Posted on 05/24/2013 6:25:25 AM PDT by Gamecock
In his Wednesday Mass homily this week, Pope Francis attracted considerable media attention. According to reports, the message drew on Mark 9:40, where Jesus says, He who is not against us is for us. Like the disciples, we can be intolerant of the good that others can doeven atheists. Because were all created in Gods image, there is still a possibility of doing good. So far, nothing particularly controversial in terms of classical Christian teaching. The most ardent evangelical would affirm that although our works are so corrupted by sin that they cannot justify us before God, they can help our neighbors.
However, the pontiff added, The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! Father, the atheists? Even the atheists. Everyone! We must meet one another doing good. But I dont believe, Father, I am an atheist! But do good: we will meet one another there.
Reports from major outlets, including the Huffington Post, express astonishment at the popes comments. What is this strange new teaching? Of course, its not new at all. It has been an emphasis ever since the Second Vatican Council, where the previously shunned speculations of Karl Rahner, S. J., became official teaching. There is no way to reconcile the previous councils and papal pronouncements depriving non-Roman Catholics of salvation with the idea of the anonymous Christian. Nevertheless, there it is. Not the development of dogma, as Cardinal Newman formulated, but the flat contradiction of dogma.
Before Vatican II, the standard teaching was that ordinarily no one can be saved who does not submit to the magisterium and papal authority in particular. Especially in trouble were those who had been reared Roman Catholic and yet explicitly rejected the popes headship. Although they were consigned to everlasting punishment by papal decrees, the Protestant Reformers never applied the same rule to their Roman Catholic opponents. Calvin even said that although Rome has excommunicated itself according to the criterion of Galatians 1:8-9, There is a true church among her.
What has changed? We keep hearing from Protestants that, given the Vatican II reforms, if Luther and Calvin were alive today theyd renew their Roman Catholic membership cards. I doubt it. Not even the craziness of contemporary Protestantism could push them to make that move against a Scripture-bound conscience.
What has changed is that Rome has carried its incipient Semi-Pelagianism to its logical conclusion. I know, Karl Rahner and Vatican II repeatedly condemn Pelagianism and extol grace as the fundamental basis for salvation. Yet that has always been Romes teaching. It is by grace alone that we are empowered to cooperate in meriting further grace and, one hopes, final justification.
The Reformers never accused the medieval church of embracing outright Pelagianism, but of that subtler form of works-righteousness that invokes grace as no more than assistance for our attainment of Gods favor. Maybe Protestants dont get that because this is essentially the same tendency at work in many mainline and evangelical churches.
There is a certain truth, then, to the idea of development, at least from the sixteenth-century Council of Trent and the twentieth-century Second Vatican Council. Various seeds have come to full flower: Collapsing special revelation into general revelation, and therefore the gospel into the law, Rome maintains that Scripture provides a higher revelationgreater illumination. The gospel is simply the new laweasier than the old covenantwith Christ as a new Moses. Collapsing our works into Christs, the familiar slogan of the medieval church was God will not deny his grace to those who do what lies within them. It is this slogan that is official dogma, according to Vatican II and the current Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Council of Trent anathematized the view that we are so thoroughly bound by sin that we cannot cooperate with Gods grace by our own free will. The new dogma simply extends this logic to conclude that everyone is in Christ, infused with saving grace, and capable of attaining final justification by grace-empowered works. The medieval dogma of implicit faith was a way of demanding absolute obedience to everything taught by the pope and magisterium, which Calvin described as ignorance disguised as humility. Now, implicit faith is invoked to support the idea that even atheists evidence an openness to divinity by their good works. They may not have explicit faith in Christor even in any transcendent Creator, but it lies buried in their sub-consciousness nevertheless.
Whats different is this: where the older view denied that faith was sufficient for justification, the new view denies that faithat least the explicit faith in Christ everywhere assumed in Scriptureis even necessary. In other words, good works not only now supplement faith in justifying sinners but replace faith entirely.
Its no wonder that the media is welcoming this Wednesday homily with such glee. Aside from some major social problems, the world, after all, is not as in need of being rescued as we thought. We just need a little direction to get back on the road, some encouragement to be more tolerant and attentive to the plight of others. Somehow Jesus Christ has made it possible for all of us to wind up in heaven (purgatory, etc., left to the fine print).
But is this a gospelgood news? Perhaps it is to good people who could be a little better, but not to the ungodly who need to be justified before a holy God. Whats so amazing is that the popes message is treated as kinder and freer, even though it replaces faith in Christ with our own acts of charity. For anyone who knows what God counts as true loveand therefore good works, this can only provoke deeper guilt and fear.
Although the surprise expressed by the Huffington Post report cited above reveals unfamiliarity with official teaching, it does get one important thing right in its conclusion: Of course, not all Christians believe that those who dont believe will be redeemed, and the Popes words may spark memories of the deep divisions from the Protestant reformation over the belief in redemption through grace versus redemption through works. Anyone who thinks that the Reformation is over doesnt realize just how much further from the gospel Rome has moved in recent decades.
I luv these threads of Paul and whatshername Crouch Internet snake handling theologians!
