Cyprus-Forum.com

[chedda]

Religion i am afraid is a sign of weakness, it's only backward brainwashed countries that still have busy churches. It's just a big business wake up ! All that bloodshed, animosity and resent was not helped one iota by the church and praying. I mean come on would you trust someone in a tall black hat and a black dress ? I am a good person without the church.

[Bananiot]

We survived despite of the church. Historically the church has played a dark role in Greece and in Cyprus it has been the main source of division, preaching hatred and animosity among people.

[zan]

So you should be, because the Orthodox Church has proven to preserved us in the past and if we got into trouble in the future it would be the only thing that can preserve in the future.

No amount of GC intellect will get us through and we must preserve the one institution that defines and will ultimately preserve us for ever - and has proven so.

How about a large jar and some Cyprus wine (Vinegar)

[BOF]

religion is the millstone around humanities neck

[Me Ed]

Millstone, brainwashing, a sign of weakness, dark role, division and animosity?

It only took your advanced intelligence a mere 14 years after independence to destroy what the Church had preserved for just under 400 years.

[YFred]

Had it not been so effective during those hundreds of years of occupation, we would be all be Turks and there would actually be no problem in Cyprus.

There have been a number of threads directed by so called CG "intellectuals" who have moked the one institution that has preserved them.

You wouldn't even exist if it was not for Jesus Christ and our Church - we would be weak and the Cyprob would not even exist today.

We are Christians and that is our strength and even hundreds of years of islamic occupation did not change us!

The moment we forget this - what we fighting for?

At least our occupied ancestors had something honorable to believe in and fight for ...

This is a fantastic argument, so what you are saying is that if the church did not exist, there would be no Cyprus Problem today.
Well, we agree on that one so the only solution to this problem seems to me to ban religion from the whole of Cyprus.
Plroblem solved.

[kurupetos]

Religion i am afraid is a sign of weakness, it's only backward brainwashed countries that still have busy churches. It's just a big business wake up ! All that bloodshed, animosity and resent was not helped one iota by the church and praying. I mean come on would you trust someone in a tall black hat and a black dress ? I am a good person without the church.

One iota? Isn't that from the new Testament?

[kurupetos]

Had it not been so effective during those hundreds of years of occupation, we would be all be Turks and there would actually be no problem in Cyprus.

There have been a number of threads directed by so called CG "intellectuals" who have moked the one institution that has preserved them.

You wouldn't even exist if it was not for Jesus Christ and our Church - we would be weak and the Cyprob would not even exist today.

We are Christians and that is our strength and even hundreds of years of islamic occupation did not change us!

The moment we forget this - what we fighting for?

At least our occupied ancestors had something honorable to believe in and fight for ...

This is a fantastic argument, so what you are saying is that if the church did not exist, there would be no Cyprus Problem today.
Well, we agree on that one so the only solution to this problem seems to me to ban religion from the whole of Cyprus.
Plroblem solved.

No, the solution is to ban Turks. Problem solved!

[YFred]

Petos, your wit is good for this early in the morning, but I think the first choice is easier and achievable where’s the second choice is nigh impossible.
So which one are we going for?

[Nikitas]

Obviously the Greek Orthodox church has preserved langugage and cohesion of the GC community, because it was the only body that could do so under Ottoman rule. The Ottomans themselves gave that role to the church, treating it as the only official representative of the people.

If you believe that Greek community spirit is worth preserving then you must accept that the role of the church was positive. If not, then what would have been the means of communal survival during Ottoman rule? Remember there was no national consciousness back then as we know it today, there weren't passports even. People were identified according to their ruler, not their place of origin.

Additionally the Ottomans did not give a damn about the education and culture of their subjects. During their rule, when the rest of Europe flourished, the occupied territories collectively do not have a single major piece of literature that was written, printed and circulated, unless the printing was outside the Ottoman empire, ie Venice or Vienna. To study Greek or Serb or other literature of the time today you have to go to these cities.

I am definitely NOT religious. But on this point I give the church its due. Those like Bananiot who find fault with the historic role of the church, must also find fault with the cultural deprivation enforced on the subject people by the Ottomans.