Posted on 09/23/2011 8:52:52 AM PDT by Alex Murphy
Erfurt, Germany - Pope Benedict XVI urged mainstream Christian denominations Friday to learn from hard-working evangelical churches which are more successful in their missionary work.
'Faced with a new form of Christianity, which is spreading with overpowering missionary dynamism, sometimes in frightening ways, the mainstream Christian denominations often seem at a loss,' Benedict said during a meeting in Erfurt, Germany with Lutheran leaders.
'This is a form of Christianity with little institutional depth, little rationality and even less dogmatic content, and with little stability,' he said according to speech notes distributed by the Vatican. The meeting was held behind closed doors.
'This worldwide phenomenon poses a question to us all: what is this new form of Christianity saying to us, for better and for worse?'
The pope was referring to fundamentalist Protestant and pentecostalist groups which not only proselytize in non-Christian regions of the world, but have also converted hundreds of thousands of former Catholics in Asia and Africa.
Plus got to remember that the Christian faith is growing in the global south nations. Give credit to the Evangelicals as well as Catholics who are on fire for their faith.
Which however did soon develop institutions that have enabled the Church to persist for more than 2000 years.and dogmas that have prevented splintering into small sects with little social impact, and a rationality that is the foundation of modern culture.
Evangelical preachers are well known for loving the members of their congregations, too much. At least in the South where I grew up. That’s why the anabaptists in Germany alarmed the Lutherans as much as the Catholics, because of the kind of antinomianism that disfigured the Church in Corinth. In the South , divorce has always been rampant, because love matches even among Christians tend to flame out, because marriage is just a contract, and a contract is just an agreement to be broken.
The Second Vatican Council stated that the goal of the Church's ecumenical STRATEGY was the UNITY of ALL Christian churches through COMMUNION with the Roman Catholic Church:
"The results will be that, little by little, as the obstacles to perfefct ecclesiastical communion are OVERCOME, all Christians will be gathered, in a COMMON CELEBRATION of THE EUCHARIST, into the UNITY of the ONE AND ONLY CHURCH, which Christ bestowed on his Church from the beginning. This unity, we believe, subsists in the Catholic Church as something she can NEVER LOSE, and we hope that it will continue to INCREASE until the end of time." - Second Vatican Council, "Decree on Ecumenism," no. 4.
“This is a form of Christianity with little institutional depth, little rationality and even less dogmatic content, and with little stability”No kidding!Kind of sounds like the first century church.
People who have been truly regenerated and converted through the preaching of the Gospel tend to want to tell others about what God has done for them. Is that surprising? They have believed and God has saved them through the simplicity of the Gospel of Grace alone, through Faith alone, in Christ alone.
The remedy for the shallowness of some of these Babes in Christ is the strong meat of the Word of God that requires hard work, not formal institutions that wear the same clothes.
If Rome and the other main stream protestant churches would teach the True Good news, they would stop hemorrhaging members and start making the tares uncomfortable.
In the Bible we read about deacons, presbyters (whether we translate that "priests" or not) and bishops, and we have St. Peter elevated to some unnamed unique role. The hoyl Father is correct in seeing in institutional flatness a defect of late forms of Protestantisms that we do not see int he Early Church.
little rationality
The New Testament gives us plenty of rational reasoning, just open any doctrinal epistle by st. Paul or St. Peter and read things like "we have not by following artificial fables, made known to you the power, and presence of our Lord Jesus Christ; but we were eyewitnesses of his greatness" (2 Peter 1:16). That Protestant snake-charmers and tongue-babblers are indeed off their rational rocker, please do not accuse the First Church or irrationality.
little stability
The Church Christ built on the faith of Peter was prophesied to prevail against Gates of Hell till the end of the Age. Which she did. That would be building on a rock. In the meanwhile, the late Protestants -- matter of fact, not so late also -- split and split again, and cannot present any coherent doctrine beyond cheap slogans, even to their own flock. How many Presbyterians we have, again? Are Assemblies of God different from Pentecostals in anything of substance? And no one persecutes them. They just cannot hold their puny remnant of authentic Christianity together.
When does the Inquisition start?
He’s talking about Protestants. So glad you agree with the Pope!
**Kind of odd that the Pope would be against the spread of salvation through Jesus.**
This is not what he is saying to these Lutherans at all.
Moreover, he is asking all to base their beliefs on Jesus in a deep, stable and holy way. Not in a watered-down Protestant way.
He’s talking about Protestants. So glad you agree with the Pope!"May it never be"
Early Christians also debated (as we read in Acts) with the Platonists etc. of their day with rationality -- Christianity is not irrational, ask any Presbyterian
Early Christianity had the same depth of dogma as we do today -- read the Didache.
And stability -- the Churches were rooted in their cities and communities, so yes, pretty stable and incredibly stable in dogma.
Again, note that this is addressed to Germans. Which are the religious groups besides Moslems that are most active in Germany — it’s not Baptists or evangelicals in the American sense, rather it is primarily Jehovah’s Witnesses and to some extent Mormons and Adventists.
Moreover, he is asking all to base their beliefs on Jesus in a deep, stable and holy way. Not in a watered-down Protestant way.A life changing Gospel that truly regenerates a soul, saving them and making them a Child of God; That is what ignites this "New Christianity" which is nothing but the Apostolic Christianity. The Gospel of Grace alone, through Faith Alone, in Christ alone.
1 Corinthians 2:2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
Shouldn't he be more concerned about the enormous amount of tares that darken a Roman church once or twice a year?
IF the Pope really wants to stop hemorrhaging membership, start preaching a Gospel that saves and provides the True remedy for sin providing a peace satisfies the soul.
Others are not watered-down but focus on one point to the exclusivity of the whole of God's Word -- that's incompleteness not water-down
Sorry, I don’t need to believe in purgatory, Papal supremacy, the IC, Ascension or any other Roman distinctive not found in the Apostolic church to find Salvation in Jesus. The Reformers were Right.
Good point.
**I don’t need to believe in purgatory, Papal supremacy, the IC, Ascension or any other Roman distinctive not found in the Apostolic church to find Salvation in Jesus.**
You don’t believe in the Ascension? Good grief, it’s in the Bible!
You don’t believe that Peter was given authority as the first Pope? Good grief, it’s in the Bible!
You don’t believe in Purgatory — the word isn’t in the Bible but both Jesus and St. Paul refer to it. Good grief.
I won’t be surprise when you do become a Catholic. (It will happen.)
You don’t believe in the Ascension? Good grief, it’s in the Bible!Sorry, I meant the assumption of Mary, not in the bible. Ascension of Jesus is.
I won’t be surprise when you do become a Catholic. (It will happen.)Sorry, been there, done that, 27 years, 12 years parochial school
God was gracious to me a sinner and granted me repentance and Faith in Him for salvation.
The Holy Inquisition is neccessary to clean the Catholic Church from the enemy inside, not to sort out your trash.
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