Posted on 05/26/2013 7:28:46 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
When Cardinal Bergoglio was first chosen as Pope, my immediate reaction was that, although he would probably not tamper with the Church’s views on sexual issues, he would likely move it to the left in terms of economic rhetoric. I based that to some small degree on his choice of name: Saint Francis is something of a favorite of progressives in the Church due to his vow of poverty and his love of animals. But even more important to me was the intellectual milieu out of which he came: Argentine populism, and his own public statements as a cardinal in support of those themes.
I was, of course, attacked by the Catholic left who were quick to denounce me for ignorance, (don’t I know that Francis Xavier was one of founders of the Pope’s Jesuit order), and arrogance (how dare you question the Pope’s Biblical exposition), inaccuracy (how could I, not a Spanish speaker, comment on the Cardinal’s economic homilies given in Spanish) and simple a lack of good will.
But I think subsequent events have borne out my initial impressions. The Pope has clearly identified Saint Francis as his inspiration, for example. Furthermore, I asked my friend Alejandro Chafuen, who is a native Argentinian, a theologian and an economist, to confirm my reading of the Pope’s homily about Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus is indeed referred to as a usurer and associated with foreign banking interests in the Cardinal’s homily, and used as a device to attack foreign bankers who insisted on having their loans repaid by Argentina, despite widespread public support for debt repudiation. But the actual gospel text declares Zacchaeus to be a tax collector, not a loan shark.
So the Gospel reading itself undermines any attempt to scapegoat market processes.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
Part of what he has been saying, is straight out of the New Testament. Sorry for massively quoting the following, but it helps to explain much:
1 Timothy Chp. 6: (NIV) These are the things you are to teach and insist on. 3 If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, 4 they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions 5 and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Final Charge to Timothy
11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.
17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
20 Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, 21 which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith.
Grace be with you all.
He’ll do a bang-up job of filling the shoes of the Fisherman, if bang-up means dragging the Roman Catholic Church further into the secular ditch.
This will make a lot of cafeteria Catholics happy, but like his predecessors he’ll owe his Maker a lot of explaining before the level is pulled.
level=lever
“It doesn’t have a human purpose, but that’s because it has 7 billion human purposes. If you want an economy with a face and a human purpose, then the Egypt of the Exodus era is your place and the Pharaoh of the exodus is your man.”
Again proving a Roman Catholic Pope is not “infallible” and his “word” should be digested, not simply accepted as “Gospel” truth; an all too human opinion, and not a God-inspired one.
If you cannot keep a legal context true to the law, or, in this case, a scriptual context true to the scripture, you cannot formulate an opinion that is a true reflection of them.
...the leftist view is to DESTROY free markets...
My prediction is that Francis will promote “social justice” as a voluntary thing. Not something that should be enforced by government. He has already laid the groundwork for such a point of view by telling us to wake up as Christians.
The trend in economic thinking of the various popes has moved rightward, toward freedom, especially the thinking of John Paul II.
I eagerly await the first encyclical on this subject from Francis.
Did you ignore context, beginning with Luke 19:2
“Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.”
or, as Luke continues at 19:8
“Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.”
which is NO admission that he had defrauded anyone, in fact, it suggests he is a man who is capable of correcting his errors, if he has made them
and the rest of Luke 19, which opened with Zacchaeus?
it’s no homily against trading well.
the meeting with Zacchaeus is about those who sincerely desire a sight of Christ, like Zaccheus, will break through opposition, and take pains to see him. Christ invited himself to Zaccheus’ house. Wherever Christ comes he opens the heart, and inclines it to receive him. He that has a mind to know Christ, shall be known of him.
Zacchaeus was hated and despised in Palestine because his job was as tax collector - he took from the people on orders of Herod and the Romans to fill their royal coffers, while the people, so many people in Palestine, went hungry FOR LACK OF WORK.
Meanwhile, the taxes deprived everyone of what they could have given in alms for the poor to the temple - charity being traditionally the role of the churches - and those in charge of the temple were themselves living lavishly as well.
Tax collecting, like Zacchaeus job, was part of the corruption of the elite, much like it is today.
Did you ignore context, beginning with Luke 19:2
“Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.”
or, as Luke continues at 19:8
“Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.”
which is NO admission that he had defrauded anyone, in fact, it suggests he is a man who is capable of correcting his errors, if he has made them
and the rest of Luke 19, which opened with Zacchaeus?
it’s no homily against trading well.
the meeting with Zacchaeus is about those who sincerely desire a sight of Christ, like Zaccheus, will break through opposition, and take pains to see him. Christ invited himself to Zaccheus’ house. Wherever Christ comes he opens the heart, and inclines it to receive him. He that has a mind to know Christ, shall be known of him.
