"The Vatican is Right"

Tom's Pen ^ | 2/5/07 | Tom Wacaster

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To our subscribers - I depart next week for a mission trip to Russia and will return late April. I will try to get my article out next week before leaving, but the next few days will be quite busy getting ready to depart. So if I fail to provide you with "Tom's Pen" next week, I'll see you in late April. Please keep us in your prayers for a safe journey. TW Tom's Pen February 5, 2007 Website: www.churchsoftwareplus.com To Subscribe or Unsubscribe to Tom's Pen

The Vatican Is Right by Tom Wacaster

A few years ago a news release from the Associated Press ran in our local paper in Mt. Pleasant. I came across that article this week while rummaging through my files and found its message quite interesting and thought provoking. The gist of that article was that, according to the Vatican [Catholic headquarters in Rome], all religions are NOT equal, and any suggestion to the contrary was the result of "manipulating fundamental truths of the church." While the Catholic church has expressed a more "open policy" since the early 1970's, it would appear that some have taken that open policy to an extreme, and concluded that the Pope and/or Cardinals were espousing a more liberal acceptance of those in other religious organizations. Evidently some of the more liberal Catholic bishops have gone so far as to declare that all religions are "equal," a concept that the Vatican has rejected. As I read this article, there were a number of surprising statements that I came across, and some things I think worthy of a comment or two.

First, I think it is significant that the Catholic church has not escaped the ravages of a pluralistic society on the thinking of some of her leaders. It would appear from the article that some men in "high places" in the Catholic church, "Bishops" as they are wont to be called, have been infected with the virus of religious toleration and inclusivism. For more than 25 years our college students have been bombarded with the idea that there is no absolute truth, and even if there were such at thing, it is not attainable. Consequently we have produced leaders in politics, religion and social areas that no longer believe there is any clear cut right and wrong, that any dogmatic stand on anything is a sign of bigotry, lack of love, and sheer stupidity. The "change agents" in the Lord's church today have their counterpart in every single denomination that might fly their flag under the banner of religious toleration.

Second, the document issued by the Vatican pointed out, and we think correctly so, that "toleration" refers to "personal dignity" and not "religious doctrine." One author correctly noted that "pluralists seem to assume that tolerance is possible only if one takes a nonjudgmental view of other's points of view." Such an assumption is not correct. He then went on to note, "Tolerance in no way requires that we accept the truth of another person's beliefs. By definition tolerance implies a disagreement with the other doctrine. We never speak of tolerating a belief we ourselves accept. If we tolerate a doctrine, we are not approving but rejecting or disapproving that idea. Thus, as Harold Netland says, 'Toleration has an element of condemnation built into its meaning.'...So it is a bit odd for pluralists to speak as if tolerance demanded pluralism. In a sense, tolerance demands exlusivism.'" It is rather unfortunate that some of the change agents in our brotherhood would adopt a unity in diversity attitude, and allow all sorts of error to enter into the body under the guise of "religious toleration." May it never be so.

Third, religious error, more often than not, is the result of manipulating truth. The Vatican was precisely right in this point, but unfortunately they cannot see that much of what they practice and teach rests on nothing more than that very same act of manipulation. While this article cannot address the multitudinous errors of the Catholic church, careful study shows that their concept of some sort of "Peterine Successor" to govern and direct her internal and external affairs is nothing more than manipulation of statements made TO and ABOUT the first century apostles! My, my, the legs of the lame are NOT equal, are they?

But perhaps the most astonishing statement made in that Vatican document was this: "There exists a single church of Christ, which subsists in the Catholic church…." The scriptures plainly teach that "there exists a single church of Christ" [and will you note that the word "church" was not capitalized in that newspaper article, and we assume it was the same in the Vatican document from which they were quoting]. Such a truth is clearly evident in passages like Ephesians 4:4 coupled with Ephesians 1:22-23, wherein the apostle Paul wrote "there is one body," and that this "body" is the "church." My dictionary says that "subsist" means to "abide, to exist, to inhere in something." To suggest that the church of Christ [that institution spoken of in the Bible] must "subsist" IN something is to suggest that it could not abide by itself, or stand alone in its practice and teaching. And yet that is precisely what that first century church did. When the church of Christ started on that eventful day of Pentecost in 33 A.D. those obedient souls were "added" to the church (or "their number" as per the ASV). To what were they added? Can I be added to that same "number" or "church" today? If not, why not? Yes, there does exist a "single church of Christ," but I affirm that it does not "subsist" in anything, the Catholic church not withstanding.

But last of all, the Vatican was correct when they acknowledged, "The lack of unity among Christians is certainly a wound for the church." Our hearts ache because of the religious division that characterizes "Christendom." Much harm has been done to the cause of Christ because of that needless division. But my heart aches even more over the division within the ranks of the Lord's church. The last 30 years have been characterized by division, disunity, and disharmony. Our evangelism has fallen by the wayside as we struggled to simply hang on to what we gained during the early years of the 20th century. I long for the day when we get past this "manipulation" of truth by those "change agents" that would take the Lord's church back into denominationalism from which we departed.

While I would not agree with the Vatican on their concept of the "one true church," I must agree with the Vatican on this one point: All religions are NOT equal; in this the Vatican is right!

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Tom Wacaster is a missionary who has had much success in Europe.He barely get's by on the little money that individuals suport him with.This is not a solicitation but there is an address on his site to send money if you feel the need.