Apparently, Pope Benedict XVI is at it again. Yesterday, the Vatican released a document (approved by the Pope) that reaffirmed the official position that the Roman Catholic Church is not only the sole true Christian church, but the only sure path to heaven. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070710/ap_on_re_eu/pope_other_christians)
As the article linked above notes, this is not a new position. Since at least 2000, this has been the official teaching of the Catholic Church, despite the progress the Second Vatican Council made in the 1960's in ecumenical (cooperation between Christian denominations) relationships.
Well, as a mainline Protestant pastor, you can guess that I disagree with this view, to say the least. I think it's absurd and awfully self-righteous for any institution (including my own beloved United Church of Christ) to claim that it possesses the only "true" legitimate anything. (Luckily the UCC, along with most mainline Protestant churches, do not make this claim.) I could go on and on about how this idea flies in the face of such concepts as Christian humility or loving neighbor as ourselves. Or about how making these kind of asinine claims is what leads to religious violence and persecution. (How many wars have been waged in the name of religion? Too many.)
But I don't want to hear my own voice today--I'd like to hear from some readers.
Questions to ponder:
Can a human institution ever claim to have the "one way" to God or salvation?
Is there such a thing as "one true church"?
Has the Roman Catholic Church actually moved backward since Vatican II, or simply "clarified" its position, as Benedict states?
When Jesus claims in the Gospel of John to be "the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me," does this lend support to the idea of a "one true church"? Does it mean that, if not a church, then at least a religion (i.e. Christianity) can claim a monopoly on truth?
What happens when multiple religious groups make such a claim? They can't all be right, so how do you decide which one is right?
If the Roman Catholic Church isn't the one true church, what would the true church look like?
Well, that's probably enough for our brains for today. Let's get some discussion going.
Until next time, this is Pastor Chris signing off.
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2 comments:
It seems that religious leaders who claim their's is the only way are looking for job security. The Pope is not the only one, of course. I believe that a faith community doing it's job will prevail without holding it's members hostage.
I think it is about power and money. Who wouldn’t want to get their hands on all that pope power? He is more powerful than most governments. It is a religious communist cult and people are just eating it up....ummmmy
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