Talk:Anathema

Greek anathema needs to be discussed. then it can be applied as the LXX translation of Hebrew. Actual usage is important. Wetman 18:40, 16 Mar 2004 (UTC)

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I removed this:

Non-Catholics and Non-Christians can reasonably say the Roman Catholic doctrine of anathema looks like Brainwashing. It can mean, "Either you believe and teach what we want you to or we declare you accursed and excommunicate you and just may shun you."

because it is unencyclopedic. I get the point, but the phrasing "can reasonably" is speculative and agumentative. We shouldn't speculate, articles should provide accounts of what scholars/researchers or others have said. Nor should we comment on what is reasonable or unreasonable, which violates our NPOV policy. Has there been debate among Catholics or Christians about this attitude? Why would non-Christians even care? I don't deny there is an issue here that we ought to address, but we have to do it in an NPOV and encyclopedic way Slrubenstein

I reinstated the passage with the first phrase removed. I hope that deals with your objection.Barbara Shack 19:22, 16 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Well, "looks like" and "can mean" still strike me as very unencyclopedic, and POV. If there is an important theologian or social critic, or sociologist of religion or historian who has actually studied Catholocism or Christianity, who has identified it with brainwashing, by allmeans quote him/her -- otherwise this just looks like your own opinion. That isn't what wikipedia is for. Slrubenstein

I removed the following reinstated paragraph for the same reason as Slrubenstein:

The Roman Catholic doctrine of anathema looks like Brainwashing. It can mean, "Either you believe and teach what we want you to or we declare you accursed and excommunicate you and just may shun you."

Not only is this paragraph extremely POV, but it's also poorly written. Kent Wang 18:06, 24 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Limitations

Wow. First, the bit about "brainwashing" should never have been there. That's pure POV and entirely unacceptable. Second, the article is quite limited at this point, discussing etymology and ancient derivation more than usage and the evolution of doctrine. I'll come back later and discuss how anathema and excommunication differ from one another. Further, there is the infamous formulaic anathema offered up in the 12th century by a particular bishop, and then there is the functional difference in the pronunciation of anathema vs. excommunication (requiring several priests with candles, as opposed to a simple bull). Things that are pronounced anathema are nearly reprobate, whereas excommunication can be lifted. Geogre 04:33, 28 Mar 2005 (UTC)

It's probably worth mentioning that the Catholic Church abolished the status of anathema in Vatican II. I don't know the specific details, but that's what my Catholic Bible says.