Zacchaeus was hated and despised in Palestine because his job was as tax collector - he took from the people on orders of Herod and the Romans to fill their royal coffers, while the people, so many people in Palestine, went hungry FOR LACK OF WORK. At tax collecting itself providing ample opportunity for corruption - not from being a lender with interest - by taking more than just the tax that was required [like Socialists, Liberals and Progressives do), padding their own pocket [or in the modern case, their own political and business special interests] with the difference [with non-essential programs just to get more people beholden to them].
Meanwhile, the taxes deprived everyone of what they could have given in alms for the poor to the temple - charity being traditionally the role of the churches - and those in charge of the temple were themselves living lavishly as well.
Tax collecting, like Zacchaeus job, was part of the corruption of the elite, much like it is today.
“I’d not put much credence in statements of the unenlightened, calling him a leftist”
The writer seemed to be more “enlightened” about the context of Zacchaeus in Luke 19 than did the Roman Catholic Pope. In fact, the Roman Catholic Pope seems to have felt free to totally mischaracterize Zaccgaues to make his point. If your use of scripture is not true to the context in scripture then your argument is not true to the scripture either - regardless of well intentioned (or not) arguments.
The official teaching of the Church is that it doesn’t favor one economic system over another. Also, popes have criticized the marxism masquerading as Catholicism known as “liberation theology.”
__________________________
Correct! And Pope Francis has been one of the STRONGEST opponents of liberation theology in all of Latin America.
“Also, popes have criticized the marxism masquerading as Catholicism known as “liberation theology.”
The Roman Catholic Pope’s left-leaning economic views are a separate issue from the core arguments of “liberation theology”, regardless of some economic views of liberation theologists which also are leftist. One can be of the left, in economics, and still not ascribe to liberation theology.
Luke19:8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Please enlighten us on exactly where the good Pope mischaracterized Zacchaeus.
Makes sense. The Catholic Church is a socialist model, with those at the top of the food chain living like kings - in fact, the cardinals are known as “Princes” of the Church - and their wealth based on taxes of a sort from those below. Every once in a while, the princes get together and democratically elect one of their own to run the show.
Sounds like the current state of the US.
Obviously Mr. Jerry Boyer isn't familiar with the Bible. Perhaps a little more study, Mr. Boyer, would help you with you analysis.
New International Version (NIV)
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
New International Version (NIV)
**when one has worked their way up the hierarchy of one of the most powerful, wealthy, often venal, organizations in the history of hard-ball Machiavellian politics,**
A Pope does not “work his way up the hierarchy**
The choosing of the Pope is done through the College of Cardinals at the Conclave — they are led by the Holy Spirit.
Are you saying that the Holy Spirit is wrong here? That’s a sin! An unforgiveable one, to boot!!
Point is Zaccheus was a gov’t bureaucrat a la IRS not a market guy. if he defrauded anyone it was in the name of the state.
Zacchaeus was not a money lender, he was a tax collector;
his living did not come from “usery”, like loan sharking
he was part of the Roman/Herodian system of taxing the people
The Holy Spirit is never wrong, but humans often are, and even those who make a specialty of claiming the imprimatur of the Holy Spirit. The Pharisees could not contemplate the possibility they were wrong. After all, they sat in the seat of Moses, and Moses had a hot line direct to God. So what could possibly go wrong? Other than becoming so deeply committed to their own sense connectedness to God they totally blew it when Jesus worked wonders among them to show, by the Holy Spirit, He was the Son of God. They mistook him for a devil, not because they had any real evidence of malicious motive, but solely because he dared question their pedigree of divinity.
And that act right there is the only place in Scripture where the unforgivable sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is exampled for us in concrete form. They showed they would rather deny the witness of the Holy Spirit acting in power before their very eyes, than surrender their pretense to divine authority. Based on that example, it is much safer spiritually to question the divinity of a human hierarchy, like Jesus did, than to defend said hierarchy by attacking the spirituality of honest critics, like the Pharisees did.
We can all sin against the Holy Spirit!
Do you deny the Mass?
Do you deny the Father, Son and Holy Spirit?
Do you bless yourself with Holy Water every time you step through the narthex of your church? Or is the Holy Water absent?
Do you deny that Mary is the Mother of Jesus Christ, true God and true man?
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