Mother Theresa was...

[11B4V]

Evil hag.

[DGuller]

Every charity has a limited budget, so you have to spend it on things that give the biggest bang for the buck.  Material wealth doesn't last, but helping people make the right choice when it comes to religion has eternal benefits.

[Ancient Demon]

I agree with the haters, and find it difficult to have sympathy for anyone who believes that poverty and suffering are beautiful.

[Scipio]

I agree with the haters, and find it difficult to have sympathy for anyone who believes that poverty and suffering are beautiful.

The question is not are poverty and suffering beautiful qua themselves, but if they have meaning, and are thus beautiful. To a secularist, no suffering or poverty has meaning. And that is the conundrum of Mother Theresa, because in the orthodox Christian world, suffering and poverty have meaning and worth and are beautiful.

[Scipio]

But honestly, the same people who hate Mother Theresa hate Pius XII because he was Hitler's Pope, a demonstrably false canard.

[Razgovory]

But honestly, the same people who hate Mother Theresa hate Pius XII because he was Hitler's Pope, a demonstrably false canard.

Well, they hate all Popes.

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

And that is the conundrum of Mother Theresa, because in the orthodox Christian world, suffering and poverty have meaning and worth and are beautiful.

The question, then, is why did she herself try so hard to avoid her own suffering?  She refused palliative care for her patients while seeking the same for herself at the end of her life.

[HVC]

And that is the conundrum of Mother Theresa, because in the orthodox Christian world, suffering and poverty have meaning and worth and are beautiful.

The question, then, is why did she herself try so hard to avoid her own suffering?  She refused palliative care for her patients while seeking the same for herself at the end of her life.

same reason politicians get caught with hookers, it's easier to tell other people how to live the. Do it yourself, even if you fully believe in your words. Hypocrisy and self interest are funny little human quirks.

[CountDeMoney]

The question, then, is why did she herself try so hard to avoid her own suffering?  She refused palliative care for her patients while seeking the same for herself at the end of her life.

Because she can't continue her Good Works if she's dead.

[Martinus]

I guess the simple test is to ask if the world would have been a better place if she had not existed.

If the answer is no, then your answer on the poll falls somewhere between 1 and 2.

If the answer is yes, then your answer on the poll falls somewhere between 3 and 4.

[Ancient Demon]

And that is the conundrum of Mother Theresa, because in the orthodox Christian world, suffering and poverty have meaning and worth and are beautiful.

The question, then, is why did she herself try so hard to avoid her own suffering?  She refused palliative care for her patients while seeking the same for herself at the end of her life.

Yep, just another religious hypocrite. Suffering is only good when it happens to other people.

[garbon]

And that is the conundrum of Mother Theresa, because in the orthodox Christian world, suffering and poverty have meaning and worth and are beautiful.

The question, then, is why did she herself try so hard to avoid her own suffering?  She refused palliative care for her patients while seeking the same for herself at the end of her life.

Yep, just another religious hypocrite. Suffering is only good when it happens to other people.

Seems a bit strange to lay your hat on that. So had she only sought out same care (or no care) as her patients, then she'd be totally okay because she was consistent?

[The Brain]

Had to vote a living saint. I don't know if Mart included poll answer 1 as a joke, but it is somewhat useless. Being a saint means being a religious fanatic with values different from ordinary folks, and there's also an explicit list of saints (slight simplification).

[grumbler]

Yep, just another religious hypocrite. Suffering is only good when it happens to other people.

I've never seen anything from her that would indicate that she didn't feel that her own suffering was not good for her.  It seems to that you are reaching the  conclusions you want to reach.

[lustindarkness]

The question, then, is why did she herself try so hard to avoid her own suffering?  She refused palliative care for her patients while seeking the same for herself at the end of her life.

Because she can't continue her Good Works if she's dead.

But... she did.