontiff on Wednesday, a day after Francis released "Evangelii Gaudium" (The Joy of the Gospel), a 50,000-word statement that calls for church reform and castigates elements of modern capitalism. Limbaugh's segment, now online and entitled "It's Sad How Wrong Pope Francis Is (Unless It's a Deliberate Mistranslation By Leftists)," takes direct aim at the pope's economic views, calling them "dramatically, embarrassingly, puzzlingly wrong." The Vatican issued the English translation of "Evangelii," which is known officially as an apostolic exhortation and unofficially as a pep talk to the worlds 1.5 billion Catholics. Francis - the first pope ever to hail from Latin America, where he worked on behalf of the poor in his native Argentina - warned in "Evangelii" that the "idolatry of money" would lead to a "new tyranny." The Pope also blasted "trickle-down economics," saying the theory "expresses a crude and naïve trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power." READ MORE: Pope Francis: No more business as usual The Pope's critique of capitalism thrilled many liberal Catholics, who have long called on church leaders to spend more time and energy on protecting the poor from economic inequalities. But Limbaugh, whose program is estimated to reach 15 million listeners, called the Pope's comments "sad" and "unbelievable." "It's sad because this pope makes it very clear he doesn't know what he's talking about when it comes to capitalism and socialism and so forth." In fact, Argentina was a battlefield between leftist socialists and right-wing security forces during much of Francis' early career in the country, where he was a Jesuit priest and later archbishop of Buenos Aires. Limbaugh, who is not Catholic, said he admires the faith "profoundly." He admired Pope Francis as well, "up until this," Limbaugh said. The talk show host also said that he has made numerous visits to the Vatican, which he said "wouldn't exist without tons of money." "But regardless, what this is, somebody has either written this for him or gotten to him," Limbaugh added. "This is just pure Marxism coming out of the mouth of the Pope." Limbaugh took particular issue with the Pope's criticism of the "culture of prosperity," which the pontiff called a "mere spectacle" for the many people who can't afford to participate. "This is almost a statement about who should control financial markets," Limbaugh said. "He says that the global economy needs government control." "I'm not Catholic, but I know enough to know that this would have been unthinkable for a pope to believe or say just a few years ago," Limbaugh continued. In fact, Francis' predecessor, Benedict XVI, now pope emeritus, could be just as strong a critic of capitalism. In 2009, Benedict, in an official church document called an encyclical, said there was an urgent need for "a political, juridical and economic order" that would "manage the global economy." As Limbaugh notes, Benedict's predecessor, the late Pope John Paul II, was a noted foe of communism, after living under its oppressions in his native Poland. But even John Paul thought that unregulated capitalism could have negative consequences. In "Evangelii," Francis called for more of a spiritual and ethical revolution than a regulatory one. "I encourage financial experts and political leaders to ponder the words of one of the sages of antiquity: `Not to share one’s wealth with the poor is to steal from them and to take away their livelihood. It is not our own goods which we hold, but theirs,'" said Francis, quoting the fifth-century St. John Chrysostom. Liberal Catholics defended Pope Francis on Monday, calling on Limbaugh to apologize and retract his remarks. "To call the Holy Father a proponent 'pure Marxism' is both mean-spirited and naive," said Christopher Hale of the Washington-based Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. "Francis's critique of unrestrained capitalism is in line with the Church's social teaching." Limbaugh is not the only conservative commentator to take issue with the Pope's views on capitalism. READ MORE: Sarah Palin 'taken aback' by Pope Francis's 'liberal' statements “I go to church to save my soul," said Fox News' Stuart Varney, who is an Episcopalian. "It’s got nothing to do with my vote. Pope Francis has linked the two. He has offered direct criticism of a specific political system. He has characterized negatively that system. I think he wants to influence my politics.” It doesn't sound like the criticism is slowing Francis down, however. He's started sending a Vatican contingent, including the Papal Swiss Guards, into Rome to deliver food and charity. soundoff (6,695 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 Next » |
  About this blog
The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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It is only acceptable as an adult to believe chidish garbage like talking snakes, the Red Sea splitting, mana falling from the sky, a man living in a whale's belly, a talking donkey, superhuman strength, a man rising from the dead and angels, ghosts, gods and demons in the field of:
(a) history
(b) literature
(c) anthropology; or
(d) Christianity
Christianity
You need to make these harder.
Bobby Boucher's mamma says Rush Limbaugh is THE DEVIL
just how ignorant can mr Limbaugh be. its sad he has any followers. whats worse I must share the same USA as him.
