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Pope Benedict Continues to Dilute Christ's ChurchAug 22 '07 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line The Pope should put his pride/arrogance aside, and reach out to unify the universal body of Christ, not take shots at the other for whom Christ also died.
"Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" 49Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. 50For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." Matthew 12:48-50 I want to talk about three things today, the catholic church (lower case ‘c’), the Catholic Church (as in Roman Catholic), and religious pride. To say that Pope Benedict is NOT half the Pope that Pope John Paul II was, is the understatement of understatements. I’m deeply troubled by the words released this week by the Pope. It goes to show that he really isn’t concerned at all with the catholic church of Christ, and only the Roman Catholic Church of man. Before you get all in a twist, let me explain. The catholic church (lower case ‘c’) simply means the “universal” church, that is the “Body of Christ” all the followers of Jesus in total. This is the church that Christ started with Peter and the small band of Apostles. The fact that this church survived, much less, flourished, is truly a miracle and shows how God’s divine hand was with these people. But as the church progressed and grew, it deviated from the mission of Jesus. It got into the government business and then became one of the largest political powers on the planet. The protestant reformation which really started in 1517 when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Thesis on the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church. These theses’ which spoke out about the behavior of the church, especially in the selling of indulgences (salvation for money). Martin Luther who as a monk had dedicated his life to Christ, and took a stand to rescue the church from itself. As with many things, once there’s a small crack in something unstable, it tends to shatter into many small pieces. Each of these pieces, would also come to find similar trouble when those in charge put their own power before Gods. Jesus said: "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. -Matthew 12:25 This is true to the catholic church too! So when someone like Pope Benedict makes a statement, and issues a document that further divides the catholic church it is irresponsible, and destructive, and against all that Jesus taught us. Pope Benedict is putting the Catholic Church before the catholic church. Not reaching out to all the followers of Christ, but condemning them for not being a member of his church. Much less reaching those who don’t know Christ at all. Pope Benedict is guilty of pride. Pride and religion is a dangerous combination. Christ spoke out against those with religious pride countless times in the four Gospels. He practically condemned the Pharisees, who put rules and regulations in the way of God. And, because they were followers of the rules and knew them better than most, they would turn their noses at anyone who was not as pious as they. (Sound familiar Pope Benedict?) "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, (B)because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in." Matthew 13:13 I believe that the Pope should unite himself with all Christians, and unite the catholic church, and not divide and dilute it. As for the Pope saying that the only way to salvation is through the Roman Catholic church, I would remind him of another verse from the bible. Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7If you really knew me, you would know[b] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." John 14:6-7 That means that each person needs to know Jesus, not the rules of any man made church. The best way to know Jesus is to read His Word in the Bible. Which strikes me funny as there are NO bibles in a Roman Catholic church, not even on the alter. The priest reads form the misal, not a Bible. Now I’m not saying that the Catholic doctrine is flawed, quite contrary, the Apostle’s Creed, and Profession of faith said daily in the Catholic Mass, is something that the entire (catholic) church can believe together. It is the very essence of Christian faith. If the pope were just to say that, he would unite Christians all over the world. But instead he goes a far as to say that anything not Roman Catholic cannot even be called a church! Let me say that after growing up Catholic that I have a good perspective when I comes to non-Catholic churches. And, I can honestly say that I see truer faith among congregants in the protestant church than I’ve ever seen in any Catholic church. I see people spending their vacation time building churches in Africa, South America, and some even in the Middle East. These are my fellow church members some who truly risk their life to spread the redemption and love of Jesus Christ. I see people who have struggled with life, set free by God’s word, because a Christian shared their faith with them. I never saw in my experience a Catholic share their faith with another. The mentality is if you go to Mass, you’ve done enough. I can’t disagree more, a relationship is deeper than that. I look at Catholics as fellow Christians, I have no disdain, nor misconceptions, I don’t see why the “HOW” we worship should effect “WHAT we worship. Words like the Popes’ this week are not spreading the Word of God, but diluting it. If God is Love, then spreading that Love is our duty, to reach more people, to grow the catholic church, not divide it due to pride and prejudice.  |
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