You’re not amused in the least that Pope Francis is a Unitarian Universalist?
I am amused that the Pope appears to be a Francis who has lightened. Do they grow ganja in Argentina?
Couldn't be more untrue...
Francis based his homily on the message of Christ to his disciples taken from the Gospel of Mark. Francis delivered his message by sharing a story of a Catholic who asked a priest if atheists were saved by Christ.
They complain, Francis said, If he is not one of us, he cannot do good. If he is not of our party, he cannot do good. He explained that Jesus corrected them, Do not hinder him, he says, let him do good.
The disciples, Pope Francis explained, were a little intolerant, closed off by the idea of possessing the truth, convinced that those who do not have the truth, cannot do good. This was wrong... Jesus broadens the horizon. Pope Francis said, The root of this possibility of doing good - that we all have - is in creation.
Your pope has willingly deceived all who hear or read this homily...The biblical story is not about doing good...It has nothing to do with feeding the poor or standing outside an abortion clinic...This pope has severly fogged up the truth, perhaps hoping none of you will check with the scriptures to see if he is telling the truth...
Here is the actual truth: the unvarnished scripture your pope is referring to...
Mar 9:38 And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. Mar 9:39 But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. Mar 9:40 For he that is not against us is on our part.
Your pope refused to mention that those who do good works IN JESUS' NAME are the ones who are to be accepted...Those who do good works outside of Jesus are nothing...
The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that Since it rejects or denies the existence of God, atheism is a sin against the virtue of religion but the imputability of the offense can be significantly diminished in virtue of the intentions and the circumstances (CCC#2125)
This is outrageously wrong...
Joh 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
I’m sure an Argentinian could answer your question.
Nope...Faith is the ONLY condition of salvation...
True faith requires, and is reflected in, good works.
Nope again...Works are the result of Faith...It is given to us to do good works by the Holy Spirit after we have accepted Him...Those good works outside of Jesus are worthless...God calls them filthy rags...
Like you, I will reserve judgment until it is confirmed. Was he speaking in English, or some other language.
I’ve been very impressed with this Pope up to this point, and I’m certainly no Roman Catholic. My opinion will take a big hit if this is what he actually said.
That makes sense.
Also, have yet to hear this Pope claim that salvation is obtainable only through the Roman Catholic Church.
I'd like to edit that to say 'the victory they could have...
It's like this pope's homily...He led people to believe that if they do good works they are on the way to salvation, even if Jesus isn't involved...He then refers to scripture to prove his point while distorting the scripture so the people don't know that Jesus is referring ONLY to people that do good works IN JESUS' NAME...
The result is: 'I have faith in the Church (which the Church claims is Jesus) and I do good works...So if I do enough good works, I will eventually burn in purgatory and then go to heaven'...
And that ain't gonna happen...
To me it was about how we must work together for peace.
I think FReeper 'salvation' means well, but I see him the same way. He 'out-Catholics' the Pope; just like many FR Calvinists out Calvin Calvin.
“He”??? LOL! Click on my name.
&&My concern for Catholics is that they do not study the Bible for themselves, they are not open to revelation, and they do not understand the ministry of the Holy Spirit, from what I have seen.**
Oh, my word!! Are you speaking in generalities here?
Haven’t you ever seen the Daily Mass Readings, First reading from the Old Testament, during the Easter season from the Acts of the Apostles, then a Psalm, then a reading from one of the letters of Paul, John or Peter or other letters, then a Gospel from Matthew, Mark , Luke or John.
In a three year cycle, we don’t cover then entire Bible, but we touch most of it.
Catholics, in my opinion, are more open to the revelation of the Eucharist by Jesus Christ than many non-Catholics. As for the Book of Revelation — Catholics can handle it. So why do you make that statement?
Your last point — the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
The Mass includes two points where the Holy Spirit is called down. Have you attended a Catholic Mass? If not, how can you make these assertions.
The first calling down of the Holy Spirit is over the bread and wine that will immediately, through the consecration become the body and blood of Christ.
The second calling down of the Holy Spirt is over the congregation, the people of God.
Are you a charismatic, is that why you are saying these things?
Thank you.
I’m not going to contend. It’s a waste of time.
Well, the so-called "good thief" bore bold witness and gave one of the most powerful and eloquent testimonies in the entire history of Christianity, and the words from his brief "mini-sermon" painfully given from his cross have been passed on to billions and billions of Christians and other people through all these centuries since he died. Most preachers and other Christians will never reach even a small fraction of that many people with their own personal witness and testimony in this life.
He also elicited an amazing response from our Lord from His own cross, which made it clear to everyone (including Unitarians and Jehovah's Witnesses of today - and everyone else) that He (Jesus) indeed did have the Divine Power and Divine Authority to offer a dying person eternal salvation.
The brief words of that "good thief" (see Luke 23:42) also inspired a very famous prayerful hymn/chant of today:
Jesus Remember Me When You Come Into Your Kingdom
(You could say he composed the lyrics for that song.)
God;as grace initiates all good thing. so that no one does good unless his grace empowers him. All men seek the good, but only God can show him what is good.
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