Limbaugh would be laughable if he did not have so many mindless followers. His brand of extremism is giving us moderate, reasonable Republicans a bad name.
Didn't Jesus himself have some Marxist or socialist views. Sell all that you have and give it to the poor? Something like that?
conservative evangelical christians who joined the GOP do not follow christ's teachings of Love, Forgiveness AND COMPASSION!
Rush doesn't know hat the word Marxism means. He's to busy doing his drugs to learn anything.
But he is funny.. I don't thin anybody takes Limbaugh serious.
Most right wingers call any regulation of trade that increases economic equality "Marxism". They tend not to be a broadly educated bunch.
There hasn't been one critic yet would can point to something he said wrong in that piece.
Progressives are insanely full of Hate.
Did you write this in English??? Sorry I can't make out what you are trying to say 🙁
It's just his attempt to call people haters because they don't goose step to Dur Furher Rush. Emma's a paid Rush troll.
Ha! I was thinking the same thing.
He said that the Pope was Marxist, you partisan hag.
Cut the flame throwing out.
Unless the pope pushes for government ownership of the means of production he doesn't even near Marxism. Show me where he's done that and we'll talk.
Rush Limburger dies a horrible death. He finds himself at the Pearly Gates but they won't open. He bangs until I open a panel. He demands to be let in because he's been a good republican. I will then tell him that is not the reason he is not being let in. It is because he's an IDIOT and none can get in...right about then he hears Sarah Palin telling him its nice and hot down there and she can see Alaska from her place...He says what an idiot as he falls down the trap door that I pulled the lever on.
Limbaugh is a fat junkie. We all know this. He is a pill-popping slob. Hey, did his fat racist grandparents come here legally? Or his fat, racist ignorant parents? Just wondering.......He is a bigot. An ignorant supporter of the thieving 1%. He is the opposite of a well-educated American. He is disgusting.
1) You have never listened to rush before. 2) you do know that Sara Palin never said she could see Russia from here her house that was an actor playing her on tv that said that. 3) liberals don't go to heaven. 4). Liberals are like Christmas lights, they all line up together, half of them don't work and the other half aren't very bright.
Rush, for years you have pontificated and puffed yourself up with all sorts of superlative language, even going so far as to annoint the conduit of your banter as the "excellence in broadcasting" network. You are so full of yourself when you continuously remind everyone that you have millions of followers. It is almost as if you think of yourself as the Pope. Well, guess what? You're not. The real Pope has 1000 times as many followers (1.5 billion vs 15 million), and, unlike you, was voted into his position.
You are upset that his words seem Marxist? Have you ever read the Bible? (The New Testament I mean. Undoubtedly you are well versed in the fire and brimstone stuff.) Have you ever studied what Christianity is supposedly based on? Do you even grasp how hipocritical/absurd the Christian right is?
You have no idea what the Christian Right thinks because your head is too full of Hate.
Really? You know what my head is full of? You seriously think that? How omniscient of you.
The Christina Right believes they are RIGHT.........therein lies the danger, duh. They are disgusting and bigoted.
Who cares what the pope thinks? His whole career is built around a make-believe fairy tale.
Then you don;t care and yet you're reading and commenting. So you do care. You sir, are a walking contradiction. Actually that's just an assumption. I don't really know whether or not you walk.
Tearing a page from a Bible to roll a joint does not give leftist hippies legitimate insight into what Jesus was or was not.
Do you know what leftist means? Hint: it doesn't mean an atheist hippy.
I am not a republican and My Father is NOT an evangelical conservative.
Never forget, "Among conservatives there's been too much pseudo-populism, almost too much concern and attention for, quote, 'the people'... After all, we conservatives are on the side of the lords and barons... We...are pulling up the drawbridge against the peasants." William Kristol, Conservative publisher, and Neo Conservative leader.
Please complete the following sentence. It is not uncommon in many parts of the World for a young man to strap a suicide vest to himself and blow himself up and members of a rival __________
(i) corporation
(ii) university
(iii) research insti.tute; or
(iv) church?
What is church?
I bet it's iv
...was closed after a gang of nearly a thousand youths
entered the Grand Hotel in pursuit of two leather-clad Rockers
South Coast police have warned
that if the fights between rival gangs of Mods and Rockers continue
stricter security measures will be enforced at railway stations
both in London and on the south...
