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WARNING: POSSIBLE INFLAMMATORY AND CONTROVERSIAL SUBJECT MATERIAL AHEAD. PROCEED WITH CAUTION AND AT OWN RISK. FOR ONCE, I'M BEING SERIOUS.

I don't believe it would be proper, considering the purpose of this blog, to allow a certain story in the 7/10/07 news cycle to escape without comment. The story comes out of Lorenzago di Cadore, Italy, and concerns a certain document issued by Pope Benedict XVI. For the full story, you can visit http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19692094/ . I would like to preliminarily state, for the record, that I have Catholic family members, and my best friend and his family are Catholics. I love these people and respect them with my whole heart, so my response to the aforementioned article is not a personal attack upon any person, but is a refutation of what I believe are the errors of what the papal statement presents. While I could spend an enormous amount of time addressing numerous aspects of the article, I will for the sake of brevity choose only a handful to discuss which, unfortunately, will still be quite long I'm afraid. Before I begin, I will say that I understand the pope's standpoint and the necessity to hold to certain articles of belief in any religious system, which is why I feel it necessary to present my own beliefs and substantiate those beliefs as correct according to Scripture.

The title of the MSNBC.com article is as follows: "Pope: Other denominations not true churches -- Benedict issues statement asserting that Jesus established 'only one church.'" I believe the last part of that title. Jesus did, in fact, establish "only one church," but it is not the Roman Catholic Church. Nor is it the Southern Baptist Church. Nor is it the United Methodist Church, the Anglican Church, the Pentecostal Church, or even the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana). The "one church" established by Christ is the "Church of God," every born-again-through-faith believer in Jesus as their Savior. If you read Scripture, you will find that all who accept the sacrifice of Jesus for them, repenting of their sins and living the Christian life, becomes a child of God and a member of Christ's one body of believers.

The Apostle Paul makes it clear that we are all members of one body, and just as each body part has a different function and place in the body (but all equally important to the overall operation of that body), so do we have different talents, abilities and viewpoints which enrich the whole. For any religious leader or religious layman to say that their group alone is the "one church" is to believe and promote a lie. If the Holy Bible is taken to heart and is your standard for living, then it must be acknowledged that active belief in Christ is the foundation of salvation, not an ecumenical edict or a human-organized group.

I would like to quote a portion of the MSNBC.com article: "…key sections of a 2000 document the pope wrote when he was prefect of the congregation … said [other Christian denominations] were not true churches but merely ecclesial communities and therefore did not have the "means of salvation."" In essence, Pope Benedict XVI (when still known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger) said denominations are just groups of people meeting for a religious purpose, but have no way to know salvation. I agree that denominations are man-made, but through the teachings and fellowships of many denominations people are genuinely introduced to and cultivate a relationship with Jesus Christ. Certain doctrines and methods of worship may differ, but if Jesus remains the cornerstone of one's belief system, then an honest search for the truth will be a hallmark of that person's life.

As I have read the Bible, and granted I am not nearly as old as Pope Benedict, I have discovered that the "means of salvation" is not a group or assembly of people (the literal definition of 'church'), but the means of salvation is Jesus Christ alone. Nowhere in Scripture is man, any man, given the power to forgive sins against God, for that is what sin is: transgression against God. You can forgive those transgressions done against you, but only God can forgive those transgressions done against Him. Acts 4:12 -- Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. This plainly states that it is not a person or a group which saves or has the "means of salvation," but that it is Christ alone who saves.

The reason Jesus came to earth to die for our sins was so that we would have a "means of salvation" that cannot be found through human device or effort. The duty of all believers is not to become Savior, but point the way to the Savior. This and this alone is the "means of salvation" according to the Holy Word of God. The Roman Catholic Church or any person or group which proposes any other "means of salvation" than repentance of sins is, in a word, wrong. Romans 10:6-13 -- But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?' " (that is, to bring Christ down from above) ⁷ or, " 'Who will descend into the abyss?' " (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). ⁸ But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): ⁹ that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ¹¹ For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame." ¹² For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. ¹³ For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved."

Again, I quote from MSNBC.com: "Christ 'established here on earth' only one church," the document said. The other communities "cannot be called 'churches' in the proper sense" because they do not have apostolic succession — the ability to trace their bishops back to Christ's original apostles." The definition of bishop is, "a clergyman having spiritual and administrative authority; appointed in Christian churches to oversee priests or ministers (wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn)." So, by the preceding quote from the article, leaders or administrative authorities, those who oversee other leaders and lay-members of a congregation, must be traced back to the original disciples of Christ, otherwise they are not part of the "one church." I, for one, am glad I do not (and cannot) trace my spiritual leadership to one of the disciples of Jesus Christ. I trace my spiritual leadership to Jesus Christ Himself.

I would recommend you read all of Colossians chapter 1 (especially beginning with verse 9), but I call your attention to one verse in that chapter: Colossians 1:18 – "And He [being Christ] is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence." There is nothing said of a representative or one who vicariously holds the power of Jesus in his keeping, but Jesus Himself. The entire doctrine of the primacy of the Roman Catholic Church and the papal office, and that also of apostolic succession, refers to one incident in Scripture which for centuries has been misinterpreted.

Matthew 16:15-19 -- He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." ¹⁷Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹ And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

The "rock" upon which the "one church" was founded was not the Apostle Peter, but upon that which Peter said: YOU ARE THE CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD. The gates of hell and the powers of Satan himself cannot prevail against this truth. For all those who believe that rock of truth, the keys of heaven's kingdom is given to them. The binding and loosing of things on earth and in heaven refers to the spiritual capacity to grow beyond selfishness and sinful attitudes, and come to a real and meaningful relationship with Jesus. There is power in the name of Jesus, and that power comes in the acceptance of His sacrifice for your sins. Once you possess the power of God's salvation in Christ, you realize that it is a power not to release others, but to be yourself released, as well as to show others the way to find this truth for themselves. Peter is not the rock; what he spoke is the rock. It is the truth which all Christians should stand upon and proclaim. I am not a Christian because I follow some spiritual descendant of Peter. I am a Christian because I proclaim the same thing Peter proclaimed: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. I do not recognize the primacy of the pope, a man; but I do forever recognize the primacy of God's only begotten Son, Jesus Christ my Lord. I would also direct your attention to the words of Christ Himself: Matthew 23:8-10 -- "But you, do not be called 'Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. ⁹ Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. ¹⁰ And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.

I close this rebuttal by quoting one Father Augustine Di Noia, undersecretary for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the Roman Catholic Church, again from the MSNBC.com article: "But, as you know, it is fundamental to any kind of dialogue that the participants are clear about their own identity. That is, dialogue cannot be an occasion to accommodate or soften what you actually understand yourself to be." I agree with this statement 100%. What I understand myself and my faith to be comes from God's Word through the Holy Spirit. While the Roman Catholic pontiff must put forth the doctrine of his faith, and those of that faith must hold fast to that doctrine, I myself must hold fast to whom I understand myself to be within the confines of God's direction. This article, while put forth for the clarification of the Catholic doctrine, by Catholics and for Catholics, has certainly opened a dialogue for others to discover who they are. Sometimes the only way to truly discover who you are is to first discover who you are not. In this way I appreciate the MSNBC.com article and the papal document to which it refers. By examining its position I am able to evaluate my own, and that is a good thing.

I believe these things which I have written not only based upon my own personality or study, but because the Holy Spirit of God has shown it to my heart and, come what may, I stand upon them. To God my Father, to Him and Him alone, through Jesus Christ the Lord, be all praise, honor and glory. Amen.

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