One of the readers of the article that I linked to made a most telling comment about the waste of time being committed by those under the influence of Satan, who continually tries to mock God but fails to get it drilled into his head that God is not mocked, making Satan a perennial loser like Wlle E. Coyote in trying to nab the ever elusive Road Runner. Beep! Beep! They'd make better use of their time by throwing in the shroud and doing what Our Lady of Fatima asked of us in her messages to Lucia, specifically to make reparations for the wounds to her Immaculate Heart caused by the blasphemies against her and her son.

I submit that athiest go to such extremes to attempt to disprove the God whom they "just know" does not exist, for the simple reason that they experience that burning and yearning within themselves for God, but try with all of their strength to deny so as to brainwash themselves into thinking that their intellectual powers just couldn't possibly be failing them! After all, they are MAN and are way too intelligent to stoop so low as to have to rely upon FAITH for anything. They can figure it all out simply with reason. But unfortunately, they can't "intellectually" find a way to stop the gnawing that they feel in their gut and in their heart for something greater than themselves! If they were so sure that God did not exist, and did were not experiencing any natural tendencies for God, they wouldn't be wasting so much time and money trying to prove their point! They can't claim the contrary either. We work very hard at bringing others to Christ not to prove a point or to claim a victory, but instead because it's the mission He gave each one who is baptized and so that all can have the hope and opportunity for eternal life with God! Where does the atheist draw people to? "Nothing" is the answer no matter how you slice it!

Furthermore, those who question the authenticity of the shroud can be excused for their doubts, but they really go out on a limb when it comes to denying even scientifically proven miracles, such as the case of a man who had both legs amputated only to have them miraculously be put back into place in the 17th century. Wikipedia has the details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

Shame on me, but I just love it when God bamboozles these skeptics.

 Where does the atheist draw people to?

It's not so much what secular thinking rejects as much as what the comparisons are. Atheists don't arson clinics and shoot doctors. Atheists don't mass murder infidels and sinners. Atheists don't ignore scientific exploration and discovery and preach creationism. Atheists don't exclude and condemn people to exclusion on the basis of critical thinking, race, culture or gender. 

Whether we are speaking of Manifest Destiny or holy war, atheists did not conceive the precepts.

I am not speaking in the context of religious conviction; believe in Santa Claus for all I care. Nor do I have a qualm about praying or religious ceremony (except maybe human sacrifice); bay at the moon if that's a religious custom. Nor do I have a problem with embracing relics; call them miracles and accept them as such; I don't care. Neither do most atheists.

What I am trying to point out is religions seem to have a mandate to push their beliefs onto others regardless of the zealous measures or the consequences. We're right, the rest of the world is wrong, we must make it right for the glory of God, or something. All too many times those who would make a perfect world fall short for their own human imperfections. Is it any wonder organized religion is losing it's influence?

Religious belief for the sake of belonging doesn't seem to be enough. Dominance and control seems to be the calling. 

By the way: When the shroud was brought to Europe, the Vatican rejected it as a hoax.

What the report yesterday refuted was the claim that the shroud and it's image was scientifically unexplainable. They showed it could have been faked.

"a document by "Bishop Pierre d'Arcis claimed that the shroud had been 'cunningly painted,' a fact 'attested by the artist who painted it.'" Not only did Bishop d'Arcis attest to knowing that the shroud was a fake in 1390, but even Pope Clement acknowledged the forgery. (The Catholic Church does not officially endorse the shroud as authentic.)"

No amount of miracles will convince a skeptic and no amount of science will sway a believer.

Pax only reads what agrees with him, if it doesn''t, he just makes it up. He's harmless.

back then religious artifacts were in abundance...it was the entertainment for the masses. I wouldnt doubt many were forged to get the people excited about other things than planting potatos with a stick..instead of video games or Block Buster ..imagination was a wonderful thing back then where as today being a skeptic and a hater has replaced it to the point of anything wonderous is destined to be destroyed whether its real or not.

Just the way the atheist world survives.

Ive also noticed they keep saying believers are always forcing our views on them..well for some reason they fail to notice they are just as guilty for discussing their views...after all thats what a religious person is doing..discussing..you cant force anyone to change their mind..Yet some how it just comes out different when they say it..and claim us as the *Bad Guys*

only difference is religion can offer them salvation and peace of mind while on this earth..Their biggest draw is eternal rotting sleep and being consumed by worms..

tuff call

Sioux, there was an abundance because the Church was selling them for indulgences. Martin Luther said to stop and the kicked him out so we got the 4 Square Gospel church on the corner. I certainly have no problem with Christians, Jews, Muslims, etc discussing their views - it is stuff like prayer in schools, city councils and rodeos that gets up my nose.

The thing is secular thought as innocuous as comparing fossils gets equated to amoral, godless, pro-pervert atheists hate god and the church and are out to destroy it. 

Considering how much religion fervor is related to the mess the world is in, I am beginning to think that it is part of the problem, rather than a solution. By all means, hold dear to convictions and abide in them. But good grief, do they need to be enforced by forcing them on others?