Colin can be said to be:
a) Annoyingly slavish to the multiple choice paradigm to illustrate his point of view.
b) Not nearly as clever or intelligent as he thinks he is.
c) Easily confused by biblical allegory not meant to be taken as literal.
d) Possessing a personality type that derives self-esteem from demeaning others.
e) All of the above.
Got to be E.
What is the only thing capable of making 40% of the country utterly stupid enough to think the entire Universe began less than 10,000 years ago with one man, one woman and a talking snake:
(a) a horrid disease
(b) a failed education system
(c) a successful Al Qaeda plot; or
(d) Christianity?
I will go with d) Christianity.
Don't forget the magical rib and the invisible magician in the clouds.
Thanks for playing. And what would you call an evangelical Christian who comes to an atheist gathering to save souls for Christ? Just about what you would call an atheist who comes on belief blog to rant about how stooooooopid those people of faith are.
How low can Rush go? Not Catholic but think the new Pope is representing true Christian beliefs. Congrats to Francis .. How weak and sad is Rush ?
Limbaugh is nothing more then a fat slob
The completely absurd theory that all 7,000,000,000 human beings on the planet are simultaneously being supervised 24 hours a day, every day of their lives by an immortal, invisible being for the purposes of reward or punishment in an “afterlife” comes from the field of:
(a) Bad science fiction;
(b) Children’s fairytales;
(c) Hallucinogenic psychology; or
(d) Catholicism
AMEN BROTHER!!
Your cleverness knows no bounds. How many more self-congratulatory quips will you invent with the same pattern before the night is through?
I note you did not take issue with my ppoint, you just took offense that I made it. That's the problem with religion, it is indefensible from a rational standpoint.
If you want to take the time actually to try to understand what you disagree with instead of just mocking it, it might be worth having a conversation.
But in the mean time, hold the sanctimoniousness. You haven't made an argument either.
The point is self-evident. The fundamental theology of catholicism (indeed of all Christianity) is so far "out there" that it can be dismissed virtually out of hand. There is no evidence to support it and it makes the most outrageous of supernatural claims – like the one I mocked.
Your point is a good one, Colin, but Christianity is a long-standing problem. The immediate problem is a bigot who hopefully has flushed himself away with his latest comments. He sees communists and Marxists in every shadow. Now he's up against the RCC. In this one I wish the Church well.
Isn't b the same as d?
Well, to be honest, yes, it pretty much is.
You can mock it all you want, Colin, but the fact remains that the belief in a divine being remains central to the worldview and practices of billions upon billions of people. Dismissing their perspective as self-evidently absurd might give you onanistic glee, but it is not going to do anything to convince the vast majority of people in the world that your words are anything more than a pompous sermon to your own little choir.
The fact remains that you are saying that billions of people on the planet are too stupid to see the self-evident truth that is so obvious to you in all your cleverness. Insulting the beliefs of the people who disagree with you doesn't usually go very far towards convincing them. Atheists are their own worst evangelists because they scorn their opponents.
But, all of the billions have totally inconsistent beliefs. Jews think Christians are wrong, who think Muslims are wrong, who think Hindus are wrong, who think Siekhs are wrong, who think etc., etc.
Even within Christianity, there are many, many sects who all think they "got it right." Amish, Catholics, Lutherans, Methodists, Episcopalian etc., etc.
Once you stop requiring evidence, any such belief is as silly as the next. So, to answer your question, yes, I do think billions are wrong. Just like you do. We are both atheists – I just go one god further than you.
3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeedE8vH1FQ
Need to hit reset. Your YouTube is skipping.
Ridiculous. Jesus was a neo-Trotskyite, everybody knows that.
Thats is the best thing I've read all week. Bravo good sir
Slow news day?
If you do not like Rush that is fine but the truth is the truth. The POPE advocates Marxism when it comes to economics but the POPE may have forgotten that Marx did away with all religion also so I would be very cautious about advocating anything the Communist crowd coveted.
Can you point me to a link where the Pope specifically said he is unequivocally a Marxist? Thanks.
Like Rush you are confusing Marism with Christian principles – read your Bible ro
I think you got it wrong, Marx tried to remove God from doing good not the other way around. He tried to put it in the hands of govt. We all agree that the poor should be helped we differ in how to do it...right Rush?
You do realize that many of Jesus' teachings were left of center.
Mark 10: 21-22
Mark 12: 41-44
Matthew 25: 34-36
Does anyone pay attention to what Rush says anymore? He likes throw things out there for shock value. I doubt he believes half stuff he says.
Rush is a clown...fat clown at that!!!