Open Blogging
In the early years of this site, the election of a new Pope wouldn’t have drawn much attention and the attention it did draw would have been theological.
There are significant differences between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism…differences that blood has been shed over.
Because I was among the Reformed for many of those years, many of our readers were as well and they were opposed to Catholicism and always ready to fight another fight about justification, Mary, or purgatory.
Today, fewer people understand those differences than ever before, nor do they care.
All that matters today to the loud but ignorant is the new pontiffs political stances…is he MAGA or not?
Evidently, he’s not MAGA enough.
He’s pro life, opposed to gay marriage, even opposed to the ordination of women.
Pretty “conservative”, no?
Not according to the cult of Trump.
Because Leo is obviously deeply informed about the moral traditions of the faith, he advocates for humane and compassionate policies and attitudes about immigration and migrants.
The same moral tradition that informs his views on sexuality, inform his views on immigration.
This is intolerable to the MAGA crowd.
Social media exploded after the white smoke faded, calling Leo everything but holy.
This…is dangerous territory.
Following Jesus always ends up at a cross…in truth, a lot of crosses over a lifetime.
They are places of decision…will I bear this cross and keep following, or will I refuse because Christ has asked too much?
For too many, immigration is where their “faith journey” stops.
Jesus does not demand “open borders”…He does not dictate policy in the Scriptures.
(As an aside, Jesus being God, is not limited by dichotomies driven by dunces…He sees more possibilities than either “open borders” and deporting everyone darker than sand…)
He does demand compassion and love for God and neighbor…and if that is a bridge too far for you, then so is the Christian faith.
Now, it’s all yours today…
These Maga judgments of Leo say a great deal about the formers’ ideology and very little or nothing about Leo.
The Catholic Church’s teachings well transcend any current ideology of any
kind — which in my opinion makes them
powerful and transcendent.
With luck, if JD Vance crosses the line, the new Pope will excommunicate his ass.
Pretty sad when the ones the so-called evangelicals hate are more Christlike than they are.
CK,
These are sad times, indeed…
bob1,
I think the social teachings of Catholicism are biblical and transcend even denominational differences…
SPOILER ALERT!!! The triune God is not “America First!” The arrogance of the MAGA crowd is astounding.
Michael, I concur.
A few years back I worked for Catholic Charities and part of my onboard training was to read a document on Catholic social teaching. I was blown away. So well developed and Jesus like!
Fortunately for everyone, we are justified by God’s grace, through faith in Christ, apart from works of the law. (Rm. 3; Eph. 2)
The doctrine of justification may not be popular, but everything and the destiny of everyone depends on it (IMO).
Strangely, when Jesus divides the sheep from the goats, the division is not based on the results of a doctrinal exam…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Escobar
Back in 1989 I took a course with Samuel Escobar while I was missionary in Colombia that was all about liberation theology. It was enlightening, and helped me to understand the issue of poverty in Latina America. We read original source documents in Spanish, and had some very rich dialog at the local Baptist seminary. I was the only “gringa” in the class. We also had a number of Paulist seminary students there. (By the way, Escobar just died in the past week).
We had pretty lively discussions about the causes of poverty and ways to address it. We discussed that evangelicals had some answers (job training, budgeting, letting go of “vices”-drinking and gambling, for example, and strong families -at that time 50% of babies in Latin America did not come from a two-parent family). The Catholic seminarians looked more closely at the duty of society to address issues, dismantle corrupt governments, and share the wealth of the church with the poor. This was when Central America was dealing with armed conflicts in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. Colombia had its owned issues with four different armed insurgencies and the drug cartels. Many of the non-cartel groups had priests fighting in their ranks.
My big take-away: there are many things Protestants/Evangelicals/Catholics can work together on. We may have some theological differences, but we also have many shared goals. I am the first to confess that I don’t have a liturgical bone in my body, but I also admire sincere Catholics that are committed to God and his purposes. I am wishing Pope Leo all the best!
Linn, what a cool thing that you sat under Samuel Escobar! I knew of his work when I worked for an org. affiliated with the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students which Sam was closely aligned with.
Found a wonderful tribute to him. He and John Stott were close friends and worked closely on the Lausanne Covenant.
The article writer says,
“I was not surprised to hear Stott say one day that he learned to live more selflessly when he met Samuel.”
https://evangelicalfocus.com/between-the-lines/30963/samuel-escobar-exemplary-teacher
Linn,
I truly appreciate your balanced and informed comments…may your tribe increase!
bob1,
Sam was so humble and so able to communicate across both language and cultural levels. I really enjoyed the class, and it helped me understand much better the context in which I was working.
Prescient piece from David French, a conservative evangelical, in the NY Times.
“Trump is no Longer the Most Important American”
“And when you believe the success of your religion depends on the success of any politician, it’s only a matter of time before politics becomes your religion. That means that too many Christians will evaluate even the pope through a partisan political lens.”