PopeWatch: Martin Luther vs Frank the Hippie Pope
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 41 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
Ha, pretty funny, thanks for sharing. I’m learning animation so I found it technically interesting as well.
Speaking of being justified and such, and speaking to all of Christendom, why shouldn’t we just drop all the us vs. them stuff? Wouldn’t that be easier, and far more Christian, than the endless repetition of a division generating debate which just goes round and round and round in the same old little circles which never resolve anything?
Given all the suffering people in the world, it seems that a focus on doctrinal debate detail drivel reveals us to be not so justified.
“Speaking of being justified and such, and speaking to all of Christendom, why shouldn’t we just drop all the us vs. them stuff? Wouldn’t that be easier, and far more Christian, than the endless repetition of a division generating debate which just goes round and round and round in the same old little circles which never resolve anything?”
Sure, assuming that the Bible is meaningless and Christ was simply a man. Rejecting both propositions I say no to your proposal.
Speaking of Protestant vs Catholic, I recently had a run in with some classic Protestants on a site called Presbytarin Memes. I stumbled across the dite when I saw they were dragging out thay old warhorse that the the Pope was very Anti-Christ. I pointed out to them that no Pope in his offical vapacity as Pope has ever denieg is Christ come in the flesh, and the creeds of the Catholic Church say the same thing. Their reply was since the Pope denied justification by faith alone, he was Anti-Christ. I again pointed out that the Biblical defination of Anti-Christ was denying Jesus is Christ coming in the flesh. They would not bulge a bit. These Protestants claim to be Bible only, but when I pressed them about the Biblical definition of Anti-Christ, they had to go outside of it to defend their erroneous position. It amazes me, even as a former member of a religious cult, that these folks can’t see the astonishing lack of logic here.
@Donald, I did not assume the Bible to be meaningless, and have already shared a number of posts which claim Jesus was God. Please be wary of arguing against assertions of your own invention. Thank you.
The apostle John said, “God is love” He didn’t say, “God is endlessly arguing over issues that will never be settled”.
I can see the point of conflict in some circumstances where it has the potential to empower the processes of love for example, confronting the Islamic State, clearly a group of murderous psychopaths.
I don’t see the point of conflict with Protestants.
But then I don’t see the point of much of my own behavior either. You will never be persuaded of anything I write no matter how well I might write it, and the same is true of most readers here. So why am I challenging the status quo dogmas?
Maybe we should all fess up that we are engaging in conflict because um, we enjoy conflict?
“The apostle John said, “God is love” He didn’t say, “God is endlessly arguing over issues that will never be settled”.”
Actually the Gospels are filled with statements by Christ indicating that He did not come to bring peace but division. The idea of Christ as a purveyor of nothing but love is a fictional construct popular in the last century and bears no relationship to the Christ of the Gospels.
Ah, ok, so can ignore the Apostle John then. Thanks for letting us know!
And all those silly sermons about love by Jesus, out the window, just a big misunderstanding, or perhaps a practical joke. What a teaser that Jesus was! Darn it, he did a gotcha on me again!
No my friends, Christianity is all about conflict, ideological warfare, triumph over our enemies, being right while someone else is wrong, judgment and punishment, endless arguments which are never resolved, and the grim march in to heaven, or, um, more likely hell.
Well, if Christianity is about rhetorical conflict, I suspect sainthood is probably going to be a big part of my future, cause I got that part right. 🙂
“Ah, ok, so can ignore the Apostle John then. Thanks for letting us know!”
Actually not the slightest jot of the Gospels can be ignored Phil, as much as moderns would desire to do so.
Let me ask, was this a work by Lutherans? And hasn’t Pope Francis really started to hang out with Lutherans–e.g. by giving Holy Communion to a Finnish Lutheran? So aren’t they attaching a straw man, someone who doesn’t really disagree with their principles? And, Don, is this what you mean by saying the hippie pope does better apologetics than the actual one?
“was this a work by Lutherans?”
Yes.
“And hasn’t Pope Francis really started to hang out with Lutherans–e.g. by giving Holy Communion to a Finnish Lutheran? So aren’t they attaching a straw man, someone who doesn’t really disagree with their principles?”
Perhaps, although Pope Francis is not noted for the coherency of his communications, so it is hard to tell.
“And, Don, is this what you mean by saying the hippie pope does better apologetics than the actual one?”
That was more a general statement, in that even a straw-man does a better job at defending the teaching of the Church than a Pope who often seems to have little liking for the traditions of the Church and little wish to defend them.
the recent and present leaders of all the great nations and institutions civilian and military and notably the vatican seem intent on destroying them,,,,the subversives in chief,,,,,but not President Trump or Theresa May (i hope), and of course the devout VLADIMIR PUTIN, who actually loves his country and his people, and wants to share his love with the Ukrainians, though cossacks are historically unruly.
Ah, ok, so can ignore the Apostle John then. Thanks for letting us know!
I do enjoy the retreat into snark and strawmen rather than confronting an argument one cannot adequately address. Fitting in light of Bob Kurland’s post from a couple of days ago.
And all those silly sermons about love by Jesus, out the window, just a big misunderstanding, or perhaps a practical joke. What a teaser that Jesus was! Darn it, he did a gotcha on me again!
If you’re looking for Jesus-the-warm-fuzzy, there’s an ample population of mainline protestant congregations to accommodate you. If you want jazzier music, there’s a degenerate evangelical congregation somewhere for you as well.
“Actually not the slightest jot of the Gospels can be ignored Phil, as much as moderns would desire to do so.”
And yet you are happy to ignore the current Church appointed chief custodian of the Gospels whenever you find it convenient.
The Pope is the Vicar of Christ Phil, he is not Christ. Disagreement with a Pope when he acts beyond his office or he has fallen into error is a tradition in the Catholic Church as old as Peter and Paul.