You are an honest man!
Very few members of other Christian denominations attest to Ratzinger’s brilliance.
His panoramic sweep and understanding of historical and biblical source material is simply breathtaking. It took me several days of careful reading to finish reading “Iesus Dominus.”
The Church is indeed very privileged to have him both as Shepherd and Chief Theologian.
One thing my father (who passed away last November at 86 years old) taught from the pulpit was that truth is truth no matter where it comes from. Pope Benedict impresses me as someone who is faithful to the scripture. A knowledgable and honest Chrisian cannot and should not argue a message with scriptural integrity no matter what their prejudices. I had much rather cast my support to a man like Pope Benedict who is faithful to the scripture than with nutjob Southern evangelicals like the ones shown on national news coverage a few years ago in Montgomery,AL carrying signs that said “God hates fags.” While I am certainly not supportive of the homosexual lifestyle and the radical “gay” agenda, their message was theologically incorrect. God loved all men enough so that Christ died for all, including homosexuals, though they must repent to receive the grace that he offers.
The point of all this is that the downfall of a lot of Christian churchs is that they do not adequately school their members in the scripture, and denominations who have little educational requirements for their clergy often spread incorrect doctrine. As a result, a poor understanding of Christianity is communicated by believers to non-believers. It is always humorous, though sickening, when a liberal non-believer tries to point out to me what us Christians believe. Rarely do they ever get things even close to right. In support of Catholics, your church’s commitment to the doctrinal education of your parishoners is far superior to Protestants, a rightly placed and commendable effort. There is a Catholic elementary school and prep school in my hometown.
Time to sign off. Good thread and good conversation. Thanks