religion as belly button gazing

Mark Mallet defends the Pope.

my comment is that if you want mushy feel good religion, Youtube is full of self hypnosis/meditation stuff.

Why should these people decide they want to actually obey God when belly button gazing will give you all the warm fuzzy feelings of religion without the hard work of living an ethical life.

Reminds me of the ancient world, where religion has little to do with ethics: If you wished to live an ethical life, you studied philosophy.

Which is why traditional people who work with people in meditation are careful to check if these people are into egotism.

Heh. Even the Pope notices this:

Although it sounds obvious, spiritual accompaniment must lead others ever closer to God, in whom we attain true freedom. Some people think they are free if they can avoid God; they fail to see that they remain existentially orphaned, helpless, homeless. They cease being pilgrims and become drifters, flitting around themselves and never getting anywhere. To accompany them would be counterproductive if it became a sort of therapy supporting their self-absorption and ceased to be a pilgrimage with Christ to the Father. —POPE FRANCIS, Evangelii Gaudium, n. 170

noope it is not obvious: Especially when the "reformers" misquote you and the press distorts the message...

HELLLO!