The real Opus Dei

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=133&page=28

Dan Brown’s mega bestseller The Da Vinci Code has brought into focus a little known organisation called the Opus Dei (Latin for ‘God’s work’). Brown depicts it as an ultra-religious organisation of fanatics who engage in torturing themselves and kill for their faith. The real Opus Dei, however, is quite different. snip

The Opus Dei, despite its great importance in the Christianity’s war against Islam, is not a new organisation. It was founded in 1928 by the Spanish adventurer and religious fanatic Jose-Maria Escriva de Belaguer. The threat of Islam was not yet on the horizon, but Escriva saw the growth of secularism and what the Church called ‘modernism’ (scientific thinking) as threats to its dominance and even survival.

Escriva’s answer to the growth of rationalism and secularism was to suppress dissent by strengthening authority in the Church and society. He was an admirer of both General Franco and Hitler. He believed that Hitler was the victim of bad publicity and deserved a better deal. He once told his colleague Vladimir Felzman that Hitler “could never have killed six million Jews. It could only have been four million at the most.”

Escriva’s vision was shared by many high Church officials, including the highest like Pius XII, the notorious ‘Hitler’s Pope’ who collaborated with the Nazis. The Pope John Paul II, despite his liberal image was a great admirer of Escriva. The present Pope, Benedict XVI is also a spiritual follower of Escriva and his vision. As one Vatican observer noted: “Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict) believes that the Church is ‘collapsing,’ and only the suppression of all dissent can ensure its survival.” snip

[REP]

1. Opus Dei Awareness Network

http://www.odan.org/

They're not fans.

[PublicWrath]

3. Oh, thank you! Just the thing! n/t

[wakeme2008]

5. LOL

from their site:

"However, where the Da Vinci Code is accurate is in its depiction of the blind obedience of the fictional Opus Dei character, Silas the albino monk. "

Funny how they pick and choose what parts of the DVC they say is true.

[realisticphish]

12. ...

well, yeah. If they think part of it is true, then they would say it, right?

:shrug: I don't get the problem.

[peacetalksforall]

20. Thanks for turning me on to this website. Everyone should see if

their favorite author is on the sample list of Opus Dei blacklists (at the minimum - there is plenty more).

[NewJeffCT]

2. no threat of Islam?

Umm, wasn't it the Catholic Church that launched the Crusades around 900 years ago in hopes of reclaiming the Jerusalem from the threat of Islam?

[PublicWrath]

13. The writer knows about the Crusades, and is speaking of a different

type of Islamic "threat", a fairly recent one. It's in the article.

[ixion]

4. xians are always so scared that someone will change their mind

it's amazing. All this talk about faith, yet simply having another religion in the area freaks out the xian leadership so bad that they have to do things like start the Crusades or the Inquisition.

On the whole, it speaks very poorly of humanity, IMO.

[Selatius]

6. 4,000,000 or 6,000,000? I hardly doubt that matters to the dead!

Bad publicity my ass. Hitler's war must've killed somewhere between 40,000,000 to 50,000,000 in Europe before he was finally dead in his bunker.

[PDittie]

7. Saw the movie yesterday (possible spoiler)

One of the precious few who haven't read the book. That Silas was one grounded young man, wasn't he? Very centered, focused, well-adjusted. Pretty good with a handgun, too.

I confess impure thoughts about Jesus' great-great-however-many grand-daughter.

[malaise]

8. Religion is a business

and the catholic church has no intention of giving up her wealth. They will gladly return to the feudal order.

I wish catholics would study the death of the pope before John Paul and JPs role in the politics of Eastern Europe. He was very close to the Reagan agenda. It has always been about wealth, power and control. Dumbya's call for the Crusades was no accident.

Edit - add.

[Tesha]

9. Anyone who can say this in an article clearly has no credibility.

"The threat of Islam was not yet on the horizon..."

Anyone who can mention a Spanish priest in one breath and
then say that in the next clearly has no clue. Islam and
"the West" have been in constant contention since the
founding of Islam, and Espana was one of the principle
battlefields.

Tesha

[PublicWrath]

11. If you go to the article, it's pretty clear the author knows that. The

writer is speaking of a different kind of threat.

[Tesha]

15. What threat? That the Islamic fantasy will displace the Christian fantasy?

Personally, as long as any death-cult fantasy is dominant,
I don't see that it much matters which one dominates so
it's pretty hard for me to get excited about the new
"Islamic threat".

Let me know when we start to be threatened by people who
value life and the continued existence of diverse life on
this planet.

Tesha

[PublicWrath]

16. "Islamic threat" is not my evaluation, but the Church's. You reacted

on an out of context snippet without even glancing at the article and didn't like it pointed out and now you pretending that you just didn't agree with the premise that there is an "Islamic threat".

[Tesha]

21. But there isn't any *NEW* Islamic threat.

It's the same old Islamic threat that the Christian Church
has been contending with ever since Islam began; the
Christians are concerned about losing market share
with people switching to buying the other guy's
flavor of fantasy drink.

Opus Dei is just the latest ad agency.

But the Kool-Aid drinkers are still nuts and a
threat to civilized society no matter which flavor
of Kool-Aid they buy, and it has always been so.

Tesha

[Swamp Rat]

10. The REAL Oafus Dei:

:D

[xchrom]

14. opus dei = cynical power brokers.

opus dei is the catholic churches equivalent to leo strauss.

they are the heritage foundation rolled into the church.

folks who believe in hierarchy first -- anything to do with religious expression and human potential second.

[adriennui]

17. not everything is analogous to strauss and the heritage foundation

:crazy: :crazy: :crazy:

[xchrom]

19. you couldn't be more right -- just not in this case.

:eyes: :eyes: :eyes:

[leftchick]

18. The author sums OD up nicely

<snip>

What I have given here is a picture of Opus Dei as it really is—a subversive organisation fighting its enemies through infiltration and propaganda, an institution far removed from any spiritual or even religious concerns. The same may be said of most Christian organisations today beginning with the Vatican. To see this, one has only to compare Benny Hinn and his ilk with Satya Sai Baba and Amritanandamayi Ma.

Thank you for the link.